Help with My Corals

[Willu]

Hmm, yeah just make sure you properly calibrate your refractometer when you get it, either with water from your lfs or make your own standard, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.php.

Also it seems that you have some minor algae issues and that is probably why you read 0,0 for nitrates and phosphates although you were using API. And your corals may be starving bc any available nutrients are going towards growing your algae. I would recommend that once you get refractometer, start doing water changes and manually removing the algae.

Also I don’t think you need to dose iron, as you don’t have that much macro algae from what I can see and I’m fairly certain that water changes can sustain it until it grows way more. Like others have said iron dosing can cause negative effects if not done properly and I don’t see why you need to dose iron since you don’t have too much macro. It may also be feeding the other types of algae in your system.

Have you ever measure the TDS of the distilled water you are using, this may also be important as old distillation systems might use copper plumbing from what I’ve read.

And once you get your test kits let us know the parameters you are reading and we’ll see if we can move on from there if you are still having issues.

 

[Joe Tony]

Hmm, yeah just make sure you properly calibrate your refractometer when you get it, either with water from your lfs or make your own standard, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.php.

Also it seems that you have some minor algae issues and that is probably why you read 0,0 for nitrates and phosphates although you were using API. And your corals may be starving bc any available nutrients are going towards growing your algae. I would recommend that once you get refractometer, start doing water changes and manually removing the algae.

Also I don’t think you need to dose iron, as you don’t have that much macro algae from what I can see and I’m fairly certain that water changes can sustain it until it grows way more. Like others have said iron dosing can cause negative effects if not done properly and I don’t see why you need to dose iron since you don’t have too much macro. It may also be feeding the other types of algae in your system.

Have you ever measure the TDS of the distilled water you are using, this may also be important as old distillation systems might use copper plumbing from what I’ve read.

And once you get your test kits let us know the parameters you are reading and we’ll see if we can move on from there if you are still having issues.

The algae is getting under control. I have a tuxedo urchin and snails that are really helping, but it's been primarily an issue because of how I was dosing iron way too much as it was definitely feeding the pest algae growth.

I've not had a TDS meter to measure the distilled, but I'm also not in any position to invest or set up an RO/DI system in my parent's house. That being said I could get a TDS meter to test distilled if you think that's an issue.

Also what do you mean by 'calibration?' I never heard about this being a thing? Is there a whole sciency process I have to do when I get the refractometer before it's even good for testing the water?

 

[Willu]

The algae is getting under control. I have a tuxedo urchin and snails that are really helping, but it's been primarily an issue because of how I was dosing iron way too much as it was definitely feeding the pest algae growth.

I've not had a TDS meter to measure the distilled, but I'm also not in any position to invest or set up an RO/DI system in my parent's house. That being said I could get a TDS meter to test distilled if you think that's an issue.

Also what do you mean by 'calibration?' I never heard about this being a thing? Is there a whole sciency process I have to do when I get the refractometer before it's even good for testing the water?

Calibration is basically just tuning the refractometer so that it is getting proper readings, it's a very simple process. Your refractometer will probably come with a tiny screwdriver that you can use to adjust the reading. So for example, if you know that the water from the LFS is 1.026ppt and your refractometer reads 1.025 you'll have to slightly adjust it.

 

[Joe Tony]

Calibration is basically just tuning the refractometer so that it is getting proper readings, it's a very simple process. Your refractometer will probably come with a tiny screwdriver that you can use to adjust the reading. So for example, if you know that the water from the LFS is 1.026ppt and your refractometer reads 1.025 you'll have to slightly adjust it.

Oh, so it's like tuning an analog clock on your watch to make sure the time is right.

 

[Willu]

Oh, so it's like tuning an analog clock on your watch to make sure the time is right.

Yeah more or less.

 

[Joe Tony]

Yeah more or less.

Okay. So all I would have to do is take the refractometer to my LFS and ask them to compare its reading to their own and adjust it accordingly.

 

[Willu]

Okay. So all I would have to do is take the refractometer to my LFS and ask them to compare its reading to their own and adjust it accordingly.

Yes that would work.

 

[jorwill]

My 30 head duncan at about 4 years old was closed up for several months, tried everything to please it. Then I switched salt from IO/RC to Fritz and now is open and happy, this was a few months ago. Well recently I went back to IO/RC because of the price half of Fritz, now is closing up again. I make sure water parameters are the same when doing water change. So yes I think they can close up for several months and recover. When I get a chance I will go back to Fritz.

