Corals looking unhealthy

[10galtank]

Hello, all

I am running into some troubles with my corals. They have been closed up as of recently, the past few days— I am worried of their health. I have had these corals for a while now, but it seemed like overnight something went terribly wrong. I have about 9 acan frags, 1 green Duncan, 2 mushrooms, 1 leather tree, and 1 zoanthid. All the corals have closed up!! The zoanthid will peak out a little, but never fully and just a few polyps. The acans are closed up as well, some have a thin layer of slime by the mouths that I have cleaned off and one has lost a few “heads”…The Duncan is closed up as well. One of the two mushrooms has shriveled up and not sure if it’s dead.

I am running a Fluval Marine 3.0 24-36inch light on top of my 29 gallon. I don’t believe too much light is the issue bc they were thriving beforehand, but I turned it down a little just to experiment. I got my water tested and everything was perfect except for a higher nitrate level, could this be a problem? I do not know the exact number. My corals remain well fed with zooplankton.

my tank is fairly new— 6 to 8 months— and I am dealing with red algae right now, presumably from the elevated nitrates. However, my tank is being treated.

I live in Florida, current temp is 94F and I’ve noticed my tank has been slowly climbing in temp. Can this be the issue as well? Current tank temp is unfortunately 82-84…

I will provide pictures of my corals, please bare with me as zoom may be required.

Thank you

 

[CoralB]

What are your parameters ? . Please list . Also how did you have them tested and what test kits were used ?

 

[10galtank]

What are your parameters ? . Please list . Also how did you have them tested and what test kits were used ?

I cannot give you the figured unfortunately. I had my LFS test my water, their corals look amazing. I am running off of their word as of right now… this all happened so quick.

 

[CoralB]

I cannot give you the figured unfortunately. I had my LFS test my water, their corals look amazing. I am running off of their word as of right now… this all happened so quick.

They should give you the parameters when they check them and or you should ask them , as not knowing where they are is operating in a blind capacity. What did they test for ??? , calcium ? Magnesium??? , alkalinity ??? , phosphates ?? , nitrates ?? Nitrite ?? Ammonia??? , etc . These are important if not critical to know when things go bad and to maintain coral . And yes temperature in the tank rising and fluctuating above 80 degrees is a issue . Keeping your house a little cooler can help. Some use fans on topblowing into their tanks to lower temp. Chillers at last resort . What is your heater set on and does it turn on at the higher temps ? Do you have a accurate thermometer ?? .ideal temp would be around 77-78 degrees

 

[CoralB]

It wouldn’t hurt to eventually get decent testing kits for calcium , magnesium, alkalinity, phosphates, and nitrates so that you know what your parameters are at .

 

[10galtank]

They should give you the parameters when they check them and or you should ask them , as not knowing where they are is operating in a blind capacity. What did they test for ??? , calcium ? Magnesium??? , alkalinity ??? , phosphates ?? , nitrates ?? Nitrite ?? Ammonia??? , etc . These are important if not critical to know when things go bad and to maintain coral . And yes temperature in the tank rising and fluctuating above 80 degrees is a issue . Keeping your house a little cooler can help. Some use fans on topblowing into their tanks to lower temp. Chillers at last resort . What is your heater set on and does it turn on at the higher temps ? Do you have a accurate thermometer ??

All is understood, thank you. My heater is set to 77. My thermo is indeed accurate, I use a “mechanical” in-the-tank and a laser thermometer to double check. The LFS tested for alk, nirtate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphates that I know of. There may of been a calcium or magnesium test— not all too sure. My tank is backed to a window, granted blinds are closed, it still gets a little warm considering, right now, our ac unit is having a hard time keeping up. I have fans pointed at my tank as a precautionary measure.

 

[CoralB]

All is understood, thank you. My heater is set to 77. My thermo is indeed accurate, I use a “mechanical” in-the-tank and a laser thermometer to double check. The LFS tested for alk, nirtate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphates that I know of. There may of been a calcium or magnesium test— not all too sure. My tank is backed to a window, granted blinds are closed, it still gets a little warm considering, right now, our ac unit is having a hard time keeping up. I have fans pointed at my tank as a precautionary measure.

Yes backed up to a window can be a issue . I would consider moving it away from the window but in the meantime you could aim a fan between the space between the tank and the window to keep the heat from touching the glass . You can get a piece of insulation board which is like a foam sandwiched between two pieces of foil / radiant barrier and attach to back of tank . Also to get the temp down rotate a few bottles of water in your freezer and float a bottle at a time in the tank to cool it down . Just make sure the caps are on tight so the water from the bottles don’t leak into the tank screwing up your salinity . Oh and a good salinity tester should also go on your list .

