Torch and Chaeto Dying

Mr. GoodStuff

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 7, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
36
Location
60455
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
1. What would kill off a torch head like in the picture? This is the second one I’ve had this happen to. There’s a joker torch next to it and a bubble tip anemone a little further above it. I’ll put my fish stock list below but I don’t think any of the fish would cause it except MAYBE my coral beauty but I haven’t seen it nipping at any corals.

2140C9FF-DDB9-457D-AD92-25D5CDD175C6.jpeg


2. A portion of my chaeto is starting to turn white. I have a pretty good light on it and it’s been growing massively filling in the whole refugium until recently I noticed the die off. I have 3 bubble tip anemones in a clear plastic container floating in the refugium at the moment until I find a home for them but they aren’t physically touching the chaeto, would it be possible for them to kill it? Second I’ve started mixing in kalkwasser (1/2 spoon per 1 gallon of water) into my ATO container - the ATO goes into the return pump chamber and the return pump has a T fitting on it to pump water into the display and the refugium. The kalkwasser is obviously mixed into the ATO water so I can’t see this being an issue right? Or is it possible it’s affecting the chaeto?

Purple Tang
Sailfin Tang
Hippo Tang
Kole Tang
Foxface
Firefish
Blenny
Royal Gramma
Six Line Wrasse
Yellow Watchman
Mandarin
Clownfish
Coral Beauty
Cleaner Shrimp
Pistol Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp (maybe, haven’t seen in awhile)
Longspine Urchin
 

jeffchapok

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
1,232
Reaction score
1,692
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
We'll need a full set of test results to do anything more than just guess. But if I had to guess, based upon your chaeto turning white I'd say your PO3 and NO4 are too low and your torch is starving.

Do you feed it directly?
 
OP
OP
Mr. GoodStuff

Mr. GoodStuff

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 7, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
36
Location
60455
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I feed the corals reef roids but I do not spot feed individually.

11 dkh
420-430 calcium
0 phosphate
8.0-8.2 ph
0 nitrite
10 nitrate
0 ammonia
 

NitrateKillah

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
91
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How are you reducing NO3? that's a lot of live stock there. I don't think you are at zero, you need a better test kit.

I have 8 clowns, 2 blennie, 1 tang, and 1 porcelain crab. My NO3 is hoovering around 10, and that's with a sulfur reactor.

If anything, I think your NO3 is sky high. What else is not doing well? just the torch?
 
OP
OP
Mr. GoodStuff

Mr. GoodStuff

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 7, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
36
Location
60455
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How are you reducing NO3? that's a lot of live stock there. I don't think you are at zero, you need a better test kit.

I have 8 clowns, 2 blennie, 1 tang, and 1 porcelain crab. My NO3 is hoovering around 10, and that's with a sulfur reactor.

If anything, I think your NO3 is sky high. What else is not doing well? just the torch?

Everything else is doing well and all I have is a skimmer and a refugium with marine pure rocks and chaeto. Only feeding 1 cube of frozen per day and nori every day or every other day.
 

Crustaceon

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
3,357
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s due to low nutrients and is a prime reason why I don’t like refugiums. It can be really hard to balance nutrient reduction and not turn the tank into a “wet desert”. So the chaeto grew like crazy and basically “pegged” nitrates and phosphates at zero. This starved the torch head. Eventually the chaeto ran out of “gas” since it had no fuel either and started to die too. This released nitrates back into the water, which is why you’re getting a reading now. If you do chaeto, it needs to be a small clump and stay a small clump. This means frequent harvesting.
 
OP
OP
Mr. GoodStuff

Mr. GoodStuff

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 7, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
36
Location
60455
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s due to low nutrients and is a prime reason why I don’t like refugiums. It can be really hard to balance nutrient reduction and not turn the tank into a “wet desert”. So the chaeto grew like crazy and basically “pegged” nitrates and phosphates at zero. This starved the torch head. Eventually the chaeto ran out of “gas” since it had no fuel either and started to die too. This released nitrates back into the water, which is why you’re getting a reading now. If you do chaeto, it needs to be a small clump and stay a small clump. This means frequent harvesting.

Makes sense, I had a massive amount of chaeto haha just figured it should be alright since I’m pretty heavily stocked and don’t really do water changes.
 

Crustaceon

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
3,357
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Makes sense, I had a massive amount of chaeto haha just figured it should be alright since I’m pretty heavily stocked and don’t really do water changes.
Start small and add allow your chaeto to grow out if needed. You’d be amazed how efficient even a little ball of chaeto can be.
 

Lucas815

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
186
Reaction score
186
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is the exact problem I'm having currently.

Torches were growing great, until I added a ball of chaeto.

The chaeto grew like crazy for a couple weeks, then corals stopped growing.

I neglected to harvest the chaeto, and it just melted in the refugium.

Currently my corals are pretty unhappy, especially the torches.

Nitrate : 1ppm
Phosphate : 0.08ppm
Iron : 0

I turned down my refugium light to 5%, just to keep the chaeto alive.

I'm pretty concerned for my torches, especially my small Master torch frag...
 
Back
Top