Sad looking coral

thefishyboy · 05/11/2021, 10:52 AM

Hi all

As title says my 2 corals which have been in my tank for approx 2 months are both looking very sad today and I’m a little worried that something has happened.

My reading are
Sal1.025
Amm 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0
Cal 420
Kh8
Phos 0

I was having some phosphate In my tank which was fuelling a bit of algae growth so to get this under control about a week ago I added a reactor running carbon and gfo. This is the only thing that has changed for a long time so is this the reason for my sad coral and will they recover on there own or do I need to do something?

Elegance coral has been in the tank for about 6 months and has looked happy until now and the aloniopora about 2 months also been happy until now.

Any help much appreciated

Thanks

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Sk8r · 05/12/2021, 11:14 AM

Check your alkalinity first. Good parameters are in my sig line. If that's off, check your magnesium, then calcium. GFO shouldn't affect them that much.

thefishyboy · 05/12/2021, 11:16 AM

Is alkalinity not the same as kh?

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Sk8r · 05/12/2021, 03:49 PM

Yep. Got that now. Been having some log-in access problems. Sorry. Your params are good. Did you rinse carbon and gfo? Dust could have irritated them. Carbon itself should uptake any allelopathy, (sp) going on. Be careful that the effluent directly from GFO isn't blasting the corals. And if they don't relax after a few days, or seem to be getting worse, I'd pull them to qt until the tank is sorted out, or just give up and try to live with the algae until time sorts it out. Normal sources for phosphate are : non-ro/di water or failing ro/di filter; phosphate in rock and sand slowly leaching out into the water ; or green fishfood.

Vinny Kreyling · 05/12/2021, 05:02 PM

Carbon & GFO mixed in 1 reactor could be a problem IF the flow is too high.
GFO works best @ a slow tumble on the surface & carbon should be tightly packed so there is NO movement.

Sk8r · 05/12/2021, 07:15 PM

that's definitely a thought. It could be sending particles into the water.

Tonkatsuvisuals · 05/13/2021, 11:05 PM

Hows the corals doing now?

thefishyboy · 05/18/2021, 07:37 AM

Thanks all seem to be getting better still not totally sure what the issue was tbh but they are both feeding well so

. I did rinse the gfo and carbon in fresh Ro water I have learnt from that mistake the hard way in the past. I have maybe a bit too much flow in my reactor possibly but the media sits on the lower sponge it’s not going up and down if that makes sense so I think it’s ok?

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thefishyboy · 05/18/2021, 07:39 AM

The reactor outflow pipe goes into the sump compartment at the back of the tank so it doesn’t go directly into the tank so dust particles would hopefully settle in the sump compartment

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Sk8r · 05/18/2021, 04:51 PM

At times corals just react cautiously to ANY change, even a good one. They're kind of like a committee rather than a brain, so you kind of have to expect reaction when you do something different. A FAST negative reaction is to listen to, or heads popping off, but they haven't outlived the dinos by being reckless. A note, especially with Euphyllias (Hammer, tect) and brain---if hammer, eg, has a head come off, save both the skeleton and the head if you can catch it, put head in a shallow glass bowl to keep current from carrying it away, in good light, and just as a fragment of tissue left in the skeleton can grow a new head, a head by itself can start and grow a new skeleton. BRain once driven into the skeleton can reemerge months later and start growing.

Looper121 · 05/23/2021, 06:22 AM

They’ll be dead within days. Dismantle your salt tank and build it back as an African cichlid tank, they’ll even propagate and you can sell babies back to the pet shop!

05/11/2021, 10:52 AM	#1
thefishyboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 71	Sad looking coral Hi all As title says my 2 corals which have been in my tank for approx 2 months are both looking very sad today and I’m a little worried that something has happened. My reading are Sal1.025 Amm 0 Nitrate 0 Phosphate 0 Cal 420 Kh8 Phos 0 I was having some phosphate In my tank which was fuelling a bit of algae growth so to get this under control about a week ago I added a reactor running carbon and gfo. This is the only thing that has changed for a long time so is this the reason for my sad coral and will they recover on there own or do I need to do something? Elegance coral has been in the tank for about 6 months and has looked happy until now and the aloniopora about 2 months also been happy until now. Any help much appreciated Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Last edited by thefishyboy; 05/11/2021 at 02:32 PM.

05/12/2021, 11:14 AM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Check your alkalinity first. Good parameters are in my sig line. If that's off, check your magnesium, then calcium. GFO shouldn't affect them that much. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/12/2021, 03:49 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Yep. Got that now. Been having some log-in access problems. Sorry. Your params are good. Did you rinse carbon and gfo? Dust could have irritated them. Carbon itself should uptake any allelopathy, (sp) going on. Be careful that the effluent directly from GFO isn't blasting the corals. And if they don't relax after a few days, or seem to be getting worse, I'd pull them to qt until the tank is sorted out, or just give up and try to live with the algae until time sorts it out. Normal sources for phosphate are : non-ro/di water or failing ro/di filter; phosphate in rock and sand slowly leaching out into the water ; or green fishfood. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/12/2021, 05:02 PM	#5
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Carbon & GFO mixed in 1 reactor could be a problem IF the flow is too high. GFO works best @ a slow tumble on the surface & carbon should be tightly packed so there is NO movement. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

05/12/2021, 07:15 PM	#6
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	that's definitely a thought. It could be sending particles into the water. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/12/2021, 11:16 AM	#3
thefishyboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 71	Is alkalinity not the same as kh? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/13/2021, 11:05 PM	#7
Tonkatsuvisuals Registered Member Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 12	Hows the corals doing now?

05/18/2021, 07:37 AM	#8
thefishyboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 71	Thanks all seem to be getting better still not totally sure what the issue was tbh but they are both feeding well so . I did rinse the gfo and carbon in fresh Ro water I have learnt from that mistake the hard way in the past. I have maybe a bit too much flow in my reactor possibly but the media sits on the lower sponge it’s not going up and down if that makes sense so I think it’s ok? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/18/2021, 07:39 AM	#9
thefishyboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 71	The reactor outflow pipe goes into the sump compartment at the back of the tank so it doesn’t go directly into the tank so dust particles would hopefully settle in the sump compartment Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/18/2021, 04:51 PM	#10
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	At times corals just react cautiously to ANY change, even a good one. They're kind of like a committee rather than a brain, so you kind of have to expect reaction when you do something different. A FAST negative reaction is to listen to, or heads popping off, but they haven't outlived the dinos by being reckless. A note, especially with Euphyllias (Hammer, tect) and brain---if hammer, eg, has a head come off, save both the skeleton and the head if you can catch it, put head in a shallow glass bowl to keep current from carrying it away, in good light, and just as a fragment of tissue left in the skeleton can grow a new head, a head by itself can start and grow a new skeleton. BRain once driven into the skeleton can reemerge months later and start growing. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/23/2021, 06:22 AM	#11
Looper121 Premium Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 707	They’ll be dead within days. Dismantle your salt tank and build it back as an African cichlid tank, they’ll even propagate and you can sell babies back to the pet shop! __________________ Go Phils!