Torch Separating!?!?

[TheRealRuk]

I'm going through a bad stretch... Getting ready to bang my head off the tank! Lately, my SPS has been taking a dive (not that I have more than a few frags). 2 fish with I've had hlle and one with pop-eye... (Fish seam to be recovering)

Has any one ever had or seen a torch separate like this? More importantly why... It looked reasonably healthy besides the fact the 2 out of my 4 heads are flapping in the current! THe only thing out of the normal I noticed with the torch is the mouth on the head that has separated was large and open the last couple day to a week.

The rest of my zoos and LPS look fine, zoos are growing faster than ever...

I've been trying to get my calc and mag down for a while.. (Pump failure on the calc months ago.) I've been doing 35-40g water changes every week for the last 2 months... (Total water volume 200G)

Alk - Calc - Mag
May 30, 2011 8.5 475 1500
Jun 4, 2011 8.7 440 1500
Jun 7, 2011 8.5 450 1500
Jun 10, 2011 9.3 450 1500
Jun 14, 2011 9.0 460 1470
Jun 18, 2011 9.0 450 1470
Jun 23, 2011 9.8 440 1470

I'm devastated... Any words of wisdom?

:headwally:

Matt

 

[Steve Canyon]

Interceptor

 

[TheRealRuk]

Can you expound? I'm going to need more than that... Although I did just spend $600 on flee, tick, and heart worm meds for my 275 lbs worth of dogs...

Matt

 

[pascal32]

Not sure, doesn't look good though. I would post that to the lps forum here on rc for more experienced advise. See if you can have someone locally test for phosphate using a Hanna meter. Mg and ca are fine. How is your kh? Try to keep it stable. Also make sure your salinity is good. Use a refractometer and CALIBRATE it using some 35ppt solution from brs, it's really cheap and should be part of your monthly maintinance. Last thought is temperature- pick up a $10 digital at brs or the lfs and watch it to make sure you aren't spiking temperature. If you have a control check it against the digital and set up a recording for temperature so you can see the swings.

Are you dosing at all? If so what, how much, and how do you add it?

Personally in times like this I would go with a non iodine dip like revive, and dose interceptor. I had some major chalice losses and interceptor took care of it.

Interceptor is used for redbugs on SPS, however it has benefits for other issues also: http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

I'll get you some more frags next time I'm out your way.

 

[TheRealRuk]

I have a temp probe on an Apex controller, I do have a digital therm to test the temp probe, it's fine. (been down that road) Ill find another. I did just recal my refractometer a month ago, I'll check it again. I'm dozing BRS recipe #1, alk 105ml, calc 35ml, both /12, been waiting for mag to come down, so I'm not dosing any currently. Even if I had high phosphate, I'm changing 20% of my water weekly, you'd think it would be helping. Actually your SPS drags havent gone south yet... But that's my MO, they do good for a few months then... I have some revive, how long would you dip the torch for? I'll check out the interceptor...

Thx,
Matt

 

[pascal32]

I find it interesting how your kh is going up And down over time, I would try to get on a schedule where you check at about the same time and not immediatly after dosing.

Your calcium is good, personally I would start dozing equal amounts of kh and ca as you should. The levels will maintain. Drop the water changes down to 10-15% weekly to maintain your levels. I wondering if all the water changes are running you in circles.

I would really like to see a digital phosphate reading, but that is just me.

Last thing is to make sure the doser is dosing the right amount. You can check this my changing the time to 1 minute before it is scheduled and capturing the output into a measuring vial (tall kind). When I check mine I do 3-4 cycles and divide the result accordingly. This will let you adjust so you dose equally.

Other than lights and flow things sound good. I like to think my system is pretty stable, and I've lost a few pieces here and there in the last 6-12 months, one was a small torch which made no sense to me.

Just my 2 cents

 

[TheRealRuk]

I did recheck everything last night after posting. Alk, Calc, mag, still check out. With all salifert tests, phosphate wasn't detectable, nitrate was 2-3, nitrite was .025. Recal'd my refractometer and it was spot on? My temp probe reads 1.5 degrees higher than the digital therm, but it always has. I set my heaters up half a degree just to be safe, but there are definitely no temp spikes.

You would up my Calc to match the Alk from 35ml to 100ml? It won't drive my Calc through the roof again? Is it bad to have Calc over 500?

Thx!

 

[pascal32]

2 part is supposed to be dosed in equal parts. I'm not sure chemically why, however the amounts are supposed to be equal. Check out bulkreefsupply.com under instructions& google around a bit.

