Why did my Euphyllia (Hammer and Torch) corals die?

Gravity

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Based on the information you provided I would suspect what you think is cyano is actually Dino caused by your zero phosphate. Cyano generally shows up when phosphate is high so it wouldn’t make since if you have zero unless it had previously been high.

I would stop carbon dosing. Although carbon dosing is primarily used to reduce nitrate it does require phosphate to be effective. So if you continue to dose you will continue to feed the nuisance algae and make the phosphate harder to increase.

To increase phosphorus the quickest you can use Brightwell neophos. You can also try increasing feeding. especially with coral foods like reef roids or reef chili as tend to have a higher phosphorus concentration.
 

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Reef Guy Ronnie

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Considering that there is already a bacterial battle happening in the tank, (the reason for the chemiclean) we cant rule out the possibility of a bacterial infection within the euphyilia family you have stocked. The chemiclean treatment will help (if done properly, I recommend a tube running from your collection cup on your skimmer into a bucket and let the skimmer pull out ALL/as much of the bacteria and chemiclean as possible). Let the tank sit without euphyillia for a while until your tank is more stable within all your parameters and buy from a reputable source.
Just another thought though, have you considered the possibility of euphyillia eating flatworms?
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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Both my Hammer and Torch coral have waisted away in the last few weeks. All my other corals are thriving. My most recent water test (using Hanna testers) were as follows: Calcium 541, Nitrate 5, Phosphate 0, and ALK 8.6. Recently battled red cyno outbreak over the last few weeks using a combination of vinegar dosing(20ml per week) and Microbacter7. I would appreciate input as I would like to replace these corals however I am reluctant until I know they have a good chance of surviving.
Nobody asked you this, but which Hanna Phosphate checker were you using? There is the phosphate checker, which is near useless, then there's the phosphate ULR and phosphorus ULR. Since we try to keep phosphates in low ranges, the ULR checker is what you need. What could show up as zero on the regular phosphate test could actually be .03, which is perfectly acceptable.
 
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Tcook

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I use this to dose phosphate. 1 capsule into 500 ml rodi. Decant, then start with 1 ml/ 10 gallons. Check level daily then adjust.
20201224_141003.jpg
 
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Nobody asked you this, but which Hanna Phosphate checker were you using? There is the phosphate checker, which is near useless, then there's the phosphate ULR and phosphorus ULR. Since we try to keep phosphates in low ranges, the ULR checker is what you need. What could show up as zero on the regular phosphate test could actually be .03, which is perfectly acceptable.
I purchased the Phosphate low range checker H1713-25, is this the correct one?
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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I purchased the Phosphate low range checker H1713-25, is this the correct one?
That part number is for the reagent, but it's for the low range checker, not the ultra low range. For keeping a reef tank, I believe that one is not sufficient.
Check out this checker: https://www.marinedepot.com/hanna-i...HIiQmLyDM6ae8S4R7r74LJ7ZS3h_bg9kaAsMIEALw_wcB

If you look at the comparison between the two in the description, the low range has an accuracy rating of plus or minus .04 ppm, meaning if you have .04, it could read .08 which is fine, or 0 which isn't. The ULR has an accuracy rating of plus or minus .02, which is a lot better when you're measuring in very low ranges. When dosing phosphate, I believe it to be imperative to make sure you're dosing based on the most accurate information available. When I first bought a Hanna checker for phosphate, I got a reading of 0 all but one time. I knew that couldn't be correct as I had film algae and cyano growing. When I bought the ULR checker, I found that I had phosphate, but within the accuracy error range that the normal low range couldn't read. I don't even know why vendors even sell the other one at this point.
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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That part number is for the reagent, but it's for the low range checker, not the ultra low range. For keeping a reef tank, I believe that one is not sufficient.
Check out this checker: https://www.marinedepot.com/hanna-i...HIiQmLyDM6ae8S4R7r74LJ7ZS3h_bg9kaAsMIEALw_wcB

