Loosing LPS Fast

[Airborne]

So tomorrow comes the big change. But which way should I go? I used to use Scripps NSW and switched over to Brightwell Neo-Marine. I also use Tropic Marin Bio-Cal which I am going to stop. I need to lower my Iodine down from 0.21. I am going to do 2 50gal changes over a 2 day period. I am not sure if the elevated levels of Iodine is coming from the Brightwell Salt Mix or the Tropic Marin Bio-Cal and Bio-Mag.

1) Should I switch back to Scripps NSW?

2) If you think that I should leave Brightwell Neo-Marine and go back to Scripps would these 2 big water changes be too much of a shock for the SPS?

3) Would also changing out from Tropic Marin Bio-Cal to another product along with the H2O change be too much of a shock?

Need answers soon as I will be starting the process tomorrow at 11:00am.

[IPowderBlueTang]

lot of water changes!

[Frick-n-Frags]

so what's the problem, specifically: ? losing coral? changing salt? too tight underwear? :D

ok, seriously. if lps is dying, there is something wrong with the water. brand new tanks may read fine, but havent aged right or stabilized in some way. corals can fare badly in those. some tanks suck for 6mo-1yr before they are mature. some hit the ground running...so keep that in the back of your mind.

iodine: don't mess with adding it, ever. fine line between ?benefit?????/poisonous.
It seems weird a salt maker would OD the iodine. I would get a 2nd opinion on that level.
one single inorganic level has often been the convenient scapegoat for coral problems, so be open to digging further than just iodine. unless you dosed and now have to do a major WC.

give the system a lookover for sources of physical stress just in case..., skimmer out of tune/dirty, stray juice, yada yada.

older tanks, think maintenance aspects maybe the answer is there

saltwise, i cant help. I never used any of those :(

[Airborne]

My SPS are doing fine. The LPS are actually melting. Chalices are loosing their skeleton. The tank has been set up for 7 months. Before I changed from Scripps NSW to a Salt Mix form my LFs everything was going well. Not loosing anything great polyp extension...etc. Then the LFS that carries Scripss said they were going out of business which made me have to switch to the next LFS.

Now the LFS never closed they hung in their but I had already made the switch. There is no stray voltage, my skimmer is new about 2 months old. SWC-200. I have dipped the corals, fresh water dipped, no bugs, some do okay while others don't.

The problem is I do 15-20% changes per 2 weeks. No change. I did on 30% change no change. My LFS thinks the Tropic Marin Bio Mag/Cal has messed up my tank. I did a 30g change and did not dose for 2 weeks. No change.

Yea...I have to agree with you my underwear are in a bunch.

[travis32]

I disagree with the issue being iodine though. I was told that any excess iodine in water goes inert after an 8 hour period. So, even if there is too much for 6 to 7 hours. after 8 hours it shouldn't be doing any more damage..

I just don't think iodine would do that much damage unless, there's So much that in the time it's not inert it's melting stuff and after that the stuff continues to die on it's from the damage.

[knpjdad]

What are you measuring your SG with? Just thought, going from NSW to a Mix, maybe the SG Meter is messing with you.

[w16227]

post test results --- latest and last that you have recorded, also how you are testing (what test kits).

Seems very strange that LPS are melting -and SPS fine. Usually - it is the other way around.

Anything in the tank that is a known coral nipper?

Skimmer changeover - was this close to the time when problems started?

Always hard to do -- but be careful of changing too much too fast. Might have the opposite effect.

If the coral loss is tied in to the salt change, well - then you might just have the answer as to the cause.

If you were using the TM Bio-Cal with the NSW - then it is doubtful that this is the cause.

What might have occurred is simply shock to the system from the new salt source. You were using natural - then a shift to mixed? This alone might have caused an issue. Things might simply stabilize over time. Worst thing if this is the cause is to keep changing large volumes of water-- better to do multiple smaller changes to keep the change as "diluted" as possible.

knpjdad is right on with the SG note--- what are you using to check the SG with? Did you happen to test the new water parameters as well? Any "test" comparisons that can be made from the new water to the old might help.


good luck