All Corals Dying

[Fanreef]

My tank is around 6 months old, it's my 3rd attempt to add a batch of LPS corals that i'm adding to the tank, and everything is dead within 2 hours, except the Zoas.

I'm thinking the issue is either the Bayer pest killer that I dip them in before, (10 ML per cup of tank water for 5 min) or that I don't do water changes, but my numbers look good.

below are my numbers
NO3 10, PO4 .03, CA 400, ALK 10, PH 7.5.

I dose Vodka for Carbon Dosing. and I never did a water change.

Do you think the issue is with the Bayer coral dip? Or that I don't do water changes? Or maybe I should make a ICP test? Or maybe I still need to wait a bit

Need something to explain everything dying so quick.

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Project1004]

You shouldn’t be carbon dosing using vodka at 6month of age…. Carbon (bacterias from carbon dosing) from the vodka is much stronger than that of vinegar or sugar from my experience. Carbon dosing isn’t for someone who is not yet ready for it. I don’t think you need to dose carbon. LPs corals like dirty water anyways.

 

[Fanreef]

You shouldn’t be carbon dosing using vodka at 6month of age…. Carbon (bacterias from carbon dosing) from the vodka is much stronger than that of vinegar or sugar from my experience. Carbon dosing isn’t for someone who is not yet ready for it. I don’t think you need to dose carbon. LPs corals like dirty water anyways.

My NO3 was 75, the Vodka put it at 10 - 15.

Can Vodka explain why corals should be dead within 2 hours of adding them to the tank?

 

[Project1004]

My NO3 was 75, the Vodka put it at 10 - 15.

Can Vodka explain why corals should be dead within 2 hours of adding them to the tank?

If your corals can’t settle in they will dye, and I believe your vodka dosing has something to do with it. At 6month your tank is not stable to properly use vodka dosing is what I think is. Specially being 3rd try. I killed slots of corals because vodka… so I’m against that to any other form of carbon.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My tank is around 6 months old, it's my 3rd attempt to add a batch of LPS corals that i'm adding to the tank, and everything is dead within 2 hours, except the Zoas.

I'm thinking the issue is either the Bayer pest killer that I dip them in before, (10 ML per cup of tank water for 5 min) or that I don't do water changes, but my numbers look good.

below are my numbers
NO3 10, PO4 .03, CA 400, ALK 10, PH 7.5.

I dose Vodka for Carbon Dosing. and I never did a water change.

Do you think the issue is with the Bayer coral dip? Or that I don't do water changes? Or maybe I should make a ICP test? Or maybe I still need to wait a bit

Need something to explain everything dying so quick.

Thank you very much for your help.

Carbon dosing likely a contributor. Many reasons why this happens but not limited to are a change in salinity, temperature and salt mixes. Additionally, Elevated phosphate, lighting and even new light and elevated alkalinity levels will be a higher risk to coral. Other minor factors will be low Dissolved oxygen, new corals especially leathers (which emit a toxin known as Terpenes), false test kit readings and newly added rock which can alter chemistry.
Are you using strictly RODI water or occasional tap water for top off?

 

[js-3Design]

you don't do water changes because the water isnt good. you do water changes to keep the water good... what made you decide vodka was better than waterchanges on a new tank?

 

[Fanreef]

I'm strictly using RODI water. The thing is before carbon dosing my NO3 was 75, and my first batch of corals died as well.

If the reason is a change in salinity, how do I fix that?

 

[Fanreef]

you don't do water changes because the water isnt good. you do water changes to keep the water good... what made you decide vodka was better than waterchanges on a new tank?

I just don't have the time for it.

 

[js-3Design]

I just don't have the time for it.

than you should ask yourself if this hobby is for you... if a 15-30 minute waterchange weekly is too much

 

[Dom]

My tank is around 6 months old, it's my 3rd attempt to add a batch of LPS corals that i'm adding to the tank, and everything is dead within 2 hours, except the Zoas.

I'm thinking the issue is either the Bayer pest killer that I dip them in before, (10 ML per cup of tank water for 5 min) or that I don't do water changes, but my numbers look good.

below are my numbers
NO3 10, PO4 .03, CA 400, ALK 10, PH 7.5.

I dose Vodka for Carbon Dosing. and I never did a water change.

Do you think the issue is with the Bayer coral dip? Or that I don't do water changes? Or maybe I should make a ICP test? Or maybe I still need to wait a bit

Need something to explain everything dying so quick.

Thank you very much for your help.

The strongest vibe I'm getting here is that you're rushing. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have coral in a
6 month old tank. But that this is your third try in 6 months, tells me so.

If it were my tank, I would do a healthy water change and then faithful, weekly, 20% water changes using RODI for 4-6 weeks. Then try again.

As far as dipping corals, maybe try NOT dipping the next batch. I've never dipped a coral in my time keeping salt water. Nothing bad has ever happened.

 

[billyocean]

If you aren't adding any trace elements..or monitoring anything with an icp..its gonna be a tough run without any waterchanges. You could take the time to set up a big mixing station and do auto water changes at a small % daily. But...I dunno what your rock is (live/dry) ....6 months is still pretty early...especially if you started dry. Theres a whole lot to unpack here if waterchanges are too time consuming. Could just make it a fish only with live rock and some easier corals...like the zoas that seem to do ok.

 

[Fanreef]

than you should ask yourself if this hobby is for you... if a 15-30 minute waterchange weekly is too much

I believe that water changes are not effiecent, timewise, moneywise and envorimently

The strongest vibe I'm getting here is that you're rushing. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have coral in a
6 month old tank. But that this is your third try in 6 months, tells me so.

