Dead Torch Coral - What am I doing wrong?

[RazorJaws]

Hi everyone. I had a pretty large torch coral die overnight. It's been healthy for a couple months. I also had a maxima claim completely kick the bucket overnight as well, though it's been declining for the last couple of weeks or so. A few weeks ago, I bought a small torch from a LFS and it died in 2 days. So something's off. The LFS says my alkalinity is too high, but I've read it should be at 9.0. Mine has been a bit over 9 recently and it was 8.8 when I tested yesterday. All of the parameters I check are posted below. One thing I changed yesterday, I decreased my temp just slightly because I heard it should be 78 F. I've been running 79.3 and I was going to grade down over time. Last night I dropped it from 79.3 to 79.0. Didn't think I would wake up to a dead coral over such a small change. Still not sure if that was it.

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong, what I should change, and/or what killed my torch:

Here's the info and a pic is attached.
Tank age since first starting cycle: 8 months:
Current inhabitants: 5 chromis, a blenny, a sandsifting goby, a purple gramma, 2 clowns, 2 firefish, a longnose hawkfish. Cleanup crew consisting of some turbo snails, some hermit crabs, a nassarius snail, an emerald crab. And a handful of coral - a couple of torches, a leather toadstool, some blastos and acans. Oh and two anenomes.
Coral pro red bucket salt (should I change this to something else to lower my alkalinity?)
140 gallon system including sump.
I run my lights pretty low (I think it's low anyway). I run the blues; no red.
I do weekly 15% water changes. I miss a week here and there.

Parameters as of yesterday:
Temp 79.3F
Salinity a bit above the 35 mark. Approx 35.5
Nitrates 3.2. This has been declining. Been feeding less and installed a refugium about a month ago.
Phosphate 0.16
Alkalinity 8.8
PH 7.8
Calcium 450

Thanks in advance.

 

[blaxsun]

I don't think a -0.3°F temperature drop did you in - or the alkalinity (I tend to run mine in the 8.25-8.35 dKH range). I've been talking to a lot of people losing euphyllias lately - mainly torches. I think some kind of bacterial thing has been going around for the last year wreaking havoc.

I don't see anything really off with your parameters other than most tend to run their tanks in the 77.5°F-78.5°F temperature range. If everything else is doing fine I'd chalk it up to one of those unknown variables.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

what pops out at me is "I run lights pretty low". Tell us about the lights.

What is the PAR? If clam is dying and coral is dying, params seem ok, I'm thinking its a light issue.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Did you get this other torch from the same LFS?

You said you have other torches, how long? Are they stressed at all? If not you may have just been unlucky with specimens. If there are other thriving torches in the tank then it's not your water.

Temperature shifts do not affect anything in our tanks unless you go up to like 84 or down below 70. None of these animals would be able to survive in the ocean if 0.3 degrees was stressful. Alk is not even that high it's basically average for reef tanks.

 

[damsels are not mean]

what pops out at me is "I run lights pretty low". Tell us about the lights.

What is the PAR? If clam is dying and coral is dying, params seem ok, I'm thinking its a light issue.

Perhaps, but torches generally tolerate very low light. And low light does not kill overnight.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone. I had a pretty large torch coral die overnight. It's been healthy for a couple months. I also had a maxima claim completely kick the bucket overnight as well, though it's been declining for the last couple of weeks or so. A few weeks ago, I bought a small torch from a LFS and it died in 2 days. So something's off. The LFS says my alkalinity is too high, but I've read it should be at 9.0. Mine has been a bit over 9 recently and it was 8.8 when I tested yesterday. All of the parameters I check are posted below. One thing I changed yesterday, I decreased my temp just slightly because I heard it should be 78 F. I've been running 79.3 and I was going to grade down over time. Last night I dropped it from 79.3 to 79.0. Didn't think I would wake up to a dead coral over such a small change. Still not sure if that was it.

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong, what I should change, and/or what killed my torch:

Here's the info and a pic is attached.
Tank age since first starting cycle: 8 months:
Current inhabitants: 5 chromis, a blenny, a sandsifting goby, a purple gramma, 2 clowns, 2 firefish, a longnose hawkfish. Cleanup crew consisting of some turbo snails, some hermit crabs, a nassarius snail, an emerald crab. And a handful of coral - a couple of torches, a leather toadstool, some blastos and acans. Oh and two anenomes.
Coral pro red bucket salt (should I change this to something else to lower my alkalinity?)
140 gallon system including sump.
I run my lights pretty low (I think it's low anyway). I run the blues; no red.
I do weekly 15% water changes. I miss a week here and there.

Parameters as of yesterday:
Temp 79.3F
Salinity a bit above the 35 mark. Approx 35.5
Nitrates 3.2. This has been declining. Been feeding less and installed a refugium about a month ago.
Phosphate 0.16
Alkalinity 8.8
PH 7.8
Calcium 450

Thanks in advance.

Some factors are :
Poor introduction/acclimation
placed in an area with too high of flow
Introduced under bright light
Out of water too long when introduced (Yes, this weakens flesh)

 

[RazorJaws]

I have 3 AI hydra 32s. I run an 11 hour photo period with an hour ramp up and ramp down (included in the 11 hours). Attached is a screnshot of my slider settings. I have them mounted as high as I can. I was trying to reduce my lights to get rid of some hair algae a while back and it worked. Not sure the par. I don't have a par meter. The dead torch was about mid level in the tank (height wise). It was in direct flow. But I didn't think it was swaying too much.

 

[RazorJaws]

another thought... I noticed some of the small portions of tentatacles that were out of the skeleton this morning, looked like they had been mangled, like a fish or invert might have bit them. Is that possible with my tank inhabitants listed above? Could one of them attacked my torch? I think they're all generally reef safe, right?

 

[707Nick]

I added a new wave maker once and overnight it has whipped arround my torches so much in one spot many of the tips came off. I removed the wave maker and kept the tank parameters consistent and still lost the torch. I have also had a fish knock one Dow to the sand bed the small amount of damage from the sand killed the torch also. Once they are damaged in my experience they rarely come back. Here’s a photo of the tank my wife and I enjoy