Soft corals looking unhealthy

[bromion]

Well, things are getting worse. I have been doing 4-5 gal water changes daily over the past week, which is slowly raising the salinity (now 1.023) and Ph (now 8.3). I also added activated carbon to the sump. The sickly Xenia colony is gone, but now my other Xenia (the long-arm wavy type) is looking terrible, whereas they appeared healthy before.

Still no ammonia, very low nitrite (about 0.1 mg/L), and reasonable nitrate (5 mg/L). Temperature is up (getting hot in L.A.) to 78-79F.

Any additional suggestions? Should I slow down or speed up on these water changes?

Thanks!

 

[tinyreef]

brom,
i'd continue with the carbon but ease up on the waterchanges. i'd level off at 1.023sg for now. limit the changes on the system to slow/minimal changes. i run a lower salinity to account for any evaporation issues (in case my ato runs dry, refractometer's screwy, etc.)

is there any obvious rot on this newly infected xenia colony? how averse are you to dosing iodine in either Kent Tech I form or Lugol's Iodine form? (some avoid them and some embrace them) i'm looking at them more as an antiseptic than nutrient/coral saviour. otoh, i'm not a fan of coral dips but that's another possibility you might want to explore.

 

[bromion]

Some of the xenia are definitely rotting, the rest look quite unhappy. I plan to pick up Lugol's tomorrow, as a number of sources recommend it.

 

[graveyardworm]

What salinity are you mixing your change water to, how long is it mixing before you use it?

Your first post indicated 0 NO2, and 0 NO3. So something most likely happened from the addition of the new LR.

From what I've read from other members xenia seem to like iodine, but the water changes you've been doing should've provided plenty.

I've never used lugols so I cant really comment.

Temp 78-79 is probably okay, I think alittle higher is better like 80-81, and as steady as possible with no more than a couple degrees fluctuation. Actually 82-83 is perfect but alittle room for error/fluctuation is alright.

 

[graveyardworm]

Also how are the other corals/anemone doing?

 

[bromion]

The new water has salinity 1.025, and it mixes in a 10-gal container with a powerhead for about 24 hr. I add water to the sump, so it should be well-mixed before entering the display tank.

You think temp should be higher? That I certainly can do... I struggle to keep it below 80F. Will a higher temperature be detrimental to fish and other inverts?

My last reading of nitrite was 0.01 and nitrate 0.1 mg/L. That was about two hours after a 5 gallon water change.

Other corals: flower leather is doing great with its usual appearance. A green mushroom is still looking bad, but it's certainly alive. A brown mushroom looks great. The zoanthids are still not back to normal, but they are not getting worse, either. My SPS Pavona looks OK.

 

[graveyardworm]

Normal reef temps avg like 82-83 degrees F. Corals tend to live at about the max temp for them so even a slight increase trend can be harmful. Your temp is probably fine alittle warmer wouldnt hurt as long as you can maintain it there without much increase.

How did you mix the water for the new sump? Was it mixed in seperate container and allowed to stand for 24 hours before use, or did you mix it in the sump, and then fire everything up?

 

[bromion]

Separate container for mixing with RO/DI water. In that container is a heater and powerhead to warm and mix. Typically there is water left over, so older and newer water will mix in that bin. The sump runs continuously.

 

[bromion]

I purchased Lugol's solution today. How much do you recommend dosing? The bottle recommends 1 drop per 25 gallons each week. Should I do more in light of this emergency?

I have removed some of the decaying xenia bunches from the tank. The rest are still declining. Short of removing them, I don't see what else to do at this point.

Thanks for the help!

 

[tinyreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7446122#post7446122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bromion
How much do you recommend dosing? The bottle recommends 1 drop per 25 gallons each week. Should I do more in light of this emergency?

no, i wouldn't dose more than the recommended amount at one time. lugol's is very strong. it's toxic to us as well as the tank.

i'd do all your cleaning and waterchanges first and then dose the lugol's.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7446122#post7446122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bromion
I have removed some of the decaying xenia bunches from the tank. The rest are still declining. Short of removing them, I don't see what else to do at this point.

removing the obviously sick or infected ones is the best choice. if i have to cut tissue i usually take some healthy tissue along with the sick just to be sure i removed all the infected parts. hopefully, you can limit the spread. good luck!

 

[bromion]

Just to give a resolution, most of the xenia colonies have rebounded and are recovering nicely. I am very surprised at this result, as they looked really terrible and were disintegrating two weeks ago. Now they have returned to a healthy color and are growing new polyps. The other softies are also recovered, except one mushroom that still looks sickly. My SPS Pavona is still declining however, and appears to be bleaching.

What I did: daily 5 gallon water changes for about 1.5 weeks, added carbon, added a poly-filter, dosed lugol's solution. I imagine the water changes did the most good, diluting whatever toxin that entered the tank causing the problem in the first place.

Thanks for the help!