Corals dying randomly has me stumped

ssericz · Feb 5, 2016

So my lps are slowly dying sps is fine Zoas are reluctant to open and getting really small
Chalices died

I'm not sure wtf happened or is happening

Checked for rust(none), po4 (thought this was the issue since have some nussense algae) all checked out fine under .05 a little high but have Gfo on now aswell as fuge

What else should I check

ndrwater · Feb 5, 2016

How about Nitrate? SPS like super low Nitrate, but LPS and Zoas like more nutients.
Also, Phosphate tests can be misleading. If you have nuisance algae, it it possible that a lot of the Phosphate is being blind/consumed by the Algae giving a false reading on most test kits. That includes Hana.

Tangwich · Feb 5, 2016

Any magnets (two little fishies nori clip or glass cleaning magnet) in the tank?

ssericz · Feb 5, 2016

Only have a mag float in the tank

MadMax · Feb 5, 2016

Go back to basics: Water, Salinity, Temp

check and calibrate your refractometer.
I found mine was off by a huge amount and now check it regularly.
Simply zero(ing) it out with DI water is not accurate enough as it is at the bottom end of the spectrum.

This solution calibrates it at seawater salinity so is far more accurate.

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Seaw...s=salinity+refractometer+calibration+solution

Next thing I'd suspect is the quality of your DI water BEFORE it is mixed with salt.
If your source is a local fish store, some are notorious for letting their filters go on beyond the useful life so as to save costs.
Once mixed with salt there is no confirmation of the sterility of the original water.

Lastly, double check your water temp with another measuring source. Cheap aquarium thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. also make sure your heater(s) are not cycling sporadically and causing heat/cold spells.

Hope this helps!

ssericz · Feb 5, 2016

Ok now I don't have any magnet in the display other than mp40

All together my system has a new (2 month old) skimmer and a quiet one 6000 return checked no rust but I have a new return I'm putting onto the system this week

I brew it myself lol 000tds starting

Tank swings 2.1 degrees on hot days cooler days we've been having it won't vary more than 1 degree I rely on 3 sources for temp

I run a digital titanium heater, chiller and Neptune all track temp

I'm stumped by this and kinda bummed bc my most prized coral (a pagoda cup the very first Coral I got) are slowly fading away I've already lost 80% of the pagoda

My reef now

Vs 6 months ago

ssericz · Feb 5, 2016

Sadly my tank looks like the real reefs now days dying

Reefer6 · Feb 6, 2016

ssericz said:

Its ok I cant keep acans alive either and have lost $100's in acans, they bleach, loose their rainbow or slowly get infected but sps do better. When was the last time you did a large water change? Sometimes you hear of old tank syndrome and best way to restore trace elements and diluting any irritant that cant get filtered is by doing as large a WC as reasonable. I just found out my MG was around <900 by double checking with seachem test!! Red Sea test lied and said its around 1200 for the last year and I never dosed MG until now. IDK I think low mg had a lot to do with my LPS fatalities.

Paranoiattack91 · Feb 6, 2016

Those pictures make me sad

xmas_one · Feb 6, 2016

ssericz said:

Peel back the velcro and take a look.

Justkeepswimming · Feb 6, 2016

I recently was battling the same with my display. My acans were slowly dying, Sps bleaching randomly and things were just not right. Everything was testing out fine but obviously it wasn't fine. I have been doing 30-40 percent weekly water changes and matching the Alk/ca. My Sps are responding positively, they are taking off now. I think I was leeching some mess out of my rock and the large water changes are diluting it to an acceptable level. I would try this if I were you. Good luck!

OGFrenchHorn · Feb 6, 2016

are you mixing your own water?

will21xl · Feb 6, 2016

I'd say do a water change but before all that test before and 3 days after and day after day just to see how much of your levels are dropping out of range before the next water change

ssericz · Feb 6, 2016

The part is I've had those acans and chalices for 3+ years and just randomly started dying

I'm planning on doing a few 30 gallon water changes 1 week apart with tm pro reef

I have pulled the mag float out of the tank

Things like this make me want to scrap this hobby unfortunately that's not a real possibility haha

Also Tank cannot be experiencing OTS bc it's not that old it's only been set up for 1 year here the sand was replaced when the tank was moved

Dragon3435 · Feb 6, 2016

ssericz said:

I have the same issue with mines all my stuff is dying. I'm doing a lot of water change but they still dying I hope with more water changes it will stop at some point.

fhs205 · Feb 6, 2016

when in doubt run carbon, preferably the Rox seems to work a lot faster.. on the other hand i was losing acans, and i found it was my flame tail blenny that as the culprit...had him for over a year then he suddenly started attacking my coral

panman · Feb 7, 2016

Got to throw in the stray current theory. Although usually not the cause can run a grounding probe. They cost about $15 from multiple sources. Not going to hurt.

kajung2k · Feb 7, 2016

curious on what type of lighting you have, and how old are they? If I missed this in a previous reply my apologies...

ssericz · Feb 8, 2016

Lighting is 250w radium new bulb in the last 2 months

Stray current comment.... I read some stuff a while back you do not want to have a grounding probe... I don't remember the whole thing

My tangs are all fine and don't show lateral line disese which is usually associated with stray current aswell I believe

bvysochin · Feb 9, 2016

Lack of nutrients? We had something similar happen. Dosing different types of phytoplankton on a regular basis brought stuff back and made it color up like we've never seen..

Corals dying randomly has me stumped

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