Hi All,
Hoping you can help me with the current issues I'm having with my tank.
The setup:
Aquarium:
Started 07/2019
75 gallon Aquarium Masters + 20 gallon Trigger Systems sump
Reef Angel Controller
70 Lbs dry rock (old from a previous tank, but left in a tub for 2 years)
Barebottom with Starboard
Lighting:
3 x Radion 15 Pro (10am - 8pm, ramp up down, peak 45%)
4 x T5 - Ati Blue plus and actinic (11:30 - 3:30)
Kessil H160 Fuge Light 11:00pm - 9:00am
Peak light at 250 Par for most SPS except top which is 350 - measured with seneye
Basic Parameter Management
2 x 200W BRS Titanium heater
Fuge - Chaeto and Gracilaria (though hair algae tend to grow over it)
RLSS r6i skimmer (30% pump speed)
GHL Doser 2.1 SA for Alk/Cal
Large MarinePure block
Flow
2 x Sicce 3.0 for return
2 x Maxspect Gyre 330 (OGC -20 - 40%)
1 x Vortech MP40 ES
Maintenance
6 Gallon waterchange weekly (unless there is an emergency)
occasionally run carbon via bag in sump
dosing 5ml Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, or Phyto a couple of times a week
Feeding 2x NLS pellets + 3x mix of frozen brine, mysis, calanus daily
I've dosed (very slowly about 1/8 dosage) of Dr. Tim's Refresh in the past. Currently, I'm dosing a little bit of Eco-balance because I suspect there might be some biological imbalance.
Livestock
4 x Dispar Anthias
1 x Orange Storm Clown
1 x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 x Mexican Turbo Snails
Many Trochus Snails
Many scarlet and red leg hermits
When I started the tank, things were growing well: coralline algae were growing, sponges were taking over, and trochus snails were spawning regularly. Most of the growth of the corals was from the first 5 - 8 months of the tank's life.
About two months ago I posted about a sudden RTN/STN event in my tank. After some research, it may have been a combination of things. My coral colors were pale for a few months, but everything was encrusting and growing. I never registered Nitrate for the first year of the tank, but my phosphates were always high (as much as 1.5ppm at one point, but usually between 0.1 < 0.5). In terms of the sudden STN event, I suspect it was related to me changing filter socks with socks that were washed with this new "splashless bleach". I always rinse socks off before I put them in, but it may not have been sufficient. I also had turned off my skimmer that night because I had just cleaned it. There is a chance there was a drop in the dissolved O2 levels. The fish also looked ticked off that day. Either way, I'm not 100% sure what could have caused it, but it looked like my actions of large water change, running carbon, and running polyfilter at least slowed it down initially.
To be honest the tank has not recovered. The zoas in my tank have not opened since. Some do half-open occasionally, but almost all of them just say closed. The SPS have become increasingly paler, and some have more STN. I stopped dosing alkalinity and Ca over a month ago because I saw that it kept rising because the corals weren't up taking it. Over the course of two months, the alkalinity has dropped from 9.5 to about 7.7 dkH.
Current Parameters:
1.025 - salinity measured by both calibrated refractometer and Milwaukee handheld
7.7 dkH - measured by Hanna
480 Ca - measured by Salifert
1320 Magnesium - measured by Salifert
7.9 - 8.1 - daily pH swing measured by my controller
78F - 79F - temperature measured and managed by my controller
0 - ammonia/ammonium (salifert, tropic marin)
4ppm < X <10pmm - Red Sea pro nitrate test
0.04 - phosphate measured by hanna
ATI-ICP test concerns from 02/10/21 : High Lithium (1127 µg/l should be 161.8 µg/l), high silicon (293.3 µg/l should be 95.17 µg/l), high Aluminum (26.92 µg/l should be 0.10 µg/l) , and low iodine (27.87 µg/l should be 61.86 µg/l).
I've run cuprisorb for about a week to try and lower the aluminum, but it has always been high because I use MarinePure blocks. I've read in the chemistry subforum that lithium can be pretty high because of salt mixes. To fix the iodine I added 4 drops of lugols (spread over 4 days), things didn't change except for the cleaner shrimp molting.
Most of the damage seems to be towards the SPS: Notice the paleness of the tissue and also the parts where the tissue is missing entirely. This tends to be areas near the base or tips (depending on the coral)
Regarding the Zoas, I've only attached one picture but that's what nearly all of them look like.
Was a Tierra del Feugo. There is still tissue/polys on the other side
Garf Bonsai. It's always been pale, but has encrusted. Placed higher in the tank about 250 Par
Zoas mostly closed for over a moth
Red Dragon Acro. Paler now, but had grown 3x since I had it. However it hasn't grown in 3 months or so. The tips are STNing.
Walt Disney Acro, used to show a lot of Polyp extension, but now pale and looks like it's on it's way out
PC Rainbow always pale.
Forgot the name of this ORA acro, but this had significant STN/RTN from the event. It still has some color and PE where the tissue is, otherwise it's pretty terrible.
Sorry for the long post; it's been a few weeks coming. I'm sort of at my wit's end and don't know what could be going on. Obviously, there are some stability issues with the number of waterchanges I've done, but really shouldn't be that dramatic. I do have some LPS and they for the most part seem okay as of now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hoping you can help me with the current issues I'm having with my tank.
