Every coral I buy dies...please help
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FatherPrime3
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I've thought about that and may try
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FatherPrime3
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Yeah I plan on doing a huge one tomorrow since I don't have to work lol
Elysium
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Just to rule a bad batch of salt, mix a new batch of water. Test it twice: first when all the salt has dissolved (fresh) and then let it mix/aerate overnight and test again. Do the full round of tests for salinity, pH, Alk, Ca, and ammonia.
It isn't unheard of for IO to put out bad batches in the past.
Tristan
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Are you sure your nitrates are 0? What kind of nutrient export are you using cause I would really like to know?
How about ammonia?
How strong are the lights you are using and what is the height of the tank?
gcrance
Active Member
This is just my 2 cents here but if he bought dry rock from brs and added the live sand 2 months still really isnt enough time to have gone through the nitrogen cycle with that dry rock in there. Can take the better part 6 months to get rid off all the silicates that it puts off into the water column if it wasnt rinsed well. And thats another note there did you rinse the rock and sand before tossing it in the tank? If so how did you rinse it if you just tossed it in the sink and rinsed and soaked it you may as well have not used the rodi at all. Any chlorine, trace and heavy metals from your tap water will be in the rocks for a little while till it dilutes out.
A good example and i think its been mentioned about the copper is a high end test like triton can give you a legitimate read on the concentration but the standard sea chem test doesnt test low enough to be viable in the coral mortality area. Something as simple as cleaning your rock in the kitchen sink or bath tub can leech copper, nickle, cobalt, and iron into the water just from sediment that you and i cant see in the bottom of your water heater. And its enough to be lethal. Not that this is always thae case but food for though. Also if you rinsed your live sand first which is a debatable pratice around here, but did it with tap water you could cause a bacteria die off basically sterilizing the sand. One thing i would check amongst the host of others suggested here would be to grab a silicate test kit too. Salifert has one its like 12$ but high levels tend to make some softies rather ***** and promote algae blooms.
A good example and i think its been mentioned about the copper is a high end test like triton can give you a legitimate read on the concentration but the standard sea chem test doesnt test low enough to be viable in the coral mortality area. Something as simple as cleaning your rock in the kitchen sink or bath tub can leech copper, nickle, cobalt, and iron into the water just from sediment that you and i cant see in the bottom of your water heater. And its enough to be lethal. Not that this is always thae case but food for though. Also if you rinsed your live sand first which is a debatable pratice around here, but did it with tap water you could cause a bacteria die off basically sterilizing the sand. One thing i would check amongst the host of others suggested here would be to grab a silicate test kit too. Salifert has one its like 12$ but high levels tend to make some softies rather ***** and promote algae blooms.
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FatherPrime3
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I did not rinse my sand but I did cure the dry rock.
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FatherPrime3
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I will post one tomorrow, just got off work not long ago.
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FatherPrime3
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Retested nitrates and they were between 10-15ppm. No ammonia still. Lights are 165w LED and tank is 25" high.
Cary Hover
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I totally agree with what Russ265 says. I have a 450 with lots of sps and they are temperamental. Positioning them is everything and it takes a while to find where they are happiest. I bought a red monti first to see if my tank could support sps. They are inexpensive. The monti took off and then I added more expensive pieces. I use Red Sea Pro Salt and Red Sea test kits. The Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit is excellent. I would also check your phosphate level. Sps doesn't like much phosphate. Keep your skimmer clean and skimming. You will hear different things from everybody you talk to but I learned to average out what you do hear. Calcium around 420-450, 1024 salinity, 8-9dkh, and mag around 1350, phosphates .1 and under is great but hard to maintain without gfo reactor. Its all about light and flow. Live Aquaria.com is a great site with awesome corals and tons of info on water parameters. Good luck and hang in there. I have unfortunately lost my share of sps.
So here's a few things that I'm guessing could be going wrong. The first could be lighting. You may need more light. But the key here also is how long are giving them light. Corals need a lot of light. Mine get 8-10 hours a day. Placement and flow all depends on the the type of coral. Not a lot of things will kill coral in a couple days. To much flow can make one fall apart. Stress can kill it but that might take a few weeks. Alk, cal. Mag. As we know at the right levels will promote good growth. But the to low or too high won't kill it in a few days. So here's my guess. Your having bad luck. Growing corals over time will come. My first 4 or 5 died as well. But now I have corals growing so fast it's crazy. I don't know how serious you want to get in this but a frag tank will really help. Don't think you said it or if you do it. But this is what I do. I have a frag tank even without it this what you need to do. 1) buy better corals. Do your research on how to pick out a healthy coral. Do not and I repeat do not go to petco. Sometime a little more money on one from a LFS will be better in the long hall. 2) After you have the coral in the bag in the tank floating for 20-30 min, you drip it for 45 min. Then you dip it for 15 or so. Then make sure you do a rence. Now, big one here. To keep the stress down. With the lights off, put it in the tank. Leave the lights off for a few hours. 3-4 is what I do. Some people will say 2. Some will say you don't have too. But reefs weren't built in a day more will a reef in your living room. Slow and steady wins the race here. I hope this will help. Again, no to petco. Limit stress. Maybe a light more light. You'll get it. Don't give up. We all have been there. Hope this helps you. Happy Reefing!
