Why are my corals mad!?!?

[rynosaurus]

Ok bare with me while I explain,

I have a 150 gallon tank that’s been running for 8 months. Current parameters,
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate .25
Calcium 425
Alk 11.0
Ph 8.4
Salinity 1.025

many of my soft corals (bubble, zoas, mushrooms, and toadstool) have shrunk and will not fully open. Almost everything seems unhappy. My zoas are about half the size as when I bought them. My bubble will never fully open, my toadstools polyps rarely come out and when they do they are about half extended. I have 3 different types of mushrooms, none of which are bigger than a nickel and I know they could be so much bigger.
I have read many threads talking about many different possibilities. And here is what I’ve done in my attempts to improve the situation.

lower the light,
I have reef breederv2 led’s at first running about 60%. Smaller polyps means too much light I read so I tried lowering the light all the way to 30%. After a weeks and a half of this I’ve noticed no difference and have started to raise the light back to 60%.
Multiple water changes and repeated water testing have resulted in no improvements. I will admit I had a ammonia spike about two -three weeks ago, but the issue has been going on since before this.
I’ve tried feeding more for a few days to increase available food, and vise versa I’ve limited the food to try and clean out the water even further.
nothing seems to be working and I’m beginning to feel disheartened. It’s sad to see the beautiful corals well not as beautiful as I know they should be.
here are a few pics of the corals all mad at me for some reason.

 

[tehmadreefer]

0 nitrates and high p04 isn’t helping I’d say.also alk is high but I’m pretty sure Softies don’t care too much about alk.

 

[ccombs]

I am wondering if you are nutrient deficient with no Nitrate/Higher Phosphate. Phosphate and Nitrate have an interesting relationship, but I am no expert.

@Rick.45cal knows more about getting good coral results with raising nutrients. Let's see if he has any advice.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alk is high and water is almost too clean. Ideally that is not the case in having zero readings . I would have an LFS test your salinity and ph to verify your readings.
Has anything changed with flow, lighting, temperature and type of water used?

 

[blasterman]

I have plenty of softies and lps that thrive in zero fish tanks. What matters is that those corals are acclimated to low nutrient levels and there are no nuisance competitors.

The low nutrient levels arent what typically cause the shrunken size. The problem is that there is a competing organism, usually a nuisance or water born algae that's stripping PO4 / iodine / nitrate out of the water which is why they read zero. If there's fish in a tank I would rather see a bit of nitrate vs zero because if its 0 you dont know what's consuming it.

Do you have any algae issues that have cropped up? Are you noticing a green cast to the water with just room light on? Do you notice a green/brown film on glass that comes back 24 hours after you clean it? A litmus test that theres a problem is if the tank water looks less tinted after a water change theres an issue. Low iodine might be an issue. Salt mixes are supposed to replenish it but are highly variable in this respect.

Also concerned about the ammo spike. Something die?

 

[nasotang]

It looks like you have some slimy brown algae growing on your rocks. Maybe Dino or Diatoms. My guess is the algae is up taking the Nitrates + phosphates and could also be irritating your corals.

 

[Rick.45cal]

If I was going to venture a guess the 0 nitrate with an alkalinity of 11 would be my suspicion. 0.25 PO4 is higher than most people would suggest, but I personally wouldn’t worry about It, I think it‘s more important to have nitrates at this point.

 

[rynosaurus]

Wow what a response,
@ vetteguy, no I haven’t changed anything with lighting or flow in quite some time now other than changing the intensity.
@ blasterman and bask, I do have some sort of algae but I have all but given up on that fight. The algae stuff that is there nobody has accurately identified, I have tried chemiclean as suggestedby local fish store and another thread I’ve posted a while back but it didn’t seem to help. I also siphon ever bit of it I can out of the tank when doing a water change. I have slowed the algae but it’s been there since the tank cycled and has never left.
All this y’all of algae has me wondering if a UV sterilizer will help.
as for the water clarity you asked about. I recently installed a trigger sump and havebeen able to increase skimmer performance as well as getting filter socks to work correctly, and even my cheto is staying alive. ( My homemade sump wasn’t doing a good job at any of that) since this I have noticed the water to be much clearer. But the small corals has been an issue for almost the life of the tank especially my zoas.
I have been purposely keeping my alk high after watching a BRS experiment that showed higher growth and more vibrant colors from coral when doing that. So far I do see growth out of almost everything but size sucks and I forgot to mention most of the corals appear very dull.
And lastly yes my ammonia spike is most likely due to two of my tangs dying, but I still don’t know why. I lost a DJ sailfin, a Naso tang and a watchman goby in two days but all other fish are ok. The fish that died were in tank for a few weeks from the LFS and is strange that they passed because I was noticing them growing already and colors getting very vibrant. Both were gorgeous fish. I tried to locate the bodies but was unsuccessful.
Im going to get a pic of the algae. I’m not sure though how the algae would effect the bubble or toadstool knowing that they are above the rock in a sense. Sorry guys for being long winded, just trying to be descriptive and hopefully get a game plan together.

