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View Full Version : all my coral looking bad help!!!!


realmshades
09/04/2013, 09:06 PM
I don't even no what to do any more. before this happen my nitrites where high and ph was low. the weird thing is everyone seemed to being doing fine all went down hill when I stared doing water changes almost every other day to correct the levels 3 days ago every thing finally chilled out and was doing okay but at the same time the coral closed up.
I have :
flowerpot
acan bought it with like 5 heads and now there is double that
two different types of candy canes
brain coral
meteor shower
Pavona Coral
birds nest
blue mushrooms
and a bunch of zoas really only ones that look like there doing good

all the fish, crabs, shrimps, star fish, snails are all fine. or appear to be

could the sudden change in ph caused this? and when I say it was low it was fresh water level low :/

also started using a new ph buffer because that kent crap is the worst

should I give a few more days maybe they are stressed out from the water changes?

Crimson
09/04/2013, 10:15 PM
Google poly filter. Add that and see what color it changes to. I really like this stuff, but be mindful that it can remove the good too. Also, changing too much at one time can send your chemistry and system really out of wack.

I could not find your build post. Try and make one if you can.

jcdeng
09/04/2013, 10:30 PM
what was the alk before and after the recent water changes? If you are doing large WCs every other day you might have given your tank an alk swing.

robert s b.
09/05/2013, 12:53 AM
Why are you doing WC, every other day. What are the water parameters at the moment? Cant really give suggestions without knowing the parameters.

realmshades
09/05/2013, 05:18 AM
Thanks for the sugesgtion but I do in fact have a poly filter and it is brown witch is just waste. I'm doing wc because my nitrites spiked and my ph dropped, the reason I've been doing them every other day is nitrites keep going up. But like is said every thing is fine now ph 8.1 nitrates 0 phosphate .1-.2(there is nothing I can do to lower it been that way forever) salinity 1.024 temp79.5 calcium450 and not sure on alk

vitz
09/05/2013, 06:15 AM
how long has this tank been running?

realmshades
09/05/2013, 06:36 AM
this tank only a few months but used all my live rock and sand from a different tank that has been up for years.

Spyderturbo007
09/05/2013, 07:01 AM
Can you post up all of your water parameters. As for pH buffer, I would throw that in the trash. Chasing pH will always get you in trouble.

How are you measuring your pH?

thegrun
09/05/2013, 07:07 AM
It is likely the corals are closed up due to the rapid and persistent changes to the water chemistry brought on by the water changes. Let things settle down. As too your phosphate problem I would run GFO or one of the phosphate removing resins like Blue Life PhosFx.

realmshades
09/05/2013, 07:13 AM
sorry what do you mean on how am i measuring ph? i use the test kit and have brought water samples to my lfs.

and my phosphate problem think its juts the area im in for the most part my levels are normal when it comes to phosphates im using a poly filter and phos guard shouldnt that help?

Ill will have to post my current water parameters a little later at work.

Spyderturbo007
09/05/2013, 07:35 AM
sorry what do you mean on how am i measuring ph? i use the test kit and have brought water samples to my lfs.


I didn't know if you were using a Lab Grade pH probe, or some type of test kit.


Can you list your other parameters like Alkalinity, Nitrate, Phosphate, Magnesium and Calcium?

realmshades
09/05/2013, 07:42 AM
Ill will have to post them a little latter in the day

realmshades
09/05/2013, 07:57 AM
just a thought the coral that are near the protein skimmer are the ones that are mostly closed up... could it be letting something into the water?

vitz
09/05/2013, 12:46 PM
no, unless you washed it w/ detergent, and then the entire tank would be fubar'd. but it would better for everyone's time including your own if you did a proper test of parameters and posted them, instead of chasing unicorns :p ;)

realmshades
09/05/2013, 01:24 PM
LOL okay Vitz ill post them up soon!!! just at the 9 to 5

vitz
09/05/2013, 01:39 PM
;) :)

gveng
09/05/2013, 02:33 PM
this tank only a few months but used all my live rock and sand from a different tank that has been up for years.

There is your problem... Never reuse old sand without drying it out first. When you reused the old sand you let out all the nitrates that were trapped inside of it. When transferring tanks, it's ok to use your old live rock, but you should always buy new sand or reuse the old sand after drying it under the sun for a couple of days.

Right now you are fighting a losing battle, the only way to correct your problem is to restart the tank using new sand and your old live rock and measuring your levels daily. And only do 10% water changes.

realmshades
09/05/2013, 07:10 PM
just did a 18% water change...

Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Phosphate .2
Ph 8.2
Cal 450


And about the sand I hear mixed reviews. When I first put the sand and rock in it cycled for over two weeks with nothing else in it. Every thing has been fine up to last week. so only time will tell I guess as of right now only my acan one of my candy cane and the tree coral haven’t open but every thing else is looking good.

About two weeks ago I switched to tropic marine salt could the switch in salt cause any issues

Reefer54
09/05/2013, 07:29 PM
There is your problem... Never reuse old sand without drying it out first. When you reused the old sand you let out all the nitrates that were trapped inside of it. When transferring tanks, it's ok to use your old live rock, but you should always buy new sand or reuse the old sand after drying it under the sun for a couple of days.

Right now you are fighting a losing battle, the only way to correct your problem is to restart the tank using new sand and your old live rock and measuring your levels daily. And only do 10% water changes.

I disagree...you do not have to start over.....you can always add more sand on top of the old and make the old an anoxic layer, but the new sand would have to be a few inches thick minimum.

As well, the tank should have cycled when he started this tank, but its not exactly new anymore. So the nitrate / toxin release would have happened already and inhabitants would have been unhappy the whole time, not weeks later.

Its the water changes. Large changes in water chemistry has probably stressed the system. Let it chill for a while and add to your regular maintenance so build up of nitrate, phosphate can not happen as quickly. If you adjust these things, small water changes on a regular basis should be sufficient to keep your ph up and other levels sufficient depending on bioload and uptake by corals, etc. Those levels will always need to be monitored and addressed as they change.....i.e. corals/clams get bigger, they need more calcium.

Good Luck

realmshades
09/06/2013, 06:26 AM
Reefer54 thanks for your input and yes i did let the tank cycle for little over two weeks with the sand and live rock.

so yesterday like stated i did a 18% wc because my nitrites changed over to nitrates, now every thing is looking good only thing that hasnt open yet is one candy cane and the tree coral, hope later today they will if not tmw as thing chill out.

thanks every one for your help, ill keep you posted on how things go!!

vitz
09/06/2013, 07:13 AM
There is your problem... Never reuse old sand without drying it out first. When you reused the old sand you let out all the nitrates that were trapped inside of it. When transferring tanks, it's ok to use your old live rock, but you should always buy new sand or reuse the old sand after drying it under the sun for a couple of days.

Right now you are fighting a losing battle, the only way to correct your problem is to restart the tank using new sand and your old live rock and measuring your levels daily. And only do 10% water changes.

nothing but absolute misconception and misinformation here, unfortunately.

freeswimmingfis
09/06/2013, 03:33 PM
nothing but absolute misconception and misinformation here, unfortunately.

Agreed.

heatdissipation
09/06/2013, 04:00 PM
I don't want to sound condescending but your tank was not cycled nearly long enough. And are your phosphates really .2 or did you mean .02. .2 is really high levels.