Help :(

[Moben]

I've had my Nuvo 16g running since Nov 2013. Had a variety of hermits, an emerald, snails, sexy shrimp, some zoas and mushrooms and a red head goby once tank was cycled.

Two weeks ago, I introduced a cleaner shrimp and this elegance coral. Tank parameters were normal prior to adding these guys.

Coral was dipped before adding. First two pics were first and second day. Last two are where it's at now. After adding this, all of my livestock died, with the exception of three hermits still kicking around, but they're moving much more slowly now.

LFS tested my water before and after and stated my PH was too low (7.1). I was using those test strips and apparently weren't accurate :(. All other parameters were good according to the LFS. I'm using reef buffer to raise PH, but still think something is wrong and the water is a bit cloudy (have done several water changes since this happened). The last pic is my once pretty clove polyps

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/9eparu2e.jpg

So....is there any hope for my coral and polyps?

Thank you

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/ehuze4up.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/paha5edu.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/yny9ara2.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/ty9ytare.jpg

[Sk8r]

You have an alkalinity problem.
Here's what I think happened. You were low on magnesium already. The calcium level was consequently starting to drop and so was the alkalinity.
You put in stony coral, which sucked up all the calcium they could, which unbalanced the magnesium/alk/cal 3-some, and that meant the alkalinity plummetted, causing the fish problems.

Do a 30 % water change today; 20 % again tomorrow. Get tests and supplements for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. I use Kent supplements and Salifert tests. Start magnesium. Get it to 1200. Then raise the alk. Then raise the cal. Do NOT add alk and cal within about 8 hours of each other: and let a dose settle 12 hours before adding another. These take time to 'settle'. Get that water to the readings in my sig line.

And read the stick on dirt-simple chemistry up in the stickies. It sounds complicated, but it isn't: stonies use calcium, and if that triple balance isn't maintained the alk in your tank and everything else just goes down hard.

Transferring all live specimens including fish into a new qt with new salt water asap will possibly save them.

It is POSSIBLE you have a disease in there---but it's my bet it's hungry corals knocking the water balance.

[Sk8r]

Note: ph in a marine tank is practically meaningless except to say if it's tanked, the tank itself is probably in an alkalinity crisis. I own a ph meter. I'm not sure its battery has been live in the last year.

[julie180]

Did you rinse the corals after you dipped them? Also elegance are very hard corals to keep.

[BrianD]

elegance are very hard corals to keep.

This.