Purple coralling algai is bleaching white and fish are dying - any thoughts why?

[SanDiegoPete]

Oops - typo in the title. Apologies.

I am reasonably new to reef aquariums - I have had the Fluval Evo 13.5G nano tank up and running since February. Attractive purple coralline algae has grown over most of my rock, but about 6 weeks ago on one particular rock it all bleached completely white in the space of 4-5 days and at the same time my damsel fish died. My local store said my alkalinity was way too low (it was 5.5 and I hadnt been testing it); also my temp was too high (it had occasionally spiked at 83 deg) and finally I realized my pump was clogged and the water flow was low. So I put it down to those 3 things, and fixed them all - I am now dosing Seachem every day (despite almost dosing the max amount I am barely able to keep alkalinity stable at around 6.8, and dont seem able to get it higher - this seems odd to me); I installed a chiller and keep it at 78 deg; cleaned the pump (duh); and removed the rock with the dead algae on it. Since then it seemed to be going OK, so I risked adding another couple of fish - a pipe fish and a Royal Gramma.

Now, in the last 3 days, a large-ish patch of algae seems to be bleaching white again and the the pipe fish died overnight (it was in the tank for just 2 weeks). So this seems like more than coincidence. It's almost like something bad is happening which simultaneously causes patches of the algae to die, while killing a fish (I also have a clown fish and a yellow wrasse that seem to be doing fine; a skunk shrimp also fine; and a Royal Gramma that may or may not be fine, as it has dissapeared this morning (which isnt too unusual))

The only thing that changed before this happened the first time, was the addition of a couple of small green candy cane corals.

The levels I can measure are all OK I think - Ph of 7.9, zero ammonia, zero nitrate, zero nitrite. Temp of 78 deg; salinity 1.026-1.027; alkalinity 6.5 - 6.9 ish (but requiring daily dosing of Seachem 1 and 2). Weekly 20% water changes with store-bought salt water. No change in lighting.

Any thoughts? And help! And thanks in advance!

 

[Aqua Man]

Pipefish are a hard fish to keep. Some need constant food, like fresh hatched brine shrimp all day.
Have you tested the LFS water for Alk?
What test you using for Alk?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Agreed on pipefish being a bit picky. Was it eating mysis/frozen food? Did it seem emaciated (relatively)? They also sometimes come in with worms, so did you make sure it was eating, and not full of intestinal worms and such?

Also...can we get a picture of the "attractive coralline algae? I just want to verify that it's not something that might be mistaken for coralline and actually releases toxins upon death.

Did you check your flow? That's something hat you haven't mentioned yet...

 

[PTXReef]

First guess would be alk/pH swings if you don't test the water you add (is the salinity tested at the least before addition?). Also echoing which test kits and amount of flow.

 

[Tamberav]

4 fish is a lot in that size tank. A pipefish needs a more specialized set up for their needs or at least special care.

I can't imagine a yellow wrasse can live in a 13g either so probably just a matter of time for that one.

 

[najer]

You need to remove the wrasse, I run an Evo as well as my big tank and would say your only safe choices are a possum or pink streak wrasse.

 

[brmreefer]

Hey @SanDiegoPete,

Sad to read there are issues going on with the system. Unfortunately, keeping small tanks can be challenging and require a decent amount of attention just to maintain "Stability."
With "Stability" in mind, and the parameters that I feel are needing to be addressed, here are my following thoughts:

• Zero Nitrates is not good. Needs to be raised a tad.
• Stable Alk will be this system's challenge, but needs to be sought after.
• Salinity is too high for my liking. My system's goal is 1.025. Some like higher, some like lower, but 1.025 grants some room for error. Stability will still be key even in this parameter. Note: Try and ensure testing methods are accurate, and/or properly calibrated "as needed."

If it has not been noticed yet, I just want to echo this system's main goal should be "Stability," in fact, any system.
I have tried running a seperate 30 gallon system and found stable parameters to be challenging, so I decided to plumb that small system into my existing 120 DT/100 Refugium, thus increasing overall volume and granting me more room for error if ever needed.
As adjustments are being made to yours, just be sure to go slow as to not potentially shock any of the inhabitants.
Best of luck and happy reefing.

 

[Neonblitz87]

You’re

Oops - typo in the title. Apologies.

