Dying/Dead Corals!?

[KeMiKiLL]

I was away for the day and my wife sent me a video of the 5 gallon pico I picked up a few days ago.

One of the corals is completely disappeared with only the plug and skeleton left and the pulsing xenia is wilted right over with no movement. It looks quite a bit smaller and when I gently brushed it, whisps of white came off it and it seems to be falling apart. One of the ricordias is also completely gone.

The only thing I can think of is that the powerhead (Jebao SOW3) was too powerful even though I dampened it a bit so it wasn't blasting the corals. I should have turned it off this morning...

Is it safe to say those corals are dead? Should I remove the rest of the Xenia to prevent it polluting the water?

I'm about to run parameter tests to see if anything is out of spec there but is there anything I need to do to prevent and other deaths? Powerhead is off.

TIA

 

[schuby]

My first thought is that your tank is only a few days old and may not be able to support corals yet. Did you cycle it yourself or buy it from someone else who already had it running? Any fish? Any parameter test results so far?

 

[KeMiKiLL]

 

[KeMiKiLL]

 

[KeMiKiLL]

 

[KeMiKiLL]

My first thought is that your tank is only a few days old and may not be able to support corals yet. Did you cycle it yourself or buy it from someone else who already had it running? Any fish? Any parameter test results so far?

Moved here a few days ago. Tank is nearly a year old and established. All corals have been thriving until the move.

I followed instructions slowly and carefully and things started to look fine until this evening. I'm thinking the powerhead is at fault here. Running a full set of Salifert tests right now. Temp and Salinity are on point. I did just notice that water level in the return chamber and filtration chamber are much lower than they were yesterday but the filtration media is still submerged, as is the return pump. It is circulating.

 

[schuby]

If everything was good before and you haven't changed anything (like the powerhead), then it is probably just stress from the move. When you relocated the tank, how long was it not running and at its regular temp?

 

[KeMiKiLL]

Temp and salinity were matched to the original parameters. I even purchased the same lighting system and imported the original owner's configuration and then set to 70% intensity for 5 day acclimation. Only the powerhead is different as I couldn't get the same one. GSP has shown no extension at all in the tank after the move and the leather was extending this morning before I left for the day. Zoas and everything else closed up tight but the hammer isn't completely tightened up.

It took 4 hours to get home and I immediately put a powerhead, heater, and lights, in the 5 gallon bucket. In the bucket the GSP and leather were extending and even zoas seemed to open slightly. Temps did get up to 79F at one point in the vehicle and dipped as low as 74F when I noticed that the Inkbird was set incorrectly.

 

[schuby]

So you moved the contents of a 5-gallon tank, but not the entire setup? Did you take all the water, rock, sand, snails, and coral?

 

[yababo]

I would try leaving the "skeleton". I've had them come "back to life"

 

[KeMiKiLL]

Here are the results of a full set of tests:

Temperature 77.8F
Salinity 1.025
pH 8.0
Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 10 ppm
Phosphate 0 ppm
Magnesium 1320
Calcium 445
Alkalinity 11

 

[davidcalgary29]

With what are you checking your salinity? Is it possible that settings have drifted? I've friend a number of corals with hypersalinity (by accident).

 

[schuby]

Ammonia is deadly. Can you answer the questions in my previous post??

 

[KeMiKiLL]

So you moved the contents of a 5-gallon tank, but not the entire setup? Did you take all the water, rock, sand, snails, and coral?

When I reassembled the tank all old substrate was tossed. New sand was rinsed until clear with tap water and then a final rinse with Seapora RO. Half old water was added in and allowed to settle before putting the rocks with coral back int he tank. I then I alternatingly added 2 cups of new water (matched salinity and temp) and 1 cup of old water every couple of minutes. Lights were set to 70% acclimation mode and powerhead was not added yet. Powerhead was added the next day as the leather and zoas were all closed up so I thought they "wanted" flow. Xenia was pulsing at the time. It was the only one that looked happy to me. The powerhead was blasting everything and even shifting sand so I pointed it pretty much at the glass and up a bit until the movement looked (to me) kind of like how it was when the original owner showed me a video of it running in his tank.

This morning, with the powerhead running, the Xenia was swaying but I couldn't tell if it was pulsing due to the flow. The leather was extending polyps so I figured things were getting better, until my wife sent me a video of the slumped Xenia...

 

[KeMiKiLL]

With what are you checking your salinity? Is it possible that settings have drifted? I've friend a number of corals with hypersalinity (by accident).

Testing with MA887. I triple checked.

Water in the filtration chamber is actually very low right now. Like under the floss. Should I add salt water to top it up? It wasn't that low last night. Is it possible to lose half a gallon in a day?

Nothing around the tank is wet so there is no leak.

 

[KeMiKiLL]

With what are you checking your salinity? Is it possible that settings have drifted? I've friend a number of corals with hypersalinity (by accident).

Is 0.50 high for Ammonia? I'm going to retest again with my second Salifert kit to be sure the result it correct.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Why don't you take the Xenia out of the tank and put it in some fresh(er) saltwater in a jar? If it extends, you'll know that the problem is in the tank and not with your mix.

0.5 ammonia can cause problems with sensitive corals.

 

[KeMiKiLL]

Ammonia is deadly. Can you answer the questions in my previous post??

Would the dead corals cause the ammonia to spike?

 

[KeMiKiLL]

Why don't you take the Xenia out of the tank and put it in some fresh(er) saltwater in a jar? If it extends, you'll know that the problem is in the tank and not with your mix.

0.5 ammonia can cause problems with sensitive corals.

Okay. Do I just pluck it off the rock? It appears to be stuck on it.

 

[KeMiKiLL]

0.50 Ammonia confirmed with second test...