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View Full Version : Tank took a bad turn in 4 days. Help


Zeus2
02/17/2009, 10:45 PM
KH - 8 dkh
salinity - 1.025
Nitrate - <15 (I'm working on it) This hasn't changed much.
Phosphate - 0
CA - 420
My coral has taken a turn for the worse. The coral pic's below are the corals in question for some reason. The rest of my coral in the tank is doing fine though.

I think it may be the current. I just put in the Koralia 4 above the monti blowing over it. I also have one on the opposite side of the tank. The one on the right side has been there for a long time. I thought with more current, the coral would do better. In 4 days of being away though, it turned into this. I'm sorry for so many pics, but the coral in my tank took a wierd turn and I need to problem solve it quickly. Thanks.
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank002.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank002.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank002.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank005.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank006.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank007.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank008.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank009.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt31/jdukee/fishtank010.jpg

Peter Eichler
02/17/2009, 11:21 PM
Did you change all the bulbs and not do anything to acclimate the corals to the brighter light? At least b3 of the corals you're showing with problems are typically lower light than a lot of SPS and can bleach/lighten quickly if not acclimated properly.

Zeus2
02/17/2009, 11:45 PM
The bulbs are only 6 months old. The birdsnest was placed 6 days ago. It took an hour to acclimated to the water, and then I'm left the blue light on 24 hrs a day for four days because I had a new small wrasse that I placed in the tank with it. Without the light for the first couple of nights, the new fish swim into the overflow box. I now have the blue light back onto the regular hours. Do you thing the birds nest is too close to the top.

Zeus2
02/17/2009, 11:46 PM
I also just put in a Koralia 4 up near the birds nest. This may have caused the problem as well in the tank. As of this evening, I have turned that Koralia off, since the tank was functioning fine without it.

madadi
02/18/2009, 12:09 AM
it could be that the new koralia pushed your sand around and released some sulfur pockets that were deep under?

Zeus2
02/18/2009, 12:24 AM
I didn't know that was possible. It might explain why it is affecting coral throughout the tank... It's strange though. Only certain pieces are being affected by it. Mostly the acro's and the monti. If that were the issue, what would you do to fix it other than a large water change.

Peter Eichler
02/18/2009, 12:34 AM
Ok... I was affraid you upgraded bulbs per my suggestion and didn't acclimate corals to the brighter light. The Birdsnest should have been on the bottom and then slowly moved up. With T5's I think this is especially important. The way you light acclimated isn't really much of an acclimation at all. Also, I think the birdsnest is a little too close besides that, especially for how new it is as an addition.

Have you been doing anything else to the tank? Sugar, vodka, or other carbon source dosing? Maybe an addition of GFO or GAC? Was the tank fed while you were gone for those 4 days? Also, checking your magnesium levels would be a good idea, though that's probably not the issue.

I really don't think you ahev too much flow... I and many others have that much flow on tanks half the size of yours. However, it might not hurt to drop the Koralia's down a bit and then angle them more towards the surface. At least that's how I like to situate them rather than point them at any coral in particular.

madadi
02/18/2009, 02:38 AM
not too much flow at all, i have two koralia 4s in a 60gal cube ;)

the tissue loss looks to be from alkalinity swings or high salinity.
how do you test your salinity? when was the last time you calibrated your refractometer if that's what you use. what i thought was 1.026 once was over 1.030 and corals started to look like what yours do. also, how do you dose calcium and alkalinity. sps corals really dont like swings in alkalinity.

troyman
02/18/2009, 05:04 AM
nitrate is real high they dont like it do water change to get that down you didnt post amonia levels

surge19us
02/18/2009, 08:42 AM
How old is the tank? It looks extremely clean. No coralline anywhere. A beautiful cap. I would move the birdsnest down to the bottom and shade it slightly. I would also run some good carbon. Thats a big wad of epoxy on the birds nest and even though its reef safe sometimes I think it irritates nearby corals when curing. My caps did something similar awhile back after I worked in the tank and recovered after 3-5 days. Never figured out what caused it.

reefscape15
02/18/2009, 09:01 AM
looks like bleaching to me from too fast of light acclimation

Zeus2
02/18/2009, 09:16 AM
Thanks for the advice. The tank is 2 years old. I'll move the birds nest down. Peter, you are probably right about the refractometer being calibrated. I'll get something new today to test it and check it. I hope it is the salinity. I can easily fix that.

The blob under the birdsnest was a pain to put in. I wish I could have made it smaller, but my inexperience with epoxy is still in the trial and error stage.

Zeus2
02/18/2009, 04:25 PM
My hydrometer was bad. Never change your salinity unless you have an accurate test. My salinity was 1.030 I am working on lowering it. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

ZoaFan08
02/18/2009, 04:38 PM
All that money in coral and you never spent $40 on a refractometer? I would highly suggest you pick one up :)

JEFFR259
02/18/2009, 04:58 PM
Yup...that's your problem (more than likely :))

Toss that hydrometer and get a good refractometer. You'll thank us for it :P

surge19us
02/18/2009, 06:45 PM
Did you use 53ms calibration solution to calibrate refractometer?

bill-fit
02/18/2009, 09:59 PM
I have a monti cap that did the same thing when I gave it to much flow. When I reduced the flow it improved. It got light areas in it like your pics show.