Lost my torch now hammer is shrinking

[ace1396]

Alright so here the specs
55gallon 6months old going through ugly phases
ÑO3 undetectable (API)
PO4 1ppm (API)
SG 1.026 (refractometer)
78 degrees
Ca 500 (salifert)
Mg 1380 (salifert)
Alk 10dKH
PH8.3
T5s (11-7) daylights
2t8 (9-8) atnic and 50/50 10k atnic
Rodi ATO
8gallon/week water change reef crystals

A few weeks ago we got a torch frag, acclimated and added to to dt. After about a month we woke up and 1 or the 2 torch polyps was gone over night. Next day the other polyp was gone. So I removed the frag from the tank and inspected it. No visable bjd or any other suspect.

A few weeks later my hammer who is on the same rock structure stops fully extending. He still opens up to some but not fully extending. Stays closed up a lot more now. All other corals look fine so I'm thinking it's euphyllia specific, and did a fw dip to see if any polyclads or other uglies fall out. Well when the hammer recedes I noticed a spot on the skeleton. Any ideas?

 

[CC13]

Alright so here the specs
55gallon 6months old going through ugly phases
ÑO3 undetectable (API)
PO4 1ppm (API)
SG 1.026 (refractometer)
78 degrees
Ca 500 (salifert)
Mg 1380 (salifert)
Alk 10dKH
PH8.3
T5s (11-7) daylights
2t8 (9-8) atnic and 50/50 10k atnic
Rodi ATO
8gallon/week water change reef crystals

A few weeks ago we got a torch frag, acclimated and added to to dt. After about a month we woke up and 1 or the 2 torch polyps was gone over night. Next day the other polyp was gone. So I removed the frag from the tank and inspected it. No visable bjd or any other suspect.

A few weeks later my hammer who is on the same rock structure stops fully extending. He still opens up to some but not fully extending. Stays closed up a lot more now. All other corals look fine so I'm thinking it's euphyllia specific, and did a fw dip to see if any polyclads or other uglies fall out. Well when the hammer recedes I noticed a spot on the skeleton. Any ideas?

I would say 6-months old is sort of on the young end for corals, but too late for that now.

I would do the following:
1) Test your Reef crystals water; sometimes you get a bad batch
2) Do a series of 30-35% water changes every 2-3 days for the next week

Usually getting some fresh water in there allowed the tank to rid itself of anything not ideal, and also lets the tank sort of start over in a way with fresh saltwater.

 

[ace1396]

I would say 6-months old is sort of on the young end for corals, but too late for that now.

I would do the following:
1) Test your Reef crystals water; sometimes you get a bad batch
2) Do a series of 30-35% water changes every 2-3 days for the next week

Usually getting some fresh water in there allowed the tank to rid itself of anything not ideal, and also lets the tank sort of start over in a way with fresh saltwater.

I can do all of these things. Any idea what the purple circle is? Is that a sign or sypmtom of anything?

 

[RMS18]

Tank is still a bit young however it's not uncommon to see tanks around this age housing corals that are thriving.

Your nutrients concern me a bit, lps like some po3 and po4 and somesome especially when you have a young tank. I also question the API test kits you are using.

I would try increasing your nitrates to 3-5ppm. Also perform a large water change about 20%.

 

[CC13]

I can do all of these things. Any idea what the purple circle is? Is that a sign or sypmtom of anything?

To be honest I don't keep hammer corals so I am not sure if that purple area is a sign of a parasite eating it, bacterial infection or simply part of the coral.

Hopefully someone else that keeps and have experience with them can chime in here...

 

[ace1396]

Tank is still a bit young however it's not uncommon to see tanks around this age housing corals that are thriving.

Your nutrients concern me a bit, lps like some po3 and po4 and somesome especially when you have a young tank. I also question the API test kits you are using.

I would try increasing your nitrates to 3-5ppm. Also perform a large water change about 20%.

Yeah I'm replacing my test kits as I go. API isn't the best but I mainly got it for the cycle. I feed fish twice a day and corals benepets every other day. Everybody else is happy. I've got some cyano that is feeding well off the NO3 AND PO4 unfortunately

 

[Porpoise Hork]

The purple ring looks a lot like Aspergillosis. It's a fungal infection that typically infects soft coral tissue. So not sure if it is this or something else.

Treat the cyano with Chemi-Clean. Once that is done, then you can look at the low NO3 and NO4 issue. For LPS NO3 you want to slowly raise it to between 2-5. NO4 you want it to be between .003-.010. You can use AquaVitro Activate to raise the NO4. https://www.aquavitro.com/activate.php This stuff is VERY potent so a little goes a long way. On my 75g it only takes about 1ml to go from <.003 and bring it up to .008 - .010. When adding the phosphorus it is best to do 1/2 doses and bring it up slowly over a span of a week or more to avoid overdosing and potential nuisance algae blooms.

 

[TopShelfAquatics Verified Sponsor]

I would drop your alk if possible. Low nutrients plus high alk = NOT hammer time

 

[ace1396]

The purple ring looks a lot like Aspergillosis. It's a fungal infection that typically infects soft coral tissue. So not sure if it is this or something else.

Treat the cyano with Chemi-Clean. Once that is done, then you can look at the low NO3 and NO4 issue. For LPS NO3 you want to slowly raise it to between 2-5. NO4 you want it to be between .003-.010. You can use AquaVitro Activate to raise the NO4. https://www.aquavitro.com/activate.php This stuff is VERY potent so a little goes a long way. On my 75g it only takes about 1ml to go from <.003 and bring it up to .008 - .010. When adding the phosphorus it is best to do 1/2 doses and bring it up slowly over a span of a week or more to avoid overdosing and potential nuisance algae blooms.

