Bummed

[chadfish]

My corals started bleaching. An encrusting monti, red monti, acan, PC Rainbow, Rainbow Milli, red digi.. rainbow monti..

I lowered the lights, performed multiple 20% water changes. I don’t know what to do at this point.

My pod population crashed a while ago, even when I was dosing phytoplankton.

Something is seriously wrong, but I can’t figure out what. I’m not really asking for help, just venting. It’s just sad seeing it bleach out, and some of the most expensive pieces too..

 

[Chris A.]

Icp test might be the best way to figure out what’s going on unless something looks off on your normal testing , then you can start there.

 

[chadfish]

Icp test might be the best way to figure out what’s going on unless something looks off on your normal testing , then you can start there.

Yeah, I could post my test history, but it’s been within range and generally stable, aside from the goose eggs on NO3 and PO4. I have some dinos but seem manageable. I think an ICP is in order. Do they test for toxins? I’m suspicious of my softies.

The thing is: it can be any number of things
1) added BRS GAC reactor with a teeny bit of GFO
2) got the new ReefBreeders Nexus and started playing with the lights a bit
3) Didn’t vacuum tank for 2-3 weeks
4) Temperature has been fluctuating, 76-78.5. I don’t have a two-way thermostat so it’s a guessing game for the cooling fan
5) I added a bristletooth Blenny that is easily twice the size of my next largest fish
6) My skimmer wasn’t working for a while, then I broke it down and cleaned it and it’s now working 1.5 weeks
7) My neon green toadstool leather - it’s all closed is and “ejecting” polyps here and there. I find them floating around
8) my Kenya tree: I found a random piece floating around and stuck under a rock. Could have been producing toxins as it was starting to die?
9) Yellow sponge on sump rock has black dead spots. Cause or effect? Can dying sponge produce toxins?

All of the above?

 

[Chris A.]

That’s a lot of things. Icp won’t read toxins but will read metals and minerals that might be elevated or lacking. Carbon would remove toxins but you’ll need to change it out every 3-4 days
You’ll definitely need to start somewhere and keep going until you find the issue. Just try one thing a week until you figure it out.

 

[chadfish]

That’s a lot of things. Icp won’t read toxins but will read metals and minerals that might be elevated or lacking. Carbon would remove toxins but you’ll need to change it out every 3-4 days
You’ll definitely need to start somewhere and keep going until you find the issue. Just try one thing a week until you figure it out.

Thanks, yeah, my strategy has been to take the reactor offline, lower the lights and don’t f with them, and lots of water changes with vacuuming.
If it’s toxins, I’ve reduced it by 50% so far with water changes. Changed back to carbon sachets which will continue to adsorb too.

 

[ChrisV]

Feed your corals some reef roids coral food and dose aminos. Corals can absorb free amino acids from the water, and this will help give them a boost while they are recovering. Reef roids can be ingested by some corals, and will certainly help increase your nitrates and phosphates.

You already mentioned that you lowered the lighting intensity, so that's good.

I wouldn't worry about temp fluctuations on that scale.

I wouldn't worry about the fact that you did not gravel vacuum for a couple of days: if this has caused a problem, the nitrates and phosphates would be elevated.

You mentioned that the skimmer was not operational but now is working. Was there a big drop in no3/po4 when it kicked back on?

 

[chadfish]

Feed your corals some reef roids coral food and dose aminos. Corals can absorb free amino acids from the water, and this will help give them a boost while they are recovering. Reef roids can be ingested by some corals, and will certainly help increase your nitrates and phosphates.

You already mentioned that you lowered the lighting intensity, so that's good.

I wouldn't worry about temp fluctuations on that scale.

I wouldn't worry about the fact that you did not gravel vacuum for a couple of days: if this has caused a problem, the nitrates and phosphates would be elevated.

You mentioned that the skimmer was not operational but now is working. Was there a big drop in no3/po4 when it kicked back on?

I’ve been bottomed out for a while. Chaeto growing pretty good. I feed generously and feed the coral ZooPlan once a week. I removed 1/2 the Chaeto the other day. I hope to get the nitrates up to a detectable level, but I’m also nervous that means a lot more algae.

 

[ChrisV]

I’ve been bottomed out for a while. Chaeto growing pretty good. I feed generously and feed the coral ZooPlan once a week. I removed 1/2 the Chaeto the other day. I hope to get the nitrates up to a detectable level, but I’m also nervous that means a lot more algae.

It doesn't have to mean a lot more algae. I recently was reminded that those giant turbo snails are amazing algae eaters. I was battling a bit of the green in one of my tanks and picked up two. It was so satisfying to see them strip large swaths of algae from the rocks each night.

Not sure what's up in your tank for cuc or grazers, but turbos are a worthy addition.

 

[chadfish]

Thanks for all the support BRS. It means a lot.
Here are my numbers and history for any sleuths out there.
pH 8.4
Alk 8.3
Calc 475
Mag 1420
Salinity 1.025

The other change I made was to change my Calc from Driveway Heat (Randy 2-Part) to liveAquaria Calcium Chloride. You can see the levels have stayed steady.

 

[ChrisV]

Numbers look good.

 

[chadfish]

Numbers look good.

Yeah - I can’t account for fluctuations, but they shouldn’t be any different than historical fluctuations. So that’s why my list doesn’t include these params.. It’s either something in the water or the lights

I saw a couple pods last night, so population not completely decimated. Gotta get over to @dz6t for more phyto

 

[Mill]

Possibly you just stripped the tank somehow. Or the temp swings just stressed out that sps. Also I think leather do release toxins especially when stressed.

 

[dz6t]

I will suggest not to vacuum the sand bed nor significantly disturb it, as the bottom layer of the sand bed accumulates hydrogen sulfide which is a by-product from bacteria that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas. It is perfectly fine that it is trapped under the sand, but if it is released into the water, it can do the damage described in your original post.
Also the damage can show up slowly after weeks.

 

[chadfish]

I will suggest not to vacuum the sand bed nor significantly disturb it, as the bottom layer of the sand bed accumulates hydrogen sulfide which is a by-product from bacteria that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas. It is perfectly fine that it is trapped under the sand, but if it is released into the water, it can do the damage described in your original post.
Also the damage can show up slowly after weeks.

Thanks Dong, I've thought of that and you are correct However, the sand bed is not deep - 1-3 inches, and . I do not smell any H2S. I've read you should either do not disturb or disturb frequently to discourage any build-up. I have narcissus snails and a pistol/goby combo that keep things stirred up for the most part. Also, I have dinos still, and want to get them off the sand if I can. What about dead spots in the sump, same issue, right? I wonder if I have small amounts of H2S leaking out from under some rock down there