Bleaching and gaping mouths everywhere.

[tyler1503]

Hi everyone. This is day number seven into my tank looking like poop. Most of my coral has bleached and there's gaping mouths and bare skeleton everywhere. Fish, snails and random hitchhikers (tube worms, pods, small sponge growths etc) seem unaffected at this point.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what may be happening?
I'll get some actual numbers ASAP but my parameters should all be good.
A small patch of Xenia, several large mushrooms and their babies and a prized cynarina all seem to be the less affected pieces, but won't open up and have gaping mouths. A prized caulestra colony, two fungias, another cynarina and a smaller caulestrea piece have all bleached with mouths gaping like their trying to eat an elephant. A blastomussa colony seems to be somewhere in the middle, like it's in the process of bleaching and it wont open up. Nothing can be fed at the moment.
Everything looked healthy up until about the 19th and it looked like it would pull through with no issues up until yesterday when it took a turn for the worst and the majority of the bare skeleton and bleaching started showing.
I've replaced carbon, done two 5% water changes with what little water I had left over. I'm mixing up enough water for up to 60% worth of water changes with RSCP at the moment.
I haven't switched lights at all and the light (the same light I've been running for years on the same tank with the same corals in it that were, at one staging thriving and growing) is about 9 months old and getting close to it's replacement date.
The only change I've made is adding the two fungias I mentioned before and doing an extra water change the day after adding the fungias which coincides with the day everything started looking bad. That makes me think there was something wrong with my new water change water.
Any suggestion/tips/feedback etc. would be appreciated. I really don't wana lose anything especially the caulestra and cynarina.
I'm stressing a bit so I probably forgot to add some important info, if so let me know and I'll post it.
Thanks everyone.

 

[tyler1503]

I should add, all LPS (except my favourite cynarina) are showing quite a lot of skeleton and the blasto has melted.
I never really knew what that was supposed to look like till I saw it firsthand.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Try testing your water before you add it to your tank and test your tank water.

 

[Tab28]

As mentioned until you get perimeters no ideas. Also some pictures may help

 

[reefermadness55]

That sounds like a nightmare, did you get your water change water from a different source this time? Test for ammonia for certain.

 

[saltyphish]

test kits might show you a surprise. Something went amiss. Good luck hope it improves.

 

[tyler1503]

Thanks everyone. I still can't test. Waiting on new test kits to arrive
All I know at this point is temp is 26•C and salinity is 1.025.
Everything I did leading up to this was the same as always. Same salt, same mixing process, same water change process. The only change being the addition of the two fungias and an extra water change.
Is it possible the fungias brought a disease with them that had remained dormant till being added to a new body of water? I haven't heard of that actually happening, but it's just a thought I had.
I've been fighting a bit if phosphate as you can see by the algae in the pics. But wouldn't it's affect be a more gradual decline slowly getting worse as the phosphate increases? It shouldn't be looking healthy for months then turning to crap over a short week should it?
Pics:

 

[Tab28]

Until you get tested anything could be possible. It sounds like something in water. There are a number to things from too much carbon crashing the system to introduced water having something.

How large is your system? The percentage of what you added at time of new coral additions would be effected. If that is what it was. You said your inverts were fine so not likely copper introduced.

Many people do not add foreign water from introduced livestock into their system.

Your picture links are not working.

 

[dieselkeeper]

Your tank sounds like it is very low in nutrients. Stripping the water with carbon and frequent water changes. I had the same problem with my tank. I started feeding un rinsed frozen my sis shrimp. Stopped water changes and pulled chaeto out the refugium. In a couple of weeks, everything is back to normal. Sorry to hear this. Persevere and endeavor. Good luck.

 

[tyler1503]

Until you get tested anything could be possible. It sounds like something in water. There are a number to things from too much carbon crashing the system to introduced water having something.

How large is your system? The percentage of what you added at time of new coral additions would be effected. If that is what it was. You said your inverts were fine so not likely copper introduced.

Many people do not add foreign water from introduced livestock into their system.

Your picture links are not working.

I only add a small amount of carbon (about half a teaspoon in a mesh bag) every so often just to give the water that "shine" we all love and usually only for a couple of days at a time. I don't use it as a permanent source of filtration.
The tank is only a 5 gal. I'm hoping being that small I can get passed this pretty quickly with just water changes. I didn't add any of the LFS water to my system, just freshly mixed Red Sea Coral Pro.

