HELP!! SPS corals are not opening.

[Diazcm]

Good morning everyone!! I've searched everywhere for a thread that best matches my issue but i've come up empty so here it goes.....
I have some sps corals in my tank ( Red sea Reefer 450) some gifted and some purchased they are a green slimmer, red planet, pc rainbow, and a pantera rosa they have all been doing great in my tank for a couple of months now until last tuesday (10/31/17) i made the huge error to dos red sea coral colors ABCD. In hopes to get better coloring and growth I did not do full dos but did half of it ( ex: calls for 2mL I would dos 1mL) now its been a week since and they haven't opened again. I have done water change, run carbon, stopped dosing coral colors, done everything i can think of to try and fix this issue and gets my corals up again.
Anything else i can do? i'd really hate to lose these corals since they are my first set of sps any advice would be great thank you!

Cal- 445ppm
Alk- 8.2
Mag-1420
Phos- 0.06
Nit-.025
Sal- 1.026

 

[clownfish chris]

Did you overdose? I would suggest simply letting it settle. You have done everything I would have done. Continue with frequent water changes. Make sure the new water matches the old as much as possible. Stability is key. Also, look to other reasons they may be irritated. Temperature and other parameter swings. Also, if you made a change to the light.

Check the corals with a flashlight before lights on in the morning. You would be amazed the polyp extension.

 

[Diazcm]

Did you overdose? I would suggest simply letting it settle. You have done everything I would have done. Continue with frequent water changes. Make sure the new water matches the old as much as possible. Stability is key. Also, look to other reasons they may be irritated. Temperature and other parameter swings. Also, if you made a change to the light.

Check the corals with a flashlight before lights on in the morning. You would be amazed the polyp extension.

Thank you for the reply. I dosed half the recommend dos just for that reason to avoid overdosing but you may be right i probably did overdosed. I look at my tank every night an hour after the lights go out and nothing, I haven't checked them in the morning but i will tomorrow and see. I'm trying to let it settle but since its been a week already and no change i'm afraid that each additional day passing i'm losing them.

 

[clownfish chris]

Good for you on moving slowly. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to go slow with everything and don’t do anything without a reason.

Why did you start dosing in the first place? I started trace elements when I switched back to Instant Ocean. There are no trace elements in IO. I had no ill affects.

Pick up the corresponding test kits and check those levels. Red Sea Fish Pharm ARE21515 Saltwater Reef Color Pro Multi Test Kit for Aquarium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L48N1C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_krWaAb75JK2GEReport back.

 

[BigJim]

Do you see the polyps at all? I would be concerned that it might be something other than the Red Sea products. The corals should have used up the elements in a week and recovered if that was the issue.

Do you run carbon? I would try to run carbon and maybe buy a poly filter to make sure there are not some other contaminates in the water.

 

[Diazcm]

Good for you on moving slowly. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to go slow with everything and don’t do anything without a reason.

Why did you start dosing in the first place? I started trace elements when I switched back to Instant Ocean. There are no trace elements in IO. I had no ill affects.

Pick up the corresponding test kits and check those levels. Red Sea Fish Pharm ARE21515 Saltwater Reef Color Pro Multi Test Kit for Aquarium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L48N1C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_krWaAb75JK2GEReport back.

I started dosing to get better colors and growth. i was thinking of getting that test kit or the triton kits to see exactly what i have.

Do you see the polyps at all? I would be concerned that it might be something other than the Red Sea products. The corals should have used up the elements in a week and recovered if that was the issue.

Do you run carbon? I would try to run carbon and maybe buy a poly filter to make sure there are not some other contaminates in the water.

yea no extension at all. I have been running carbon since Wednesday and did a 15% water change on Saturday doing another water change this Saturday in hopes that it removes whatever is irritating my corals.
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question but what is a poly filter? I'm using that blue/white floss filter.

 

[Monti34]

Are they opening when the lights are off? Or never?

 

[Monti34]

Nature dictates coral polyp extension is usually a nighttime thing polyp extension isn’t really an indication of health.

 

[BigJim]

I started dosing to get better colors and growth. i was thinking of getting that test kit or the triton kits to see exactly what i have.

yea no extension at all. I have been running carbon since Wednesday and did a 15% water change on Saturday doing another water change this Saturday in hopes that it removes whatever is irritating my corals.
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question but what is a poly filter? I'm using that blue/white floss filter.

