Corals Constantly Dieing

[Gregg @ ADP]

As others have said, it looks like things have been bouncing around a lot and you just need to find a rhythm.

I work almost exclusively on larger (200 gal and up) reefs, and their trajectory seems to be different than smaller tanks. They tend to kinda behave a little differently.

I think it takes a little longer to establish that balance and equilibrium that you need for coral survival/growth/reproduction. The good news is that once established, it’s a lot harder to knock it off kilter.

My advice is to start with some easier corals, even...gasp...some soft corals, just to establish some balance and success with less collateral cost, and get the feel for how your tank moves and how corals respond to it.

Having said that, I wouldn’t totally rule out a metal contaminant or stray electrical current, so double check that stuff to make sure it’s not causing unseen issues.

 

[aquaalgae]

This seems like a good path forward. Maybe I missed it, but did you track down what was causing your controller to throw your lights and heater out of whack? It would suck to get everything else in order and still have random occurrences/ inconsistencies for your tank.

At the time I was using Reef Angel, which I was also using on another tank successfully. With this tank, I needed a 16 channel PWM expansion and a relay box expansion. The Reef Angel can only have one expansion without an expansion hub. I think it had something to do with all of these expansions. If only the lighting expansion was plugged in, it would be ok. I have since switch to Robo-Tank. I had a few issues at the beginning but Rob from Robo-Tank has been great and helped me work through them. I'm not having any issues now, and haven't for several months.

 

[aquaalgae]

I’m wondering about the ato/ call reactor synergy. My water top off is very unstable and the amount of replacement water highly variable over time. I use a steady drip through my reactor to replace calcium used by the reef, and my ato independently replaces water loss.
Having them linked I would suspect could increase instability that may challenge your system to cope with the excess?

While I haven't directly measured it, my ATO seems to be adding a similar amount each day. The controller I use keeps a log of every action and the ATO peristaltic pump runs for about the same amount of time each day. I also haven't noticed any large drops in the level of my RO/DI tank.

 

[aquaalgae]

I may be wrong but I've heard a lot of mishaps involving the switch of different salt brand from what was previously used before.

Yeah, I started using the Live Aquaria salt because it was much cheaper (especially with coupons and specials), but its not worth it if it is going to contribute to an undesirable tank. Not to mention there was LOTS of brown/grey sediment left over in the saltwater tank from it. I'm switching back to RSCP as soon as I use up the saltwater that I have mixed up.

 

[aquaalgae]

I have read several stories like this after people used Vibrant. I have no experience with it myself but I just get a sense that it's not all that safe.

I think Vibrant is a great product but it should be used carefully, especially at the higher dose of twice per week.

 

[SATXREEF]

A few questions I may have missed throughout the thread.

Have you been adding new fish? If so, are you acclimating them or do you pour the LFS water in your tank? Could be copper....
The heater issue you had, did you inspect the heater at all? It may have a crack in it and a few things could be affecting your tank from that.

Vibrant isn't the issue. Many use it here with no probs including myself.

I would say DON'T change your water at this time. Let the tank re-stabilize. Only top off as needed and then test. See if you see spikes. When you keep changing the water, you not allowing any range unless aggressive to register. Let's see what it looks like after 2 weeks or so.

I'm not a pro at this, but like others state consistency is key. Let the tank settle and see what it's consistency is.

 

[jtl]

I am usually the one asking questions about coral growth and coloration but here is my take. I found that lighting was a big factor, I started out with too much. Then I had some issues with flukes and had to dose PraziPro, the corals did not like it. Then a while later I wanted to knock down the hair algae so I dosed Vibrant. It made the water crystal clear but only did a so so job on the algae. It did contribute to cyano. Still not satisfied with the HA issue so dosed H2O2 to no avail. The corals did not die but the growth slowed. I have not touched anything for a month and slowly but surely the corals are looking better. All of my params are spot on, at least the ones I test for. So to the point. Set and forget it, no chemicals, no major light or temp changes, just stable Mabel.

 

[Rjukan]

I would say DON'T change your water at this time. Let the tank re-stabilize.

I agree with this statement. Unless you're battling really high nitrate or phosphate, I don't see the necessity of changing out water so often. When it comes to stability try and limit as many variables as possible.

 

[Foothill Corals]

Personally I would drop the temp to 77-78, Drop the Alk to 7-7.5 and stop changing things and work on stability.

The thing with Vibrant and SPS is it will drop your nitrate quickly so it is hard to keep it stable.

 

[aquaalgae]

A few questions I may have missed throughout the thread.

Have you been adding new fish? If so, are you acclimating them or do you pour the LFS water in your tank? Could be copper....
The heater issue you had, did you inspect the heater at all? It may have a crack in it and a few things could be affecting your tank from that.

Vibrant isn't the issue. Many use it here with no probs including myself.

I would say DON'T change your water at this time. Let the tank re-stabilize. Only top off as needed and then test. See if you see spikes. When you keep changing the water, you not allowing any range unless aggressive to register. Let's see what it looks like after 2 weeks or so.

I'm not a pro at this, but like others state consistency is key. Let the tank settle and see what it's consistency is.

I have been adding fish but I do acclimate and do not dump the water in the tank. Actually my clownfish which I've had for years just started breeding like crazy a month ago.

The heater issue wasn't due to the heater itself. It was a relay on the aquarium controller that was staying on or off when it shouldn't have.

You feel that I should stop doing water changes? I don't feel that it's going to change the tank parameters much as I'm only doing like 0.5% (2-3 gallons) per day.

 

[aquaalgae]

I

I agree with this statement. Unless you're battling really high nitrate or phosphate, I don't see the necessity of changing out water so often. When it comes to stability try and limit as many variables as possible.

