Tank Dying… I need to vent…

[TangerineSpeedo]

I shot myself in the foot last week when I commented on @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal thread when she lost a favorite coral. I had mentioned that I had lost a low percentage compared to my overall and to stay positive because coral can be hardy.
Well I just lost two SPS in two days and I can see some other getting a bit paler. Some are doing fantastic for now but I feel I can see the train coming and I am stuck on the crossing.
My parameters are all within range and the only changes I have made to this tank specifically is increased the flow on the reverse on the Gyre and turned up the whites slightly on the fill light. All my dosing and water is the same across my four tanks so it is not an introduction of bad saltwater or an additive that went bad.
I have added to the tank a clam and a tenuous in the last couple weeks. But they are doing great.

I am not asking for solutions or speculations, I am just venting.
FU-RTN

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'm sorry

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Things may have stabilized, maybe... I will see in the morning. I lost the Garf for sure, but I have the base of the plug I cut it off of completely encrusted in the frag tank. I had this awesome Sedona cactus looking coral, That literally looked like a cactus. I might have saved one arm. With RTN there is no "Well we see what you look like in the morning..."
I am looking at my Immortal Tort hoping that it will live up to its name.
I am leaning on the fact that I increased the flow on the reverse with the alternating gyre as being the cause. All the corals that seem to be affected are in the direct line of the increased flow. Probably too much too fast. blew away the slime coat, stirred up some bad bacteria... I don’t know, just a theory I worked up. Whether it is true or not, it makes me feel better because this whole thing does not make any sense to me. It makes me feel helpless.
Thought about an ICP test today also, but since it is so late in the week, it would be too late to change anything and because of what has been said of them lately, I am a bit skeptical of there accuracy. So I don’t want to be running down a road in the wrong direction because of a faulty reading. I have reduced the flow of the gyre and I am just going to do what I normally do and observe. I have three other tanks that are doing great with how I am doing things and this tank was doing great. So I hope this is just a hiccup.

 

[coral reeftank]

What were your parameters and were there any symptoms leading up to the rtn?
It may have been multiple issues ailing the coral before its demise.

You recently upped your flow and increased your lighting, it may have been from too much direct flow or a sudden shock from the stronger lighting.
Sps also benefit from feeding, they primarily consume bacteria and minute zooplankton. Proper nutrition will help prevent random losses.

Best thing we can do is try and learn from our mistakes and stay diligent! You got it!

 

[JoJosReef]

Sending you and the tank some positive vibes! Hope the SPS stops RTN'ing. It's the worst. No time to do anything about it. Sad about the garf. They're one of my favorites to look at.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

What were your parameters and were there any symptoms leading up to the rtn?
It may have been multiple issues ailing the coral before its demise.

You recently upped your flow and increased your lighting, it may have been from too much direct flow or a sudden shock from the stronger lighting.
Sps also benefit from feeding, they primarily consume bacteria and minute zooplankton. Proper nutrition will help prevent random losses.

Best thing we can do is try and learn from our mistakes and stay diligent! You got it!

Like I said I feel it was the flow. The change in the lighting was upping my whites on the fill lights from 30% to 50%. I checked the par and the increase was pretty nil. And again the corals that seemed the most affected were in the path of the flow change. The corals get plenty of food and a variety of it. Bacto-balance, Phyto, rotifers, reef chili, ground Nutri-mar, live baby brine, Brightwell aminos a couple times a week. This may seem like a lot, but if I don't my nutrients will crash. Fish get fed three times a day also a variety of frozen, pellet and flake.
I don’t mind gaining wisdom from experience, but it will take a bit before I figure this one out for sure. Everything up to this point is anecdotal. But when your in triage mode it is only past experiences and your gut. The first thing I always do is, what was the last thing I did. Well actually the first thing I do is pull out the test kits. Which BTW were exactly where they should be.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Sending you and the tank some positive vibes! Hope the SPS stops RTN'ing. It's the worst. No time to do anything about it. Sad about the garf. They're one of my favorites to look at.

Your pink branching cyphastrea is doing fine though. I have a back up on the garf, but it may take a bit for it to get to the point of the other one.

 

[JoJosReef]

Your pink branching cyphastrea is doing fine though. I have a back up on the garf, but it may take a bit for it to get to the point of the other one.

 

[JoJosReef]

Your pink branching cyphastrea is doing fine though. I have a back up on the garf, but it may take a bit for it to get to the point of the other one.

I've got very basic SPS, but if it all goes up in flames I'll get your restart pack ready.

 

[steveschuerger]

Sorry for the recent struggles. I know how you feel all too well. My little nano that I started for a second tank this summer is having various issues including what looks like a bout of Dinos that noticed today. I hope things turn around for you soon.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I've got very basic SPS, but if it all goes up in flames I'll get your restart pack ready.

