New coral dying in a matter of hours.

[Mjrenz]

200g is in stock.... that's what I'm going after..... and I just got 200g of instant ocean a couple of weeks ago. You will always need salt.....

You won't regret it

 

[Aidanwolf]

wow, ton of comments to read through lol. I think I got most of it though.

I just want to throw this out there: there's no shame in having poor water parameters. We've all been there, really. Try to report your parameters as "non-embellished" as possible lol. I only say this because there's nothing you reported about your water chemistry that stands out as being completely detrimental, at least detrimental enough for corals to bleach in the way yours did.

my advice:
-make sure you calibrate your refractometer before every use; yes, every use. (especially before premixing saltwater)
- invest in good test kits. (Salifert and Hanna checkers are great.)
-invest in a good auto top-off (Tunze nano is your best bet in my opinion)

to help your issue:
-Do enough water changes (over the next few weeks) until you've replaced all your current saltwater with new saltwater. (don't rush it)

Also, I would put the cyphastrea at the bottom of your tank and move it up as needed... just in case you're blasting it with too much light


Best of luck

I just purchased the Salifert magnesium calcium and alkalinity test kit combo. Though I have to return it due to one of the test kits leaking.

 

[Durandal]

I agree that given how your primary parameters are OK, the principle suspicion is bad salt / metal contamination. It's possible to get metal contamination and not notice for a long time, and a bad batch of cheap(dug out of the earth / not synthetic) salt or a bad heater / pump connection has the potential to result in coral/invert wrecking levels of heavy metals. ICP testing of the water is the way to go when everything is dying and all the in house testable parameters look fine. ICP testing can also make it apparent if you have a bad test kit. Running cuprasorb in a reactor can clean up metal contamination, and I have never noticed it harm anything. I run it for a few weeks every 6 months or so just to keep my heavy metals levels rock bottom. My SPS seem to like them that way(n=1) . Aquatic organisms are really good at scavenging trace elements.

Replacing all the water in the tank with pharmaceutical grade saltwater is an expensive proposition but is something you could do without waiting on the ICP test results. Running cuprisorb and seeing if things improve is probably the cheapest option.

I hope you figure it out.

 

[Brian Goldstein]

I agree that given how your primary parameters are OK, the principle suspicion is bad salt / metal contamination. It's possible to get metal contamination and not notice for a long time, and a bad batch of cheap(dug out of the earth / not synthetic) salt or a bad heater / pump connection has the potential to result in coral/invert wrecking levels of heavy metals. ICP testing of the water is the way to go when everything is dying and all the in house testable parameters look fine. ICP testing can also make it apparent if you have a bad test kit. Running cuprasorb in a reactor can clean up metal contamination, and I have never noticed it harm anything. I run it for a few weeks every 6 months or so just to keep my heavy metals levels rock bottom. My SPS seem to like them that way(n=1) . Aquatic organisms are really good at scavenging trace elements.

Replacing all the water in the tank with pharmaceutical grade saltwater is an expensive proposition but is something you could do without waiting on the ICP test results. Running cuprisorb and seeing if things improve is probably the cheapest option.

I hope you figure it out.

solid advice regarding ICP testing.

I recommended replacing all of the water as well. Given that he already has the salt, 32g of rodi water would only cost around $15.00 if purchased from a LFS

 

[Durandal]

If he has fresh salt(new batch or supplier) on hand, then that should do it. Getting two batches of poison salt, even with the cheap stuff, is very unlikely.

 

[Durandal]

Getting a 2nd opinion at the LFS on all primary parameters is a fast cheap thing with diagnostic value here as well.

 

[ScottR]

I have a LR that had zoas on it. I buried them in the sand because I had to set the rock the way I wanted. It was there for 6 weeks or so. I switched to a BB tank and the zoas were all closed up. I thought they were gone (and I didn’t care for them anyway). Oddly, about 3 days later, they opened up. Zoas can be picky about opening up sometimes. I think they’ll survive. I’ve had fish knock a zoa frag in my sand. I have no idea how long it was face down in the sand but same story. They opened up again.

 

[Aidanwolf]

The calibration fluid is coming Tuesday.

 

[DSC reef]

I've been using it since I started, it's all my lfs sells. I went in his store once and saw several buckets of red sea sitting in a corner, when I asked about it he said red sea made him buy it in order to sell their tanks and he was going to let it harden into blocks right where it sat before he sold it to any of his customers

I have to say that's poor advice from a store. All we've ever used is red sea brand salt, some of the most spectacular reefs that you could ever imagine that I've seen personally use plain instant ocean. Salt is not magical. Find one that matches the parameters you like and stay with it as consistency is far greater than a name. To the OP, I would test your numbers and try to have a store compare your numbers to their testing. I'm sorry but changing salt brands is no magical cure. Always calibrate your refractometer before testing as well.