FlyinBryan
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I didn't see thing regarding phosphate, are you running gfo/carbon or something similar?
How much live rock do you have?
Glass bottom? Refugium?
Can you post a pic of both display and filtration/refugium?
Thx
How much live rock do you have?
Glass bottom? Refugium?
Can you post a pic of both display and filtration/refugium?
Thx
i dont see lighting disentegrating corals that quick.
i use evergrow black boxes and my gsp are similarly far away. they can handle a bit of light. i also have another chunk on my sand bed.
they get 6 hours peak lighting and 4 hours ramp up/down
i use evergrow black boxes and my gsp are similarly far away. they can handle a bit of light. i also have another chunk on my sand bed.
they get 6 hours peak lighting and 4 hours ramp up/down
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
Best advice yet @FatherPrime3 . Same exact thing happened to me when I set up a new nano tank for fun. Could NOT get corals to grow, just slowly dissolved. Did test after test and I know I can grow coral, but not in this nano. I was thinking it was the nano setup, but I finally got a Boyd's and ran it; next day it was blue for copper even though I tested negative. Looked around and found that there was a pump I was using that had a brass screw on it. Dammm thing ruined my life. I threw the entire pump away, and had to run Boyd's and Cuprisorb for a month. Now coral is fine in that tank...
Most of the parameters you're testing are very important in the long run, but none that would probably kill off a GPS or zoa frag in a matters of days. I would personally rule out insufficient lighting, nitrites(not nearly as deadly in SW)/nitrate (unless ur hitting 80+), magnesium or calcium.
As a few others have mentioned, likely culprit is a heavy metal/copper, or ammonia due to inaccurate test kit and relatively new tank.
You mentioned you use RODI, do you buy it? Home 4 stage filter? new filter? TDS readout?
How are you testing the PH , the API test kit is very very inaccurate, mine was .4 off compared to a meter. I recommend buying one of those $10 yellow chinese PH meters off ebay, they're cheap but work pretty well once you calibrate it with the included reagent. Mine reads exactly the same as my american marine pinpoint and Ive had it for 6+ months now.
The most affordable options at this point without spending $30-50 on each test kit and brand would be the Poly filter since it covers a wide area and allows you to identify the problem> Cuprisorb (absorbs carbon and heavy metals, about $10)or carbon.
However the most important piece of advice would be to stick through it, there will be plenty more hick ups and learning to do. But all will be well worth it in the long run and rewarded soon enough.
As a few others have mentioned, likely culprit is a heavy metal/copper, or ammonia due to inaccurate test kit and relatively new tank.
You mentioned you use RODI, do you buy it? Home 4 stage filter? new filter? TDS readout?
How are you testing the PH , the API test kit is very very inaccurate, mine was .4 off compared to a meter. I recommend buying one of those $10 yellow chinese PH meters off ebay, they're cheap but work pretty well once you calibrate it with the included reagent. Mine reads exactly the same as my american marine pinpoint and Ive had it for 6+ months now.
The most affordable options at this point without spending $30-50 on each test kit and brand would be the Poly filter since it covers a wide area and allows you to identify the problem> Cuprisorb (absorbs carbon and heavy metals, about $10)or carbon.
However the most important piece of advice would be to stick through it, there will be plenty more hick ups and learning to do. But all will be well worth it in the long run and rewarded soon enough.
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FatherPrime3
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I have a 4 stage unit that I make water with and use the API for ph testing. If it somehow is copper,what are my options?
Try the poly filter first, its almost like a mini test kit for different contaminants depending on the color it will become and the most affordable option right now to guide us on the path.
Aqua to Dark Blue: Copper
Orange: Iron.
Bright Red: Aluminum.
Bright Yellow: Ammonia, Amines or Solvents.
Are you sure the tank was never used by your boss? Medication can be absorbed by the silicone. Any preowned filters, pumps or other equipment?
If it is copper it will eventually be absorbed by your rocks and sand if its at such a small amount, but cuprisorb by seachem will take it and other metals out.
Aqua to Dark Blue: Copper
Orange: Iron.
Bright Red: Aluminum.
Bright Yellow: Ammonia, Amines or Solvents.
Are you sure the tank was never used by your boss? Medication can be absorbed by the silicone. Any preowned filters, pumps or other equipment?
If it is copper it will eventually be absorbed by your rocks and sand if its at such a small amount, but cuprisorb by seachem will take it and other metals out.
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FatherPrime3
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Ugh man I am really not sure. I got the tank long ago and no longer work for him and can't ask. Its possible he may have. I will try the polyfilter first. So is that better than cuprisorb or should I try both?
