Are my corals dead?

[Dburr1014]

I don't think so. Alk is KH or carbonate hardness and GH is general hardness. GH measures divalent metal ions (Ca and Mg) and KH specifically measures carbonates. You could have a non-carbonate source of Ca and Mg that would show up in GH but not KH. For example, my tap has about 3 dGH and 1.5 dKH. They're definitely different. For planted tanks you want low KH and medium GH.

An actual chemist would know the difference between the two better than me.

Okay then, I stand corrected!

 

[JoTaDe]

new life spectrum thera plus

What are you feeding your damsel?

 

[vetteguy53081]

0 ammonia
0 nitrates
0 nitrites
120 alk mg/l
High Gh test strip, proper test comes tomorrow
The gh might be the issue im guessing, thats why I ordered the copper test and an actual gh test to know where im at.
But if there was copper my hermits would be dead? They have only been here for a week tho…

What test kits are you using?
The strips are also for freshwater application and known for false readings
I suspect your zero readings are higher than showing and may be total issue
Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use API test kits and have them test and see what results they come up with.
Your gh reading is freshwater and not for saltwater
I’d never by $100-$200 of fish and coral and rely on $7 test strips to assure water quality provided
Hanna and salifert kits are much more accurate

 

[vetteguy53081]

new life spectrum thera plus

Pellet diet inadequate
Add:
Spirulina brine shrimp
LRS fish frenzy
Small plankton
Hikari marine cuisine
Mysis shrimp

 

[JoTaDe]

Better pic of the corals, under whiter lights, If you need another one please let me know. Thank you all for your help

 

[JoTaDe]

What test kits are you using?
The strips are also for freshwater application and known for false readings
I suspect your zero readings are higher than showing and may be total issue
Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use API test kits and have them test and see what results they come up with.
Your gh reading is freshwater and not for saltwater
I’d never by $100-$200 of fish and coral and rely on $7 test strips to assure water quality provided
Hanna and salifert kits are much more accurate

Like I said before, I ordered proper tests kits and they should be coming tomorrow and the other one friday

 

[JoTaDe]

Pellet diet inadequate
Add:
Spirulina brine shrimp
LRS fish frenzy
Small plankton
Hikari marine cuisine
Mysis shrimp

Ok I will try and add some of these to the diet

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

What test kits are you using?
The strips are also for freshwater application and known for false readings
I suspect your zero readings are higher than showing and may be total issue
Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use API test kits and have them test and see what results they come up with.
Your gh reading is freshwater and not for saltwater
I’d never by $109-$200 of fish and coral and rely on $7 test strips to assure water quality provided
Hanna and salifert kits are much more accurate

I agree i use hanna and salifert for my tests. Just when things hit darkness @vetteguy53081 swoops in with his cape and comes to the rescue. Really do appreciate the info you give.

 

[maleks.reef]

What light are you using? Also, were the zoas doing good at any point or have they been this way since day 1?

 

[SilvermistInc]

That is an absolutely horrible photo

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

Anyway you can zoom in show each individual zoa frag if not thats ok. The ones in the bottom look like they are wanting to open. As for the others its hard to tell to be honest. Sometimes zoas can be borderline. Seen a post on r2r where the guy pulled his colonu thinking it was a goner threw it in the sump then boom came back. Just be patient and check into getting an accurate test done soon. That way you can know for sure whats going on something in your parameters must be off.

 

[JoTaDe]

Hopefully these two are a lil better, my camera isn't great. the one on the second photo does look like is melting the worse. Also, the light is a smatfarm led 95w.

 

[JoTaDe]

I know the pictures kinda suck but my phone does not capture the light very well idk why

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

Second picture looks as if it might have started to go. First picture looks like it can be saved how high is your lighting compared to your sand bed? Is there anywhere in the tank you might be able to give it a little shadow? First picture def looks like the coral is stressed could be parameters or light. Hard to tell without accurate parameters though do you have a lfs close?

 

[exnisstech]

I know the pictures kinda suck but my phone does not capture the light very well idk why

It's a cell phone thing. If you can find a setting where you can change the white balance that will help. Yellow or orange filters placed over the lens help also. Pretty much all cell phones and a lot of cameras for that matter suck at capturing photos in blue lighting on auto settings.

As far as the zoas are concerned I can't help but I will say I can keep higher end LPS and anemones along with some sps but I can't keep a zoa alive to save my tank. Your tank is still very young so there will be some growing pains.

 

[JoTaDe]

So the test kit I ordered arrived and:
My kh is ridiculously high (214.8 ppm +)
My nitrates, nitrites and ammonia were indeed 0.
as a side note my phospates are around 0.5 and calcium around 300 (maybe a little less I think I messed up this test twice lol)

 

[JoTaDe]

214 kh is around 12 dkh I think....

 

[damsels are not mean]

So the test kit I ordered arrived and:
My kh is ridiculously high (214.8 ppm +)
My nitrates, nitrites and ammonia were indeed 0.
as a side note my phospates are around 0.5 and calcium around 300 (maybe a little less I think I messed up this test twice lol)

That is high but assuming it didn't spike to that level it shouldn't hurt anything. And I am not sure if non-calcifying corals even care about alkalinity at all.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So the test kit I ordered arrived and:
My kh is ridiculously high (214.8 ppm +)
My nitrates, nitrites and ammonia were indeed 0.
as a side note my phospates are around 0.5 and calcium around 300 (maybe a little less I think I messed up this test twice lol)

If correct, calcium range is 400-440
Increasing calcium will change Alk reading. Do the calcium increase first. Calcium and alkalinity levels are interdependent. The basic rule of thumb is when one goes up, the other goes down. For example, when the alkalinity level is high, the calcium level will likely drop significantly in the water which is likely happening in your tank

 

[JoTaDe]

That is high but assuming it didn't spike to that level it shouldn't hurt anything. And I am not sure if non-calcifying corals even care about alkalinity at all.

The test strip I previously had was showing it was high as well, so assuming its been correct it has been that high for a while