An ongoing extinction

[Rjukan]

Here is an update on this mess:
I halved the lights last week now one zoa frag seems to open up a tiny bit more and more.
I placed the hammer to lower flow, but that did not help.
Essentially nothing has changed.
Rhodactis and the discosoma still look shriveled, the other zoa is still very closed, the hammer and the favites too.
So... what now ?

Have you double checked your salinity with an outside source? Sorry if this was said already, but how are you checking salinity, and are you calibrating your own meter? It can be way off if calibration isn't correct and you wouldn't even know it.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

You should always be using a calibration solution to calibrate your hydrometer.

 

[VintageReefer]

I have the same light. What are the levels for each each channel both before and currently ?

If that’s a photon 48v2 then you shouldn’t need any channel over 45%

1 And 2 should be around 5% MAX
3, 5,6 should be around 40-50% MAX
Channel 4 is whites, that should be 10-15% MAX

On my 75g which is very similar dimensions I use
1 and 2 - 0 %
3,5,6 - 35%
4 - 5%

 

[Katze]

Have you double checked your salinity with an outside source? Sorry if this was said already, but how are you checking salinity, and are you calibrating your own meter? It can be way off if calibration isn't correct and you wouldn't even know it.

Yes, even triple checked, my lfs has a rather high end instrument that they use to check salinity, I sked them to measure mine, and it was either 1.025 or 1.024, and so I calibrated accordingly.

 

[Australian_Reef]

From right to left the flow should be weaker.
I tried fish food as an "indicator"

The hammer is on the left hand side of the tank, where the flow should be rather low.

Sorry video won’t play for me.

 

[Australian_Reef]

I have the same light. What are the levels for each each channel both before and currently ?

If that’s a photon 48v2 then you shouldn’t need any channel over 45%

1 And 2 should be around 5% MAX
3, 5,6 should be around 40-50% MAX
Channel 4 is whites, that should be 10-15% MAX

On my 75g which is very similar dimensions I use
1 and 2 - 0 %
3,5,6 - 35%
4 - 5%

Very nice. Like a 70s disco

 

[Katze]

I have the same light. What are the levels for each each channel both before and currently ?

If that’s a photon 48v2 then you shouldn’t need any channel over 45%

1 And 2 should be around 5% MAX
3, 5,6 should be around 40-50% MAX
Channel 4 is whites, that should be 10-15% MAX

On my 75g which is very similar dimensions I use
1 and 2 - 0 %
3,5,6 - 35%
4 - 5%

It should be the following as of now:
CH1 5%
CH2 5%
CH3 35%
CH4 8%
CH5 35%
CH6 40%

It was a lot higher before decreasing:
CH1 5%
CH2 5%
CH3 65%
CH4 20%
CH5 80%
CH6 70%

 

[VintageReefer]

Current settings are where it should be

 

[Katze]

I was thinking about metals finding their way into the system, would a metal binding media help?
To be specific I'm thinking about Ocean Art D-Tox, seems to be inexpensive and a safe way to eliminate metals from the water. By safe way I mean not decreasing them to 0

 

[Jeroen1975]

Hello everyone!

I'm really starting to have enough of corals, they constantly die in all of my tanks regardless of light/parameters/flow/livestock and so on.
I'm thinking that this is going to be the last batch of corals I bought - I have had grown tired of corals perishing.

Here are the details:
100g aquarium, age: nearly 7 months old
-Lighting: RB Photon V2+
-Livestock: 3x mollies acclimated to SW, 1x Fire Goby (decora), 1x Longnose Butterflyfish (F. Flavissimus)

Parameters: (I use either Hanna or Salifert to test these)
-Salinity: 1.025
-Temperature: 25-26°C
-NH3: 0 /undetectable
-NO3: <25
-PO4: 0.08
-KH: 7.6
-I checked the equipments for rusting, luckily everything is in perfect order
The mentioned parameters are all stable
+TDS of RODI water is 0
Pictures:

Everything from the hardiest softies...

