Lost..completely lost

[no1268]

calcium way off the chart, alka too too, ph is high dangerous level. it doesn't add up, you have a CO2 deficient in your tank. low Alka at your level ph should 8.2 to 8.3 ( normal), so you don't have enough CO2 for your coral to carry out photosynthesis, that is why it is dying The “How To†Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 3: pH by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com, scroll down to the graph. either add a co2 reactor or do mad aeration with proper aeration ph problem should be solved.

 

[no1268]

low alka level + high ph = CO2 deficiency
high alka + low PH = too much CO2

best solution: proper aeration

 

[no1268]

yes, starvation due to lack of CO2 for photosynthesis to take place

 

[no1268]

PH is usually a sign of something go wrong because it is directly related to every single parameter, so be ALARM that your PH is high. don't neglect it like this guy

 

[Pete polyp]

I would assume it would be to the rise in nutrients due to die off during the move+stress. It will take a few weeks for this to take effect on the corals. In my case, the rise in nutrients caused my sps to color up because I had no nutrients before the move. I haven't seen any reports of your nutrients (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates) the ph is high, but what is the swing? Your ca/alk balance is wayyyyyyyyy off and that could be another contributing factor. For the life of me I can't figure out how you got your ca so high without a higher mag level. This could be the reason everything turned blue, but I'm unsure. Google "blue coral method" and its associated with high ca/alk. It seems you are on the right track with bringing the ca down. With 8.5dkh the balance should be around 425

 

[Reef Fever]

I will have nutrient readings In a few hours, testing them at work shortly. For those that say how high my cal is, i do agree but there aRe many who report keeping it that high successfully.

As far as pH goes I don't think it's an aeration issue (but I still added a powerhead to the sump), I believe that was my fault. I'm manually dosing alk and realized the other day (stupid thing to look over) that it's carb based and this increased my pH.

I'm in no way trying to refute Anyone's suggestions/advice. Just tryin to get a large pool of knowledge to contribute and pull from; as I'm sure we can all agree there's nothing in this hobby that only one answer is a universal solution.


Pete, you and me both are wondering how the mag/cal ratio got the way that it did..idk how in the world it's even possible.. One thing in your reply though I have to correct. Not everything turned blue, what I stated about blues was that the acros with blue in them or primarily blue were the only ones losing tissue (for the most part)

 

[Reef Fever]

PH is usually a sign of something go wrong because it is directly related to every single parameter, so be ALARM that your PH is high. don't neglect it like this guy

if you are going to be rude than don't reply. I haven't neglected anything, there was a change after my move and have been working at it constantly. I am all but a neglectful person so your rudeness is not welcome here.

And here's a quote from randy Holmes fArley " In my opinion, the pH range from 7.8 to 8.5 is an acceptable range for reef aquaria.." So essentially while my pH is high I agree, it's not of a dangerous level. I am utilizing aeration to bring it down. Once it comes down I am going to see if it will maintain without the added aeration to determine if this was derived from my alk dosing

 

[Chameleon]

more fish also increase co2

 

[ritter6788]

Take a turkey baster and gently blow some of the acros and see if any thing blows off. I know you said you didn't think it was pests but I didn't either and I had AEFW. You can have them and not know it and dipping does nothing for the eggs. If you had red bugs there is a very good chance you have AEFW also. If you can, remove some of the affected acros and check around the bases for eggs.

Just thinking out loud here so you have another thing to check.

 

[Reef Fever]

Take a turkey baster and gently blow some of the acros and see if any thing blows off. I know you said you didn't think it was pests but I didn't either and I had AEFW. You can have them and not know it and dipping does nothing for the eggs. If you had red bugs there is a very good chance you have AEFW also. If you can, remove some of the affected acros and check around the bases for eggs.

Just thinking out loud here so you have another thing to check.

Thanks ill do so. I removed the last affected acro yesterday and haven't had any necrosis today. I did run some chemistries at work today and this is what I got. I am thinking there definitely was some sand die off as there is some ammonia present. Here are the readings I got today:

No2: 0.008 mg/L
NH3: 0.03 mg/L
No3: 2.0 mg/L
Cu: 0 (as it should be LOL)

This one kind of surprised me, it was the Chlorine.. measured at 0.08 mg/L. I added a few crystals of thiosulfate tonight and will test it, along with ammonia again tomorrow

 

[Squamosa]

if you are going to be rude than don't reply. I haven't neglected anything, there was a change after my move and have been working at it constantly. I am all but a neglectful person so your rudeness is not welcome here.

And here's a quote from randy Holmes fArley " In my opinion, the pH range from 7.8 to 8.5 is an acceptable range for reef aquaria.." So essentially while my pH is high I agree, it's not of a dangerous level. I am utilizing aeration to bring it down. Once it comes down I am going to see if it will maintain without the added aeration to determine if this was derived from my alk dosing

What Randy was saying is that it's not where the pH value is at (within reason) but the swing in pH, If you don't have a big swing in pH from day/night then don't worry.

