HELP ASAP

[DariusThomas]

Hello, I have been having issues with my tank for some time now, with no fix in sight I’m leaning towards selling the system and giving up.
here’s to a last ditch effort in fixing the tank.
So my issues are as followed: my tank is having a massive coral die out, all zoas are melting away, plate montipora melting and lps dying. My fish have ich and suspected gill fluxes due to my fish ‘flashing’ and ‘shaking their heads’ I’ve just lost my emperor angle fish due to this... with it discolouring massively... so my fish have ich, gill flukes and possibly internal parasites. I haven’t got the option to treat them in another tank with copper, as both money and space doesn’t allow. My parameters are ******... don’t know how it got this bad... what are my honest options... I am treating fish with prazipro (second dose today) however I’ve been doing waterchanges to try fix my issues. Please be gentle... I’m in a bad place at the moment...

my personal opinion on options
Get rid of corals , treat with copper...

 

[mike550]

@DariusThomas sorry to hear you’re having so much trouble. That’s a lot going on all at once. So two easy Qs. Did you change anything before all of this started to happen? What are your ammonia and nitrate levels?

 

[Aquachristik]

Do a quick check for rusty equipment. Although I don't see elevated tin, other metals seem to be present. Try some Purit or Cuprisorb and see if that works. My condolences brother.

 

[DariusThomas]

@DariusThomas sorry to hear you’re having so much trouble. That’s a lot going on all at once. So two easy Qs. Did you change anything before all of this started to happen? What are your ammonia and nitrate levels?

Hello, yeah! It’s a very rough patch in my reefing experience, I’ve been battling illness within the tank for a very long time now, looking at 4-5 months, ever since I added the emperor angel, it had its ups and downs... I just want to know any reef safe treatments for fluxes internal and gill, and any internal parasites. My ammonia is 0 and nitrates are sky high at 50-100 (my test kit isn’t accurate enough) however I think my coral issues lie with the unknown copper in the tank? Not sure how to get it out...
Thinking detox would be good after frequent waterchanges to remove nitrate and phosphate?

 

[DariusThomas]

Do a quick check for rusty equipment. Although I don't see elevated tin, other metals seem to be present. Try some Purit or Cuprisorb and see if that works. My condolences brother.

My refugium light gets rusty, however it doesn’t drip into the tank as it is ontop of the painted plate (I have a typical square grow light) other than that... I’m ‘forgetting’ about the corals and trying to treat my fish... any reef safe suggestions for internal parasites and flukes? And would the method explained in the other comment suit?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Sorry for all you're going through. I think the coral issue is most likely due to the copper primarily, but it also looks like your water quality isn't good given the very high phosphate and nitrate levels. This link to one of the disease sticky threads should have all the info you need on treating your fish:

Fish Disease Index

This thread contains links to commonly encountered saltwater fish diseases. Please click on the blue links below for more info. :) Fish Diseases 101 provides a brief rundown of both common and not so common diseases. Bacterial Infections Black Ich (turbellarians) Brooklynella (clownfish...

www.reef2reef.com

Regarding that copper source, do you have any brass fittings in any plumbing that's in contact with saltwater?

 

[DariusThomas]

Tj

Sorry for all you're going through. I think the coral issue is most likely due to the copper primarily, but it also looks like your water quality isn't good given the very high phosphate and nitrate levels. This link to one of the disease sticky threads should have all the info you need on treating your fish:

Fish Disease Index

This thread contains links to commonly encountered saltwater fish diseases. Please click on the blue links below for more info. :) Fish Diseases 101 provides a brief rundown of both common and not so common diseases. Bacterial Infections Black Ich (turbellarians) Brooklynella (clownfish...

www.reef2reef.com

Regarding that copper source, do you have any brass fittings in any plumbing that's in contact with saltwater?

Thank you, and nope, all fittings are made from pvc pipe work, the two possible options are rusty components/ metal, or something leaching from rock work? All rock is ‘second hand’ and has been used previously from another person (mix of different tanks) so possibly could’ve got some QT rock... stupid decision I know... I was new and dumb... is there any way of getting the copper out? Like detox... also I’m starting to get issues with slime algae... would this be the high phosphates, I’ve only seen it since I’ve been doing water changes

 

[BostonReefer300]

Copper coming off rocks isn’t something to really worry about. It’s not like rocks are a copper sponge that’ll store huge amounts of copper and then release it. Any residual copper on rocks from a QT for example should go away pretty quickly from water changes and, if chelates, with activated carbon. Assuming you’ve done several good sized water changes since you put that rock in, I’d have a hard time believing that level of copper leached from the rocks. So, it’s either coming from your water supply, something else you’re adding to your tank, or is a contaminant from something eroding in your tank. Are you using RODI source water with zero TDS? Did you dose copper by accident perhaps? Is there a penny sitting at the bottom of your sump? Etc etc.