If it were my tank, I would do a healthy water change and then faithful, weekly, 20% water changes using RODI for 4-6 weeks. Then try again.

As far as dipping corals, maybe try NOT dipping the next batch. I've never dipped a coral in my time keeping salt water. Nothing bad has ever happened.

Makes sense, I'll do this. thank you very much!

 

[billyocean]

Could also use an Iodine based dip for lps like lugols to rule out the bayer. Or revive...or just diy potassium chloride (KCl)

 

[js-3Design]

I believe that water changes are not effiecent, timewise, moneywise and envorimently

an aquarium is a closed ecosystem.
you wont get away with no water changes. whether you like it or not. you need to get rid of stuff that builds up.

yes there are people here who don't do water changes, but they have many years of experience. not doing waterchanges can be a goal. but it cant be a start.

 

[CBonito]

My NO3 was 75, the Vodka put it at 10 - 15.

Can Vodka explain why corals should be dead within 2 hours of adding them to the tank?

It can explain why I'd be dead in 2 hours.

You need to do a big water change.

 

[steveschuerger]

an aquarium is a closed ecosystem.
you wont get away with no water changes. whether you like it or not. you need to get rid of stuff that builds up.

yes there are people here who don't do water changes, but they have many years of experience. not doing waterchanges can be a goal. but it cant be a start.

This. I had Gonis in a less than 2 month old system, but I also did water changes and added 2 part plus AB+ as well as changed the caddy media every month(floss balls once a week). Salt mix adds what gets used up by the corals at least partially. Always spent 30 minutes at least, daily inspecting and doing husbandry chores.

 

[CBonito]

This. I had Gonis in a less than 2 month old system, but I also did water changes and added 2 part plus AB+ as well as changed the caddy media every month(floss balls once a week). Salt mix adds what gets used up by the corals at least partially. Always spent 30 minutes at least, daily inspecting and doing husbandry chores.

It's true. If you want to keep goniopora, you're doing water changes. I killed a couple of them before I learned myself.

 

[Biokabe]

We really need to see a complete breakdown of your husbandry, but the fact that you're avoiding water changes is not a good sign.

It's possible to run a tank without water changes, but that comes after you have created a healthy and stable environment for your fish and corals, and always in concert with regular testing and dosing to keep the tank where it needs to be. If your corals are dying within hours (!) of hitting your tank, it is not suited to avoiding water changes.

The fact that your corals are dying so fast suggests some kind of toxicity in your water. Could be from vodka dosing, could be from copper in your water, could be from a rusting zinc-coated screw that fell in without your knowledge, could be from anything. But the point is, they're dying quickly before they can even slowly die because your parameters aren't right. And they're not - while not at lethal levels by any means, your Ca and pH are both pretty low, and your Alk is pretty high.

> I just don't have the time for it.

Done right, you should be able to do a water change within 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your tank. On my 20g tank I can do a water change in less than 5 minutes. On my 75g, it takes me about 10 minutes. I usually take longer than that because I take advantage of the lack of movement and lower water level to take care of some maintenance, but if I weren't doing that I could do a 10-20% water change on both of my tanks in under 20 minutes.

What I do: I have a mixing cabinet that holds a 20g tank inside of it. In the tank is a mixing pump, a heater and a Sicce Zero utility pump, along with a hose long enough to reach to the tank. When I put the tank into the cabinet, I slowly filled it with water using a 1L beaker, using that to mark off the first 30 or so liters in the tank with a paint marker on the outside of the tank. I then measured the distance between 10L sections and extrapolated the marks up to the top of the tank, and then did some quick math and measurements to put gallon markings on the tank. A couple days before my water change, I fill up the tank and adjust salinity. I have a postal scale to weigh out the salt, a refractometer to take salinity measurements, and my external markings let me reasonably estimate how much water I have. From there, I use Hamza's direct salt addition calculator to calculate how much salt I need to add.

To actually do the water change, I have a Ryobi portable inverter (150w) that takes an 18v battery and turns it into a portable outlet. I have a small pump with a simple hose attached, just drop the pump into the water and fire it up. Take about 2-3 minutes to remove 4 gallons of water, dump that down the sink, and then roll out my hose and fill it up with the utility pump. Do that once for my 20g tank, twice for my larger tank. It took me longer to type all that out than it takes me to do a water change.

> I believe that water changes are not effiecent, timewise, moneywise and envorimently

You know what's a big waste of time? Spending time selecting corals that die in hours. You know what's a big waste of money? Buying a lot of corals and then watching them die in hours. You know what's a big environmental waste? Taking a lot of corals out of the ocean and then having them die in your tank.

If you want to get to a waterchange-less reef tank, you can do it. But you can't just will yourself there. Getting to that point requires a well-balanced tank that has a complete support ecosystem to process its wastes, along with a finely balanced dosing system to restore essential elements as they're used up. Until you get to that point, water changes are a necessary tool to remove built-up wastes and replenish depleted elements.

 

[steveschuerger]

It's true. If you want to keep goniopora, you're doing water changes. I killed a couple of them before I learned myself.

Yeah Gonis need at a minimum fairly non dirty water plus solid medium to even heavier flow with lighting being pretty subjective i found

 

[CBonito]

I don't think it's personally even worth making it a goal to avoid water changes. As stated earlier, doing regular water changes replenishes all trace element levels which is otherwise a PITA to do.

In a larger system where there are hundreds of gallons, then I can see the cost benefit of dosing trace elements and not doing entire water changes, but even that...no.

You ARE using RO/DI water correct?