If you look at the comparison between the two in the description, the low range has an accuracy rating of plus or minus .04 ppm, meaning if you have .04, it could read .08 which is fine, or 0 which isn't. The ULR has an accuracy rating of plus or minus .02, which is a lot better when you're measuring in very low ranges. When dosing phosphate, I believe it to be imperative to make sure you're dosing based on the most accurate information available. When I first bought a Hanna checker for phosphate, I got a reading of 0 all but one time. I knew that couldn't be correct as I had film algae and cyano growing. When I bought the ULR checker, I found that I had phosphate, but within the accuracy error range that the normal low range couldn't read. I don't even know why vendors even sell the other one at this point.
This is also why I threw away all of my cheap refractometers and bought a Misco Seawater Refractometer. It's $480, but by the time I got it, I already spent $200 on the cheaper ones because I had to calibrate and recalibrate 5 times each time I trusted it to get an accurate (enough) reading. Now I calibrate it once, measure, and I have a peace of mind that I'm getting the best info I can.
 
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jpbeen

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This is also why I threw away all of my cheap refractometers and bought a Misco Seawater Refractometer. It's $480, but by the time I got it, I already spent $200 on the cheaper ones because I had to calibrate and recalibrate 5 times each time I trusted it to get an accurate (enough) reading. Now I calibrate it once, measure, and I have a peace of mind that I'm getting the best info I can.
Thanks for the valuable information. I will purchase the URL tester.
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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Thanks for the valuable information. I will purchase the URL tester.
Good luck. I'm sorry for your loss of euphyllia. I know they can be spendy as I have a few myself. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to message me or ask someone on here. :cool:
 

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I would bring that up a little. My understanding is magnesium is an important element when it comes to LPS sticking to their skeleton. It’s probably more related to Po4 as many suggested but raising Mg certainly wouldn’t hurt
It's at a perfectly acceptable number. Magnesium in the ocean is less than 1,300ppm. Since most levels are already elevated in the reef tank, his numbers are good where they're at. It's best to only change 1 thing at a time. Regular water changes are usually enough to regulate magnesium. Once you've kept one tank running for at minimum of a year, then you can worry about magnesium. I usually do a 80%-90% water change once a year to combat this. Granted, the tank most of my coral is in is a 50 gallon.
 

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It's at a perfectly acceptable number. Magnesium in the ocean is less than 1,300ppm. Since most levels are already elevated in the reef tank, his numbers are good where they're at. It's best to only change 1 thing at a time. Regular water changes are usually enough to regulate magnesium. Once you've kept one tank running for at minimum of a year, then you can worry about magnesium. I usually do a 80%-90% water change once a year to combat this. Granted, the tank most of my coral is in is a 50 gallon.
Ah okay fair enough. I agree with the Po4 comments then
 

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Ah okay fair enough. I agree with the Po4 comments then
I'm not saying you're wrong, but magnesium is usually only a factor when you're dosing alk and calcium. When you dose either alk and calcium and your levels still don't go where you'd expect them to (you can guarantee levels will raise to a certain amount when they're in line with a proper ratio), then magnesium is something to consider. Whereas alk should be tested at minimum 1-2 times per week, (I'm guilty of not doing this) magnesium only needs to be tested once per month.
 

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This is an odd thing that happened. Corals don't die for no reason. Did you do any water changes recently? What's your nutrient export method (I saw carbon dosing as one of them)? Did you dose all 20 ml of NOPOX at once? How do you monitor temperature? Was there any change in lighting? If there's a question you can think to answer that I haven't asked, include it with your response.
 

MONTANTK

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I'm not saying you're wrong, but magnesium is usually only a factor when you're dosing alk and calcium. When you dose either alk and calcium and your levels still don't go where you'd expect them to (you can guarantee levels will raise to a certain amount when they're in line with a proper ratio), then magnesium is something to consider. Whereas alk should be tested at minimum 1-2 times per week, (I'm guilty of not doing this) magnesium only needs to be tested once per month.
Yeah I gotcha, I was just thinking that if magnesium was raised to around 1400 it may slow the detachment on the LPS. If the level of mag isn’t changing though then it’s probably not worth worrying about
 
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