Your tank sounds like it is very low in nutrients. Stripping the water with carbon and frequent water changes. I had the same problem with my tank. I started feeding un rinsed frozen my sis shrimp. Stopped water changes and pulled chaeto out the refugium. In a couple of weeks, everything is back to normal. Sorry to hear this. Persevere and endeavor. Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. When I can see where my nitrates and phosphates are I'll look into smaller water changes and feeding a little more.



Thanks everyone who's posted. I appreciate it!

 

[tyler1503]

As you can see, quite a lot of bare skeleton and bleaching. Nothing looks happy

 

[tyler1503]

In these pics it actually looks to be a fungal infection type of thing.
Hmmmm......

 

[tyler1503]

What are you using to check your salinity with?

2 swing arm hydrometers and 2 glass floating hydrometers all calibrated with a refractometer. They all gave me a reading of 1.025.
I know hydrometers aren't the most accurate tools out there but I find them to be incredibly consistent and being calibrated against a refractometer I don't believe I have anything to worry about.
My old glass hydrometer has served me well for the last few years

 

[Tab28]

That is a small tank. It would not take much of anything to spoil the water. Something caused your water to crash or you introduced something not good into the water. Sometimes smaller tanks are harder to keep the water stable.

 

[jt17]

Could be an alk swing. The alk in RSCP is around 12. Unless you maintain your alk at 12 , you will see alk swing from water changes. I'd recommend the regular your tank doesn't have the high Ca and alk demand that SPS reef have so you might consider using the regular Red Sea salt to minimize your alk swings. Often we see negative results 3-4 weeks after some negative event. Could there have been a huge temp. swing? How old is the system?

 

[tyler1503]

Sounds like that is covered, I wouldn't think you parameters would be that off if you have done a regular water change here and there, I have heard of instances with stray electricity current leaching into tanks that can cause death onsets.

Do you use a grounding probe or have you checked for any electrical current?

I haven't tested for stray voltage. I'm not even sure how to. I imagine a volt meter of some sort lol. If it was stray voltage wouldn't fish be noticeably affected too?

That is a small tank. It would not take much of anything to spoil the water. Something caused your water to crash or you introduced something not good into the water. Sometimes smaller tanks are harder to keep the water stable.

I think it may be a chemistry related thing. It sucks how much things affect these small tanks!

Could be an alk swing. The alk in RSCP is around 12. Unless you maintain your alk at 12 , you will see alk swing from water changes. I'd recommend the regular your tank doesn't have the high Ca and alk demand that SPS reef have so you might consider using the regular Red Sea salt to minimize your alk swings. Often we see negative results 3-4 weeks after some negative event. Could there have been a huge temp. swing? How old is the system?

I may try a new salt with lower alk. I've been considering using a cheaper salt for some time. I may aswell try when/if everything heals up. I don't wana make too many changes while the corals are in this condition.
A temp swing is very unlikely. My heater is in proper working condition and the weather/air temp has been pretty consistent.
The tank has been set up for over three years in total and it's been over two years since the last tank move.

 

[RalphsReef]

Unfortunately, those LPS pieces are goners. I'd get them out of the tank in hopes of avoiding any further ammonia spikes.

 

[Chpaige]

What type of lighting is that?

 

[tyler1503]

Unfortunately, those LPS pieces are goners. I'd get them out of the tank in hopes of avoiding any further ammonia spikes.

I was afraid of that.
The fish, CUC and whatever else I can remove besides the corals will be moved on to a new tank this arvo. That way I can leave the coral in this tank just incase they pull through. That way if they don't make it, nothing else will be in the tank so it won't matter if I get an ammonia spike. Thanks for the heads up though!

What type of lighting is that?

11W PC 50/50. I've used it for over 3 years on this tank without issues and had good growth and colour depending on my husbandry schedule. I replace the tube atleast every 10 months or so.

 

[tyler1503]

The mushrooms seem to be slowly recovering. Most of their mouths have closed and they're slightly plumper. Nothing is opening up yet though.
I think I've lost all my LPS with the exception of the cynarina