This is driving me insane!!!!!

[Rich D]

4. I'm trying to do big water changes. My goal is to turn over 100% of the tank's volume in a two week period of time.

BAD IDEA!!!!

i suggest 25% a week at most.
and your lighting shouldnt be too low, 250s with 10k are plenty.
you could try an iodine dip or other commercial dips. In my experience, iodine had little affect on montipora nudis for they are notorious for having a high threshold for toxins.

 

[aquariumclown]

Info on Monti nudis

http://www.farms-of-thesea.com/cata.../english/html/Devistating Coral Predators.pdf

 

[seapug]

sounds like monti eating nudis to me too but you should be able to see them with the naked eye. They look like tiny white fluffy snowflakes that typically congregate at the edge of the healthy tissue. They stripped both my big monti cap colonies down to bare skeleton in about a week.

Your alkalinity/calcium levels seem fine, but tissue loss on SPS can be caused by big swings in Alkalinity. What are you using to maintain Alk & Calcium on this tank?

 

[luther1200]

He said it also happened to an Acro. So I don't think its Monti eating nudis.

 

[luther1200]

Quote from the OP's origanal post

"and it has started to affect one of my Acropora as well. The tissue edge on the Montipora is a light purple color, while on the Acropora, it is a bleaching of an area followed by tissue necrosis"

 

[aquariumclown]

I was under the impression it was both montis and acros.

 

[LouH]

Sorry for the confusion guys. The tissue recession on the Montis does not look like the recession on the Acro. Don't forget that all of these corals have fought back from their initial recession event, and one Monti in particular has grown significantly since the first event. The Acro is also recovering lost ground on its skeleton and showing some color again.

I've also wondered if one of my cukes died and bombed the tank. They're pretty reclusive, and can go for weeks without being seen.

I run a calcium reactor to maintain alkalinity.

I use Instant Ocean batched with RODI water. TDS on RODI is always 6 ppm or less.

 

[aquariumclown]

Well if your cucumber died you could test for a spike in amonia, nitrates, or phosphates, or even nitrites. If you wait too long to test of course you will probably end up with high nitrates.

 

[aquariumclown]

btw, if you want to keep sps long term. You'll want to run your ro/di to be 0ppm on the output.

 

[luther1200]

Its possible it could be totally separate issues with each coral. Have you seen any signs of any kind of pests?

 

[LouH]

Nope, no signs of pests. I'll look tonight. To be honest, it hasn't been a focus. I thought that I gave up pests when I moved away from fish.

 

[aquariumclown]

Also I would recommend you post some pictures of your tank, the corals in question. This would help greatly in the diagnosis.

 

[AquamanE]

I thought that I gave up pests when I moved away from fish

No such luck. Corals have their own pests.

 

[LouH]

Here's Some Pics

Here's Some Pics

Let's see if I can get this to work. I put my pics on an album in Photobucket. Try this:


http://s452.photobucket.com/albums/qq245/LouH_album/Aquarium Pics/

 

[aquariumclown]

Nice tank. How long has it been up?

 

[Percula9]

I guess if you remove the leathers and things improve well you solved your problem. Process of elimination.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Couple of things;

In this picture I notice a star -- pretty much right in the center of the picture on the coral --- some of those stars have been reported to bother/eat SPS.

Also, have you tested at all for stray voltage?

 

[aquariumclown]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15279152#post15279152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
Couple of things;

In this picture I notice a star -- pretty much right in the center of the picture on the coral --- some of those stars have been reported to bother/eat SPS.

Also, have you tested at all for stray voltage?

I've never seen stars bother sps. Can you post links to information about these stars bothering/eating sps?

Thanks.

 

[LouH]

The tank has been up for about a year in its current location. The tank was initially set up in late 2006. I had to break it down and move it to another city when I had a change in employment in July of 2007. I lived at that location for 9 months, and then moved again to my current residence. Needless to say I do not want to move the tank again.

The sea stars are only seen on the corals when algae starts to grow on the newly exposed skeleton. The same goes for snails and my tang. Actually, I believe that the combined algae nibbling by these creatures gives the corals the chance to fight back and recover lost turf.

I have not measured for stray voltage. What is considered a hazardous level? Do I put one lead in an outlet ground and the other in the water?

I hate to remove the leathers, because they look realy good in my tank, but it might have to happen.

Lou

 

[aquariumclown]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15280387#post15280387 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LouH

I have not measured for stray voltage. What is considered a hazardous level? Do I put one lead in an outlet ground and the other in the water?

Lou

Yes

I hate to remove the leathers, because they look realy good in my tank, but it might have to happen.

You can move it out to a temporary tank/tub or to a friend's tank and see if your situation improves. If not, then you know that's not your cause and you can move it back in.