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05/23/2018, 08:56 PM | #1 |
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30 years and about to give up.
I was raised with SW and Reef aquaria. I've done everything from show SPS tanks to owning and operating wholesale coral shops. I have always been successful even when importing difficult to care for coral.
Over the years I've downgraded my home system. Career and kids have taken priority. I'm now having the toughest times in reefing! Just when I thought things were going to get simple, I'm more frustrated than ever. Zoanthids have been mostly closed since January. My tank is fairly basic.. 75 AGA. My current "bullet proof" setup. Toadstools Zoanthids Torch Chalice small hippo tang False clown damsels It appears to me there is some serious coral warfare going on. Corals open after water changes, then close up 3 to 4 days later. I'm wet skimming and running a carbon reactor. Water parameters have been tested and retested. I have "perfect water" according to every LFS and my own testing. I dose 2 part as needed. What corals could be causing issues? What can I pull out to see if things improve. I've changed out EVERYTHING except for the coral. (Rock, pumps, lights, etc) Something in this tank is ****ed off, what is it? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk |
05/24/2018, 05:16 AM | #2 |
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Can you post numbers? What are your actual test results? What lights do you use? That is a pretty big shadow down the center of your tank, what is causing that? Zoanthids on the left side look fine, the right ones look unhappy, have you tried moving them?
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My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1. |
05/24/2018, 07:04 AM | #3 |
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Looks like those palys are touching the toadstool, that could be causing the toadstool to respond with toxins. Leathers are known for that.
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05/25/2018, 03:18 AM | #4 | |
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Quote:
Was just going to say this exact thing, but the OP is running carbon in a reactor so the toxins the leather is putting out should be soaked up by the carbon. Could still be the problem, cause I do see 2 in there.
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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work" |
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05/25/2018, 06:12 AM | #5 |
They call me EC
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can you post a pic of the filtration?
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"Most of the failures with marine aquaria are due to lack of knowledge of the biological processes that occur in the aquarium." Martin A. Moe, Jr. "A scientist seeks the truth, wherever that may lead. A believer already knows the truth, and cannot be swayed no matter how compelling the evidence." Current Tank Info: I'm trying to see how many tanks will fit in my house before the wife loses it. |
05/30/2018, 05:04 PM | #6 |
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Thank you all for your interest in my issue. Although the toadstools are NOT touching any of the Zoanthids, I can see where they Toadstool heads have receded in areas where the were millimeters from touching zoanthid colonies. This must be causing some stress and potential warfare.
Today I cut off all toadstoods and mounted them on rubble in this was causing an issue Please see my thread from January. Parameters are the same Temp 74 ph 8.3 - 8.2 KH 10-12 Cal 380-400 TDS 0 on top off Dose BRS 2 part Using Chinese LEDs. (about 50%) The shadow is not visible to the naked eye, but is caused by the cross bar on the tank and a fan. I place my low light corals there. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2661266 |
05/30/2018, 05:09 PM | #7 |
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Pics
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05/31/2018, 03:19 AM | #8 |
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WoW. 30 years in the hobby and still reaching out to learn. I tip my hat. When you say you have "downgraded your home system" exactly what did that entail? It would be helpful to know then and now. I think we can all learn something here.
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05/31/2018, 11:23 AM | #9 | |
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Quote:
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05/31/2018, 01:10 PM | #10 |
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I had a similar problem (corals slowly shrinking to nothing, no growth, briefly bouncing back after large water changes) and solved it by replacing my DIY plastic tub "food safe" sump with acrylic. The turnaround was immediate. I don't see any nameless plastics in your filtration picture, any hiding elsewhere?
An ICP test might be worthwhile to see if anything is releasing metals into your system. I also had an old Koralia die recently - the shielding on the power cord wore away near where it attached to the pump. The tank was not happy with the stray current (and maybe some copper from the corroding lines). Worth checking.
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Patience is a reefer's best tool. Secret Xenia lover. M.S. Marine Biology Staff - Marine Discovery Center, St. Petersburg FL Tampa Bay Reef Club BOD 2018 Current Tank Info: 34g modded Solana |
05/31/2018, 04:26 PM | #11 | |
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06/09/2018, 04:20 AM | #12 | |
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06/16/2018, 04:35 PM | #13 |
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Don't give up. You will regret it.
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07/05/2018, 08:55 PM | #14 |
A bit fishy
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changing rock and other bits may be keeping you in a constant "new tank" state. I think things may need to settle in a bit more, change less and give more space between corals and let a month or two go by, and keep the lights turned pretty low (the LEDs are strong!).
Hopefully things turn around, good luck!!! |
07/18/2018, 12:15 PM | #15 |
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As for chemical warfare - leathers are know for releasing toxins when fragged. But the first thing I see as a threat in your tank is the torch. Euphyllia put out sweeper tentacles at night that can reach much further than what you see during the day and sting anything they can touch. I have definitely had problems with that. I use a rule of thumb that euphyllia needs to be at least 6” away from anything else I care about (it is allowed much closer to mushrooms). I sometimes position it so that my live rock is blocking it from reaching something else.
Kim
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75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair with RBTA Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair |
07/18/2018, 04:30 PM | #16 |
RC Mod
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Even carbon can't stop fullblown chemical warfare:I had a leather that would turn purple and tick off absolutely everything. Everything would shut.
OTOH, if you think you might have a case of old-tank-syndrome, where old situations are just continuing to be a problem, and piling on, you might consider first a dose of Reeflux (I had NO dieoff from it except pest algae of various sorts including bryopsis) followed by four weeks of waiting, intense skimming and filter-socking, followed by one 30% water change, and the next week another 30%. It's really helped my tank get out of the doldrums.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
07/22/2018, 05:39 PM | #17 |
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Look out for copper or brass getting into the tank. I spend a year once having to do water changes every two to three days. Turned out a new pump I was using had a brass seal that contains copper. Replaced the pump with different seals and the tank turned around in days.
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07/24/2018, 07:54 AM | #18 | |
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08/10/2018, 02:04 AM | #19 |
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I really don’t think it is chemical warfare. Check all electrical equipment and magnets in the tank. I had a simaler problem for 6 months. One morning my ex tells me she saw a flash coming from the end of the tank. I imeadately removed my heater that was there. Turned out the seal on the heater failed. The inside of the heater came right out and was covered in black muck. The heater tub was filled with black stinky water. The heater had been sending electricity in to the tank every time it turned on( flash of light). My leathers started to look better the next day.
Another thing you might check is your water for chlorimines. Water districts change sources of water and how they treat it more often than you probably realize. Good luck!
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240G mixed reef, 29G SPS/LPS clam tank, 50G mixed reef Current Tank Info: 300g mixed reef, 50g cube |
08/06/2020, 05:39 PM | #20 | |
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08/06/2020, 07:36 PM | #21 |
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Yeppers, carbon is a must when running leathers. We had a cabbage leather that could tick off everything in the tank in 5-4-3-2-1---
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
08/23/2020, 02:08 PM | #22 |
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WoW! Not experiencing issues but I had no idea leathers could do this. Great info and thank you!
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