Coral issues (ICP update)

[USMA36]

I am having some issues. My tank is 3 years old and most coral just does not thrive. Temp is between 78 and 79 Salinity is 1.025 alk 8.4 calcium 430 magnesium 1350 I am using a sbreef ultra 45 over a 90 gallon display tank. Total water volume is about 100. Biggest problems right now are my birdsnest, Stylo, and green Monti. All are losing flesh. I am also having issues with candy canes. They don't puff up at all. And were added about 1 month ago. Everytime I try these corals they seem to die off in a couple of months. Par was measured with a seneye. Birdsnest 220 Green Montipora 260 candy cane 140. I also have a maroonish Monti which is Alice but I haven't noticed any growth in the 2 months I have had it. My unknown acro seems ok about the same size as when I got that 2 months ago. That was brown when I got it but is much more green now and absolutely beautiful under uv lights. I don't notice any pe during the day but I do see a lot at night. The acro base is at about 270 and the top 360. I also have a wall hammer which looks great but haven't noticed much growth in the 6 months I've had it. I also have a couple of hammer frags a small pocillpora frag and a small colony both seem to be doing ok. 1 devils hand leather, 1 nice sized toadstool and 1 smaller toadstool. I run carbon and gfo sometimes. Nitrates are between 5 and 10 phosphates right now are .18 so I just started gfo again today. I also started adding 20ml of acropower 3 yes a week last week. I dose esv calcium and alk which I just started 2 weeks ago after stopping kalk. I use my own rodi with 0 tds and I use instant ocean salt I have a skimmer that's emptied twice per week and I run cheato in my sump. Coral is really starting to frustrate me. I just can't get anything to thrive. Fish are all thriving and my clowns lay eggs every 2 weeks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Starting with the basics. . . . . I had similar a while back to find all along I was getting false salinity readings and salt was 1.031- my gages said 1.025.
Perhaps take a water sample to a trusted LFS to verify the salinity and might as well have them check PO4 and nitrate to compare with your results

 

[sfin52]

I second checking the dt water.

 

[USMA36]

I have a icp kit that is going in this week. Salinity is checked with a brs refractometer and calibrated often. Last icp was a year ago and it was all pretty normal other than low potassium and low iodine I suppose anything is possible though.

 

[USMA36]

Unfortunately I don't have an LFS anyplace close to me.

 

[sfin52]

Unfortunately I don't have an LFS anyplace close to me.

A local hobbiest that is close by that can test your water

 

[Mical]

Are you sure salinity is 1.035 as posted? If so that's awful high. I keep mine at 1.026

 

[USMA36]

Sorry that was a typo it's 1.025

 

[Mical]

Sorry that was a typo it's 1.025

Copy that. Of everything you posted I'm suspecting maybe the leathers are having coral warfare (if they're in close proximity of your SPS) or maybe back off the GFO. In the past mine got a little cranky if I used GFO. They don't seem to mine the carbon.

 

[BeejReef]

Our tanks are crazy similar. Was gonna give it a few more months and then basically write the same post you did.
following.

Did u have any heavy metals show up in your icp? (knock on wood) I feel like a month of upsized water changes has helped, as I had some. How stable have your parameters been? Are you coasting along and corals not responding, or is it a struggle to stay where you want?

 

[USMA36]

Our tanks are crazy similar. Was gonna give it a few more months and then basically write the same post you did.
following.

Did u have any heavy metals show up in your icp? (knock on wood) I feel like a month of upsized water changes has helped, as I had some. How stable have your parameters been? Are you coasting along and corals not responding, or is it a struggle to stay where you want?

Everything is pretty stable and controlled by dosers and Apex. No heavy metals but the last icp was a year ago. I stopped gfo about 1 month ago but my Phosphates crept back up to .18 which is why a started gfo again. Carbon and gfo are both run through a dual brs reactor carbon is changed once per week.

 

[USMA36]

Copy that. Of everything you posted I'm suspecting maybe the leathers are having coral warfare (if they're in close proximity of your SPS) or maybe back off the GFO. In the past mine got a little cranky if I used GFO. They don't seem to mine the carbon.

The leathers are all separated from one another and any other coral. I really love the toadstool but I can go either way with the hand leather and smaller uglier toadstool.

 

[USMA36]

5 days ago I decided to pull the devils hand leather and 1 toadstool and put them in my sons tank. That has left me with just the one toadstool. I hope it’s chemicals from the leathers. Otherwise I’m at a loss.

 

[stanleo]

Just throwing this out there, but you have a copperband butterfly and a flame angel. Are they eating them maybe? Sorry if that's a stupid idea, I'm only a year into this.

Our tanks are pretty similar. The only real difference is my nitrates are 2ppm and phosphates are between .03 and .1 ppm and my tank is only 9 months old. All my corals hard and soft except for a stubborn toadstool grow pretty well.

Side note, it's a beautiful tank.

 

[lavoisier]

It might well be one or both are nibbling. What about flow?

 

[USMA36]

Flow is pretty high. 2 maxspect 230s on random up to 90%. I've never seen either fish even look at a coral before.

 

[Wunderpus]

Did these issues arise when you started Acropower? I don't know all the elements in AP, but it's possible you're overdosing some trace element? I would stop the AP if they seem to coincide, do a bit of a water change and see how things look in a few days.... This is the problem with products such as AP not listing all the ingredients....

Are you dosing any trace elements? I think an ICP test is a great idea but I'd like to figure out the problem before then, as you may lose these corals in the meantime.

 

[USMA36]

I just started the Acropower. The issues have been plaguing me since I started the tank.

 

[Nano sapiens]

When parameters are within acceptable ranges and relatively stable, but the system is still not thriving, start looking at the condition of your equipment (cracking, exposed metal, etc.). If all looks fine, try running a magnet through the sandbed to look for old fish hooks, bolts, screws and anything else made of metal (I've found both a hook and a bolt in my systems over the years, another reefer found a hook imbedded in his live rock).

 

[USMA36]

Icp should be in any day now. Hopefully that'll give me a place to look.