So I had to hack up my 3 y.o. Red Dragon today save it
- Thread starter WayneL333
- Start date
trueblackpercula
New member
I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement as my sand bed is 6 years plus. So I have a plan will post some details this weekend.
I think your dead on
Oh Man, That was a gorgeous colony Wayne. Super sorry to see that. I have had the worst luck with the original CITR Red Dragon. I have had them grow well and then RTN out of the blue. Currently I only keep the Golden Dragon which has been great for me. Crossing my fingers!!!
My tank is not a fan of GFO at all. I can run it for a while and then corals will start to STN after a GFO change out. I now only run GFO for about two or three swap outs then I take it off the system for a while. I also wonder about the sand bed issues. Every tank is so unique so it is hard to know what is the problem. I am guessing that the alk trending upwards may be a contributing factor. Good luck saving it.
My tank is not a fan of GFO at all. I can run it for a while and then corals will start to STN after a GFO change out. I now only run GFO for about two or three swap outs then I take it off the system for a while. I also wonder about the sand bed issues. Every tank is so unique so it is hard to know what is the problem. I am guessing that the alk trending upwards may be a contributing factor. Good luck saving it.
WayneL333
New member
Thanks for the kind words everyone. If I had to guess, I suspect it's my Alk. Salinity is fine as I used the Hana digital salinity meter and run an ato. I have more than ample flow, probably too much for a 5ft. tank. I run 2x Tunze 6125 (the largest power head Tunze offers) and 2x Tunze 6155 (the second largest). All of my sps colonies have dense growth patterns because of all of the flow.
I've considered getting my water tested, but I'm NASA consistent with my husbandry and routine. I've used the same everything since I started my tank and don't deviate with new products or equipment.
I don't want to turn this thread into a dsb debate, but I never accepted the arguments against it. I've never believed in the folklore that a sand has an expiration date. That makes no sense to me and I never seen any concrete evidence otherwise. I would think lr would also have an expiration date if that were the case. I already run a low nutrient system by running gfo and carbon 24x7 and a crazy efficient skimmer so nothing can really 'build up' in my dsb or lr. To me, the biological filtration and benefits of a dsb as well as the buffering capabilities and stability it offers to the system greatly outweighs any potential problems with it.
Anyway, as I mentioned before I surmise that the rd types of acros may be more sensitive to Alk swings. Although my system has gone through Alk swings in its 3 years, I don't know why this time would make them react this way. I also have over 40 different acros colonies in my tank, some larger than dinner plates and they're all fine and growing. It's just the rd and pdt that decided to misbehave. Two days later and all the rd frags(actually mini colonies compared to the mother, colonies to most) I made seem to be doing fine in both of my systems. I guess there's nothing more I can do than chalking this one up to another mystery of the deep.
I've considered getting my water tested, but I'm NASA consistent with my husbandry and routine. I've used the same everything since I started my tank and don't deviate with new products or equipment.
I don't want to turn this thread into a dsb debate, but I never accepted the arguments against it. I've never believed in the folklore that a sand has an expiration date. That makes no sense to me and I never seen any concrete evidence otherwise. I would think lr would also have an expiration date if that were the case. I already run a low nutrient system by running gfo and carbon 24x7 and a crazy efficient skimmer so nothing can really 'build up' in my dsb or lr. To me, the biological filtration and benefits of a dsb as well as the buffering capabilities and stability it offers to the system greatly outweighs any potential problems with it.
Anyway, as I mentioned before I surmise that the rd types of acros may be more sensitive to Alk swings. Although my system has gone through Alk swings in its 3 years, I don't know why this time would make them react this way. I also have over 40 different acros colonies in my tank, some larger than dinner plates and they're all fine and growing. It's just the rd and pdt that decided to misbehave. Two days later and all the rd frags(actually mini colonies compared to the mother, colonies to most) I made seem to be doing fine in both of my systems. I guess there's nothing more I can do than chalking this one up to another mystery of the deep.
WayneL333
New member
Yeah, I've always changed out my gfo and carbon twice a month so my system should be used to it. If I wait too long, I'll start to see cyano growth on the sand bed and will notice more algae growth.
I have a few more rd type acros like the Azule Cielo, actually almost every named dragon out there, that are still doing fine so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
mediumrar3
New member
nikunjpatel
New member
Do you think one of the trace elements has built up? maybe something like lithium, Sr, Br? Sounds like your tank has been running stable and it seems like you must be running the same salt so maybe that could be a possibility.
just my 2 cents
nik
just my 2 cents
nik