I am reasonably new to reef aquariums - I have had the Fluval Evo 13.5G nano tank up and running since February. Attractive purple coralline algae has grown over most of my rock, but about 6 weeks ago on one particular rock it all bleached completely white in the space of 4-5 days and at the same time my damsel fish died. My local store said my alkalinity was way too low (it was 5.5 and I hadnt been testing it); also my temp was too high (it had occasionally spiked at 83 deg) and finally I realized my pump was clogged and the water flow was low. So I put it down to those 3 things, and fixed them all - I am now dosing Seachem every day (despite almost dosing the max amount I am barely able to keep alkalinity stable at around 6.8, and dont seem able to get it higher - this seems odd to me); I installed a chiller and keep it at 78 deg; cleaned the pump (duh); and removed the rock with the dead algae on it. Since then it seemed to be going OK, so I risked adding another couple of fish - a pipe fish and a Royal Gramma.

Now, in the last 3 days, a large-ish patch of algae seems to be bleaching white again and the the pipe fish died overnight (it was in the tank for just 2 weeks). So this seems like more than coincidence. It's almost like something bad is happening which simultaneously causes patches of the algae to die, while killing a fish (I also have a clown fish and a yellow wrasse that seem to be doing fine; a skunk shrimp also fine; and a Royal Gramma that may or may not be fine, as it has dissapeared this morning (which isnt too unusual))

The only thing that changed before this happened the first time, was the addition of a couple of small green candy cane corals.

The levels I can measure are all OK I think - Ph of 7.9, zero ammonia, zero nitrate, zero nitrite. Temp of 78 deg; salinity 1.026-1.027; alkalinity 6.5 - 6.9 ish (but requiring daily dosing of Seachem 1 and 2). Weekly 20% water changes with store-bought salt water. No change in lighting.

Any thoughts? And help! And thanks in advance!

alkalinity is too low. Red flag there.

 

[SanDiegoPete]

Thanks all. To try to answer the questions in order.

The water is from my reef store, they mix it from Tropic Marin sea salt, zoo mix. It comes as alkalinity 9.

I am using the Hanna digital test kit at home and it is usually within 0.3 of what the store says when they test my water.

Photos of the algae attached. The one with the clown in it is showing the current whitening at the far left.

Wish I had realized the pipe prefers baby brine shrimp. I hatch them daily for my jellyfish! Hard to say if it was starved (a thin stick cant get much thinner!). But I was feeding frozen brine shrimp food and it never seemed starving.

I checked the pump and it wasn't clogged, so the flow was the same as always. With that said, the flow certainly isn't strong so I have ordered a 250g/h pump to replace it.

I do test the salinity before adding, and 1.026 is what the water comes as and what the store keeps their tanks at.

Thanks for the tips on the yellow wrasse.

How do I increase nitrate? I always thought it was a natural (bad) end product of the N cycle, so I am actually always surprised it isn't above zero. I use the API master test kit for those levels.

The store tested my water today and apparently the calcium is "off the scale" (above the 500 that their test maxes out at), so they are a) flagging that as the issue and b) saying that this high calcium would be what is preventing me getting the alkalinity above 7.

Does that make sense? (I.e.Too high Ca is that bad for the algae and potentially the pipefish too)

It seems the calcium is coming from my daily added doses of the seachem fusion 1 bottle. So they said stop that and just use bottle 2 till the alk is high again.

 

[Difrano]

Sorry for your loss, based on the pictures there is nothing wrong with that algae I have it on my rocks where I don't have coralline. as most other users said stability is key in this hobby and on small tanks is not easy to keep. I will try to do some analysis:

• Your coraline is dying due to low alk, coraline is basically like a sps coral, it needs ALK, Ca, Mg and trace elements to thrive. Also zero nitrate, zero Po4 will kill your coraline too and is a headache.
• When you have a lot of coraline in a small tank those elements are consumed fast.
• You don't mention you have a powerhead in your tank, but with a broken return pump and low to none water movement your Damsel must have died from oxygen deprivation.
• The Pipefish is a very difficult fish to keep and in a small tank will not have many opportunities to feed from critters, it must have died from starvation.
• You have too many fish in your tank, your bioload is heavy and dont give you more room for error. When i had the 32 gal i only kept 2 clowns 2 firefish and one YWG.

My 2c
Cheers

 

[Rjmul]

Ok. Pipefish are hard to keep. They need live food mostly. I'd bet your coraline is turning white because your calcium is crashing. Probably the same reason you can't keep your alk up. (Also check magnesium. Probably low)

I wish you didn't buy a chiller for a 13 gallon tank. A simple desk fan would do wonders. Do you have an ATO ?