If it is aspergillosis what antifungal should I use? Is one more "reef safe" than another and still effective?

I have some chemiclean on the way. Should be here Monday from brs. Once the cyano is gone I'll watch my nutrients and see how they react. Then decide to dose or not.

 

[ace1396]

Anybody else have any ideas?

 

[SuncrestReef]

I also concur about your nutrients being too low. My tank is about 9 months old now. Back in October I noticed my hammer and duncan were closing up, and a couple SPS corals were losing color. I discovered both my nitrate and phosphate were at zero. I started dosing potassium nitrate to increase NO4 (I don't have many fish, so overfeeding didn't help much) and turned off my GFO reactor to allow PO4 to increase. Within a couple days the corals were opening up again and the SPS colors started to improve. Now a couple months later everything is thriving. I'm keeping my nitrates at 4 ppm and phosphate at 0.06 ppm.

 

[ace1396]

I also concur about your nutrients being too low. My tank is about 9 months old now. Back in October I noticed my hammer and duncan were closing up, and a couple SPS corals were losing color. I discovered both my nitrate and phosphate were at zero. I started dosing potassium nitrate to increase NO4 (I don't have many fish, so overfeeding didn't help much) and turned off my GFO reactor to allow PO4 to increase. Within a couple days the corals were opening up again and the SPS colors started to improve. Now a couple months later everything is thriving. I'm keeping my nitrates at 4 ppm and phosphate at 0.06 ppm.

Any thoughts on the purple ring on the hammer?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Any thoughts on the purple ring on the hammer?

Sorry, I have no idea what the purple ring might be. You might want to consider posting a new thread about it in the General LPS Discussion forum and give your post a title of "What's this purple ring on my hammer skeleton?". It might get more attention there.

 

[ace1396]

Sorry, I have no idea what the purple ring might be. You might want to consider posting a new thread about it in the General LPS Discussion forum and give your post a title of "What's this purple ring on my hammer skeleton?". It might get more attention there.

Alright thanks

 

[Jet Sled]

I would also look into getting regular instant ocean salt instead of reef crystals. Reef crystals has increased nutrients/higker alk at mix and your tank does not appear to have a big coral load to suck up that excess. I am still new myself with my tank almost 5 months old and my hammer is thriving, but my calcium is 400 mag 1320 alk 9.5 or so and my hammer and frogspawn are growing quickly with 5 gallon water changes once a week in 55 gallon tank. my phosphate is undetectable with salifert and nitrates are around 10.

I purchased a tub of reef crystals to replace my purple instant ocean once it runs out and have been adding like 1 scoop of reef crystals per 4 scoops of regular Purple just to help with the transition between the two, but I also went nuts and have about over 30 frags in my tank. I might be wrong since I am still a noob, but something to look into? Maby some other peeps can correct me if I am wrong.

 

[emilios_reeftank]

Yea Alk is a little bit high and your Nitrates are pretty darn low. I know a lot of people in the hobby always talk up how low their nitrates are in there aquariums, but to be honest man I see better coral colors with higher nitrates keep in mind I'm not talking 40ppm. Also remember that if you change your Alk your Cal is going to swing. Btw are you dosing anything, because this sounds very similar to when I was using a two part buffer system in my tank and I had the exact same problem with almost identical parameters.

 

[ace1396]

Yea Alk is a little bit high and your Nitrates are pretty darn low. I know a lot of people in the hobby always talk up how low their nitrates are in there aquariums, but to be honest man I see better coral colors with higher nitrates keep in mind I'm not talking 40ppm. Also remember that if you change your Alk your Cal is going to swing. Btw are you dosing anything, because this sounds very similar to when I was using a two part buffer system in my tank and I had the exact same problem with almost identical parameters.

I haven't dosed anything. I run a CPR skimmer 8 hours a day, My power heads in the tank, and my lights. Other than feeding and cleaning the collection cup I try not to mess with the tank. Im going to increase feeding the corals and maybe my nitrates will go up a touch

 

[ace1396]

I would also look into getting regular instant ocean salt instead of reef crystals. Reef crystals has increased nutrients/higker alk at mix and your tank does not appear to have a big coral load to suck up that excess. I am still new myself with my tank almost 5 months old and my hammer is thriving, but my calcium is 400 mag 1320 alk 9.5 or so and my hammer and frogspawn are growing quickly with 5 gallon water changes once a week in 55 gallon tank. my phosphate is undetectable with salifert and nitrates are around 10.

I purchased a tub of reef crystals to replace my purple instant ocean once it runs out and have been adding like 1 scoop of reef crystals per 4 scoops of regular Purple just to help with the transition between the two, but I also went nuts and have about over 30 frags in my tank. I might be wrong since I am still a noob, but something to look into? Maby some other peeps can correct me if I am wrong.

You have 30 frags in a 55? Do you have a fts? I have 12 and feel like I don't have anymore room haha

 

[Jet Sled]

I am currently at work, but I can show ya a FTS later when I get home once the lights come on this afternoon. A lot of the frags I received from a friend for free Zoa, mushrooms etc (very small) w. 80 lbs of live rock

 

[Porpoise Hork]

If it is aspergillosis what antifungal should I use? Is one more "reef safe" than another and still effective?

I have some chemiclean on the way. Should be here Monday from brs. Once the cyano is gone I'll watch my nutrients and see how they react. Then decide to dose or not.

The best reef safe antifungal that I know of is Fluconazole ( Reef Flux) . Interestingly the recommended treatment for aspergillosis in humans is itraconazole. So that are in the same family and fluconazole may be effective provided the ring is a fungal infection. For dosing info I would look up Fluconazole treatments for GHA and Briopsys and follow that for your tank. Other medications you can try is treating the tank or dipping with KanaPlex
or MelaFix.