Every coral I buy dies...please help

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

Hey guys, I have a 56 gallon column tank that has been cycled for a little over 2 months. It is stocked with 1 clownfish and a lawnmower blenny. There are also 3 hermit crabs in the tank as well. I have had absolutely no problems with fish so far and both of mine seem to be doing great and always swimming around. Coral on the other hand I have had nothing but problems with and it is really starting to bring me down. I have bought 4 frags (not at the same time), and all have died. The first two frags I bought from the reef store closest to me and they were green star polyps. I initially bought GSP because I read that they were close to indestructible. I acclimated the frag by floating the bag for 15 minutes, drip acclimating for around 45, then dipping and placing the coral at the bottom of my tank on an island. The first few hours it began to open up. As soon as I turned off the lights for the night though it closed up and never reopened. The purple mat began to wither over the next week and actually began to fall apart when I tried to move it. The same thing happened with the next GSP frag I bought so I figured my light was too bright. I decided to buy a zoa frag from Petco next because I knew calcium would not be such an issue with them and once again it opened the first night then closed and died over the next week and a half. I bought one more zoa frag from petco and turned my lights all the way down and the first few days it began to open and I had hope. But on the fourth day the frag completely closed again. Now it is in my tank looking like it may die. Now the part that really confuses me are the parameters of my tank. I have consistently tested ammonia and nitrates and they each come out to 0. My ph is around 8.2. Temperature ranges between 76-78. Salinity is at 1.026 measured with a hydrometer and refractometer at store. Calcium is kind of low at around 360-380 but I didn't think that would matter for zoanthids. The one thing that was really low was my dkh which was at a 6. I did not measure this until my fourth frag because I did not have a test for it. I have slowly raised the alkalinity to around 10 with Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium, but the zoanthid still seems to be unaffected. The alkalinity has been around 9-10 close to a week now also. This is really discouraging because all of these frags were fully opened in store, but once at my house they just die. I want to add that I have also tested for copper and it seems that there is none. My hermit crabs are doing fine as well. I have a Mars aqua 165 watt adjustable LED and 1 Aqueon 1250 circulation pump which seems to give good flow all over but that may be one of the issues. The rock I have is dry rock I bought online and I am also using live sand. Any help would be greatly appreciated because I really want to fix these issues. I can give additional info if needed! Thanks guys.

RyanCSGO · Jun 2, 2016

Welcome to R2R!

sorry your having some troubles.

the sweet spot for dKH is around 8.5 (not that 10 is the reason for the losses)
what is your nitrite reading?

you say column tank, what are the dimensions exactly?

JavaJacketOC · Jun 2, 2016

Are you dipping the coral for pests? Also, how tall is the tank and what do run the light at? The Mars Aqua lights are pretty decent but the 165 watt model is probably the 16" version? Even with the standard 90 degree optics that light would probably only support coral high up in the tank depending on how tall it is, even those with lower light requirements. I have a similar light with 120 degree optics and I only get about 200 part on the sand bed 14" below the water surface.

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

Thanks for the quick response! Nitrites and nitrates both say 0. I'm using API test kits so not sure how accurate results are...For the dimensions, the tank is 30" long, 18" wide, and 25" high

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

JavaJacketOC said:
Are you dipping the coral for pests? Also, how tall is the tank and what do run the light at? The Mars Aqua lights are pretty decent but the 165 watt model is probably the 16" version? Even with the standard 90 degree optics that light would probably only support coral high up in the tank depending on how tall it is, even those with lower light requirements. I have a similar light with 120 degree optics and I only get about 200 part on the sand bed 14" below the water surface.

I have dipped all but my last coral. Pests have come off each time I have dipped. I run the blues pretty high at at least 75% and whites low. The depth of the tank is pretty deep

Anthony kolodziej · Jun 2, 2016

what are you dipping the corals in ? and alk being that low could contribute to the issues maybe even be "the" issue floating the bag to get temp right is not a bad Idea but drip acclimation for corals is not needed . I have never done it and never had an issue . but since there are 2 low params I bet thats it .

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

Anthony kolodziej said:
what are you dipping the corals in ? and alk being that low could contribute to the issues maybe even be "the" issue floating the bag to get temp right is not a bad Idea but drip acclimation for corals is not needed . I have never done it and never had an issue . but since there are 2 low params I bet thats it .

Yeah I wasn't sure whether to drip acclimate or not. Also, if it was the dkh being low, shouldn't raising it have brought this last zoa frag I have back? I can tell it is not a complete goner but still struggling it seems

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

Anthony kolodziej said:
what are you dipping the corals in ?

Coral rx

RyanCSGO · Jun 2, 2016

how fast did you raise the dKH ?

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

RyanCSGO said:
how fast did you raise the dKH ?

Probably way to quickly...like from 6-10 over a day and a half. Also, why would my calcium and dkh be dropping so quickly after a water change if I have no other coral in the tank?

KJ · Jun 2, 2016

Did you check your MG levels and what kind of water did you use to change it? API tests is not the best . I recommend Salifert tests for testing NO3 , MG , CA , ALK and for P04 Hanna checkers!
And Welcome to R2R!