The setup:
Aquarium:
Started 07/2019
75 gallon Aquarium Masters + 20 gallon Trigger Systems sump
Reef Angel Controller
70 Lbs dry rock (old from a previous tank, but left in a tub for 2 years)
Barebottom with Starboard
Lighting:
3 x Radion 15 Pro (10am - 8pm, ramp up down, peak 45%)
4 x T5 - Ati Blue plus and actinic (11:30 - 3:30)
Kessil H160 Fuge Light 11:00pm - 9:00am
Peak light at 250 Par for most SPS except top which is 350 - measured with seneye
Basic Parameter Management
2 x 200W BRS Titanium heater
Fuge - Chaeto and Gracilaria (though hair algae tend to grow over it)
RLSS r6i skimmer (30% pump speed)
GHL Doser 2.1 SA for Alk/Cal
Large MarinePure block
Flow
2 x Sicce 3.0 for return
2 x Maxspect Gyre 330 (OGC -20 - 40%)
1 x Vortech MP40 ES
Maintenance
6 Gallon waterchange weekly (unless there is an emergency)
occasionally run carbon via bag in sump
dosing 5ml Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, or Phyto a couple of times a week
Feeding 2x NLS pellets + 3x mix of frozen brine, mysis, calanus daily
I've dosed (very slowly about 1/8 dosage) of Dr. Tim's Refresh in the past. Currently, I'm dosing a little bit of Eco-balance because I suspect there might be some biological imbalance.
Livestock
4 x Dispar Anthias
1 x Orange Storm Clown
1 x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 x Mexican Turbo Snails
Many Trochus Snails
Many scarlet and red leg hermits
When I started the tank, things were growing well: coralline algae were growing, sponges were taking over, and trochus snails were spawning regularly. Most of the growth of the corals was from the first 5 - 8 months of the tank's life.
About two months ago I posted about a sudden RTN/STN event in my tank. After some research, it may have been a combination of things. My coral colors were pale for a few months, but everything was encrusting and growing. I never registered Nitrate for the first year of the tank, but my phosphates were always high (as much as 1.5ppm at one point, but usually between 0.1 < 0.5). In terms of the sudden STN event, I suspect it was related to me changing filter socks with socks that were washed with this new "splashless bleach". I always rinse socks off before I put them in, but it may not have been sufficient. I also had turned off my skimmer that night because I had just cleaned it. There is a chance there was a drop in the dissolved O2 levels. The fish also looked ticked off that day. Either way, I'm not 100% sure what could have caused it, but it looked like my actions of large water change, running carbon, and running polyfilter at least slowed it down initially.
To be honest the tank has not recovered. The zoas in my tank have not opened since. Some do half-open occasionally, but almost all of them just say closed. The SPS have become increasingly paler, and some have more STN. I stopped dosing alkalinity and Ca over a month ago because I saw that it kept rising because the corals weren't up taking it. Over the course of two months, the alkalinity has dropped from 9.5 to about 7.7 dkH.
Current Parameters:
1.025 - salinity measured by both calibrated refractometer and Milwaukee handheld
7.7 dkH - measured by Hanna
480 Ca - measured by Salifert
1320 Magnesium - measured by Salifert
7.9 - 8.1 - daily pH swing measured by my controller
78F - 79F - temperature measured and managed by my controller
0 - ammonia/ammonium (salifert, tropic marin)
4ppm < X <10pmm - Red Sea pro nitrate test
0.04 - phosphate measured by hanna
ATI-ICP test concerns from 02/10/21 : High Lithium (1127 µg/l should be 161.8 µg/l), high silicon (293.3 µg/l should be 95.17 µg/l), high Aluminum (26.92 µg/l should be 0.10 µg/l) , and low iodine (27.87 µg/l should be 61.86 µg/l).
I've run cuprisorb for about a week to try and lower the aluminum, but it has always been high because I use MarinePure blocks. I've read in the chemistry subforum that lithium can be pretty high because of salt mixes. To fix the iodine I added 4 drops of lugols (spread over 4 days), things didn't change except for the cleaner shrimp molting.
Most of the damage seems to be towards the SPS: Notice the paleness of the tissue and also the parts where the tissue is missing entirely. This tends to be areas near the base or tips (depending on the coral)
Regarding the Zoas, I've only attached one picture but that's what nearly all of them look like.
Was a Tierra del Feugo. There is still tissue/polys on the other side
Garf Bonsai. It's always been pale, but has encrusted. Placed higher in the tank about 250 Par
Zoas mostly closed for over a moth
Red Dragon Acro. Paler now, but had grown 3x since I had it. However it hasn't grown in 3 months or so. The tips are STNing.
Walt Disney Acro, used to show a lot of Polyp extension, but now pale and looks like it's on it's way out
PC Rainbow always pale.
Forgot the name of this ORA acro, but this had significant STN/RTN from the event. It still has some color and PE where the tissue is, otherwise it's pretty terrible.
Sorry for the long post; it's been a few weeks coming. I'm sort of at my wit's end and don't know what could be going on. Obviously, there are some stability issues with the number of waterchanges I've done, but really shouldn't be that dramatic. I do have some LPS and they for the most part seem okay as of now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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