Corals all shrunken after water change

[fool4fish]

I did a 30% water change 2 days ago and ever since all my corals have been deflated, and my anemone shrunk and I haven't seen it since. My fish seem fine but my snails can't keep their grip they keep falling off the glass .

My salinity did not change at all. It was the exact same before and after. Nitrates and phosphates are just barely detectable , close to 0. My ph is 7.8, it's lower than it was before. I get my water from my LFS and have never had any issues but this time I think my pH may have dropped close to .4. i dont know why the ph of the water I added was so much lower than normal

What can I do? I'm so scared for my corals and my poor anemone, everything was doing so well and now I'm scared they're all going to die

 

[TX_REEF]

0.4 is a big ph drop to happen suddenly. Sounds like you got a bad batch of water from LFS, I'd consider testing before use going forward or making your own saltwater. How much water do you change at once?

As for corrective action, I'd buffer Ph back up steadily. 0.2 per day is generally reasonable, get it back up to 8.4.

 

[Uncle99]

30% is a big change and if nitrate and phosphate where already low, that may have zeroed it out.

Give time to recover.

PH is hard to measure accurately so I’m not overly concerned about that

 

[fool4fish]

30% is a big change and if nitrate and phosphate where already low, that may have zeroed it out.

Give time to recover.

PH is hard to measure accurately so I’m not overly concerned about that

I've been struggling with this green hair algae so I thought a big change would help with excess nutrients in the water. This tank is a few years old but I still feel like a newbie to saltwater, after 10+ years with freshwater

 

[fool4fish]

0.4 is a big ph drop to happen suddenly. Sounds like you got a bad batch of water from LFS, I'd consider testing before use going forward or making your own saltwater. How much water do you change at once?

As for corrective action, I'd buffer Ph back up steadily. 0.2 per day is generally reasonable, get it back up to 8.4.

Thank you!! I did about 8 gallons, the tank is 30 so pretty close to 1/3. What can I use to buffer pH? I've heard crushed coral, is that a good idea?

 

[TX_REEF]

that is a very large % water change, generally 10% or so a week is plenty to dilute pollutants and provide new minerals.

You can use a product like this to buffer Ph: https://amzn.to/3F8KsHR

 

[Gumbies R Us]

My guess is the corals are stressed out. I would slowly raise your pH and nutrients back up to where they were, and everything should bounce back!

 

[fool4fish]

that is a very large % water change, generally 10% or so a week is plenty to dilute pollutants and provide new minerals.

You can use a product like this to buffer Ph: https://amzn.to/3F8KsHR

Dang, I had no idea. I do 30% every 2-3wks , I thought it was ok as I've never had issues before I feel so stupid. Thank you for the help

 

[fool4fish]

My guess is the corals are stressed out. I would slowly raise your pH and nutrients back up to where they were, and everything should bounce back!

Thank you!! I'm so scared to kill my poor anemone, and my beautiful corals, I am a retail worker so I'm not super wealthy and I've invested so much into this tank it's like my pride and joy. If I managed to kill everything with one stupid move I would give up on all pets forever

 

[Uncle99]

Big water changes affect stability of the environment.
10% weekly is fine unless you are reducing nutrient levels, but even then, slow slow slow.