 

[10galtank]

Yes backed up to a window can be a issue . I would consider moving it away from the window but in the meantime you could aim a fan between the space between the tank and the window to keep the heat from touching the glass . You can get a piece of insulation board which is like a foam sandwiched between two pieces of foil / radiant barrier and attach to back of tank . Also to get the temp down rotate a few bottles of water in your freezer and float a bottle at a time in the tank to cool it down . Just make sure the caps are on tight so the water from the bottles don’t leak into the tank screwing up your salinity . Oh and a good salinity tester should also go on your list .

Roger that, thank you. I have much experience with insulation board, I’m a commercial fisherman and have ghetto-rigged many boat cabins with that stuff. Nonetheless, that’s a very good idea! Currently I am using a mechanical salinity meter but I am in the market for a reputable electronic one.

 

[CoralB]

Roger that, thank you. I have much experience with insulation board, I’m a commercial fisherman and have ghetto-rigged many boat cabins with that stuff. Nonetheless, that’s a very good idea! Currently I am using a mechanical salinity meter but I am in the market for a reputable electronic one.

Hanna makes a good salinity monitor

 

[10galtank]

Hanna makes a good salinity monitor

Roger that, I am checking on those now. Thank you!

As a recap, what should I do to my tank for now?

 

[CoralB]

Roger that, I am checking on those now. Thank you!

As a recap, what should I do to my tank for now?

Keep the fans on them and rotate frozen bottles of water to keep the temp down . For a 29 gallon start with one 16 oz bottle and monitor it to see how much it brings it down . Is your house that warm at this time of night ??

 

[CoralB]

It should be cooler now unless it’s block framed and is still retaining heat . But by this time of the night the temp should be fine also make sure your heater isn’t defective and coming on when it shouldn’t .

 

[10galtank]

It should be cooler now unless it’s block framed and is still retaining heat . But by this time of the night the temp should be fine also make sure your heater isn’t defective and coming on when it shouldn’t .

Current house temp is 84. I will float some frozen bottles first thing tomorrow, tossing them in freezer right now. What would you say is wrong with my corals? Given the listed issues pertaining to them such as closed up, slime on mouths of some, loss of heads???

 

[CoralB]

Also bring the temp down slowly with the frozen water bottles making sure they don’t float to the sides touching the tank and away from the heater heater

 

[CoralB]

Current house temp is 84. I will float some frozen bottles first thing tomorrow, tossing them in freezer right now. What would you say is wrong with my corals? Given the listed issues pertaining to them such as closed up, slime on mouths of some, loss of heads???

Without knowing your parameters I would only speculate that the temperature is first on the list and then I would be looking for a phosphate issue either too high or zeroing out and with out knowing how high the nitrates are I couldn’t say for sure . It would be moot to speculate without knowing the levels . But one thing we do know is that the temp is high and you can start by addressing that first and see if it helps . As far as nitrates They can be lowered by a water change . But again not knowing the value I can’t say that it’s a issue .

 

[CoralB]

I don’t know where you are at but in Orlando right now it’s 76 degrees outside . You could check your weather and if safe to do so opening a window could cool it down !

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Temp is going to be a big issue. Just speculation, but that is probably a contributor to your unhappy corals. Even if your parameters are in acceptable range, there could be other factors including outside chemicals etc. affecting your tank.
Since you are not running a chiller or AC, I would set up a clip fan to rake across the top of your tank. that will give you a couple degrees via evaporation, but be prepared to keep you ato topped up.
Run some carbon just in case you have chemical ingression. Do a partial water change.
Get your own test kits...

 

[MikeCRK]

Hey mate, parameters are a must here!

By the looks it seems to be same as in my cube some time ago when I had a crash. It was caused by parameters going wild. Not only standard Ammonia/NO2/NO3 but also drop in other such as ALK and Phosphates, salinity (I had the issue with ATO).

I know it might sound strange, but your sand is looking too sterile. You have chemistry of the water bounced off the balance for sure by the looks

get the tests done, it is impossible to learn what is going on in your tank without it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

before buying any new corals, I would suggest to invest in test kits, or else you are flying blind. It sounds like there have been several changes in your tank recently, when there are several changes, its very hard to pin point only one reason for coral decline. But you've gone ahead of yourself, get test kits before any other move in this hobby, The water temperature is also an issue, there are ways to bring it down, such as a fan over the tank surface, or rodi ice cubes.