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

Can't check MG levels because I have no test for it as of right now. And I use RODI water

KJ · Jun 2, 2016

FatherPrime3 said:
Can't check MG levels because I have no test for it as of right now. And I use RODI water

Get you a MG test and let us know what the numbers are, sounds like your MG is low.
I recommend MG levels are around 1400 ppm and don`t raise MG more them like 100 ppm per day, it takes a few days to raise it back up, just keep us posted

JZreefer · Jun 2, 2016

Check for stray voltage,u would b surprised how common this is and what it can and will do to corals.put a voltmeter in the ground side of a outlet,point of sale side in the water on 200 v ac. c what u get,anything over 40 volts is considered harmfull..that would b my first check

stevo01 · Jun 2, 2016

I am new in the reefin game, but I've been very sucessful. I'm sure there will be more posting with a lot more experience.

In my opinion sounds like it's def something directly related to your system and that these corals were healthy to start. You said the store checked your salinity. What was the water temperature when it was tested? I would use a calibrated refractometer on fresh pulled tank water. I also think 1.026 is a little high. I try to maintain 1.0245-1.025. As far as tank temps I feel 76 is low. I shoot for 80 degrees constant. Just checked I'm 79.4 at the moment. Correct me if I'm wrong, Kh and ph are tied in together. If your that low on Kh I don't believe you could be at 8.2 for PH. I suggest buying a Salifert PH test kit.

In addition, have you had a diatom outbreak yet, green algae? Look into reef bugs bacteria, zooplankton, Copepods, and some live rock or coraline algae cluster.

So temp, Kh, ph, salinity, and good bacteria I believe are all off. But I'm a newb to saltwater. Been doing freshwater tanks almost 30 years.

Good luck to ya!

bobman · Jun 2, 2016

How did and how long did you cycle the tank? I know API tests are hard to read ammonia and given the tank has dry rock and only been running for about 2 months I have a hard time thinking that tank is fully cycled. In new tanks some params are common to be all over the place as things start to get established. With Cal and ALK being low I would have looked at a different brand of salt over adding supplements at this point and by raising ALK from 6 to 10 in under 24 hours you are likely to have issues for a little while. The mars aqua should be fine in that tank I have 4 of them above my 150 tall thats 30" deep and have everything from SPS to zoas but I do thend to have issues with hardier corals like zenia and some zoas.

If it were me I would take some water to a lfs to have tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Alk, Mag, Cal. Not sure I would recommend having Petco test your water as the one here uses API which is pointless for you I would take it to a different store or at least make sure they dont use API. From there you will at least know what you are dealing with. From there I would wait a few weeks before trying anything

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

stevo01 said:
I am new in the reefin game, but I've been very sucessful. I'm sure there will be more posting with a lot more experience.

In my opinion sounds like it's def something directly related to your system and that these corals were healthy to start. You said the store checked your salinity. What was the water temperature when it was tested? I would use a calibrated refractometer on fresh pulled tank water. I also think 1.026 is a little high. I try to maintain 1.0245-1.025. As far as tank temps I feel 76 is low. I shoot for 80 degrees constant. Just checked I'm 79.4 at the moment. Correct me if I'm wrong, Kh and ph are tied in together. If your that low on Kh I don't believe you could be at 8.2 for PH. I suggest buying a Salifert PH test kit.

In addition, have you had a diatom outbreak yet, green algae? Look into reef bugs bacteria, zooplankton, Copepods, and some live rock or coraline algae cluster.

So temp, Kh, ph, salinity, and good bacteria I believe are all off. But I'm a newb to saltwater. Been doing freshwater tanks almost 30 years.

Good luck to ya!

I have had a diatom outbreak that lasted a few days. When the salinity was checked at the store the temp probably was a dramatic change also. My temp right now is set at 78 as well. No green algae as of yet though.

FatherPrime3 · Jun 2, 2016

bobman said:
How did and how long did you cycle the tank? I know API tests are hard to read ammonia and given the tank has dry rock and only been running for about 2 months I have a hard time thinking that tank is fully cycled. In new tanks some params are common to be all over the place as things start to get established. With Cal and ALK being low I would have looked at a different brand of salt over adding supplements at this point and by raising ALK from 6 to 10 in under 24 hours you are likely to have issues for a little while. The mars aqua should be fine in that tank I have 4 of them above my 150 tall thats 30" deep and have everything from SPS to zoas but I do thend to have issues with hardier corals like zenia and some zoas.

If it were me I would take some water to a lfs to have tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Alk, Mag, Cal. Not sure I would recommend having Petco test your water as the one here uses API which is pointless for you I would take it to a different store or at least make sure they dont use API. From there you will at least know what you are dealing with. From there I would wait a few weeks before trying anything

Thats one thing that sucks is that the reef store near me uses API and another store won't even test my water they said :/ I will probably just have to buy new tests myself. I cycled the tank with bio spira and 1 clownfish (don't hate me). Had an initial ammonia spike and all that but everything was down within a few days.

malira · Jun 2, 2016

FatherPrime3 said:
Thats one thing that sucks is that the reef store near me uses API and another store won't even test my water they said :/ I will probably just have to buy new tests myself. I cycled the tank with bio spira and 1 clownfish (don't hate me). Had an initial ammonia spike and all that but everything was down within a few days.

That's how I cycled. It works.
If you plan on keeping a successful reef tank you need to get your own tests. Not api.

Russ265 · Jun 2, 2016

imo your testing wrong.

365 calcium is wayyyy too low @ 1.026.
your dkh initially at 6 is adding to my theory.

im guessing you are closer to 1.018 or using junk salt. get a quality refractometer (red sea) and call it a day.

do not exceed 7 dkh if you have 0 nitrates. when you get the hang of things and get 5 nitrate you can go to 8.5-9.

when you get to 10 nitrate, a ton of light (1200+ par) then you can start playing in 10-12 alk land. by that time you wont be taking my advice.

my .02