SPS RTN Spreading like fire HELP

[Neo Jeo]

Hey Reefers,

I have been in the hobby for a long time now. This is a question that I maybe know but can’t explain my RTN.

My magnesium is in the high 1500 due to a bad test kit. I know mag does not effect corals that much but could it cause RTN?

I added GFO for the first time 4 weeks ago and my phosphate is .12 still . I read online that GFO could cause RTN. Is this true? It did not reduce my phosphate by that much.

I added 10 new lps heads of different kinds but did a Bayer dip and I see NO pests on the SPS. Red bugs or flatworms.

is it a bacterial thing? It’s spreading to 1 sps colony and a time. Lost 4 so far and I got some big colony's.

my one large colony was melting away when it was touching a different colony and it spread it from the touch it also touched another colony and spread it to that one now other colonies are getting it that are not touching.

here are some pics of one I pulled out today, it’s mostly gone underneath and works it’s way to the tips .

any help would be great. Should I stop GFO? Do water changes to bring down mag? Or is it just unexplained RTn

thanks

 

[leepink23]

I keep mg above 1500 with no problems with acros. I have noticed when I drop phosphate to fast I have seen RTN.

 

[jx.reef]

Putting my money on GFO being the cause here if there’s no other major change. I’d pull it for the time being.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I keep mg above 1500 with no problems with acros. I have noticed when I drop phosphate to fast I have seen RTN.

Thanks for the insight

 

[Neo Jeo]

Putting my money on GFO being the cause here if there’s no other major change. I’d pull it for the time being.

thanks but the first Colony that died was melting and full of goo. RTN is just white skeleton in the skin just fades away slowly correct?

 

[Cole.mormon]

Try an iodine dip
Will help the corals heal

 

[jx.reef]

thanks but the first Colony that died was melting and full of goo. RTN is just white skeleton in the skin just fades away slowly correct?

I think you have them flipped. STN is slow tissue necrosis (typically receding from the base and exposing bits of white skeleton). RTN is rapid tissue necrosis like you described in the first colony. The flesh strips rapidly and leaves you with a completely white skeleton in a few hours.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I think you have them flipped. STN is slow tissue necrosis (typically receding from the base and exposing bits of white skeleton). RTN is rapid tissue necrosis like you described in the first colony. The flesh strips rapidly and leaves you with a completely white skeleton in a few hours.

Ok, maybe I have both.

just need to figure if it was the GFO or high mag but it seems maybe the GFO but I would think adding the gfo I would notice the RTN within days not weeks. As I added gfo like 4 weeks ago . I did recommend does but now reading when adding gfo for first time go slow but again I would think the RTN would be more instant .

 

[melanotaenia]

Gotta be very careful with GFO and use sparingly or significant reductions will cause these issues. Would suggest pulling GFO, and if use in future use very small amounts and increase slowly and in very small increments.

Doubtful MG is causing these issued unless it has recently spiked to level you say it is currently.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Gotta be very careful with GFO and use sparingly or significant reductions will cause these issues. Would suggest pulling GFO, and if use in future use very small amounts and increase slowly and in very small increments.

Doubtful MG is causing these issued unless it has recently spiked to level you say it is currently.

Thanks man

 

[coralbeauties]

ditch the gfo. Seems that every time I used it in the past I saw issues. phos levels of .12 isnt really all that bad. My full on sps tank runs at that and I am actually seeing better color after letting it get higher. I use lanthanum chloride to lower phos if it gets too high. Look into it, much much cheaper and easier to control the amount of phos reduction you want.
Jeff

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Pull the gfo. Add some cuprasorb Incase there’s a metal contamination. Send out an ATI water test. GFO has caused my tank issues in the past. I will never use it again. There are of course many who don’t have issues with it. Where in Michigan are you? There’s not to many of us sps guys around.

