Help!! All of my SPS dying???

Reefkeeper12

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
100
Reaction score
85
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the suggestion! I will give that a try.
Not sure if this will solve your problem but I had 2 breeding clownfish kill all my sps, by kicking up sand all over them and as they moved with the anemone eventually got my whole tank. Including torches and hammers.

I have very fine sand in my tank, just one possibility
 
OP
OP
Cassian

Cassian

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,331
Reaction score
1,761
Location
MO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I dont knwo about the algae - but I've found that when a coral starts to 'rtn' or 'stn' its best to cut off the affected piece as quickly as possible - and remove it from the tank - first the cut area will lead to more rapid growth - and second - the 'infection' - assuming that RTN is at least in part bacteria - and secondly possibly ciliate related - you're getting rid of that - and it can't spread - I see you're leaving your coral in the tank - I wouldn't be worried about algae on those - just remove them - and cut the tips where youre seeing death. As to the rock - Dont know.

Thanks for the info! I will try this
 
OP
OP
Cassian

Cassian

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,331
Reaction score
1,761
Location
MO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Not sure if this will solve your problem but I had 2 breeding clownfish kill all my sps, by kicking up sand all over them and as they moved with the anemone eventually got my whole tank. Including torches and hammers.

I have very fine sand in my tank, just one possibility

Thanks for the info. That’s very unusual. I have clownfish, but have never seen them pick on the coral or anything and my sand is very course
 
OP
OP
Cassian

Cassian

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,331
Reaction score
1,761
Location
MO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok update time....

I checked all of the parameters. Here’s what I got:

Salinity: 1.025 (just calibrated recently)
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate:0
Ph: 8.0
Cal: 425
Alk: 9
Mag: 1500
Nitrite, ammonia: 0

So this is the point where I’m kinda lost. Lol. Everything is perfectly fine parameter wise, flow and lighting have been the same for months. There are only two possibilities i can think of:

1. Some residual copper/other medication was introduced via the recently added tang

2. A relative that stayed recently washed the filtersocks with laundry detergent. My mother says she did pull the filtersocks out of the washer with some clothes, but forgot to tell me. So this scenario is most probable in my mind.

Either way, GAC should take care of either detergent or copper, correct?? I added two large media bags of GAC to my sump last night.
This morning the corals polyps are out more, which is a plus. The strawberry shortcake that I was concerned about only sloughed once today compared to almost constant sloughing the day before. So hopefully the GAC helped?? I’m not sure at this point. I will keep this thread updated on the progress.

I am still open to more suggestions about what the cause of this is. Thank you all so very much for your help thus far !!
 

youngreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 8, 2019
Messages
38
Reaction score
25
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
this happened to me earlier this year... my parameters were very similar to yours.
if you are carbon dosing in some way. you should stop right away.
i ended up dosing nitrate from brightwell, and once my nitrates got to where the test got some color my corals started doing a lot better.
i also had a dino outbreak during this time btw.
fixed it dosing bleach.... which might have also helped the corals i believe.
hope i can help!
 
OP
OP
Cassian

Cassian

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,331
Reaction score
1,761
Location
MO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
this happened to me earlier this year... my parameters were very similar to yours.
if you are carbon dosing in some way. you should stop right away.
i ended up dosing nitrate from brightwell, and once my nitrates got to where the test got some color my corals started doing a lot better.
i also had a dino outbreak during this time btw.
fixed it dosing bleach.... which might have also helped the corals i believe.
hope i can help!

Thank you! I am not carbon dosing. I have been considering dosing nitrates as I have been fighting low nutrients. I appreciate the input!
 

Sarah24!

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
3,280
Reaction score
11,884
Location
Idaho
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello,

Sorry for the issues and I’m curious is it only acros that are being affected. Generally if your running low nutrients you want a lower alk and calcium because I keep mine around 7-8 and 420-450 because I have a mixed reef.

If your running active carbon that helps remove other toxins that may be harming your acros. Here is another point, I recently did a tank move. I suffered quiet a few losses from a very healthy tank. Now what caused mine was my tank was use to instant ocean salt and when I had to buy more water, the other lfs only had fritz salt mix. Both are good mixes but not together, I did a water change and used instant ocean again and a lot of my corals started to come back from the dead.
Running a stage 1 or 2 uv would also benefit you (make sure it’s not a clarifier, that won’t do anything but make the water clear).

With the washing of filter soaks, yes it’s not good but your skimmer should have gone crazy. The fact (unlessI missed it, leads me to believe that may not be an issue). If you have any leathers in your tank they can also releas e toxins and make colonies unhappy.

