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Please help! (tank maybe crashing)

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This is possibly the most depressing moment in my last 8 months of reefing :( feeling helpless!

Couple weeks ago I posted an issue where my acans started melting. It just stared off with one that completely turned to skeleton last week, while 3 other mini acan colonies (5-10 head each) now are 50%+ skeleton.

Now to my fear of crashing!!! Just noticed a tiny part of my Warpaint Scoly (my favorite and super expensive) is skeleton! & a small head on my neon green trumpet too... Its like all LPS in my tank is turning to stone... very slowly.

Everything has really been in check and I feel I've done all I can. Just tested params again...

Sal 1.025
Temp 80
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phos 0.05
Alk 8.4
Cal 450
Mag 1440
DT lights running 7 hrs (Kessil A350 - 100% Blue + 30% White)

Been doing 20% weekly PWC for last 5 months, upped to 30% last 3 weeks.
ATS is doing good
Skimmer pulling dark gunk every week
Small pack of Purigen in sump (been refreshing every month)

Recent Activities:
  • Stopped dosing Fuel since 3 weeks (cos I felt it promotes Dino)
  • Dino is very slowly showing up around rocks (I scrub and siphon everything I see, it grows in <0.5cm chunks)
  • Added Phosguard 3 weeks ago (I rinse like hell cos I know some corals don't like the white power)
  • Added 3 mangroves last week
  • Added 4 SPS sticks in the last month, all still healthy and doing good
  • Cut down auto feeding (pellets) from 4 times to 2 times a day (its a very small opening, so 10-15 max pellets fall each time)
  • 2 weeks ago, tossed out bag of 2 month old ChemiPure Elite (didn't replace with new)
Here are photos I shot right after lights fired up (so everything is shrunken)

Scoly, Trumpet & Acan..

IMG_7145.JPG
IMG_7149.JPG
IMG_7153.JPG


Please advise :(
 
Only a small thing, but...my and ca should be 3:1 ratio, so you mg number on its own is fine, its kinda high compared to ca, and my opinion of the exactness of mg (and all tests to some degree) is not that great. Maybe try some carbon again? Could be corals not liking phos guard? Maybe remove that and go back to chemi pure elite? Either way, Sorry to hear it. Maybe dial back the blue intensity a little?
Still suggest doing like a 50% change and follow it up w another one 2-3 days later.
 
I was planning to get Mg to 1550 to treat GHA/bryopsis...

I'll do a major water change and add ChemiPure elite.
 
Sorry to hear about your losses.....

I have had one of my Acans also melt and turn into a skeleton, yet it still had specks of tissue in the skeletons and they are now starting to come back .....but I found that my Acans got happier when I just increased my Spectrum & Intensity (2) Kessils A-360WE... I found for my Acans they wanted more white than the blues and have been happier now that I made that shift....


What test kits are you using...???
 
Do you use red sea algae control test kit for po4 & no3 ?

Or what test kits for po4 & no3

I hope it will work too....now the not so fun part wait and watch to see what are the results are that come from what you have changed
 
What is the daily temperature swing and the daily max? 80 is a little higher that I'd like to see.

I agree about putting some carbon into the system.

Unless you have lots of acropora or heavy SPS there's no reason to have Calcium that high. LPS and softies can't utilize it the way that SPS can.

If the coral was healthy I would suggest you could turn off the lights for 73 hours to reduce the dino. The coral can generally tolerate this (not every day is sunny in the wild) but if they are stressed then I can't recommend it.
 
jonmos75 said:
Or what test kits for po4 & no3
Click to expand...
API & Hanna

bondolo said:
What is the daily temperature swing and the daily max? 80 is a little higher that I'd like to see.

If the coral was healthy I would suggest you could turn off the lights for 73 hours to reduce the dino. The coral can generally tolerate this (not every day is sunny in the wild) but if they are stressed then I can't recommend it.
Click to expand...
Temp is between 78-80. I was 81 last week but brought it down...

I was planning on the 3 day blackout but yea, will hold off till the tank recovers.

Kensington Reefer said:
Stop dosing!
Click to expand...
I have 3 montis & 5 small acros, hope they'll be ok.

Thanks for the advise guys.
 
Get the red sea algae test kit the API test kit doesn't go low enough on the NO3 test kit....(you want a small amount of NO3)

I use/used the API when my NO3 were above 5+

example is my tank tested at (0) NO3 on API, yet on Red Sea I have (.75) NO3 in my tank which is in the correct balance ratio with my PO4 levels
 
If things get even worse, I was wondering if anyone here can help by holding my expensive coral in their tank for a few weeks?

Pls let me know...
 
nav, i can hold some stuff if you need.

Have you taken a look at your pH? Wondering if there are any swings. Though, any swings would probably effect your SPS.

just a few recommendations, not sure if it'd help:

1. Go predominantly white (which i think you have). What was your PAR btw?
2. Have you thought about switching your phosphate remover to GFO instead of chemipure or phosguard? Might even be cheaper in the long run.
3. I'm assuming there isn't anything nipping at your stuff?
4. Maybe change your feeding to flakes, once a day?
5. My lighting runs 10 hours total. Ramp up 1 hour, then 8 hours high lighting, then 1 hour ramp down.

I have some feeling that your lighting is the cause, but what do I know. I have a 250 MH 14k setup you can borrow if you want.
 
Alfred, thanks for offering too.

Forgot to mention Ph has constantly been 8.2.

1. Current PAR would be around (1) in the attached image (pic from older post here)
2. Yea before getting a reactor & GFO, I wanted to try Phosguard (just had in a media bag around my sump inlet)
3. No new livestock and the ones in the tank have been around these coral for months and never disturbed anything
4. Only reason I don't prefer flake is cos it clouds the water (not all flakes get consumed). I feed Mysis 1-2 times a week (both to fish & coral)
5. My Kessil was on 100% Blue & 30% White... Based on what @jonmos75 said, I switched to 80% Blue & 50% White.

Lights could really be the culprit cos I kinda ran 100% Blue & 20% White for 2 weeks recently. Not sure though (could be the Phosgurard or removal of ChemiPure or something else).

If things get worse, I'll reach out to you or Mike to temporarily house some of my (expensive) coral. Fingers crossed!!

Thanks

par.png
 
Nav,

If you choose to go the GFO reactor way PM me I have a dual reactor I would be willing to sell you....(Used for about 8 Months)
 
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