RTN wipeout - now what?

[Mack75]

RTN (most likely brought on by a combination of chronically low nutrient levels and an episode of erratic alkalinity) has wiped out just about everything in my densely packed Red Sea Reefer xl 300 in matter of a few days. Big established colonies straight in the bin. Lots of work, lots of money, and lots of growth. I'm trying to turn it around, but I have never experienced anything like this. Right now the tank lokka like a barren disaster area right smack in the middle of the living room. How long should I wait before adding new corals given I can't record any crazy spikes in the parameters I can measure?

 

[Hemmbone20]

Sorry to hear… my worst nightmare..

are you sure that everything died that fast because of an alk swing?? How was it doing before the crash? How old is the tank?

 

[Mack75]

Sorry to hear… my worst nightmare..

are you sure that everything died that fast because of an alk swing?? How was it doing before the crash? How old is the tank?

I think low nutrients weakened my corals (I was dosing N and P and seeing progress), and a faulty pH probe made my system OD on alk additive. I assume the multistress caused the outbreak. First to go were a couple of S. hystrix, and RTN spread like a wildfire. I tried breaking off affected areas in the beginning, but soon found myself chucking whole colonies. The ensuing bacterial bloom knocked all the snails off the glass, and all my shrimps are gone. I've yet to lose any fish. The tank itself is about 5 or 6 years old, but the system is older, with live rock dating back maybe 20 years. The tank was doing pretty good up until the crash, with good sps growth rates, but very low nutrient levels meant pale colours and slightly miffed softies and zoas.