Slowly losing all of my SPS - please help

[tnw50cal]

Not sure what’s going on here. My tank is nearly fully automated and runs a CALrX. The only change is dosing Tropic Marin trace elements after an ICP showed my trace elements were low. One of my largest colonies is nearly completely gone and covered in algae now. It started with paling out and then browning tips. The adjacent coral is started to retract and pale on the tips as well. I’ve lost three other colonies in the last two weeks.
The tank is super stable - 8.5 dkh, 450 calc, 1350 mag, 15 ppm no3, 1.026 sal, 78 degrees.

I did a 60 gallon water change a few days ago and have seen no difference. The LPS in the tank seem to be completely fine.

I’ve been doing this for years, and this is one of the few moments where I’m truly stumped…

Up to this recent ICP test that showed some low trace elements( the test that made you start dosing trace elements), all PRIOR ICP tests were fine?

 

[ReefRondo]

I have been having almost these exact same issues. I am currently having a conversation with Lou at Tropic Marin who is kindly helping me try and find the culprit. The guy could not be more helpful and is a fountain of knowledge. Maybe reach out to him? @Lou Ekus

 

[gideon2086]

Up to this recent ICP test that showed some low trace elements( the test that made you start dosing trace elements), all PRIOR ICP tests were fine?

This was my first time ever doing an ICP.

 

[tnw50cal]

This was my first time ever doing an ICP.

That's what I thought. So your tank was doing great until you started dosing trace elements because the ICP test said some were low. Go back to what you were doing including NOT getting any ICP tests. My 2 cent worth.

Just showed this to my wife and she said, " yep if it's not broken don't fix it." Her 2 cents worth.

 

[Crustaceon]

I had a similar situation with my tank last year. I tested everything and all parameters came out normal. I went to clean all of my equipment and look for anything weird that might have fallen into the sump without me noticing. I moved the skimmer, heard a “pop”, smelled ozone and instinctively grabbed and pulled the entire skimmer straight out of the water. The power cord literally flopped out of the back of the PSK pump. The power cord’s copper wire was corroded which means it had been in contact with tank for some time, but not enough to go “kaboom”. I’d inspect your equipment for a similar scenario.

 

[jsbzcmcdaniel]

I would not be dosing to correct anything from that ICP test. The only reliable ICP test I trust is ATI. As others suggested I would do a 50% water change and go back to your proven method. Obviously you were doing something right before you started dosing based on a crap ICP company.

 

[drawman]

Here's wishing you good luck. If it were me I would stick to doing nonharmful things as you see fit (changing RO/DI filters, inspecting equipment, etc.). I would stop with the trace element dosing (which I'm sure you've already done. I would not try to change salinity unless you can verify with other calibrated refractometers that anything is wrong.

Sounds like you've had a few moving parts with the trace, new batch of salt, and PO4 swings so you have a few concrete things to look for.

Acros hold a grudge so turning this around may be like steering a big ship. Hopefully no new colonies get affected as you keep things stable!

 

[dwest]

@gideon2086 Was there ever some sort of resolution to this?

 

[gideon2086]

@gideon2086 Was there ever some sort of resolution to this?

Nope.. the large shortcake colony is mostly dead. Oregon tort colony is 30% dead. Everything else seems to be fine. I’m thinking the trace elements shocked the tank and killed a portion of the SPS.

 

[Dav2996]

Nope.. the large shortcake colony is mostly dead. Oregon tort colony is 30% dead. Everything else seems to be fine. I’m thinking the trace elements shocked the tank and killed a portion of the SPS.

Personally I stopped doing water changes and I love it because there is not any more changes going on. Just lower my nitrates and dose trace, and dose everything by individual bottles. It also saves me time not making this water. Less fluctuations with the tank as well in levels. I got 5 dosers though. I won’t go back to water changes. . Changes kill corals. They prefer perfect stability. No water changes is that.

 

[Yellowsound]

This may have been suggested already, so apologies if I missed it…

About a year & 1/2 ago, I started having losses like this out of nowhere. After chasing all of the usual suspected problems, I wondered if my acros might be suffering from some kind of bacterial infection. I decided to dose Chemiclean (per label instructions), and it stopped all STN/RTN in its tracks. No more losses.