somthing eating my acros

[matts125]

Here over the last 2 weeks I have noticed over night each night starting from the base of my acros Some RTN but it is only on one small part at a time. once that coral is gone then 2-3 days later another frag will start the same thing. during the day they are polyped up and no RTN but in the morning when the lights come on you can see the new RTN from over night. so far the 3 2''-4'' frags that have done this had Red bugs from another persons tank. is this the outcome of red bugs?
Should I treat my tank with interceptor and if so how and where do I get it?

Thanks for any help...

Matt

 

[kevinpo]

Hi Matt,
I don't think the ressesion is directly related to the red bugs but rather they are one of the factors that contribute to the problem. I would recommend treating for the red bugs. Their population can vary greatly and I haven't discovered why. Sometimes there are just a few and other times they cover a coral.
I would also check alkalinity (being too high) and flow (more critical). I think there are several people on the West side that can help you to find some interceptor. I dose a bit higher than recommended for example for a 600 gal system I dose for 760 gal. I leave the skimmer running and do not do a water change until my regular scheduled time.

Snails, fish, and cleaner shrimp all survived but it would be best to remove shrimp, hermit & SPS crabs.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[matts125]

Hi Matt,
I don't think the ressesion is directly related to the red bugs but rather they are one of the factors that contribute to the problem. I would recommend treating for the red bugs. Their population can vary greatly and I haven't discovered why. Sometimes there are just a few and other times they cover a coral.
I would also check alkalinity (being too high) and flow (more critical). I think there are several people on the West side that can help you to find some interceptor. I dose a bit higher than recommended for example for a 600 gal system I dose for 760 gal. I leave the skimmer running and do not do a water change until my regular scheduled time.

Snails, fish, and cleaner shrimp all survived but it would be best to remove shrimp, hermit & SPS crabs.

Regards,
Kevin

Kevin,
I keep My alk between 9-11 dkh, sometimes it gets in the high 11's and I have plenty of water flow (I think) Have you seen my closed loops system on my cube before? It is ran by a dolphin ampmatser 3000.
Here are a few pictures of the closed loop (before the tank was set up and with out the loc-line)

 

[ReefferMan]

Dam red bugs! treet up to 3 times in a 2 week period, and do OD on the dosage. Its the babys that are hard to see. Nice CL Sys matt.

Mike

 

[matts125]

I guess its time for some interceptor!

Do you guys think that the ampmaster 3000 is enough flow for the 120g 30''x30''x30'' cube?

 

[danno14]

"Do you guys think that the ampmaster 3000 is enough flow?"

Um, no.... I have a 1hp Hayward you could try!

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Last time I had what you are describing I discovered I had flatworms...they wiped out all of my SPS. Look at your corals real carefully at the edges of the tissue loss, I didn't really see mine until one day I shook the daylight out of one acro and the flatworm came off in the water...they are evil:evil:

 

[matts125]

Last time I had what you are describing I discovered I had flatworms...they wiped out all of my SPS. Look at your corals real carefully at the edges of the tissue loss, I didn't really see mine until one day I shook the daylight out of one acro and the flatworm came off in the water...they are evil:evil:

So there is a flat worm species that eats acro's?
I will look reall closely and see if I can see them. should I try this at night with a flashlight? also if this is the case how should I treat the tank? I do have a sixline wrasse and mandarin goby...

Matt

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Do a search for acro flatworms Matt and you will find lots of info on them. If I remember right there is even some threads here on RF and there are plenty on RC. I ended up just getting rid of all SPS for over 6 months, its extreme, but it worked

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Last time I had what you are describing I discovered I had flatworms...they wiped out all of my SPS. Look at your corals real carefully at the edges of the tissue loss, I didn't really see mine until one day I shook the daylight out of one acro and the flatworm came off in the water...they are evil:evil:

Ditto, You will be amazed at the hundreds/thousands that show up in the water when you put the medication in...

 

[CarlaW]

Here is some reading material.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16086&highlight=red+bugs


http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11203&highlight=acro+eating+flatworms

 

[SueT]

if it is and I sure hope it isn't AEFW's then the mandarin and 6 line are of no help. You will be able to see the flatworm by picking up the infected piece and seeing a dark brown flatworm on the frag.

 

[kevinpo]

Hi Matt,
If the recession is in an even line then you most likely do not have the Acropora eating flat worms. They do not eat in an exact line but leave a ragged edge.

Often when a tank is new (1 year or less) the flow is quite adequate but as the tank matures and corals grow they really begin to diffuse the water flow. At about 24 months (Maximum. It can occur even sooner) additional flow is usually required. I'm speaking of SPS dominated tanks especially ones with large branching Acropora. This may or may not be the case for you but I mention it here because it happens in every SPS tank I have had and is something to watch for.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[matts125]

Hi Matt,
If the recession is in an even line then you most likely do not have the Acropora eating flat worms. They do not eat in an exact line but leave a ragged edge.

Often when a tank is new (1 year or less) the flow is quite adequate but as the tank matures and corals grow they really begin to diffuse the water flow. At about 24 months (Maximum. It can occur even sooner) additional flow is usually required. I'm speaking of SPS dominated tanks especially ones with large branching Acropora. This may or may not be the case for you but I mention it here because it happens in every SPS tank I have had and is something to watch for.

Regards,
Kevin

the RTN is in a strait line and starts from the base. I think I will work on the water flow part. maybe I can add one of my seio 1500 temporarily until I can uprade my closed loop pump... Any recomendations on the pump i should use for this cube?

Matt

 

[CarlaW]

Could you add a sea swirl or 2. What size holes you got for your closed loop?

 

[matts125]

Could you add a sea swirl or 2. What size holes you got for your closed loop?

the closed loop has 8 3/4'' holes, I could do a sea swirl on my return.
I just need to save up some $$$ for those, they are pricey!

Matt

 

[CarlaW]

If you want 2- 1/2 " swirl, I happen to have 2 that have never been out of the box.

 

[kevinpo]

Hi Matt,
From looking at your pictures how do you control the amount of flow to each output? It looks like the ones near the pump will have much more flow than the ones further away. Or are there individual valves?

I would reecommend a pump that rotates at a higher RPM like one of the Sequence models. You would have to make sure you have enough available power as it will draw more amperage though. They also are not as quiet as the Ampmaster.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[matts125]

Hi Matt,
From looking at your pictures how do you control the amount of flow to each output? It looks like the ones near the pump will have much more flow than the ones further away. Or are there individual valves?

I would reecommend a pump that rotates at a higher RPM like one of the Sequence models. You would have to make sure you have enough available power as it will draw more amperage though. They also are not as quiet as the Ampmaster.

Regards,
Kevin

there are no valves on any of the nozzles, I have thought about adding them so I can adjust my flow. thanks for your help...

Matt

 

[CarlaW]

Just a thought, if you added the swirls, you may not have to add valves right away to control the flow on your existing CL. It may give you a more random flow anyways.