All my LPS are dying....

[Chris Robinson]

Hey reefers, I've had my tank for 15 months and it's been stable and healthy to this point. I don't recall changing anything but for some reason my LPS is receding and dying. I have Acans, candy cane, frogspawn, hammers, and Duncan's all dying... The anemone, zoa's, and leathers are all fine and don't show any concerns.

The skeletons start showing around the edges of the coral and the "meat" recedes until it's eventually gone.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!! I'm still pretty new at this so go easy on me

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026
PO4 .1
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80

 

[Chris Robinson]

Sorry forgot to mention I have an Evo 12.5g

 

[JoshH]

What kind of lighting and settings do you have? Also what if any livestock is in the tank right now?

 

[Salt Creep01]

Are you running any carbon ?

 

[amazongb]

Any chance of something rusting? Check heaters, magnets etc..

 

[IKD]

The nitrate seems a bit high to me at 80. I would do some water changes to get that under 10 or 20. Do you use/make RO/DI water? If you make it, check the filters to see if they need a change.

 

[Chris Robinson]

What kind of lighting and settings do you have? Also what if any livestock is in the tank right now?

Hey Josh, I have 2 clowns, 1 six line wrasse, a handful of snails. I'm using an AI prime running 6 hours total per day using a schedule I got off AI website. It's been running that schedule since I got the light 10 months ago.

 

[Chris Robinson]

Any chance of something rusting? Check heaters, magnets etc..

I don't leave magnets in the tank, the heater is a Cobalt neotherm that looks plastic on the outside, would that rust? Can't think of too much else metal.

 

[Chris Robinson]

The nitrate seems a bit high to me at 80. I would do some water changes to get that under 10 or 20. Do you use/make RO/DI water? If you make it, check the filters to see if they need a change.

Hey there, I actually have been buying my water from my LFS since I started, soon I will buy my own rodi unit. I am using RO water from the LFS too. I plan to do a water change tomorrow thanks I will see if that helps. My nitrates have always seemed to be a bit high but I don't think this high. Would this kill the coral?

 

[Chris Robinson]

Are you running any carbon ?

Currently running a fresh bag of phosguard and seagel.

 

[tgrick]

Currently running a fresh bag of phosguard and seagel.

What are the phosphate levels? In a tank that small I prefer to control things with water changes. I would use VERY good salt. In a tank that small it makes a difference. I think YOUR issue is nutrients. You can add a few drops of Brightwell Amino to help. Another interesting item to add is a small amount of macro algae on the surface. The macro algae seems to help stabilize small tanks. Lastly, I would run the lights for at least 10 hours...not less.

The corals can come back but it will take time. Do you have an auto top off? I think it's critical to run that on ALL tanks really.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Any idea what your calcium, Alk or magnesium numbers are? Nitrate is high I would get it under 20, do water changes, don’t trust your LFS water supply unless you are testing TDS yourself That 6 line will need to come out of your tank eventually.

 

[IKD]

Hey there, I actually have been buying my water from my LFS since I started, soon I will buy my own rodi unit. I am using RO water from the LFS too. I plan to do a water change tomorrow thanks I will see if that helps. My nitrates have always seemed to be a bit high but I don't think this high. Would this kill the coral?

Yes, high levels of nitrates are bad for coral. LPS are more forgiving than SPS but 80 is quite high. There is a lot of debate on the ideal number but generally below 20 (but not zero) has been a target for many.

Older video but some good info on BRS: 10 minute mark talks about nitrate levels and recommendations.

 

[Chris Robinson]

What are the phosphate levels? In a tank that small I prefer to control things with water changes. I would use VERY good salt. In a tank that small it makes a difference. I think YOUR issue is nutrients. You can add a few drops of Brightwell Amino to help. Another interesting item to add is a small amount of macro algae on the surface. The macro algae seems to help stabilize small tanks. Lastly, I would run the lights for at least 10 hours...not less.

The corals can come back but it will take time. Do you have an auto top off? I think it's critical to run that on ALL tanks really.

Phosphate is currently .1 but the teat kit is tough to read it might be .2. I had not thought of macro algae, that may be something to try. I initially ran the lights longer but I had alot of diatoms on the sandbed so I cut it back. Should I increase it some to help? I do have an ATO and it's a lifesaver!

 

[Chris Robinson]

Any idea what your calcium, Alk or magnesium numbers are? Nitrate is high I would get it under 20, do water changes, don’t trust your LFS water supply unless you are testing TDS yourself That 6 line will need to come out of your tank eventually.

Actually no I have never tested calcium, all, mag. I do weekly water changes so I figured that would keep those in check? In all honesty I have slacked a little lately with the WC because summer weekends I get busy. I hope that didn't screw things up... The 6 line is fat as hell, he eats alot! Why do I need to remove it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

A couple of water changes, reduction in feeding will help put you in the right direction followed by monitoring of water.
What method of filtration are you using and what test kit(s) ?

 

[Retro Reefer]

Actually no I have never tested calcium, all, mag. I do weekly water changes so I figured that would keep those in check? In all honesty I have slacked a little lately with the WC because summer weekends I get busy. I hope that didn't screw things up... The 6 line is fat as hell, he eats alot! Why do I need to remove it?

Proper tank husbandry and frequent water changes should be sufficient for LPS but when you run into issues it’s nice to be able to check ALL your parameters.. maybe see if your LFS can test for you.

As was pointed out 6 hours is not enough light, I would slowly ramp that up to 10-12 hours.

12 gallons isn’t enough room for the wrasse, IMO a 6 line needs at least 30 gallon tank. they can also get extremely aggressive and the smaller the tank the worst that will get.

 

[amazongb]

I don't leave magnets in the tank, the heater is a Cobalt neotherm that looks plastic on the outside, would that rust? Can't think of too much else metal.

You can google "neotherm heater cracked" and find stories about them. I have two of them, but will be replacing with an all titanium soon. It would be worth examining closely. Also, I have a flipper cleaner, which I love, but the blade rusted and raised my TIN level in my tank (confirmed by ICP test). I don't leave the flipper in the tank anymore... Just some ideas on things to check. Your nitrates are high, but there are many reefers that run successful tanks with high nitrates. The sudden degradation has me thinking more along the lines of an external factor contributing. It might be worth getting an ICP test, especially since you are buying your source water which you have no control over... just some ideas my friend, good luck!

 

[Purplelobst92]

Hey reefers, I've had my tank for 15 months and it's been stable and healthy to this point. I don't recall changing anything but for some reason my LPS is receding and dying. I have Acans, candy cane, frogspawn, hammers, and Duncan's all dying... The anemone, zoa's, and leathers are all fine and don't show any concerns.

The skeletons start showing around the edges of the coral and the "meat" recedes until it's eventually gone.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!! I'm still pretty new at this so go easy on me

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026
PO4 .1
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80

could be chemical warfare, do a 25% water change and add new fresh activated carbon, there should be improvement within 5 days, soft corals can release toxins when in a smaller tank and in close proximity to other corals.

 

[Rp.McMurphy]

I was loosing euphyllia pretty consistently until I started test alk and dosing to keep it somewhat stable. I'm not super strict about it but it has helped a lot. Have a had a couple hammers now for 5-6 months that are splitting/sprouting new heads. I would start there. I have a Nuvo 20. I thought water changes would be all I needed but turns out that wasn't the case.