 

[rynosaurus]

First pic is the algae,
Second is my Duncan that rarely opens anymore. Third is my acans and frogspawn, these again look ok but just not happy, I feel they should be much bigger.

 

[rynosaurus]

@ rock.45 I’m going to test water again for nitrates verify the zero reading and do some research on raising nitrates. What would you say is a good goal?

 

[rynosaurus]

One more thing I forgot to mention, I have green sponge everywhere. Could this be a bad thing.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Hi. A few things I noticed about the corals and in the background. Yes, an ammonia spike will tick off your corals and some could die because if it. The toadstool will probably recover, but it will be mad for some time.

These threads may be of some use to you on controlling the algae and such.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...atic-algae-and-the-means-to-control-it.87351/

Lastly, I noticed the dreaded palys on your rocks. The brownish green ones all over your rocks. These are highly invasive, nasty buggers. They contain the palytoxin to be very aware of. I had them almost covering my rocks and they affected everything. I had to remove all rocks with them on it, leave in sun to dry out a loooong time, then I think I did a acid bath on them. Then let them dry in sun a looong time. Used them in the sump with no light. I am now free of those monsters. Not too be too over dramatic, but I would get them out.

Put some new rock in your sump to get seeded and then remove infected rocks. DO NOT BOIL, LICK, MESS WITH in any way!!! Just leave in sun to bake outside. Then bleach or acid bath if you want to save the rock. Wear gloves and mask. I have been hit twice dealing with those guys and it is not fun.

I hope some of this will help you get your tank back on the mend. It may just take time. It is so young still.

 

[rynosaurus]

@ Denise andy
I assume you are talking about the coral next to my Duncan?
I was given these from a friend and due to the rate they have grown purposely secluded them to a patch of rock separate from the rest.
Do these palys cause damage or harm to the other corals? Or are they just a nuisance?
I think they look good the way the coverthe rock in the center. But now that you mention it they are one of the only coral that seem to be wife open. I have read horror stories of people who tried to boil them and poisoned their entire family. That’s scary.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yep. Those and the ones in the bubble coral picture too. They will grow fast and I found they inhibit the growth of some corals. They will get on your nerves as you get more into this hobby. They can take over and not allow the more desired corals to grow. FME

If you like them, by all means keep them and good job isolating them for now. Everyone is different. Just be aware of the dangers of them when moving for messing with them. These are the dangerous ones. Use gloves, do not try to frag or pull them out.

 

[rynosaurus]

Well as much as I may like them I’m more than willing to get them out if there is even a chance they are hurting my tank.
only negative to that is I have two bubble tipswith there foot deep in there, so I’ll most likely lose those also. Again I’m ok with that cause I have 4 in the tank.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Just rub some ice on the bubble tips and get them to loosen their foots. Then they can be moved. I would not want you to lose those guys. Just wear appropriate gear when messing with those rocks.

 

[rynosaurus]

U got it good advise.
im still going to look into the low nitrates and see where that takes me.

 

[jeffchapok]

I would target NO3 50-100x whatever your PO4 reads. Softies love dirty water, so don't be afraid of nitrates 30-50. Mine runs that consistently with PO4 at .5 and my softies are thriving. I even have some LPS and easier SPS doing well.

I do have some GHA, but snails keep that in check more or less.

 

[rynosaurus]

So I’m still curious. Are the paly toxins being released into the tank even if they are not being disturbed?
can the paly’s be harming the entire tank?
mom going to attempt to remove them tomorrow I’m just trying to fully understand.

 

[najer]

IMO palys don't randomly release toxins but I only have my experience of that not proof, I always have them in my tanks.
I also say get your nitrates up and don't sweat the phos to much.