problems have me stumped!!!

[sdietz2469]

ok, so over the last few weeks i have had quite a few corals stn and rtn on me, and i am gettin frustrated cuz i cant seem to correct it...first off here are my parameters

pH-8.2
kH-11
Ca-430
Mg-1300
NO3-0
NO2-0
NH4-0
SG-1.026

now i did hav a drop in my SG down to 1.020 but corrected it over about 2 weeks,

now i have looked very carefully for red bugs, and dont see any of them anywhere(i have had them so i know how to look), i did iodine dips to check for AEFW, and found nothing.... the funny thing is it starts at the tips, once i notice the tips gone the next day the coral looks really slimmy(entire thing) and the slime isnt clear/opaque, it is the same color as the color of the coral.... then the next day it is browned outin spots, and others it is rtned from... now this isnt attaching any of the more delicate acros i have(30k lok, ORA purple pillow, etc)... these are the ones it has attached so far...

tips of my OBT
entire colony of my acro exquisita
entire colony of my miyagi tort
entire colony of my crayola acro
most of my colony of the copps tiel hoek
half of my colony of my palleta blue
and several tips on many of my other acros...

i have tested with my kits, and tested again against 2 other test kits to ensure mine are good....

most of these colonies are atleast 2 years old, and good established colonies, and i havent changed any of their positions in the tank....

the only thing i have changed in the last few months is the new skimmer i put on my system... here is my system as it stands now

120 gal show(4x2x2)
dart closed loop running into 4 1" outlets 2 being seaswirls
velocity t4 return pump
40 gal breeder sump/ refugium
teco 1/3hp chiller
2 400 waqtt 20k radiums ran w/ 400 watt coralvue ballasts
4-110 watt vhos(super actinic)

not sure what else i can tell you, any help would be awesome... thanks
shane

 

[sdietz2469]

oh, sorry, i have a external atb med conical w/ airstar

 

[Ultimateaquariums]

Have you verified your temp? What do you use for thermometer?

 

[sdietz2469]

my chiller has a temp regulator, my acjr regulates my temp and i have a normal thermometer, which all read right at 79-80 constant....
shane

 

[sdietz2469]

anyone else have any ideas???????????

 

[Ultimateaquariums]

I've seen this happen before and they usually don't figure out what caused it. I would do a couple 20% water changes over the next week and change/add a decent dose of carbon. IMO it's got to be some sort of contamination when this happens if everything else is right. Whether it's from a coral or from something in your house who knows, but a water change and carbon is the only way to remove/reduce it.

 

[Rocky Mountain Frags]

Shane,
Just curious, how old are your lights?

 

[sdietz2469]

i changed them out in july( all of them)...

i did dump a bunch of carbon in the tank about the time i saw the first coral do this, and the just continue to do it ever few days a new one starts... not too sure what to do other than small waterchanges every day...

anyone else have any ideas?
shane

 

[schminksbro]

Are you carbon dosing with vodka, sugar or vinegar? Many people with ultra low nutrients report tip recession when alk is above 8.

i changed them out in july( all of them)...

i did dump a bunch of carbon in the tank about the time i saw the first coral do this, and the just continue to do it ever few days a new one starts... not too sure what to do other than small waterchanges every day...

anyone else have any ideas?
shane

 

[sdietz2469]

nope, i dont do any dosing of trace, vodka, sugar, etc... i have ran my tank at 10-12 kh for some time now(2 years) and have never had a problem, th only thing i have done is gone to a better skimmer(from octopus nw 200- atb med w/airstar)..... so you think it might be from the alk being too high??? never heard that before, can you link me to an article where it people report that??? not discrediting that, just want to read more on it cuz i have never heard that....
but i can def be an idea...
shane

 

[rocko918]

Have you changed you RO/DI canisters in a while? Are you using RO? Sorry if i missed it but i don't see it anywhere.

Also you said you changed out your skimmer, Could it be cleaning the water more and now you have more light penetration? Along with the extra carbon you dumped in.

 

[sdietz2469]

i checked my ro/di tds, and it is @7-9ppm, so i dont think it is that...

i kinda wondered the same thing on the skimmer and clarifying my water more, but i dont think that would cause corals to do what i am seeing... even when i switched from my old 250 watt halides with 14 month old bulbs to my 400 watts i didnt see anything like this.... i am completely stumped....
shane

 

[Ultimateaquariums]

TDS should be 0. Even at 0 things are still getting through. 7-9 is way to high.