Help ... my corals are gradually fading away

[Tim Olson]

Curious on what salt brand you are using ?

I've been using Tropic Marin Reef-Pro for about a year and run salinity at 1.025.

 

[Tim Olson]

Yes. I have two of those grounding probes. See picture. In a pinch you could run to Petco and grab a bottle of this. It works well.

I'll have to give Bio-Spira or Dr. Tim's. I'll go to my LFS and see what they have and recommend. Thanks.

 

[SMSREEF]

Deleted. You just answered

 

[Tim Olson]

One thing I noticed in your triton test. iodine is 0 and Iron is really high. Probably the iron is from whatever is releasing stray voltage. Maybe after you figure out the voltage you could do some large water changes...
@Randy Holmes-Farley what do you think about this iron level? How about iodine of 0 (is that even possible)?

Thanks ... I researched the Fe and Iodine some and if I'm not mistaken Randy Holmes-Farley has said it's not a big deal. But hopefully he'll have time to respond and tell us what the real story is.

 

[SMSREEF]

Thanks ... I researched the Fe and Iodine some and if I'm not mistaken Randy Holmes-Farley has said it's not a big deal. But hopefully he'll have time to respond and tell us what the real story is.

I see in the pics you have some zoas. I don’t have any experience with them but @Terry Mattson has an interesting thread you may be interested in reading. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/zoas-not-opening-up-solved.640437/

 

[Tim Olson]

I see in the pics you have some zoas. I don’t have any experience with them but @Terry Mattson has an interesting thread you may be interested in reading. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/zoas-not-opening-up-solved.640437/

That was a good thread. I see it was mainly focused on Iodine. FYI, this is a thread I had with Randy Holmes-Farley in 10/17, focusing on Iodine and Iodate. Also, here's an article he wrote on Iodine In Reef Tanks 2: Effects On Macroalgae Growth.

 

[Terry Mattson]

My zoas continue to thrive and they are adding new heads. Not at home but will send pics later. I tried everything, lights, dipping, location, food, etc. And in my case it was not the issue. Went on for months. Every week I at like 2 drops to maintain .06 ppm and the zoas are very happy.

 

[Tim Olson]

My zoas continue to thrive and they are adding new heads. Not at home but will send pics later. I tried everything, lights, dipping, location, food, etc. And in my case it was not the issue. Went on for months. Every week I at like 2 drops to maintain .06 ppm and the zoas are very happy.

I just found some Seachem Iodide I had, which I was doing a couple of years ago, to see if would help my invertebrates. So it sounds like I should give it a try. But I do need to get a good test kit. From your thread, it sounds like the Red Sea kit?

 

[SMSREEF]

That was a good thread. I see it was mainly focused on Iodine. FYI, this is a thread I had with Randy Holmes-Farley in 10/17, focusing on Iodine and Iodate. Also, here's an article he wrote on Iodine In Reef Tanks 2: Effects On Macroalgae Growth.

That was a great thread. How long did you continue to dose the iodine ,or, Do you still dose?

 

[Tim Olson]

That was a great thread. How long did you continue to dose the iodine ,or, Do you still dose?

I dosed it for a couple of months and stopped, since I didn't see any results with my inverts. But now the tank is more mature, being 2.5 years old, and I have noticed the zoas retracting more and some of the polyps dying. So I'll give it a try again, as part of the overall plan to get my corals healthy.

 

[Tim Olson]

Get that voltage figured out. That's definitely ******* everything off.

I did a test of what devices are creating the most stray voltage. In order they are:

Total with everything on is 25.1 volts AC
- Main heater is 9.5 volts
- Skimmer is 3.4 volts
- Tunze ATO is 3.1 volts
- AC backup pump I'm currently using is 3.0 volts
- 2 Vortech pumps - 2.5 volts
- Kessil H380 refugium light is 0.6 volts
- Kessil A360X display light is 0.2 volts
- GHL doser - no change
- BRS doser - no change
With everything turned off it was still showing about 3-5 volts.

So the plan is:
- Get a grounding cable
- Try using secondary heater vs. the primary one
- Reinstall my Ecotech Vectra M1 main pump, which is DC. I had it taken out for cleaning.
- Keep on testing and try to minimize further.

 

[Brew12]

I did a test of what devices are creating the most stray voltage. In order they are:

Total with everything on is 25.1 volts AC
- Main heater is 9.5 volts
- Skimmer is 3.4 volts
- Tunze ATO is 3.1 volts
- AC backup pump I'm currently using is 3.0 volts
- 2 Vortech pumps - 2.5 volts
- Kessil H380 refugium light is 0.6 volts
- Kessil A360X display light is 0.2 volts
- GHL doser - no change
- BRS doser - no change
With everything turned off it was still showing about 3-5 volts.

So the plan is:
- Get a grounding cable
- Try using secondary heater vs. the primary one
- Reinstall my Ecotech Vectra M1 main pump, which is DC. I had it taken out for cleaning.
- Keep on testing and try to minimize further.

Let me start by saying I am sorry for all of the troubles you are having. I find it unlikely that voltage is the issue.
In a reef tank there are two broad categories of voltages we can see. The first one is an induced voltage. Any time you run a current carrying conductor in water or next to the tank it will induce a voltage within the tank. This voltage is what we try to remove with a grounding cable.