Thanks! I appreciate that!
Is your JF green/teal birds nest doing ok?
I have a German blue digitata and a pink birds nest about to go to war and I was looking at how to frag that...

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I've got very basic SPS, but if it all goes up in flames I'll get your restart pack ready.

Double post

 

[MartinM]

Things may have stabilized, maybe... I will see in the morning. I lost the Garf for sure, but I have the base of the plug I cut it off of completely encrusted in the frag tank. I had this awesome Sedona cactus looking coral, That literally looked like a cactus. I might have saved one arm. With RTN there is no "Well we see what you look like in the morning..."
I am looking at my Immortal Tort hoping that it will live up to its name.
I am leaning on the fact that I increased the flow on the reverse with the alternating gyre as being the cause. All the corals that seem to be affected are in the direct line of the increased flow. Probably too much too fast. blew away the slime coat, stirred up some bad bacteria... I don’t know, just a theory I worked up. Whether it is true or not, it makes me feel better because this whole thing does not make any sense to me. It makes me feel helpless.
Thought about an ICP test today also, but since it is so late in the week, it would be too late to change anything and because of what has been said of them lately, I am a bit skeptical of there accuracy. So I don’t want to be running down a road in the wrong direction because of a faulty reading. I have reduced the flow of the gyre and I am just going to do what I normally do and observe. I have three other tanks that are doing great with how I am doing things and this tank was doing great. So I hope this is just a hiccup.

Unfortunately, this is everyone’s life with SPS whether they admit it or not. Sometimes They die or lose tissue suddenly and sometimes without any apparent cause.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Unfortunately, this is everyone’s life with SPS whether they admit it or not. Sometimes They die or lose tissue suddenly and sometimes without any apparent cause.

I have had a few die, but mostly, new corals of fresh cuts, so it is what it is. These two I have lost, I have had them for almost a year and I have almost killed them twice... but yet they came back... we have history..

 

[MartinM]

I’ll have parts die on the same colony where the rest of it is growing rapidly. Sometimes things make no sense. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff over my 30 years in the hobby…

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

BTW.. all the Pocillopora in the tank is doing fine... All of it... all over my tank...
In fact I think it is outcompeting the Aptasia...

 

[gbroadbridge]

I shot myself in the foot last week when I commented on @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal thread when she lost a favorite coral. I had mentioned that I had lost a low percentage compared to my overall and to stay positive because coral can be hardy.
Well I just lost two SPS in two days and I can see some other getting a bit paler. Some are doing fantastic for now but I feel I can see the train coming and I am stuck on the crossing.
My parameters are all within range and the only changes I have made to this tank specifically is increased the flow on the reverse on the Gyre and turned up the whites slightly on the fill light. All my dosing and water is the same across my four tanks so it is not an introduction of bad saltwater or an additive that went bad.
I have added to the tank a clam and a tenuous in the last couple weeks. But they are doing great.

I am not asking for solutions or speculations, I am just venting.
FU-RTN

I would be something that changed a couple of months ago, not just now.

The effect just took a while to show and perhaps the coral struggled for weeks first.

Even if you kept very detailed logs you may still not be able to spot the change - it's happened to me.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Sorry to hear that your going through this. Josh and Randy were doing a chat from Texas and he was saying they have a treatment when their SPS go downhill. I believe he said they basically do a dip in antibiotics. But anyways I was playing around with one of my MP pumps and ended up blasting the back side of my SPS and like you mentioned blasted the skin off them. Same here but I corrected the flow and set my lights into acclamation mode and they turned around and started to come back. They were white white like dead dead but yeah that seemed to bring them back for me. Also sending your some good positive vibes

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I would be something that changed a couple of months ago, not just now.

The effect just took a while to show and perhaps the coral struggled for weeks first.

Even if you kept very detailed logs you may still not be able to spot the change - it's happened to me.

That's the weird thing... the Garf had full poylp extension even while half of its flesh was gone! I have almost killed this coral twice, so I know what it looks like when it struggles. This time I saw a bit of white near the base, first thought, coral warfare... parasite..? Next morning, boom half gone, with full PE in areas that still had flesh. So your like
Also it is just a 40g cube so things happen pretty fast, which can be good and bad.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Sorry to hear that your going through this. Josh and Randy were doing a chat from Texas and he was saying they have a treatment when their SPS go downhill. I believe he said they basically do a dip in antibiotics. But anyways I was playing around with one of my MP pumps and ended up blasting the back side of my SPS and like you mentioned blasted the skin off them. Same here but I corrected the flow and set my lights into acclamation mode and they turned around and started to come back. They were white white like dead dead but yeah that seemed to bring them back for me. Also sending your some good positive vibes

Thanks! I also watched something I think from the Florida aquarium that was also talking about a dip. Anti biotic then aminos. But for the life of me I can't find it.