 

[DariusThomas]

Copper coming off rocks isn’t something to really worry about. It’s not like rocks are a copper sponge that’ll store huge amounts of copper and then release it. Any residual copper on rocks from a QT for example should go away pretty quickly from water changes and, if chelates, with activated carbon. Assuming you’ve done several good sized water changes since you put that rock in, I’d have a hard time believing that level of copper leached from the rocks. So, it’s either coming from your water supply, something else you’re adding to your tank, or is a contaminant from something eroding in your tank. Are you using RODI source water with zero TDS? Did you dose copper by accident perhaps? Is there a penny sitting at the bottom of your sump? Etc etc.

Hello, thanks for your input! I have cleaned the bottom of my sump out quite thoroughly, I’m doing a large 50-60% waterchange tomorrow to try knock all levels down massively... I know it’s risky but I just can’t cope with all the losses... can phosphates remover like rowaphos release copper if sitting stagnant/ not being tumbled? And how about this? Its rusty, yeah... but nothing here is copper? Not that I’m aware of? It’s stumping me massively, possibly my Ro source? I did change my rodi source relatively equal times to when I started suffering? But I couldn’t say for 100%... I have changed source since... finally, I collect natural sea water? But tests done in that area don’t show copper... I have a flipper magnet in the tank and a couple Jebao magnets...

 

[mike550]

I’m sure there are much smarter people than me that can chime in. But massive water change (or maybe 1/3 each day for there days) would certainly bring down your nitrates and phosphates. If it were me, I’d also vacuum the heck out of the sand. I guess when you’re done with the waTer changes you can restart prazi pro.

If your priority is the fish, can you take out your coral to put it in a bucket or anything to try and save it later?

Again sorry for whatever is going on.

 

[ying yang]

Im no expert as new to saltwater but them fittings are rusty and lights have fans so pulling in air from around fitting and if pulls in air then must push air out at another point so in my unexperienced new to saltwater opinion i would be changing everything that is rusty and adding some product like suggested above to absorb any heavy metals as quite a few showing red for metals so take it red is bad yeah.

And what i mean by sucking air in from the fan and pushing air out at another point is could be sucking microscopic rusty metal particles into the light then pushing them out the light and they dropping into the sump or wherever that light is above and as time goes by you just adding more and more and more.
Maybe im way off but just my opinion.

Good luck and if try and look hard enough you shall find problem and fix it.

Edit: be surprised also how high water bubbles from waterfalls in sump from all the splashing/saltcreep

 

[BostonReefer300]

The green color on the hanging eyelets looks like oxidized copper to me. Per other comments above, I wouldn't be surprised if there's more splashing going on than you realize which is washing some copper into your sump. Couple that with some copper dust getting knocked loose anytime you move that light and that likely explains your copper issue. And, no, phosphate removing media don't leach copper.
Regarding water change volume, one can safely do a 100% water change theoretically, but it takes extra time and very careful attention to detail. However, doing three 50% water changes over three days will give you about 82% new water and stands less chance of something going wrong and further stressing out your sick fish.

 

[DariusThomas]

The green color on the hanging eyelets looks like oxidized copper to me. Per other comments above, I wouldn't be surprised if there's more splashing going on than you realize which is washing some copper into your sump. Couple that with some copper dust getting knocked loose anytime you move that light and that likely explains your copper issue. And, no, phosphate removing media don't leach copper.
Regarding water change volume, one can safely do a 100% water change theoretically, but it takes extra time and very careful attention to detail. However, doing three 50% water changes over three days will give you about 82% new water and stands less chance of something going wrong and further stressing out your sick fish.

Thanks, I shall spray paint this light today, hopefully sealing off this... I was overlooking the light massively... stupid of me... do you think all my metals are down to this?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Thanks, I shall spray paint this light today, hopefully sealing off this... I was overlooking the light massively... stupid of me... do you think all my metals are down to this?

Most likely. If you've got a little free cash lying around, I'd suggest getting a new light. This waterproof one worked well for me:

Waterproof 10000K LED Fixture 8821.00

Waterproof | Efficient Recommended Spread: 14" x 8" The Tunze LED system is a full spectrum light that is super easy to mount. Mounting the light is done with a magnetic holder that can hold the light in multiple positions and orientations. The innovative design is fully waterproof and is...

www.bulkreefsupply.com