Can't keep hard corals alive???

[x Sarah x]

I'm having huge problems with corals, the only corals that seem to do well in the tank are toadstools and mushrooms...

I had a cathedral coral for 18months but after the tank move it slowly shrunk and died

We recently purchased a halide lighting system, however when we added hard corals they died within days of buying them!

we've tried so many different corals with no luck, the tank is bare and i'd just like something to make it look nicer and more colourful...
even xenia thats meant to be bomb proof all died!

what could be going wrong, apart from the nitrate being slightly high, everything else is perfect according to our local aquatics centre who test everything for us.

We've now taken the halide off to save electricity after everything died, and are totally gutted, we just have no hope for the tank...

Its been running for 2 years now, and never had a problem otherwise with livestock...

 

[Cuda]

do you have inverts and what are water paramiters temp ect....

 

[Paul_N]

I would post your exact numbers for test results for ALL your tank parameters. Also a list of the equipment you have running the tank and any supplements you are adding to start with. You will be able to get better feedback once you post those. :bigsmile:

I ran a FOWLR for years and then when I switched over to a reef tank it took me over a year to get everything stable.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

We will be glad to help you as much as we can!

As Cuda said we need a list of your water parameters.

Ammonia:
Nitritae:
Nitrate:
PH:
Temp:
Salinity:

How old is the tank?
How many gallons?
Do you run a skimmer? If so what kind?

 

[Cuda]

I noticed in your other thread an Angelfish that is a coral eater.

 

[icedgxe]

We are going to need parameters in order to see what may be going on. First things first. I recommend buying your own test kits to track everything that is going on in your tank. You should check amm., nitrite, nitrate, calc., alk., mag., and salinity. What is your temp like? What are the specs on the tank. Size, skimmer, sump, filtartion etc...Sorry to ask so many questions but in order to get to help there are a lot of factors that need ot be known.

Edit..Wow...you all beat me to the punch.

 

[killingseed2000]

couple other good question might be,
how often do you do water changes and how much?
do you dose anything, what?

 

[x Sarah x]

The angel is a brand new addition and the coral we tried long before getting him...

I will try and get that information for you, but its my OH that runs the tank...

I know the ammonia, nitrite and PH are perfect, the temperature is 25.4 degrees C.

The skimmer is a V2 skim 1200.

The tank is a year old, but all the equipment, rocks, sand, water etc was out of the old tank which would have been 2 years old now...

One thing i do know is the Nitrate is very high at the moment, maybe thats a huge problem?

He adds all sorts of stuff including Garlic guard, marine snow, reef builder and a cap of vodka every so often...

I will find out how many gallons the tank is when i speak to him, its a big one though!

 

[SaraB]

I agree, purchase your own test kits rather than relying on a LFS to do them.

 

[x Sarah x]

We perhaps don't do as many water changes as we should, though we did to begin with, a 10% water change every week, but sort of lost hope after everything thats happened so now it tends to be a top up when the levels drop

Its not running a sump, it runs off 2 Fluval FX5 filters and a CV-1200... though we have got a sump in storage and consider setting it up one day.

we do have our own water test kits, but haven't used them in ages as we get it done free at the centre whenever we want...

 

[Viva'sReef]

so now it tends to be a top up when the levels drop

When the levels drop, what are you topping off with? Saltwater?

 

[x Sarah x]

I mean when the water level drops, top it back up with RO water...

When we do a water change, then we add salt water to keep the salt levels correct, salt levels are always perfect

 

[pwoller]

"One thing i do know is the Nitrate is very high at the moment, maybe thats a huge problem?"

Yes a problem depending upon the level.

Post up your parameters!

 

[fsu1dolfan]

High Nitrates are always a problem....my first year with my tank i battled nitrates that made my xenias wilt and some melt away, fish died, and corals never really looked great....Then i created a fuge with some Cheato and lots of pods and nitrates have been zero for years....corals are booming, fish heathlier, and overall heatlier tank!!! Now i can focus on Calcium and ALK!!!

 

[Stray32]

Considering how many fish you have in your tank and the fact that you are using two canister filters, I would say your bioload and nitrates are out of control. Canisters are "nitrate factories" if you don't keep them clean, and I mean cleaning once a week with as many fish as you have.

 

[x Sarah x]

So the filters should be cleaned out?

We've been lead to believe that you can't touch the filters, they need to be living and have the bacteria in them, if they are switched off for more than half an hour they die and are no good to the tank... cleaning them is out of the question!

Is this all just BS?

Will a sump be a better option in any way, and will these changes make a huge difference in nitrate levels?

 

[xmjxflipx]

filters can build up detritus which can cause nitrate problems thats why when people buy the wet/dry filter with bioballs many people say to dump the bioballs because they catch all the debris and start to cause people nitrate problems IME.

 

[kiraburk]

you said that you got all your sand, rock, and water from your old tank - was your previous tank a FO tank? Did you use any medications? Copper-based? Or anything that wouldn't be considered reef safe - that could be a problem

 

[Stray32]

A sump is a better option in my opinion, but plenty of people run sumpless systems with success.

I would prepare some fresh saltwater, and rinse the detritus off of the filter pads and cages. Simply rinsing and not scrubbing will preserve most of the good bacteria and will get rid of the crap. But like I said, this needs to be done once a week or every 10 days or so to maintain low nitrate levels.

 

[Usefulidiot213]

You said you had a sump..? I would dump the Canister filters. Like Stray said, they are Nitrate factories. You have to clean them out 2 - 3 times a weeks to avoid them dumping Nitrates into your system. That would be my first step is to replace your canister filters with a sump and Skimmer.