That's not a dumb question at all. I should have given you more information. It is a pad similar to filter floss that removes metals from your tank. I am not saying you have metal in your tank but it is a relatively inexpensive way to check. Here is a link to the poly filter.

https://www.marinedepot.com/Poly_Fi...Media-Poly_Bio_Marine-PB1111-FIFMMEPM-vi.html

 

[Monti34]

I’d quit playing w your chemistry if there isn’t a definitive issue. Calm downturn not to panic and do an icp test. Find out what’s really going on.

 

[Diazcm]

Are they opening when the lights are off? Or never?

not even at night, my lights go off at 10:00pm and i check them at 11-11:30 and nothing.

That's not a dumb question at all. I should have given you more information. It is a pad similar to filter floss that removes metals from your tank. I am not saying you have metal in your tank but it is a relatively inexpensive way to check. Here is a link to the poly filter.

https://www.marinedepot.com/Poly_Fi...Media-Poly_Bio_Marine-PB1111-FIFMMEPM-vi.html

Thank you! i found it on amazon using prime should get to my house by friday.

 

[Diazcm]

I’d quit playing w your chemistry if there isn’t a definitive issue. Calm downturn not to panic and do an icp test. Find out what’s really going on.

i really never mess with my tank just this one time i was hoping to get brighter colors and growth and look where it got me. i've done everything i can think of just not sure what else to do and reaching out to the community for help.

 

[BigJim]

Are you sure they are still alive? I'm not trying to insult you, but you are new to acros and it isn't always easy to tell when you are new to something. It might be worth posting pictures just to make sure you are not just looking at coral skeletons.

 

[Diazcm]

Are you sure they are still alive? I'm not trying to insult you, but you are new to acros and it isn't always easy to tell when you are new to something. It might be worth posting pictures just to make sure you are not just looking at coral skeletons.

i think their still alive cause they still have color on them if they were brown or bleaching white then i would be saying otherwise.

 

[lilchris_357]

I would double check your salinity. When was the last time you calibrated your refractometer?

 

[lilchris_357]

Remember doing too many water changes can make things worse due swings in chemistry. Make sure your alk is spot on when doing water changes so you have no swings. I wouldn't dose any trace elements until test for them to see where they are at.

 

[rtparty]

There are no trace elements in IO.

What are "trace elements" and why would IO not have them?

Or do they just not "market" them since no one has a clue what they actually do?

 

[Diazcm]

I would double check your salinity. When was the last time you calibrated your refractometer?

Yesterday, i calibrate my refractometer before i do any salinity test.

Remember doing too many water changes can make things worse due swings in chemistry. Make sure your alk is spot on when doing water changes so you have no swings. I wouldn't dose any trace elements until test for them to see where they are at.

so should i hold off on this weekends WC? my ALK has been steady at 8.2 for 5 days now but Cal is creeping up slowly and i'm dosing equal parts but that's a whole other discussion.

 

[clownfish chris]

What are "trace elements" and why would IO not have them?

Or do they just not "market" them since no one has a clue what they actually do?

There was an paper from I believe it was the university of Hawaii that broke it down by type of salt. IO has the lowest of trace elements Such as potassium, strontium, iron, etc. I can’t find it now but with some digging I’ll see if I can pull it up. Why would they not have them? You would have to ask the manufacturer. Also, the salt does contain a low amount of these elements. I was speaking in relative terms for the OP.

 

[clownfish chris]

Yesterday, i calibrate my refractometer before i do any salinity test.

so should i hold off on this weekends WC? my ALK has been steady at 8.2 for 5 days now but Cal is creeping up slowly and i'm dosing equal parts but that's a whole other discussion.

I would never tell anyone not to do a water change. I would, and did say however to be sure to match parameters. Ideally, you should keep the tank to match the parameters the salt mixes to. That way any water change can be done at anytime provided temp matches. I wouldn’t worry about PH during a water change of anything less than 50%.

Trace elements are also introduced in food BTW.

Your SPS sound like they are simply irritated. If the colors are good and there is no bleaching or necrosis, you should be fine. They need time and stability. Waterchanges done correctly will not affect stability.