Coral help please!

Gtinnel

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Yes but I don't have a test kit for it yet. Should I get one and test for alkalinity?
Yes getting a test kit for alkalinity would be a good idea, testing alkalinity is one of the more important tests for corals.

Nothing on your parameters stand out to me as being horrible. The only thing I will say is that when I first got corals and my nitrate was 0 I was never able to keep corals happy. So I'd try to get your nitrate up some. I try to keep nitrates somewhere around 5 personally. I would also raise your salinity a little, most tanks with coral are kept around 1.025-1.026.

I would think any water parameters that would make the duncan unhappy would effect the hammer coral as well. Duncan's are one of the hardier lps corals.
 

nereefpat

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OP has an alkalinity test kit. Alk is 215 ppm or about 12 dKH, which is pretty darn high. I would raise the salinity from 1.023 to about 1.026...although that will also raise the alk and Ca.
 

Gtinnel

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OP has an alkalinity test kit. Alk is 215 ppm or about 12 dKH, which is pretty darn high. I would raise the salinity from 1.023 to about 1.026...although that will also raise the alk and Ca.
From everything I've read 12 dKh is on the upper end of the acceptable range, but I wouldn't think it would be causing the issue. I saw there was a alkalinity reading I was just assuming someone else tested the water for them, and that is how they have a reading but not a test for it.
 

Rmckoy

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12 isn’t bad. .
But let’s ask .....

How stable is cal , mag and alk ?

12 is bad if it was 8-9 yesterday .
Even 500 ppm cal isn’t bad even being a little high .
with 1.023 salinity I would also question if anything has been dosed ?
Anything been added such as buffer ?
 
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emsilkina

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Yes getting a test kit for alkalinity would be a good idea, testing alkalinity is one of the more important tests for corals.

Nothing on your parameters stand out to me as being horrible. The only thing I will say is that when I first got corals and my nitrate was 0 I was never able to keep corals happy. So I'd try to get your nitrate up some. I try to keep nitrates somewhere around 5 personally. I would also raise your salinity a little, most tanks with coral are kept around 1.025-1.026.

I would think any water parameters that would make the duncan unhappy would effect the hammer coral as well. Duncan's are one of the hardier lps corals.
I thought nitrate was supposed to be 0?
 
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emsilkina

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12 isn’t bad. .
But let’s ask .....

How stable is cal , mag and alk ?

12 is bad if it was 8-9 yesterday .
Even 500 ppm cal isn’t bad even being a little high .
with 1.023 salinity I would also question if anything has been dosed ?
Anything been added such as buffer ?
I haven't tested in a week but last week my calcium was at 390 so I added calcium into the aquarium.
Ive never added any buffer. Should I add it?
 

Rmckoy

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I haven't tested in a week but last week my calcium was at 390 so I added calcium into the aquarium.
Ive never added any buffer. Should I add it?
If your alk is high already . NO..
why would you want to increase something that’s already high ?

I was just asking if something was added
 

ReefdudeAdam

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Honestly, I don't have a return pump. Is it necessary?
The wavemakers were off for about a day.
Okay.. tell us about your tank. How big is it? I’m assuming you’re using a nano with just wavemakers for flow running no media other than live rock.

a completely still tank for a length of time would upset coral as well as anything else in the tank. You’ll have hot & cold spots, build up of detritus etc.
 
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emsilkina

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Okay.. tell us about your tank. How big is it? I’m assuming you’re using a nano with just wavemakers for flow running no media other than live rock.

a completely still tank for a length of time would upset coral as well as anything else in the tank. You’ll have hot & cold spots, build up of detritus etc.
I have a 29-gallon tank. I use a power skimmer, a regular filter, and a wavemaker. What else should I buy?
 

GoReefin

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Turn on your flow. Lack of oxygen in the tank can cause corals to close up. How long was your flow off for? You need better lighting for corals. Look into getting some full spectrum LEDs or an AI prime/kessel light to keep corals. Your salinity is low at 1.023 should slowly raise it to 1.025-6 over the course of a week. How large is the tank? When raising your salinity remember most salts have Alk as well so try not to raise your alk above 12. Also are you using Tap water for your water changes/top offs?
 

ReefdudeAdam

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I have a 29-gallon tank. I use a power skimmer, a regular filter, and a wavemaker. What else should I buy?
I don’t think you need to buy anything else. I think you need to just slow down a little. Reefing takes a long time and you will have losses. Probably over and over again and sometimes unexplained.

id say this time, the lack of gas exchange due to you wavemakers being off is likely what killed your coral.

as I said, take your time, watch some BRS tv on YouTube, ask some questions on R2R, no question is dumb, do some research. It’s all part of the fun.

keep learning and keep reefing!
 
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emsilkina

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Turn on your flow. Lack of oxygen in the tank can cause corals to close up. How long was your flow off for? You need better lighting for corals. Look into getting some full spectrum LEDs or an AI prime/kessel light to keep corals. Your salinity is low at 1.023 should slowly raise it to 1.025-6 over the course of a week. How large is the tank? When raising your salinity remember most salts have Alk as well so try not to raise your alk above 12. Also are you using Tap water for your water changes/top offs?
29-gallons. How should I raise the salt? Should I add salt into the filter to let it mix? Im using tapwater
 

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