I would have a lfs confirm what your tests say and also try reducing the lights. It may give them time to heal and make sure if your dosing alk and calcium that you dump it in the sump. If it goes into the display from personal experience I have killed some acros really fast because they get a huge all swing before it finally mixes with the tank water.
Good luck
 
OP
OP
Cassian

Cassian

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,331
Reaction score
1,761
Location
MO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello,

Sorry for the issues and I’m curious is it only acros that are being affected. Generally if your running low nutrients you want a lower alk and calcium because I keep mine around 7-8 and 420-450 because I have a mixed reef.

If your running active carbon that helps remove other toxins that may be harming your acros. Here is another point, I recently did a tank move. I suffered quiet a few losses from a very healthy tank. Now what caused mine was my tank was use to instant ocean salt and when I had to buy more water, the other lfs only had fritz salt mix. Both are good mixes but not together, I did a water change and used instant ocean again and a lot of my corals started to come back from the dead.
Running a stage 1 or 2 uv would also benefit you (make sure it’s not a clarifier, that won’t do anything but make the water clear).

With the washing of filter soaks, yes it’s not good but your skimmer should have gone crazy. The fact (unlessI missed it, leads me to believe that may not be an issue). If you have any leathers in your tank they can also releas e toxins and make colonies unhappy.

I would have a lfs confirm what your tests say and also try reducing the lights. It may give them time to heal and make sure if your dosing alk and calcium that you dump it in the sump. If it goes into the display from personal experience I have killed some acros really fast because they get a huge all swing before it finally mixes with the tank water.
Good luck

Wow! Thank you for the info!! It is only acros that are being affected, and only about 3 out of the handful that I have. I agree with you about the low nutrients and lower alk and cal, but I really don’t have a way to lower that (I don’t think). That’s the natural params of my RO water that I top off my tank with. Thanks for the uv suggestion, I’ll do some research on that. And it is entirely possible that I missed the skimmer going nuts because I’ve been super busy lately and just dumping food to fish twice a day. Only reason I noticed this issue is because my big birdsnest went rtn over night almost. I do have leathers in the tank, but they look very happy and fluffy. I don’t dose anything at all so it can’t be from that. I have no clue what’s going on. Lol. I appreciate you sharing your experiences!! Thank you
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,852
Reaction score
200,121
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Appears to be dinos and some form of bacteria. I would recommend blackout or elimination of whites, blues at 5-10% and doing tank at Night with 10ml of hydrogen peroxide for 4-5 days. Prior to, blow stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon.
Also add bacteria supplement and increase flow a little. Do not use NoPox or coral food during treatment
 

Tamberav

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 4, 2014
Messages
9,550
Reaction score
14,629
Location
Wauwatosa, WI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like Alcaligenes faecalis or chrysophytes to me.

Google those with the word reef and see if either fits.

I would also suggest a kids microscope off Amazon for 15 dollars. It should be able to get you an ID which is important for treatment.
 
Last edited:

Reefkeeper12

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
100
Reaction score
85
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the info. That’s very unusual. I have clownfish, but have never seen them pick on the coral or anything and my sand is very course
When a bonded pair of clownfish is ready to mate, it is common knowledge that they clear the sand. They do this in preperation for sticking their eggs onto a smooth surface. Sounds like you’ve not experienced breeding clownfish yet.
 

ScottB

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
7,873
Reaction score
12,155
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Assuming you do not have green hair algae (GHA would confirm available nutrients) you have a root problem of insufficient nutrient for your SPS. They are weakened, so the slightest upset by contaminant is leading to rapid tissue loss.

I think @Tamberav is right about the chrysophytes, but I would consider them just a nuisance, a symptom and at worst a contributor to the problem as they are competing for limited nutrient.

I would be dosing sodium nitrate and trisodium phosphate. (In fact I do -- every day -- on my frag system).

If you HAVE GHA, then disregard this post. If you don't have GHA and don't start dosing, I will likely see you soon on a dinoflagellate thread. It is a club you don't want to join.

Wishing you well. Hang in there.
 

Kayvon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 30, 2017
Messages
229
Reaction score
199
Location
Colorado
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I will try that is the problem persists. Copper might be a possibility, however I think it is highly u likely

I had a similar problem of all my SPS mysteriously dying. My ICP tests showed elevated levels of all sorts of metals. One person I saw said cuprisorb absorbs a few other metals in addition to copper. Affter applying both cuprisorb and polyfilters and water changes my ICP tests came back normal and my SPS started surviving. It wasn't until I added really old live rock from a local reefer that my acros actually started growing.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 58 49.6%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 64 54.7%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 28 23.9%
  • None.

    Votes: 28 23.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 7.7%
Back
Top