 

[Aidanwolf]

I have to say that's poor advice from a store. All we've ever used is red sea brand salt, some of the most spectacular reefs that you could ever imagine that I've seen personally use plain instant ocean. Salt is not magical. Find one that matches the parameters you like and stay with it as consistency is far greater than a name. To the OP, I would test your numbers and try to have a store compare your numbers to their testing. I'm sorry but changing salt brands is no magical cure. Always calibrate your refractometer before testing as well.

I was using distilled water to calibrate the refractometer every time to make sure. But I just ordered some calibration fluid. Also I believe the zoanthids are dead.

 

[Aidanwolf]

Also the is some stringy cyano that is starting to grow. This aquarium has been a nightmare lol.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Cyano loves detritus every species i have ever encountered
Whether fresh or salt getting a step up in detritus removal and with a close second to phosphate control will stop your cause. Remove the mats to stop them from decaying and feeding new growth. The one algae i am 100% on board with do the work for.

As to salt i am with @DSC reef i use live aquaria salt now for 3 reasons its price, its delivered to my door and alkalinity is lower. But i have never had a road bump with live stock switching salt mixes, did expensive salts for awhile saw no difference with their cheaper alternatives find one that matches your budget and other reefers have success with. Have used almost 10 different salts on the same tank saying that. The expensive DD did mix faster but that is really unimportant in the long run.

 

[Aidanwolf]

Cyano loves detritus every species i have ever encountered
Whether fresh or salt getting a step up in detritus removal and with a close second to phosphate control will stop your cause. Remove the mats to stop them from decaying and feeding new growth. The one algae i am 100% on board with do the work for.

As to salt i am with @DSC reef i use live aquaria salt now for 3 reasons its price, its delivered to my door and alkalinity is lower. But i have never had a road bump with live stock switching salt mixes, did expensive salts for awhile saw no difference with their cheaper alternatives find one that matches your budget and other reefers have success with. Have used almost 10 different salts on the same tank saying that. The expensive DD did mix faster but that is really unimportant in the long run.

I tested the phosphates and there wasn't any. Also the flow in the tank is pretty high and it is growing almost directly in front of the Wavemakers so I am not sure what is going on.

 

[ScottR]

I use Red Sea coral pro salt. Never a problem with my parameters, ever. Not saying it’s the best but I agree that salt isn’t magical. Usually if you’ve got a problem in your tank, it’s not the salt’s fault.

 

[samnaz]

Is the tank or any equipment used?

 

[Aidanwolf]

Is the tank or any equipment used?

The biocube was used for about 6 months before I got it. The guy that I had bought it from was getting rid of it because he was upgrading to a larger tank. He was using rodi water and only had a few fish.

 

[Mjrenz]

I have to say that's poor advice from a store. All we've ever used is red sea brand salt, some of the most spectacular reefs that you could ever imagine that I've seen personally use plain instant ocean. Salt is not magical. Find one that matches the parameters you like and stay with it as consistency is far greater than a name. To the OP, I would test your numbers and try to have a store compare your numbers to their testing. I'm sorry but changing salt brands is no magical cure. Always calibrate

I have to say that's poor advice from a store. All we've ever used is red sea brand salt, some of the most spectacular reefs that you could ever imagine that I've seen personally use plain instant ocean. Salt is not magical. Find one that matches the parameters you like and stay with it as consistency is far greater than a name. To the OP, I would test your numbers and try to have a store compare your numbers to their testing. I'm sorry but changing salt brands is no magical cure. Always calibrate your refractometer before testing as well.

I have no doubt that the red sea salt may work well for many people, I think he may have had a bad experience but I really didn't ask him to elaborate on it so I can't say for sure. I trust his opinion on many things, he actually does have a degree in marine biology and has some spectacular tanks in his customers' homes and the store where he's been for over 30 years. The reason I'm on r2r, though, is because I know that no one person has all the answers and there's always new knowledge being learned in every field. I'm sure some of his knowledge may be dated and/or biased but I can't argue with the success he's had. Based on his advice and the consistency I've had in my tank the Tropic Marin salt is all I'll use. Of course, if you think I'm wrong on this, I'm willing to listen

 

[Michael Gilbreath]

I used coralife salt when i firat started which was almost 18yr ago i kepted fish and inverts fine but had hard time with any corals once i switched brands i was able to have corals survive and grow without isuue

 

[Aidanwolf]

I used coralife salt when i firat started which was almost 18yr ago i kepted fish and inverts fine but had hard time with any corals once i switched brands i was able to have corals survive and grow without isuue

Weird

 

[Michael Gilbreath]

I think coralife is more for fowlr tanks back then they could of changed over the yrs