Fritz blue? Or red? IO/RC has a very high alkalinity and if you went to blue fritz it barely has over an 8dkh compared to around 13 IOrc has. Just an FYI. Then you tried switching back to IO. You may be throwing huge swings on your alk.

 

[ArtofReefing]

I have a 30 gallon nano tank that's well established with a clownfish pair, damsel, brittle star, reef lobster, urchin, snails, hermit crabs, pods, etc., and I have a few coral. Everything's been doing great, except for two of my four coral frags

My red monti cap had shown signs of bleaching shortly after I first got it about a month ago, and that may have been because I put it too high on the light a couple of times. Since leaving it on the bottom it more or less stopped bleaching, but it also hasn't been showing any signs of recovering despite providing it with regular feedings several times a week

And my duncan coral frag and mushroom closed up since my last water change, which I gave the tank in December, when I first got the frag.

A week or two ago I was told that I needed to get more fish in order to add some nitrate so the corals wouldn't starve. The mushroom has since fully recovered and the duncan is more open now than it was but it's still not fully open with that tentacly/anemone look that they're supposed to have. I've also had a few duncan corals in the years passed that also behaved this way. I fed the fish more and put plankton in a bit more often as well, and just today I pulled the lighting intensity back from 40% to 10%. The light is a VIPRASPECTRA LED

I currently don't have a means of providing an accurate test for water parameters but will be getting some salifert and hanna test kits in the near future, but considering everything else is showing no signs of an issue, including my candy cane coral and my mushroom, my parameters don't seem to be out of whack.

What I'd like to know is if there's anything else I could be doing or am missing that would help the red monti recover from the bleaching, and to have the dunan coral finally open up again. Like, should I add a fourth fish to the mix? Here's the coral frags:

I have a 30 gallon nano tank that's well established with a clownfish pair, damsel, brittle star, reef lobster, urchin, snails, hermit crabs, pods, etc., and I have a few coral. Everything's been doing great, except for two of my four coral frags

My red monti cap had shown signs of bleaching shortly after I first got it about a month ago, and that may have been because I put it too high on the light a couple of times. Since leaving it on the bottom it more or less stopped bleaching, but it also hasn't been showing any signs of recovering despite providing it with regular feedings several times a week

And my duncan coral frag and mushroom closed up since my last water change, which I gave the tank in December, when I first got the frag.

A week or two ago I was told that I needed to get more fish in order to add some nitrate so the corals wouldn't starve. The mushroom has since fully recovered and the duncan is more open now than it was but it's still not fully open with that tentacly/anemone look that they're supposed to have. I've also had a few duncan corals in the years passed that also behaved this way. I fed the fish more and put plankton in a bit more often as well, and just today I pulled the lighting intensity back from 40% to 10%. The light is a VIPRASPECTRA LED

I currently don't have a means of providing an accurate test for water parameters but will be getting some salifert and hanna test kits in the near future, but considering everything else is showing no signs of an issue, including my candy cane coral and my mushroom, my parameters don't seem to be out of whack.

What I'd like to know is if there's anything else I could be doing or am missing that would help the red monti recover from the bleaching, and to have the dunan coral finally open up again. Like, should I add a fourth fish to the mix? Here's the coral frags:

Sometimes your water can be so clean that the light intensity will damage corals that are not used to high lights, because low nutrients will mean more light passes through the water with less resistance to par, at a rate your corals may not be used to.

 

[Joe Tony]

So yesterday I put it back up to 30% from the 10% I tried. Should I try moving the duncan and monti into shadier spots (though the monti is already in a shady spot)? Could flow be a factor as well? I think, where I have the duncan, it's barely getting any flow.

 

[anthonygf]

Fritz blue? Or red? IO/RC has a very high alkalinity and if you went to blue fritz it barely has over an 8dkh compared to around 13 IOrc has. Just an FYI. Then you tried switching back to IO. You may be throwing huge swings on your alk.

I switched to fritz blue and adjusted alk to match tank readings, I should just use the red box. Anyway with 10% water change weekly the alk barely changes if I do not adjust the alk of the new salt mix.

