Birdsnest was killed overnight?

[ReefTantrum]

I had a beautiful tricolor birdsnest that massacred overnight. We had an issue with a hammer the other day that I thought may have brown jelly. You can find that thread herehttps://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-lps-discussion/127270-hammer-emergency-maybe.html. That issue has "resolved" since fragging and moving the remaining heads to a quarantine tank.

Here's a photo of the birdsnest the day before the crisis:


And the next morning this is how it looked:



And out of the water:


I cut of the few tips that had remained alive. Cut above the dead and glued to fresh rubble and placed them in the quarantine. They seem to be ok so far. (That was yesterday)

Once I was done cutting, this is what the colony looked like:


So my question is ... Is this galexea my culprit to all my woes??


Tank parameters are fine. This is a 33g frag tank. The galexea is on the top row. The birdsnest was on the row below. And the hammer was just below that on the sand bed. So all three are within reach of one another. My only thing is that the galexea is literally next to metallic orange mushrooms and they are 100% ok. In fact, they've produced two new babies this week alone. Lights are 2 - 40w actinic and there's a Koralia 750 running.

Yesterday's tank parameters:
Cal: 520
PO: 0
NO3: 0
NO2: 0
Ph: 8.0
Amon: 0
KH: 14
Salinity: 1.023

Ph has been low. We added buffer a few days ago. KH is high, but that completely normal for us. Our other two tanks are at 14 too, and everything is happy and healthy. Salinity is slightly low and has been corrected.

Let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[bknapp]

Couple of things are jumping out at me, first is your salinity is a tad low, most corals won't respond well to this. Second your high alkalinity in a ULNS, if your phosphates and nitrates are really at 0 and your alk being at 14 most SPS don't respond we'll to that. Personally I don't chase pH and pretty much let it do its thing unless it is super low. Galaxea, while a very pretty coral is also a mean coral and have very long sweepers and if its too close to most corals can demolish it quickly.

 

[bct15]

Galaxia coral have very long sweeper tentacles, like 12 inches I've seen, and super aggressive. That could be your problem. Nitrates and phosphates at zero your alk should be closer to 8 or less. Coral have a tendency to die with that high of alk with no nutrients in the water.

 

[mike007]

I had mine die suddenly as you after dosing buffer. My guess is you have to raise level real slow. Also i think yours is too high. Seems that alot of people think that higher levels are better but i disagree.

 

[ReefTantrum]

Ph was initially 7.4 which is why we dosed with buffer. I'm happy with where it is now. Not going to change anything with that.

The KH is the same in all 3 tanks and has been since the beginning of time. We've never gotten it much lower than 12. Any suggestions with that? Even still, how would that cause the two corals to go from fine to completely dead overnight?

I'm still leaning towards the galexea. We moved it from the frag tank to our 240g display tank where it has plenty of room to spread. We'll have to wait and see how things go from here.

 

[Dtech07]

Frag off the little bits that are alive and glue to different spots on LR in your tank. You,ll have more starters than you can deal with. Birdnest of all kind are very hardy.

 

[bknapp]

What are your nitrate and phosphates levels in your other tanks? Do you have and fish in your frag tank? Are you running any sort of dosing on your tanks?

 

[Reefpro]

As others have said your alk is way to high IMO. Usually leads to RTN and burned tips. Lower alk slowly with water changes and check source of how you maintain your CA and Alk. Ck parameters of salt you use for water, some are much higher Than others. Any changes you make should be slow. Also remember ph fluctuates when lights come on and go off Good luck

 

[kes]

glad to hear that you managed to save a few pieces of this beautiful coral

 

[Chameleon]

Ph was initially 7.4 which is why we dosed with buffer. I'm happy with where it is now. Not going to change anything with that.

The KH is the same in all 3 tanks and has been since the beginning of time. We've never gotten it much lower than 12. Any suggestions with that? Even still, how would that cause the two corals to go from fine to completely dead overnight?

I'm still leaning towards the galexea. We moved it from the frag tank to our 240g display tank where it has plenty of room to spread. We'll have to wait and see how things go from here.

Just an FYI natural sea water is 7-8 dkh. Another thing, quick fluctuation in alkalinity is the number one killer of sps. It can happen in minutes, but hours to overnight is actually the norm for RTN. Buffers wreak havoc on alkalinity levels and can also mess with dissolved oxygen and are best added slowly if at all. As far as lowering your alk you may need to do a series of water changes with a salt that mixes up lower to bring it down unless your demand (coral usage) is high enough to pull it down by itself. Reef crystals mixes up high. I think its great for water changes in a higher demand tank as it offsets dosing a bit, but when starting a tank or a lower demand tank is the tank in question I prefer Instant Ocean. A few water changes with IO mixed up at 1.026 SG should help bring the levels down over time. Just be sure to change things slowly.
With that said there are some great tanks with higher alk and calcium, but I find it harder to maintain corals at those levels.

 

[ReefTantrum]

Just wanted to update and say that we did move the galexea to our 240g where it has plenty of space to roam around. The remaining birdnests, which are in the exact same spot as the massacred birdsnest and hammer, are fine.

We will continue to keep an eye on our parameters. Also, Chameleon, I do agree with you about the difference between RC and IO. We tend to use IO mainly but had recently run out and so I had used RC in the most recent water change. This may have been the culprit or the galexea or both. For now, we're leaving things as they are and will continue monitor.

Thanks again for all of the help and input!