I guess I got on the water change bandwagon around the time that all of this stuff started happening in early summer. Prior to that I had done one or two water changes in the previous year as I was wanting to not do many if any water changes. My parameters we're always good but I started doing the water changes to mainly remove the Reef Flux but also any contaminate that may have been causing the issues.

 

[aquaalgae]

Personally I would drop the temp to 77-78, Drop the Alk to 7-7.5 and stop changing things and work on stability.

The thing with Vibrant and SPS is it will drop your nitrate quickly so it is hard to keep it stable.

Indeed. I definitely have noticed that. I've stopped the Vibrant.
Perhaps 81 is a bit high, I may slowly lower it down over the next few days.

 

[ilyad]

For what it's worth, I have a friend who used Vibrant for several months and didnt get much success. He then tried Reef Flux and within a few days his entire tank crashed. He was only able to save a few mushrooms. Before that his tank grew softies, lps, and sps without issue, except the algae. Perhaps there are some ingredients in Vibrant and Reef Flux that cause a bad interaction. Eventually he ended up having to restart the entire tank with new sand and rock.

 

[Rjukan]

I

I guess I got on the water change bandwagon around the time that all of this stuff started happening in early summer. Prior to that I had done one or two water changes in the previous year as I was wanting to not do many if any water changes. My parameters we're always good but I started doing the water changes to mainly remove the Reef Flux but also any contaminate that may have been causing the issues.

You have a huge (in my opinion) tank, part of the draw and benefit of having such a large system is the inherent stability of a large volume of water. Lots of water changes are for those that have smaller systems, at least that's my opinion. You should try the KISS method, rock that for a few months and see what happens.

*edit: I was bad and didnt read your full reply :( I see now that you only did a couple water changes prior to adding those products which is where things started going wrong. But I feel like if you're not adding any products like that, and you get on a monthly water change schedule, you will see a more stable and predictable system.

 

[BantyRooster97]

Wish I could help, but I've kind of been in the same boat. Larger tank was doing great, then went down hill... that one has all the bells and whistles & I have a 32 biocube that cranks along and I don't touch it at all & corals love it.

Triton test revealed nothing...

Good Luck!

 

[aquaalgae]

Wish I could help, but I've kind of been in the same boat. Larger tank was doing great, then went down hill... that one has all the bells and whistles & I have a 32 biocube that cranks along and I don't touch it at all & corals love it.

Triton test revealed nothing...

Good Luck!

Any idea why it went downhill? How long were things going well?

 

[BantyRooster97]

Never did figure out why. My nems are growing strong, coraline spreads like a weed, pulsing xenia are weeds (can't get rid of those things), fish are happy & I have had 1 type of monti that will grow and a green slimer. Almost anything else I put back into my tank dies (zoas, candy cane, hammer, acros, all other montis, & frogspawn). It is very weird. All of those did well in my tank for over a year.. then bam. I made a stupid mistake of adding some old crushed coral from another tank that was loaded with phosphate. PO4 spiked, stuff started to die & has never recovered even though I removed the crushed coral & PO4 is almost undetectable now. My guess is there was something in that crushed coral that affected my tank & I can't get it out. I've run carbon on it for months.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Addition of chemicals, MAG a tad high, chasing numbers and Temp a bit on high range (78 ideal, the tank has not had a fair chance to become stable and stabilize enough to get true reading.

Take the time to enjoy your tank and do the minimal maintenance such as water changes and light adjustment. I like and most do well with Blues at about 75% and whiles at 18-22%. Water flow moderate and increase gradually if needed. Give this all about 2-3 weeks and see where you're at

You can also scoop a little water and take it to your trusted LFS and have them test to see how their readings compare with yours

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

Blog 12/14/18: What is Stability? Stability is a precarious term. I keep a log of all activities in my tank by date. It contains all dosing amounts, general maintenance, equipment adjustments, water parameter test measurements, and schedule of things I do regularly like water changes, adding Biodigest and Optim, harvesting my algae scrubbers and dosing’s. When my water parameters have been consistent for months on end and my equipment adjustments are minimal, then I've achieved the stability need for growing SPS coral. I know that any changes to my light profile, flow, temperature, alkalinity, calcium and dosing amounts must be gradual and implemented over months and not days. There are always slight parameter fluctuations, but small is okay. If you're adjusting your calcium reactor or trying out Kalkwasser, you're tank probably isn't stable and will have some dialing in swings. If you're still adjusting your light cycle, you're probably not stable. If you're still moving your rock scape, you're probably not stable. If you're still adding equipment, you’re probably not stable. Dialing in a chiller, not stable. Not dipping coral and quarantine, you’re probably not stable. Do have provisions for power failure, if not, you’re probably not stable. Do you add every chemical treatment you “read about” to head off parasites, disease, algae, nitrates, phosphates, then you’re probably not stable. Do you ICP/Triton test to determine chemical composition of your water? If not, you probably aren't stable. And, when you get stable, if you're the OCD guy that has to fix everything this instant, then you should reconsider buying SPS coral, because you’re probably not stable!!! When you’re are adding natural predators and harvesting algae and feeding to make small parameter changes, making small adjustments, fine tuning, have patience, then those are indicators that you and you’re tank are probably stable!!! Not so precarious, anymore!!!

You've changed salt, had temperature swing, used Vibrant, used Reef flux, lighting issues. Too much, too soon. Those items will cause RTN and unhappy coral. I'd get to the point of stability again, then, do a coral restart and next time you have issues, which happens, get back on track slowly. Look into more natural resolutions other than chemical treatments. Those treatments are for smaller tanks that have much less to risk.