 

[Neo Jeo]

ditch the gfo. Seems that every time I used it in the past I saw issues. phos levels of .12 isnt really all that bad. My full on sps tank runs at that and I am actually seeing better color after letting it get higher. I use lanthanum chloride to lower phos if it gets too high. Look into it, much much cheaper and easier to control the amount of phos reduction you want.
Jeff

Thanks! I have done the landhanum C over 5 times. Seemed like it did not make that big of an impact even with 5micron shock over a day.
So I moved to gfo to see if that’s an easier for a long term reduction .

my phosphate has been in the .20-.25 and I lost all color in my sps as I been dropping my color has came back but took a lot of water changes and dosing LC.


it’s been weeks sense I added gfo, why would it take so long to effect the sps?

 

[Neo Jeo]

Pull the gfo. Add some cuprasorb Incase there’s a metal contamination. Send out an ATI water test. GFO has caused my tank issues in the past. I will never use it again. There are of course many who don’t have issues with it. Where in Michigan are you? There’s not to many of us sps guys around.

Hey, chesterfield well I’m now 3 less colony’s short ..

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

That Is so frustrating when the corals aren’t doing well. I’m at 13 and Southfield area. If this COVID crap lets up I’d like to have a meet and greet with a couple other sps guys in the area. Maybe spring.

 

[Neo Jeo]

That Is so frustrating when the corals aren’t doing well. I’m at 13 and Southfield area. If this COVID crap lets up I’d like to have a meet and greet with a couple other sps guys in the area. Maybe spring.

Sounds good man! I’m down for that.

hit me up around then, have a great Christmas

 

[coralbeauties]

Thanks! I have done the landhanum C over 5 times. Seemed like it did not make that big of an impact even with 5micron shock over a day.
So I moved to gfo to see if that’s an easier for a long term reduction .

my phosphate has been in the .20-.25 and I lost all color in my sps as I been dropping my color has came back but took a lot of water changes and dosing LC.


it’s been weeks sense I added gfo, why would it take so long to effect the sps?

I didnt dose my lc into a sock. It was too much of a pain to have to keep up with. I ran a hose into the bottom of my skimmer and let the skimmer mix it all up and bubble the solids out into the cup. Unfortunately sps are so unpredictable. I have dosed chemiclean before and weeks later experienced stn. I think gfo strips phos out of the water too fast and stresses the corals. I mixed my lc at just 5ml into almost 2 quarts of water and usually just added about 250 ml of that a day dripped slowly into my skimmer. Never saw any adverse effects in my corals or fish. I have a buddy loosing corals right now also, seems once they become stressed it hard to get them back in good shape.
Jeff

 

[Arnielazo]

I just lost a bunch of frags and a few colony’s to GFO pulled it and let phosphates climb used gfo in the past and had no issues seems acros didn’t like it at all

 

[Neo Jeo]

I didnt dose my lc into a sock. It was too much of a pain to have to keep up with. I ran a hose into the bottom of my skimmer and let the skimmer mix it all up and bubble the solids out into the cup. Unfortunately sps are so unpredictable. I have dosed chemiclean before and weeks later experienced stn. I think gfo strips phos out of the water too fast and stresses the corals. I mixed my lc at just 5ml into almost 2 quarts of water and usually just added about 250 ml of that a day dripped slowly into my skimmer. Never saw any adverse effects in my corals or fish. I have a buddy loosing corals right now also, seems once they become stressed it hard to get them back in good shape.
Jeff

Thanks Jeff! I forgot I did use chemeclean to get rid of green cyno!!

I completely forgot about that, that was 1 week before I added gfo... i used chemeclean before with no issue.

 

[coralbeauties]

Thanks Jeff! I forgot I did use chemeclean to get rid of green cyno!!

I completely forgot about that, that was 1 week before I added gfo... i used chemeclean before with no issue.

I have used chemiclean since also with no problems but the one time I did have issues weeks later. If you haven’t done so I would do as large as a water change as you can and maybe bump your lighting down some. Not sure if it makes a difference par wise but with cleaner water the par intensity might be higher. If you think about it a corals environment is basically water and light.
Jeff