Start back at the beginning with the basics: Check salinity and temperature, get your Ca, Mg and dKH to 'normal' values and keep them rock steady. Get your nutrients to low levels. Frag mercilessly if you have to and things will turn around for you :smile:

Good luck buddy1smile1

 

[Squamosa]

Thanks ill do so. I removed the last affected acro yesterday and haven't had any necrosis today. I did run some chemistries at work today and this is what I got. I am thinking there definitely was some sand die off as there is some ammonia present. Here are the readings I got today:

No2: 0.008 mg/L
NH3: 0.03 mg/L
No3: 2.0 mg/L
Cu: 0 (as it should be LOL)

This one kind of surprised me, it was the Chlorine.. measured at 0.08 mg/L. I added a few crystals of thiosulfate tonight and will test it, along with ammonia again tomorrow

If you have Cl then I would replace filters in the RO/DI unit, especially the carbon filter as this part of your unit breaks down chloramines.

If you are running carbon already in your tank, change it out for fresh, but don't overdo the amount.

 

[Reef Fever]

What Randy was saying is that it's not where the pH value is at (within reason) but the swing in pH, If you don't have a big swing in pH from day/night then don't worry.

Start back at the beginning with the basics: Check salinity and temperature, get your Ca, Mg and dKH to 'normal' values and keep them rock steady. Get your nutrients to low levels. Frag mercilessly if you have to and things will turn around for you :smile:

Good luck buddy1smile1

thanks man! Im glad you brought pH back up, IDK how I forgot to mention this, I measured pH on the thermo scientific table top meter today.......8.02. Im using one of the hanna pH pens at home, I just recently calibrated it, but I'm wondering if its broken. Getting a reading on it does take a VERY long time

 

[Squamosa]

thanks man! Im glad you brought pH back up, IDK how I forgot to mention this, I measured pH on the thermo scientific table top meter today.......8.02. Im using one of the hanna pH pens at home, I just recently calibrated it, but I'm wondering if its broken. Getting a reading on it does take a VERY long time

That value is fine and if there is not a large swing then put that one to bed. FWIW I used to chase the numbers and then realised that it wasn't worth all the effort and I haven't tested pH yet this year

I would focus on getting through the mini cycle and back to normality.

BTW, this is what my acro's think of pH....

 

[Reef Fever]

haha alright, ill do that. I am starting to believe this was all due to a mini cycle. I do run carbon and recently changed it out. New RO/DI filters come friday (membrane, carbon cartridge, DI resin, sediment filter) so for now ill just get water from the LFS and add a few thiosulfate crystals to be safe. thanks for the help, your acros look good!

 

[Reef Fever]

time to revisit this...


Im still slowly losing acros.

some previously out of whack params are now back on track. po4 is now at 0.03,and mag is now at 1380, alk has swung a little throughout the week going from 7.8-8.5. I still see no pests.

some acros started to lose flesh and stopped, some are still exhibiting growth, not sure what the deal is.

I have started to feed live phytoplankton again to see if this is a lack of nutrient issue.

hoping someone might catch something I'm missing.

 

[tigerdragon]

Just a thought here you moved the tank, it took a whole day, how bad did the sand bed get disturbed? Could you possibly have a sand bed issue? How is the flow in the tank? What about stray electrical currents in the tank? Are you running carbon in a reactor this could help with negating some of the ammonia. Read and reread your timeline trying to get a grip on it this is just me spitballing with some thoughts. Do you run a fuge with a sand bed? If so it could have gone bad. I will be following this because i plan on switching tanks in my house.

 

[Reef Fever]

moved the tank, took maybe 6 hours, we did it pretty quick but it was the middle of summer in vegas and the sand got pretty toasty. sand bed isn't deep though, maybe and inch-two inches in some spots. lots of flow, in addition to the return theres an mp40 and two wp25. running carbon in a reactor and in a bag thats right in front of the return pump. I've gotten 0 ammonia consecutively over the past 2 months. no sand in the fuge, just rubble rock and a ton of macro.

one of my hammers randomly got brown jelly the other day, wondering if there a case of vibrio slowly plaguing the tank..

 

[tigerdragon]

Oh yea i am familiar with vegas summer temps born and raised in vegas. Could have poss soured the bed if got too warm. Might try setting up a qt and see if acros recover in there. Might even try getting a little aggresive on tank maint like bigger wc and vacuuming the sand that you can get to. The hammer jellying could have something to do with it putting something in the water.

 

[Reef Fever]

I'm just having a hard time believing that after months it'd still be the sand bed, not completely disregarding it but i mean its been 4+ months and I've done plenty of water changes. I'm making 30 gallons right now so hopefully that helps