lps dying

[qasimja]

over the last week ive had a few lps die on me that ive had for months a torch coral and very large wall hammer half of it is gone also a cynarina my alk is 9.3 my calc is 440-460 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate and phosphate i havent checked but i know they are high could that be the reason my lps are melting? did anyone have any issues after that power outage during the storm afterwards with any of your corals dying? just trying to see what i can do so i dont have a tank crash i ordered nopox its coming tomororw and im gonna do a large waterr change tomorrow

my soft corals and anemones are doing just fine its just a handful of my lps

also i use salifert tests to test alk, calc and mag how reliable are these tests? maybe my numbers are off

 

[sharis100]

Lps like some low levels of phosphate and nitrate- zero is not good for their long term health. They also do not like temperature swings and alk changes, so if your power was out a while, they are vulnerable. Also, some critters do like to chow down on lps so you might want to look that way as well. Stability is more important then exact numbers when looking at measurements. If you had any swings, things can be affected. Torch corals and wall hammers are the more sensitive of the lps. You also might want to check to make sure your don’t have any brown jelly disease. That can wipe out your hammer/torches and other formerly classified euphyllias.

 

[hzheng33]

These test kits are fairly accurate and can provide you ball park numbers assuming there’s no mistake during the testing process.

having said that you may want to run a slightly dirtier tank, 0/0 for nitrate and phosphate usually not good

 

[ActiveAngel]

I’m curious; What test kits did you use for your nutrient testing? I know you didn’t tell us your nitrate and phosphate yet... I’d like to point out that if your test estimates are 0, it is more accurate to understand the results are ‘below testing limits’. By example, if using API or similar test kit, it’s better to say nitrates are <5ppm instead of 0... whereas with Red Sea, it could be <0.25ppm. So the test kits used is significant.

Also, what are your salinity and temperature? What did you use to test each? And are they calibrated?

There’s good advice above. Brown jelly disease and various pests are no joke.

 

[qasimja]

sorry i forgot to add my salinity and temp my temp is 77 and my salinity is 1.026 the last time i checked my nitrate it was 40-60 and my phosphate i checked just now and yikes its still really high i made a post about my phosphate being really high a few months ago i did some water changes and i have very little algae so i figured it was ok i dont run carbon or gfo either btw

 

[Valhoon]

Yeah 0/0 isn't any good for LPS. I would make sure your temps are stable as others have suggested and maybe run some carbon in case something got into the tank.

that's just my 2 cents.

 

[qasimja]

Yeah 0/0 isn't any good for LPS. I would make sure your temps are stable as others have suggested and maybe run some carbon in case something got into the tank.

that's just my 2 cents.

hm i just checked over everything and somehow one of my heaters was set to 86 degrees and my temp is now 82 degrees im not sure when this happened or how it happened could this be the reason this is happening i nornally have my tank at 77 degrees i guess i need an inkbird lol

 

[linhdinh1987]

Last 2 weeks on a coldest night, my temperature drop to 60est and my 2 torchs was died 3 days after that. I also my phosphate was high too.

 

[qasimja]

 

[ActiveAngel]

hm i just checked over everything and somehow one of my heaters was set to 86 degrees and my temp is now 82 degrees im not sure when this happened or how it happened could this be the reason this is happening i nornally have my tank at 77 degrees i guess i need an inkbird lol

Yup, I expected this. Even when nutrients are too low or too high... if corals are dying, usually salinity and/or temperature are a strong factor.

Glad you ID’d the faulty heater, and that you have a good target temp of 77!

 

[ActiveAngel]

Ya, I’ve seen thriving reefs with nitrates over 800ppm. It’s highly toxic, but that doesn’t mean corals will be dying. Like everything, it is just a factor, albeit a moderate to significant one.

Good news; you can address the temp immediately and begin working on those nutrients.

 

[Valhoon]

Ya, I’ve seen thriving reefs with nitrates over 800ppm. It’s highly toxic, but that doesn’t mean corals will be dying. Like everything, it is just a factor, albeit a moderate to significant one.

Good news; you can address the temp immediately and begin working on those nutrients.

I find temperature to be a bigger factor than nutrient levels to be completely honest.

 

[civics14]

damn bro... how did you go from 0 nitrate yesterday to 160+ overnight?

 

[bluesy1213]

If it’s not the power outage then, I would definitely be checking my RODI or source water. I’ve had LFS sell me water with insane amounts of phosphate in it. Check your RODI filters and membranes. I use to run with a 4 stage and couldn’t keep phosphate down so I took a suggestion from a fellow member and bumped it up adding a second DI membrane. It’s simple things that I overlook, bc who wants to spend money on an RODI ?

I always start at my source water and think forward when I have nutrient issues now. The obvious stuff like cutting feeding will help with nitrates.

skimmer running ok? Then re-think what you’re doing with the tank. “When was the last time I cleaned .....?” Is the next place I think. I forget to clean pumps which impact how well they work. We all make mistakes and I find myself learning stuff all the time this way unfortunately

 

[qasimja]

damn bro... how did you go from 0 nitrate yesterday to 160+ overnight?

that was a typo i meant my nitrite was 0 and i hadnt tested my nitrate yet i just got my nopox i started dosing today and im gonna do a large water change tomorrow

 

[qasimja]

If it’s not the power outage then, I would definitely be checking my RODI or source water. I’ve had LFS sell me water with insane amounts of phosphate in it. Check your RODI filters and membranes. I use to run with a 4 stage and couldn’t keep phosphate down so I took a suggestion from a fellow member and bumped it up adding a second DI membrane. It’s simple things that I overlook, bc who wants to spend money on an RODI ?

I always start at my source water and think forward when I have nutrient issues now. The obvious stuff like cutting feeding will help with nitrates.

skimmer running ok? Then re-think what you’re doing with the tank. “When was the last time I cleaned .....?” Is the next place I think. I forget to clean pumps which impact how well they work. We all make mistakes and I find myself learning stuff all the time this way unfortunately

i changed all the filters on my rodi maybe 2 weeks ago

 

[qasimja]

skimmer running ok? Then re-think what you’re doing with the tank. “When was the last time I cleaned .....?” Is the next place I think. I forget to clean pumps which impact how well they work. We all make mistakes and I find myself learning stuff all the time this way unfortunately

Yea my skimmer is running great but my sump really needs a cleaning havent cleaned it since i started this tank 15 months ago honestly and theres all kinds of brown stuff in there i got a wet dry vac im gonna use to vacuum out all the dirt tomorrow and change the water

 

[qasimja]

so ive been dosing nopox for 4 days now i havent checked my phosphate or nitrate was gonna give it a week but my skimmer is skimming a ton of stuff out i usually had to empty it once week now its im having to empty it every 2 days

 

[qasimja]

It's been about 9 days of dosing nopox and my phosphate and nitrates are starting to drop

 

[56cbr600rr]

Nirates look good now, phosphates got a way to go.