Need some buffer, PH dropped and corals are near death. (ALPHARETTA)

Jikkermanccini

Jikkermanccini

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Heyo, you may have seen my thread from earlier. The cause was identified as low PH at 7.7! I did a water change and it's up to 7.9, but my corals are not having it. Acros and hammers have lost a lot of skin, mostly in direct light, so I've dropped the intensity of the lights. Nems are closed up and I've not seen my cleaner wrasse yet today.
If anyone has some buffer laying around, I would be eternally grateful if I could have it. I forgot to get some at the store, and I can't get back out tonight. I can't go to pick it up, so if you can help I'll PM you my address.
Thank you all and God bless.
 
I don't know what the last time I ever tested pH was. Maybe more than 10 years ago. I wouldn't be so sure that that's your actual issue

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I would probably do a good-sized water change, test your alkalinity, salinity. And leave it at that. Odds are by now you're going to lose something or your corals are going to be pissed off for the next few months. Have you added anything recently. What's the past 3 month history of your tank

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myvwrock said:
I would probably do a good-sized water change, test your alkalinity, salinity. And leave it at that. Odds are by now you're going to lose something or your corals are going to be pissed off for the next few months. Have you added anything recently. What's the past 3 month history of your tank

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I've done a medium water change, I'm not really able to mix more water right now but I will for sure. Alk is at 6 (a little lower than I like, but still good) and SG is 1.024, which is totally normal for my tank.
Two months ago, 15 gallon water change, dosed once at the end of the month. Missed my water change last month, dosed at the end of the month. This month, no dosing or changes in the surrounding areas, today is water change day so I did a 20g change.
 
Alkalinity buffers PH, so the lower your alk the more unstable your PH. Baking soda will raise ALK but will usually cause a tiny dip in PH at first. Soda Ash(baked baking soda) will increase ALK while cause a large spike in PH. Also if your Calcium is too high or Magnesium too low(there is a balance between them) then raising ALK will be more difficult as it is more likely to precipitate.
In my experience things take much longer to heal than die, so just know that raising the ALK and PH quickly will not make them look happy right away, and if raised too fast above what it is used to it could also cause them more stress. I would not expect to see improvements for a few weeks. Testing more often, and double checking your test results is a must in my opinion.

Here are some links to free calculators I use.

Aquarium Calculators

An index of useful aquarium calculators and converters.
www.hamzasreef.com www.hamzasreef.com
 
I've identified the problem. My nutrients tanked and caused a dinoflagellate bloom of the unsavory variety. I've lost a couple fish, most of my frags for the show and a couple of large colonies already.
 
Well I've officially re-started from square one. 2 of 3 tangs are dead, one on the way out, only one clown in sight and one cardinal. All of the corals I moved were moved too late, so there's no chance that they will be saved. I might be able to save a couple of nubs, but the chances are slim. All of the frags I was going to bring to the swap are as good as dead, so there goes my summer income. And now I'm afraid my spawning tank has been contaminated with the dinos, since I moved so much dying coral into it.
 
Jikkermanccini said:
Well I've officially re-started from square one. 2 of 3 tangs are dead, one on the way out, only one clown in sight and one cardinal. All of the corals I moved were moved too late, so there's no chance that they will be saved. I might be able to save a couple of nubs, but the chances are slim. All of the frags I was going to bring to the swap are as good as dead, so there goes my summer income. And now I'm afraid my spawning tank has been contaminated with the dinos, since I moved so much dying coral into it.
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I never heard fish dying over alk swing or PH at 7.7. I've had my Alk in a folwr tank get down to 5 and no impact on fish either. It sounds like you have something else going on as well.

How old is this tank?
 
civics14 said:
I never heard fish dying over alk swing or PH at 7.7. I've had my Alk in a folwr tank get down to 5 and no impact on fish either. It sounds like you have something else going on as well.

How old is this tank?
Click to expand...
The tank is 2.5 years old. I'm 90% sure that the cause of the problem is Osteo-type dinos, which are now making the red planarians die which is adding even more toxins to the water.
 
Is it me or something strange going on here

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myvwrock said:
Is it me or something strange going on here

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Something strange indeed. I'm at a total loss for what could have started all of this, much less how it got so bad so fast. Not ideal in the slightest, but that is how life goes. I'm sure I'll learn something from it.
 
Something is going on that either your not aware of or your not telling us. I'm not sure anything you think is the reason could be..
 
Reefplumber13 said:
Something is going on that either your not aware of or your not telling us. I'm not sure anything you think is the reason could be..
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Sorry about that, today has really been a whirlwind. I don't think it's dinoflagellates since I've not seen any or ever had them in that tank. I'm pretty sure, after finding them melting away on my rocks, that the cause is my population of red planarian flatties. Something happened to drop the PH and NO3 (which I still haven't figured out) that caused the flatties to start releasing toxins, and after a day of that they started to die. Not 100% sure, but I really can't think of any other explanations. For now I'll stick with that until I can find something else. It's infuriating.
 
Reefplumber13 said:
How did you have enough of them to cause a problem but you didn't see them before?
Click to expand...
I've been aware of the population for over a year, what I meant is that there are a lot less of them now than there were before the crash. Sorry for the miscommunication.
 
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