What's up with my Wellso's??

[jbird0420]

Hey guys,

I've been baffled by this for a few months now. I have an LPS dominate tank. A few sticks and softies, but mostly LPS.

My blastos, favia's, lobos and acans are all doing well. But the past few months I have lost a few wellso's and trachy's due to flesh receding and peeling off from the skeleton.

All my water parameters are good. The only thing that concerns me is that there is a cloudy film on the water surface. I did change out my rodi filters and silica resin yesterday. Silica was totally exhausted, yet my TDS was reading around 8ppm. I'm thinking the 9mo old filters may have something to do with it and the cloudy film on the water surface. Below are the current water parameters. I check via Salifert test kits.

Any input is much appreciated and well taken into consideration. I love fleshy corals! Wellso's and trachys are what I really want to keep and grow. I just don't understand why they peel and recede. Oh, and I don't see any of my fish messing or nipping at them.

Calcium 420
KH-7.8
MAg-1400
Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates-0
PH- 8.0

 

[Cptn Spaulding]

A cloudy film on the surface is mostly contributed to not enough surface skimming, it is proteins and oils sitting on the top of your water. You need more surface agitation and aggressive skimming if there isn't any. LPS wouldn't do poorly with 8ppm TDS. Did you change your lights recently? Are you dosing a carbon source? And you didn't get a new fish any time recently that would possibly nip at LPS? I know blue hippo tangs love open brain corals. If none of these applies to you, I do not know and am clueless.

 

[jbird0420]

I did just add on a carbon media reactor yesterday and since I did the water looks clearer and no presence of the film on the water surface as of yet.

I use a Reef Octopus skimmer. I have the waterline at the neck of the skimmer, so I hope that the skimmer is doing it's job. I do clean it weekly and empty enough goop comes out from it.

I did change out all rodi filters except the membrane the other day. TDS reads 0 now, so later today will be a water change. No, hippo tangs and I know what you mean by them, cause I caught one picking at one of my brain corals a year ago and he got removed.

Lights where changed from Mh's to HO t5's a little under 2mo ago.

A cloudy film on the surface is mostly contributed to not enough surface skimming, it is proteins and oils sitting on the top of your water. You need more surface agitation and aggressive skimming if there isn't any. LPS wouldn't do poorly with 8ppm TDS. Did you change your lights recently? Are you dosing a carbon source? And you didn't get a new fish any time recently that would possibly nip at LPS? I know blue hippo tangs love open brain corals. If none of these applies to you, I do not know and am clueless.

 

[Daleo]

Keep your params in check and keep the wellsos in low flow. I've seen wellsos "gape" much like a clam would, then just slough off the living tissue. These were new additions to a high flow, high light SPS tank at the LFS.

Even though you have a skimmer, do you have an overflow collecting the surface scum? If not, point a powerhead to breakup the surface.

 

[jbird0420]

My 180 has dual overflows built in. No powerheads pointing at the surface.

Keep your params in check and keep the wellsos in low flow. I've seen wellsos "gape" much like a clam would, then just slough off the living tissue. These were new additions to a high flow, high light SPS tank at the LFS.

Even though you have a skimmer, do you have an overflow collecting the surface scum? If not, point a powerhead to breakup the surface.

 

[jbird0420]

As I look at the surface, it looks like pieces of algae floating. Which makes me think a bacterial or algae bloom?

I do have dual gfo reactors and it's set a slow tumble. I change the media every month or when I have to clean the glass every day other day.

I notice my PH and alk does swing. For example PH will drop to right around 7.90-8.0
Day @ 8.0-8.15. Ph is measured by my APex ph probe, which is a brand new APex system.

ALk swings every day and seems to drop 1 daily. I try to keep it 8.0, sometimes I've seem it hit 6.7. I dose BRS KH/soda ash to the associated measuring according to BRS reef calculator to match my tank volume. Every other day I dose KH.

Would this be the reason for the tissue receding?

 

[GPB]

Alk 6.7? I think you might be on to something. My tank seems to use up Alk faster than Calcium also. I give it a baking soda kicker once a week in addition Kalk in ATO.

 

[jbird0420]

I'm thinking so. Ive been on my PH and ALk the past 2 days. I did see some new growth on the skeleton of one of my Wellso's where it started to recede. Just want to pin point and identify if it's the PH or the Alk swing.?.?.?

 

[jbird0420]

Update: They are still receding. I did recalibrate my refractometer with calibration fluid instead of rodi. Refractometer was way off by .004

Checked the salinity and it was reading .022
I think I may have found the problem. Hopes, fingers crossed!

 

[Justin74]

Sounds like a few problems, at least you've recognized them! If your having a hard time keeping your alk stable may I suggest to at least keep it in the ball park of 9 or 10, that way when you drop a point your still within safe levels, however tetering on 8 is asking for problems in my honest opinion. That is of course, after you dial in your salinty, first and foremost, otherwise your just chasing numbers to no end

-Justin