The second voltage source we worry about is a fault voltage. This is when the insulation on a pump/cable degrades and the electrical conductors are touching the water. This may also generate heat. In addition to the electricity, I worry about copper and other contaminants making it into the system which can adversely impact corals.

To combat this, I run a ground probe with multiple GFCI's. If I have a piece of equipment fail I want to deenergize it as quickly as possible. In this case, it will trip the GFCI. I also don't want to lose all flow in my tank due to a GFCI tripping so I run the powerheads on a different circuit than my return pump.

Edit: I fall into the camp that you need to raise your nitrates and probably your lighting.

 

[motortrendz]

Let me start by saying I am sorry for all of the troubles you are having. I find it unlikely that voltage is the issue.
In a reef tank there are two broad categories of voltages we can see. The first one is an induced voltage. Any time you run a current carrying conductor in water or next to the tank it will induce a voltage within the tank. This voltage is what we try to remove with a grounding cable.

The second voltage source we worry about is a fault voltage. This is when the insulation on a pump/cable degrades and the electrical conductors are touching the water. This may also generate heat. In addition to the electricity, I worry about copper and other contaminants making it into the system which can adversely impact corals.

To combat this, I run a ground probe with multiple GFCI's. If I have a piece of equipment fail I want to deenergize it as quickly as possible. In this case, it will trip the GFCI. I also don't want to lose all flow in my tank due to a GFCI tripping so I run the powerheads on a different circuit than my return pump.

This is great advice.

 

[Tim Olson]

Let me start by saying I am sorry for all of the troubles you are having. I find it unlikely that voltage is the issue.
In a reef tank there are two broad categories of voltages we can see. The first one is an induced voltage. Any time you run a current carrying conductor in water or next to the tank it will induce a voltage within the tank. This voltage is what we try to remove with a grounding cable.

The second voltage source we worry about is a fault voltage. This is when the insulation on a pump/cable degrades and the electrical conductors are touching the water. This may also generate heat. In addition to the electricity, I worry about copper and other contaminants making it into the system which can adversely impact corals.

To combat this, I run a ground probe with multiple GFCI's. If I have a piece of equipment fail I want to deenergize it as quickly as possible. In this case, it will trip the GFCI. I also don't want to lose all flow in my tank due to a GFCI tripping so I run the powerheads on a different circuit than my return pump.

Thank you for the insight. That really helps. So it looks like I should get a grounding probe and some GFI's. ;Happy

 

[aqua_code]

Your triton test indicates you have 0 iodine.

This is a necessary element for corals and the recommended way of supplementation is through waterchanges so you don't overdose. Lack of iodine can lead to coral and anemones stressing out and bleaching.


Also high Iron(Fe) what's up with that are you dosing it? Really high phosphate too

 

[Tim Olson]

@Brew12 ... I'm falling in the camp too, that it's nitrates and lighting. It sounds like I should increase both nitrates and lighting intensity, but the key is how much. I've read many threads talking about nitrates and the levels very significantly, but seem to follow the Redfield ratio. On lighting, I don't have a par meter, so it looks like I should get one.

 

[motortrendz]

Soni just measured mine for some s and giggles to see, I used my fluke 88V meter. My sump to ground with everything running I show .5v in my display to ground I show 0.23v I dont have a ground rod. I have a titanium heater, a diablo skimmer with a sicce ac pump, a jaebo dc return pump. My ato doesnt have any electrical parts in the water. In my display o have an mp40 which has no electric in the tank and the nero 5 which does. I also have a chiller hooked up. So your 23v makes me wonder. But I definitly understand what was stated about induced current rather than fault current.

I dont think this will fix your problem but I believe it definilty cany hurt to put some grounds in the tank.

With all that said I there looks to be alot of dark algae on your rocks. Maybe you have a nutrient issue? Or lighting. It's really hard to say 1 thing is causing your problem. It's usually multiple things that compound the concern.

 

[JCOLE]

Do you dose any Aminos or trace elements?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Focus on several things.
I just fell victim to False salinity reading. Thought I was too low according to probe but I was already too high.
See as mentioned about stray voltage as I never had it in my cube tank until I installed additional power hread. I added a ground probe and everything bounced back.
Feed 2-3X per week as daily not necessary and may even raise your Phos and Nitrate levels.
Do add Iodine 2-3X per week and Potassium 2X per week and Aminos 3X per week. These get depleted quickly based on number of coral.

I personally regarding salinity, Phos, Calcium and Alk would grab a nice sample of water from your tank and take it to a trusted LFS and have them test it for you to compare with your reading and see what levels they come up with.

 

[Brew12]

I've read many threads talking about nitrates and the levels very significantly, but seem to follow the Redfield ratio. On lighting, I don't have a par meter, so it looks like I should get one.

I think there is value in trying to understand the concept behind the Redfield ratio but there is no way to use it in a practical manner. The Redfield ratio is the total of all nitrogen and phosphorus sources, not just nitrate and phosphate. It includes all the DOC's that test kits won't measure along with N2 gas and plenty of other items.

A par meter would be ideal but that isn't always an option. The next best thing to do is try and find other users who happen to use that same light and try to match their intensity settings and mounting height. I know @Crabs McJones knows a lot about Kessils, he may be able to offer some setting advice.