Torch Dying?

[cdarcy]

Our beautiful torch stopped expanding for a few weeks. We changed the water gradually from boxed sea water (low alkalinity and alkalinity dosing) to instant ocean crystals mixed with RO water. We did it super gradual with 1 gallon water changes every 2 days. It started to close up. And now this is happening!

Parameters became almost perfect once we made that change. The alkalinity went up finally. But it seems after this last change, it just went down hill.
We brought our water to get checked and everything showed up great.
These are from my new Hanna checkers. I have calcium and phosphate checkers coming this week.

Magnesium 1640
Salinity 1.023
Nitrate 8.6
9.4 alkalinity

Last photo shows it about 2 months ago - it was expanding just a short bit. It used to be super long.

Any ideas?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Salinity low, other than that I'd just give it some time, as long as you don't see any recession or BJD than he's probably just upset from the shift in params

 

[cdarcy]

Salinity low, other than that I'd just give it some time, as long as you don't see any recession or BJD than he's probably just upset from the shift in params

Really?? I thought that was a near perfect salinity range - what should it be at?

 

[cdarcy]

Salinity low, other than that I'd just give it some time, as long as you don't see any recession or BJD than he's probably just upset from the shift in params

It’s super recessed. See first few pics. Or is that not what recessed means? Thanks!!

 

[Leadfooted]

Please google KFC dip and reach out to Danny

 

[Propane]

1.026 is ideal for salinity.

 

[cdarcy]

Please google KFC dip and reach out to Danny

Do you think this is BJD?

 

[Leadfooted]

Do you think this is BJD?

Perhaps , the one picture is possibly showing poop or BJD I can’t determine which.

 

[Lemons]

Yeesh, one unhappy torch

Looks like its recessed almost all the way to the point of no return (not saying all hope is lost but don't get your hopes up)

First of all yea salinity is a little low 1.026 is the ideal range but i have (by accident lol) dropped down to 1.023 with no ill effects.

Secondly, 1640 for mag is a bit high. Usually i reccommend 1400ish.

For the other params i gotta ask what where they before? How large is your tank? No testing phos before?

 

[Lemons]

Also IMO Instant Ocean salt has by far the worst batch to batch perameter swings i have ever seen one bag i tested had 12.3 Dkh and another 7.3

 

[Lavey29]

Appears to be dying. Your magnesium is high and salinity slightly low. What is PH and phosphate?

 

[Lemons]

But as a course of action for trying to save the torch. If you have access to the materials required to do a KFC dip you can try that as a last ditch attempt to save it. If not then I would not touch any other perameter or lights and pray

 

[cdarcy]

I did a dip - it was definitely dying. The last pod had material left but it was almost all gone. When I did the dip these came out. Are these normal and natural critters? Or would they be the culprit?

 

[Lemons]

I did a dip - it was definitely dying. The last pod had material left but it was almost all gone. When I did the dip these came out. Are these normal and natural critters? Or would they be the culprit?

Yup look like amphipods and copepods all good guys...

Sorry about your torch

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry for the loss. Its not much consolation but in 8 years reefing I have yet to be able to keep a torch alive. I hadn't tried one in a few years and had a frogspawn doing great for over a year. Decided to try a cheap $49 tester torch since it had been quite a while. Dead in a week.

 

[Spare time]

Phosphate level?

 

[Alexjones.aj99]

Do you have any other similar corals this is happening to? This happened to mine as well, thought it was just the torch then started happening to my hammer euphillia. After inspection I realized there were little euphoria eating flatworm on them. They are hard to see but worth checking for. I have now dipped my euphillia and torch every 5 days for the last month and they are beginning to expand again slowly. Not sure if this is your case or not but just thought I’d share my story

 

[Alexjones.aj99]

Do you have any other similar corals this is happening to? This happened to mine as well, thought it was just the torch then started happening to my hammer euphillia. After inspection I realized there were little euphoria eating flatworm on them. They are hard to see but worth checking for. I have now dipped my euphillia and torch every 5 days for the last month and they are beginning to expand again slowly. Not sure if this is your case or not but just thought I’d share my story

 

[cdarcy]

we brought literally everything to our LFS and asked for help. The calcium was reading way high. I don’t know how that could happen? We had a low alk issue which is why we ended up changing from boxed ocean water to instant ocean and RO, it fixed the issue alkalinity came up, and then we noticed everything just starting to crash.
My calcium checker was in the mail.
One thing I mentioned to the guy was I started to see a lot of coralline algae, and he said that might be a calcium issue which he checked and it was crazy high.
And anybody know what happened with calcium? How could that be?
We ended up getting water from their store and are just using that, and just watching everything from here. Thanks everyone!

 

[JayM]

What is “way high”?