(atleast the hermit is alive and well)

...to gorgonian(s)...

and other easy to keep LPS like a favites and an E. Ancora

You mention a butterfly fish. Is he suspect? 7 months shoulld be okay for the hardiest corals, anything else I personally would wait for a year of tank age.

 

[Katze]

You mention a butterfly fish. Is he suspect? 7 months shoulld be okay for the hardiest corals, anything else I personally would wait for a year of tank age.

No he is not, they are known to nip at meaty lps like acans and trachis from time to time, but not discos, rhodactis, euphyllias and other softies. Besides the aquarium is located in a room where I can constantly overview his doings, and I'm yet to see any "anti-coral" activities.

 

[Jeroen1975]

You mention a butterfly fish. Is he suspect? 7 months shoulld be okay for the hardiest corals, anything else I personally would wait for a year of tank age.

A google search says their diet consist 80% out of corals. Maybe he displays this behaviour only when your not at the tank, food providing person. MYbe set up a webcam to be sure?

 

[DIYreefer]

Corals won’t survive in a sterile environment.

I think this is the issue. The bioload vs the water volume is rather low, and the tank is still pretty young. My guess... the tank is a bit sterile and likely unstable as well.

Fwiw, OP, I have a similar bioload in one of my systems that is about the same water volume as well. I have to dose po4 and no3 in order to keep healthy corals.

 

[Katze]

I think this is the issue. The bioload vs the water volume is rather low, and the tank is still pretty young. My guess... the tank is a bit sterile and likely unstable as well.

Fwiw, OP, I have a similar bioload in one of my systems that is about the same water volume as well. I have to dose po4 and no3 in order to keep healthy corals.

I do have NO3 and PO4 readings:
NO3 25 (never under 15)
PO4 0.08 (never under 0.03)
Or do you mean in a more abstract manner ? Like, the tank is too young + not enough biodiversity?

 

[DIYreefer]

I do have NO3 and PO4 readings:
NO3 25 (never under 15)
PO4 0.08 (never under 0.03)
Or do you mean in a more abstract manner ? Like, the tank is too young + not enough biodiversity?

What are you using to test?

But basically, yes. With such a small bioload and the tank being newer, I think you could very well have a hard time keeping corals happy. Did you start with dry rock, too?

 

[Katze]

What are you using to test?

But basically, yes. With such a small bioload and the tank being newer, I think you could very well have a hard time keeping corals happy. Did you start with dry rock, too?

Hanna for PO4
Salifert for NO3

Well 40-50% was live-rock and the rest is dry.

 

[DIYreefer]

Hanna for PO4
Salifert for NO3

Well 40-50% was live-rock and the rest is dry.

I've got nothing, I'm sorry! With that much live rock to start and the fact that you're using good test kits, I have no idea why you're still losing corals. I would lean toward it being some sort of contaminant that you can't test for.

 

[Katze]

I've got nothing, I'm sorry! With that much live rock to start and the fact that you're using good test kits, I have no idea why you're still losing corals. I would lean toward it being some sort of contaminant that you can't test for.

The main clues are:
Fish are well and unafected
All corals look bad regardless of location-> must be parameter -> regular tests show nothing -> these are the only options:
stray voltage - I'm going to test for that tomorrow if that's not the case then:
metal in water -> dose D-tox

 

[VintageReefer]

I would suggest an ICP test, and fast because it takes 1-3 weeks to get results depending on the company you use

 

[TCK Corals Verified Sponsor]

The system looks like it’s missing a lot of biodiversity and definitely not coral ready yet. Try introducing some coralline algae, and some beneficial bacterial strains. Also what test kits are you using?

Also the tank looks extremely over illuminated. Lots of light energy and not much to use it. Probably whats promoting the free floating algaes.

If all corals look bad, its definitely system wide, a reset with a large waterchange with a high quality balanced salt mix will help immensely. After that maintaining stable parameters to “mature” things to the point of being capable of supporting coral