Rtn

[snowmansnow]

Ya... Those of you who have kept sps a while know the frustration.

However THIS TIME... I think I've found the culprit!

I had a coral begin to RTN yesterday section at a time.. Yesterday I lost a 2x2 chunk and the same the day before... Look at it once and it's fine.. A few hours later... NO tissue. You know the drill.

So I began checking stuff. My ALK was 5! Yes FIVE! Holy cow! So I'm slowly bumping it up.

I brought it to 6.5 last night.. Which is a survivable bump. And around 7.5 just now. Hopefully 9.5 tonight and I should be set.

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For those of you who are new to RTN, this is what happens is a matter of hours.

It's a symptom ... So if you see it going on start checking stuff (although I've had it before and never figured out why).



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[schwaggs]

Each time I had it happen, my Alk was low as well...

 

[snowmansnow]

No more death as of now. Hopefully I caught this early on

 

[snowmansnow]

That being said .... I'm still trying to pinpoint what caused the alk drop

 

[snowmansnow]

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class="gc-images" title="ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345307491.227697.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:400px" /></a> This is the colony that had the issue... Notice the hole bottom right... All dead

 

[ralph atl]

Awesome coral! Hope all is fine,

 

[rdnelson]

First off, I am hoping for a full recovery. As Ralph said, that is a an awesome coral. Second, I have a question. I had a SPS frag given to me, It did fantastice for a couple of days and I loved it. I started moving it up in my tank figuring it would benifit from additional par. All at once, the bottom half was pure white. I immediately moved it back to the sand bed but within hours the rest of it was all white. I assumed I was too quick in raising it in the tank but reading your OP I now am wondering. I know that at the time my Alk was low. Not nearly as bad as yours but probably around 6.5 dKh. I had been trying to get it up using Focus with little success. No other SPS in my tank sufferred. Could this have been RTN? Could it be that the other SPS had acclimated to the lower Alk levels but since this was new it couldn't handle it?

As always, all infor is greatly appreciated.
Rich

 

[ralph atl]

rdnelson99;789925 wrote: First off, I am hoping for a full recovery. As Ralph said, that is a an awesome coral. Second, I have a question. I had a SPS frag given to me, It did fantastice for a couple of days and I loved it. I started moving it up in my tank figuring it would benifit from additional par. All at once, the bottom half was pure white. I immediately moved it back to the sand bed but within hours the rest of it was all white. I assumed I was too quick in raising it in the tank but reading your OP I now am wondering. I know that at the time my Alk was low. Not nearly as bad as yours but probably around 6.5 dKh. I had been trying to get it up using Focus with little success. No other SPS in my tank sufferred. Could this have been RTN? Could it be that the other SPS had acclimated to the lower Alk levels but since this was new it couldn't handle it?

As always, all infor is greatly appreciated.
Rich

Yup, rtn....try to keep your Alk at 9, our hobby tests aren't perfect, plus depending upon consumption and not enough edition, you could get lower than healthy Alk.....

Borate in your salt and or additive adds to the Alk test, but does little for your tank inhabitants which is why I switched from Seachem Reef to Salinity....

Alk and mag are extremely important as they "buffer" resistance to ph lowering....just use an inexpensive two part buffer from brs, prob 50% cheaper than name brand or more....and raise ph

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-media-additives/calcium-and-alkalinity-additives/brs-bulk-soda-ash-sodium-carbonate-aquarium-supplement.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-media-additives/calcium-and-alkalinity-additives/brs-bulk-soda-ash-sodium-carbonate-aquarium-supplement.html</a>


The one gallon jug is 18 bucks, and two cups of it make a gallon of Alk full strength...that last me a few months...

 

[rdnelson]

mysterybox;789930 wrote: Yup, rtn....try to keep your Alk at 9, our hobby tests aren't perfect, plus depending upon consumption and not enough edition, you could get lower than healthy Alk.....

Borate in your salt and or additive adds to the Alk test, but does little for your tank inhabitants which is why I switched from Seachem Reef to Salinity....

Alk and mag are extremely important as they "buffer" resistance to ph lowering....just use an inexpensive two part buffer from brs, prob 50% cheaper than name brand or more....and raise ph

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-media-additives/calcium-and-alkalinity-additives/brs-bulk-soda-ash-sodium-carbonate-aquarium-supplement.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-media-additives/calcium-and-alkalinity-additives/brs-bulk-soda-ash-sodium-carbonate-aquarium-supplement.html</a>


The one gallon jug is 18 bucks, and two cups of it make a gallon of Alk full strength...that last me a few months...[/QUOTE]

First of all, I should have typed Fusion not Focus. Guess I lost "Focus". LOL

Yes, I was trying to raise it (had been for some time) but just never was able to get it up where I wanted. Since that time, I have switched to Red Sea Coral Pro and the BRS 2 Part (which is actually 3 part) and things are much easier to control. I haven't had to dose Cal or Mag in a sometime but do need to keep an eye on Alk.

 

[ripped tide]

rdnelson99;790033 wrote: First of all, I should have typed Fusion not Focus. Guess I lost "Focus". LOL

Yes, I was trying to raise it (had been for some time) but just never was able to get it up where I wanted. Since that time, I have switched to Red Sea Coral Pro and the BRS 2 Part (which is actually 3 part) and things are much easier to control. I haven't had to dose Cal or Mag in a sometime but do need to keep an eye on Alk.

Rich, have you checked the alk from fresh mixed coral pro?

 

[mustangcaleb]

i have same story as rich. someone gave me a birdnest and it did great for a few months, then one day, the bottom half was white. ***, hopefully itll get better. hr or 2 later the entire coral was white. Thats 100% of my personal experience with sps, lol

what does rtn stand for?

 

[rdnelson]

Ripped Tide;790046 wrote: Rich, have you checked the alk from fresh mixed coral pro?

No I have not.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

RTN is a symptom. Not a disease. That can be cause by a HUGE number of issue- alk problems being one. It can be related to ANY of the water parameters, pathogen, lighting, amongst others.

In this case, I don't doubt that the alk played a role, but it's not always the sole cause, by a long stretch.