Did I Accidentally Kill My Corals?

ruegaroo · Jun 16, 2021

Quick story:

On Sunday I had a power outage and it killed my return pump. I had to get a new return pump which I got yesterday afternoon. Once I got the new pump, I quickly hooked it up and powered it on. All seemed to be going well until today. I kept the flow in the display going but the sump water was left alone.

Last night all of my corals looked really upset and I wasn't sure why. Today some looked alright and others looked worse. I have been wondering all day what was going on. I decided to test my parameters and everything is testing normal. I checked the temp in the tank and it was fine as well.

Then it dawned on me.

The water in my sump was not kept heated and when I turned on the new return pump, all of that colder water was blown through the tank. This was a big "uh-oh" moment of realization that I had. My question is, can this rush of colder water throughout the tank kill my corals? Both of my xenia colonies look awful - my ruby xenia is now white and my giant bali xenia looks like its heads are melting off. My sinularia is the brightest green I've ever seen which is kind of cool but it is obviously not it's happy self. My toadstools are closed up but I'm hoping they will bounce back.

What do you all think? This will be a hard lesson learned if my corals die. Hopefully it can be a lesson for others as well.

CanuckReefer · Jun 16, 2021

Temp from sump I am not worried about, there are thermoclines in the ocean that corals can withstand. That water sitting stagnant I assume in sump for 2-3 days? That would be my concern. I think they likely come back, all the same....Toadstool and Xenia are pretty resilient.

ruegaroo · Jun 16, 2021

CanuckReefer said:
Temp from sump I am not worried about, there are thermoclines in the ocean that corals can withstand. That water sitting stagnant I assume in sump for 2-3 days? That would be my concern. I think they likely come back, all the same....Toadstool and Xenia are pretty resilient.

I'm gonna give it a couple days. I kept the skimmer running in the sump to keep some activity in there.

ruegaroo · Jun 16, 2021

Yeah my giant bali xenia is looking terrible. Even worse than before. All of its little tentacles are falling apart. A lot of its tips have come off. I've seen it shrink and retract before but nothing like this. Really upsetting since I grew it from a very tiny frag. Anybody know if xenia can regrow?

resortez · Jun 16, 2021

I second Canuck on the stagnant water. There’s a chance that there could have been some type of bacterial die off from water not circulating through the sump. That can produce ammonia, NO2, drops in alk &/or ph. It’s difficult to pinpoint the problem without posting all your numbers. Posting parameters can help others, help you with your situation. Good luck.

najer · Jun 17, 2021

Make sure you run fresh carbon and change it every 2 - 3 days, currently doing this as I had a big finger leather let go.

ruegaroo · Jun 17, 2021

resortez said:
I second Canuck on the stagnant water. There’s a chance that there could have been some type of bacterial die off from water not circulating through the sump. That can produce ammonia, NO2, drops in alk &/or ph. It’s difficult to pinpoint the problem without posting all your numbers. Posting parameters can help others, help you with your situation. Good luck.

I didn't even think about it like that. I was just so focused on getting the new pump up and running. My alk did not drop and my nitrate and phosphate are the same as well. Didn't think to check ammonia or nitrite. Haven't checked those since I started the tank so it's never on my mind.

I also had a power outage last year from a hurricane coming through. Power was out for 5 days but I was able to get a heater and an airstone in the display. When the power came back on the water recirculated from the sump and I didn't have any problems although I may have done a water change immediately. I can't remember.

Most of my corals seem to be bouncing back. The one that is having issues though is my giant bali xenia colony. I'll do a water change this afternoon just to do it in hopes that it will help.