So I'm having some issues

[Shoreliner11]

Ok, despite my best investigative efforts, I'm currently baffled at whats up with my tank. I'll first give some of my tank specs

10gal with 10 gal sump/refugium
pH 8.3
calcium 375ppm
dkH 9.6
salinity 33ppt
Nitrate 0-undetectable w/ salifert
phosphates - low or 0 a few weeks back (barrier reef tested for me)

About a month ago I had an auto topoff issue, with a big swing in salinity as well as pH and dkH. From that point on the corals started struggling. Though they never started recovering. Since that time I got my skimmer working at a decent rate finally, as well as some calerpa (chaeto seemed to be growing sluggishly). So I'm pretty sure nutrients aren't the issue.

I've lost 2 corals with several others slowly receding. My bulbs are only a month and a half old, and no big temp swings. I think its one or a combination of 3 things...my water, I was getting it from a glacier RO station at fred meyer... just as a precaution I switched to another place for water. Other option is salt. I'm using instant ocean which I switched to about a month or 2 ago. Prior to that I used Oceanic. The other option is, I used to have quite a few flatworms. I was sucking them out and keeping up with it and then after my skimmer starting working better, the growth slowed and they actually started disappearing. I realize they release a lot of harmful chemicals into the water upon death, but I've ran carbon and done water changes with no real change in coral health. My fish are all doing great...if that's of any use. So any thoughts or comments. What would you put your money on? Anything I haven't thought of yet. I'm really baffled here...


Oh, and as a side not. My caulerpa is starting to die off...any ideas what would cause this. The sump is lit 24/7 and I've never known caulerpa to be outcompeted for nutrients. Thanks for the help.

Edit* And by corals struggling I mean...next to no polyp extension, loss of most of color, 1 RTN'd, and many are receding.

 

[ac7av]

My first thought would be a lighting issue little to no extension, color change, but that wouldn’t affect stuff in the sump unless you have same lighting in the tank and sump and changed both with those same lights at same time. Did you put in the same brand of lights and rating you had before? You could have had a die off of something in the tank that has produced a toxin that is now slowly killing of the other corals. Did everything happen all at the same time or did you notice one thing at a time going?

 

[Shoreliner11]

My first thought would be a lighting issue little to no extension, color change, but that wouldn’t affect stuff in the sump unless you have same lighting in the tank and sump and changed both with those same lights at same time. Did you put in the same brand of lights and rating you had before? You could have had a die off of something in the tank that has produced a toxin that is now slowly killing of the other corals. Did everything happen all at the same time or did you notice one thing at a time going?

Well, they all started "around" the same time. The first big blow was the auto-topoff thing with a sudden drop in salinity. That in itself is enough to cause some issues. But when some ricordia mushrooms and zooanthids can't hold onto their color at the bottom of a 10 gal tank where they were once thriving, is a good indicator something is up. I'm really starting to think it was part of the flatworms dying off. It was a massive dieoff, but slowly their started being less and less. I've changed 4 gal over the last 2 days (probably .25-.3 of total water volume) and I'm running carbon just in case. Hopefully with increased water changes something will turn around.


Aaron

 

[luke33]

Aaron, what kind of lighting are you using? To me it sounds like when your sg and alk got all crazy it messed everything up. What you need to do is just get your conditions consistent in your tank and hope your coral s recover. SPS will die in an instant but take months of consistency to get back to where they were before. Just be patient.

 

[Shoreliner11]

I'm using power compacts, which I know most would not think to be sufficient for any sort of SPS. The tank is a 10 gal, so its very shallow. I've kept certain sps (mostly less light demanding ones) very well. Even if I lost color in a coral it would at least grow and polyps would extend. Oh, and all sps are towards the top of the tank. I do have some softies on the bottom which still aren't looking to hot. Its been consistent since this time but things just aren't recovering to well. Thanks for the input. Its tough to be patient when week by week you see your corals slowly receding. Oh, the life of a reefer watching his babies slip away lol.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

What kind of water flow?

 

[g0rFz]

how long do you keep the lights on for? you really should get better lighting how many watts do you got going into ur tank? also could have another pest you dont know about or dont see besides the flatworms?

 

[delemi]

One other side thought - when was the last time you calibrated your refractometer/salinity tester? Maybe test with someone else's just for a quick sanity check.

 

[Shoreliner11]

Water flow-
I'm guessing I have around 200+gph. I have a mag 3 as a return but its cranked down a bit. I also have a powerhead doing about 50gph. So, water is definitely not stagnant.

Lighting
IMO power compacts get a bad rap. I'd have t5's but they don't make bulbs small enough for a 10 gal (20 in tank). As I said, I've kept sps underneath power compacts before. I know its not what most larger tank sps keepers would recommend, but keep in mind that the corals are less than 10 in away from the light. The reflector also makes a big difference in how much light actually enters the water. I have a really good reflector on it, so I'm really not worried about light. I have 2 36w bulbs over a 10 gal, so if you want to use the old method of watts per gallon, its 7.4. Althought I don't think wpg is a good measure, as it doesn't take into account intensity, reflector, etc.

As far as other pests go...I haven't seen anything that would make me think so. I'm pretty familiar with most marine life, and there is nothing I've seen that could be causing this...save the flatworms.

I'll double check my salinity with the fish store this weekend when I go to get some water. Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

 

[returnofsid]

You're right, watts/gallon is pretty much useless. Keep in mind that, of your 2X36watt bulbs, one is probably actinic right? That means you only have 36 watts of useful light for your corals. However, I agree that PCs get a bad rap. I've kept several SPS under PCs. Granted, they weren't as light demanding as some SPS, but they thrived. I've also had a RBTA under PC lighting for 3 years and it's healthy as can be and thriving very well.

I'd keep up on water changes, keep filtering with carbon and wait it out. Delemi, good call on calibration. I wonder how many of us don't calibrate our refractometers often enough.

Do you think you're having a lot of flatworms die off? Flatworms, in and of themselves, really aren't that bad. It's when they reproduce to the point where they cover corals and block out light. However, if you're getting a lot of die off, that could be adding toxins to the tank. Don't remember if I read it or not, but are you running a sump? If so, add a filter sock to your drain line. That'll help collect a lot of the flatworms.