 

[Jacwil]

I've had "polyp bailout" occur in the past...I was told high phosphates could be the cause.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

based on what I see here I'd be surprised if PO4 was the cause.

Does the aquarium get fed regularly... does the Torch coral get fed either directly or indirectly?

I wouldn't rule out a pest at this point.

 

[TheRealRuk]

I was at a friends stag all yesterday, and securing the wife's garden from evil little bunnies most of today. Things are still progressively going south. To me it seams too quick to be just bugs, not that I would really know. It looks like all of my SPS frags are having the flesh stripped off of them... (Blurry, your frags are now affected as well.) And now its affecting some of my LPS like the torch. What about metal? I had a frag shelf that had a leak in the magnet seal, that had some corrosion on the inside of the tank. I pulled it out, but it was pretty recent... I have hinges on the doors of the canopy that are corroded a little... Could this be a possibility given my symptoms?

 

[Willistein]

I doubt the metal is causing the problem unless you're getting big hunks falling off and into the tank and they're copper. Stray current maybe? Do you have any shrimp that might be picking at LPS? I would probably back off on the Alk, too. It could be the 100+ mL dose creates too much of a spike in the pH. It's going into a sump, right?

 

[TheRealRuk]

I doubt the metal is causing the problem unless you're getting big hunks falling off and into the tank and they're copper. Stray current maybe? Do you have any shrimp that might be picking at LPS? I would probably back off on the Alk, too. It could be the 100+ mL dose creates too much of a spike in the pH. It's going into a sump, right?

No large chunks for sure. Yes, Alk doses into the sump but its divided into 12 doses... So I don't spike. And my mini maxi carpets took care of any shrimp I had...

Thx

Matt

 

[jdoenumber2]

Did you check for stray current?

 

[TheRealRuk]

I have not, what's the easiest way? Just your standard run of the mill voltage meter?

 

[jdoenumber2]

Yup

 

[jdoenumber2]

Harbor freight sells them for less then 10 dollars if u don't have one.

 

[pascal32]

I was at a friends stag all yesterday, and securing the wife's garden from evil little bunnies most of today. Things are still progressively going south. To me it seams too quick to be just bugs, not that I would really know. It looks like all of my SPS frags are having the flesh stripped off of them... (Blurry, your frags are now affected as well.) And now its affecting some of my LPS like the torch. What about metal? I had a frag shelf that had a leak in the magnet seal, that had some corrosion on the inside of the tank. I pulled it out, but it was pretty recent... I have hinges on the doors of the canopy that are corroded a little... Could this be a possibility given my symptoms?

I'm struggling with this one.

really startign to think there are two issues that are unrelated.

The SPS - is the tissue loss at the base or throughout? base STN in my experience is related to flow, though it could be caused by other stress factors. RTN is caused by excess nutrients and junk in the water. being that you are changing a lot of water I'm partial to the STN due to flow, but I'm set back by your use of MP40s. If you have spots on the SPS then it is likely AEFW, though on some birdsnest there is an elusive polyp bailout/mutation that steve has had in the past with no real insight to what is causing it.

The temperature swings would explain a lot, but that is reading well

I would lean towards instability due to dosing too much at once, but you have the dosing pumps.

My guess is a bad KH test kit. it's nothing more than a guess. The stray voltage is a good test, though it is more on the abnormal side, none the less it does happen and you should test it.

In your shoes I would have a good LFS (like ARC) to a full testing of your water to get another kit testing your water. even if it costs $5-10 it is worth it.

definitely treat interceptor in case you have redbugs on the SPS - I like to think it didn't come from me, I had hem and dosed interceptor a while back and have no signs of them. when I did have them the birsdsnest were unaffected, the acros that were affected lost color overall.

Do you have any red slime or hair algae? any recent fish deaths? how much do you feed, what do you feed and how often?

I'm still stuck on phosphate

 

[moonlightdriver]

Sorry to hi jack this thread but
I am experiencing the same problem right now...
How big of a temp swing would cause this? (is 4 deg too much? 78 normally 82 midday)
I did experience a red slime n hair algae out break the past 3 weeks or so... I have been doing 20% weekly water changes since.
My parameter's look to be good. Calcium is high (520) but the rest look good.

any help would be great..

 

[TheRealRuk]

Did you check for stray current?

I did check last night. Black in the nearest outlet ground, red in the tank. I'm clear. Found a little on my sump light, over my external fuge, but it was insulated from the tank. I checked and rechecked the fuge while the light was on. I also checked the DT, and sump.