 

[Joe Tony]

UPDATE: My purple reef lobster just died out of nowhere

So there definitely seems to be something wrong with the parameters, whether it's salinity or something else. I pray my refractometer comes in short time so I can do the necessary water changes.

 

[Millimylilly]

I’ve found that over time the animals in our tanks can adapt to the new environment we put them in. So if your salinity was slowly creeping up or down the animals were getting used to it. Some animals adapt better than others.

 

[Rutrag]

Okay. So all I would have to do is take the refractometer to my LFS and ask them to compare its reading to their own and adjust it accordingly.

You should use a calibration solution for your refractometer. Many refractometers come with the calibration solution, which is precisely mixed to a given salinity/ specific gravity. You just use a couple of drops on the refractometer, then adjust your refractometer to match (usually 35 ppt/ 1.026 sg). Matching to another refractometer is going to add a bigger margin of error, and there's likely no guarantee your LFS is calibrating their refractometer like they should.

 

[Joe Tony]

I’ve found that over time the animals in our tanks can adapt to the new environment we put them in. So if your salinity was slowly creeping up or down the animals were getting used to it. Some animals adapt better than others.

Do you think there's a chance that, while I don't do any water changes up until the time I get my refractometer set up, that more critters will die?

And what do you think killed the lobster? The body doesn't look like it was having a bad molt or anything, although I do believe it was a while since it molted.

 

[Joe Tony]

You should use a calibration solution for your refractometer. Many refractometers come with the calibration solution, which is precisely mixed to a given salinity/ specific gravity. You just use a couple of drops on the refractometer, then adjust your refractometer to match (usually 35 ppt/ 1.026 sg). Matching to another refractometer is going to add a bigger margin of error, and there's likely no guarantee your LFS is calibrating their refractometer like they should.

Should I assume the refractometer will come with instructions as well?

 

[Millimylilly]

Do you have an ATO set up? If salinity keeps creeping up/down then likely more will die. If using an ATO then wait until the refractometer arrives. If not using an ATO then it’s likely your salinity has risen over time and a significant water change is necessary with lower salinity water.

 

[Rutrag]

Should I assume the refractometer will come with instructions as well?

It should, but even if it doesn't, they're not that hard to use or calibrate. Odds are you can find a video on YouTube if you need it. I once felt intimidated by them, but once in hand, they're really pretty simple.

To calibrate:

1. Open the cover and place a couple of drops of solution on the prism.
2. Close the cover.
3. While looking through the eyepiece, you'll see a portion of the view is blue and a portion is white. (At least in the ones I've used. I assume they could make different colors.) You take the reading where the blue and white meet.
4. If what is shown on the gauge in the eyepiece is different than the calibration solution, you simply turn the screw to make them match.
5. Rinse the prism with RODI water and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. (This keeps minerals from building up the prism which will make it harder to read over time.)

Reading it just leaves out step 4. Be sure to use the same light source each time so you are consistent. IME, the whiter and brighter the light you read it in, the easier it is to see. Trying to read it in blue lights is next to impossible for me.

 

[Joe Tony]

It should, but even if it doesn't, they're not that hard to use or calibrate. Odds are you can find a video on YouTube if you need it. I once felt intimidated by them, but once in hand, they're really pretty simple.

To calibrate:

1. Open the cover and place a couple of drops of solution on the prism.
2. Close the cover.
3. While looking through the eyepiece, you'll see a portion of the view is blue and a portion is white. (At least in the ones I've used. I assume they could make different colors.) You take the reading where the blue and white meet.
4. If what is shown on the gauge in the eyepiece is different than the calibration solution, you simply turn the screw to make them match.
5. Rinse the prism with RODI water and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. (This keeps minerals from building up the prism which will make it harder to read over time.)

Reading it just leaves out step 4. Be sure to use the same light source each time so you are consistent. IME, the whiter and brighter the light you read it in, the easier it is to see. Trying to read it in blue lights is next to impossible for me.

Alright. I'll look back to these instructions you listed in case it doesn't come with any

 

[Joe Tony]

So I did the tests and it seems like my problems are salinity and temperature. The salinity's too high and the temperature's too low. So I'm gonna make the necessary adjustments. I think I should also get a new water heater. The one I've been using is probably about 5 years old now, and for a long time it hasn't seemed as effective as it should be.