New torch going down hill

[Salty87]

The torch frag is a single head about a week old in tank. Tank is a month and a half old, 17 gallon with Hob refugium holding chaeto, and bags of chemipure blue and rowaphos. Been battling phosphate hence the chemical filtration. Torch initially did amazing. Full polyp extension and great colours. Used to check parameters on salifert and nitrates and phosphates seemed too low to visually identify and hence got the Hannah checkers for nitrates. Hannah phosphate tested at 0.10 at week back. Couldn't test for alk until I got the Hannah alk checker as well. Latest reading are as follows :

Hannah alk: 11dkh
Hannah phos ulr: 0.08ppm
Hannah nitrates HR : 0.00ppm
Calcium salifert :415ppm
Magnesium salifert: 1500+ppm
Ammonia and nitrites : 0
Temp: 26c
Salinity: 1.026 sg 35ppt (refractometer)

Today morning noticed the torch completely withdrawn and skeleton exposed. Never seen that even during the nights. Saw a bit of tissue sloughing off. Worried it was bjd and did a dip in revive. A bit more brown goo sloughed off.

All others are doing fine. A new hammer frag is doing great along with two gonis, chalice, zoas, a couple favias, ricordea, turbinaria and clove polyps. Nothing near the torch that could have stung it. Is it just bjd? How do I save it? It's literally one of my favourites.

As a side note I am battling dinos due to the zero nitrates. Fish got velvet and are all in qt so trying to bring nitrates up by ghost feeding and coral feeding. This incidentally was the next day after I target fed all the corals with Goniopower and ab+. Also the first day of starting Tropic Marin all for reef at 0.5ml. I now realise I just shouldn't have dosed.

 

[LeftyReefer]

ALK seems pretty high.
I run my ALK around 8 and do well with LPS.
If your nitrates are truly 0.00 then you will want to bring those up too.

 

[Salty87]

ALK seems pretty high.
I run my ALK around 8 and do well with LPS.
If your nitrates are truly 0.00 then you will want to bring those up too.

Yes I realised that and am actually planning to dose nitrates as feeding is not helping.

 

[Salty87]

Also this torch frag was a bit injured from shipping not that I think of it.

 

[Pkunk35]

Sorry to hear about the torch, I do think 1.5 months is rather new tank for a torch which are very sensitive corals, so will make them more difficult when the tank is new.

what I notice is that you are using rowaphos and chemi pure blue in a 1.5 month old tank, this sounds like too much phosphate reduction too fast for a 17g tank that is 1.5 month old…I would rethink your feeding habit along with this phosphate reduction method, I personally don’t think you need either yet (did you start with live or sterile rock?). I bet the chemi blue as well as chaeto is helping to keep your nitrate at 0 also, maybe reconsider all that filtration also or cut it down.

personally I think water changing for phos/ nitrate reduction and occasionally dosing when needed is the way to go for new & small tanks.
Hope it helps!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

agree with above, tank is too new, should not need so many chemicals in such a new tank, such a small tank. Better to control with water changes rather than try to control with chemicals.

 

[Salty87]

Sorry to hear about the torch, I do think 1.5 months is rather new tank for a torch which are very sensitive corals, so will make them more difficult when the tank is new.

what I notice is that you are using rowaphos and chemi pure blue in a 1.5 month old tank, this sounds like too much phosphate reduction too fast for a 17g tank that is 1.5 month old…I would rethink your feeding habit along with this phosphate reduction method, I personally don’t think you need either yet (did you start with live or sterile rock?). I bet the chemi blue as well as chaeto is helping to keep your nitrate at 0 also, maybe reconsider all that filtration also or cut it down.

personally I think water changing for phos/ nitrate reduction and occasionally dosing when needed is the way to go for new & small tanks.
Hope it helps!

Thanks for taking the time to help out. I know it is a very new tank but I couldn't help it when I saw the deal. My bad. My phosphates were actually through the roof during the initial period as I had used chloroquine phosphate to treat fish in display before I got the corals. Even residual phosphates were approx 50 ppm not 0.50 ... And hence the aggressive measures. I have removed the chemipure and the rowaphos. The chaeto is offline atm.

I started out with ocean live rock.

 

[Salty87]

agree with above, tank is too new, should not need so many chemicals in such a new tank, such a small tank. Better to control with water changes rather than try to control with chemicals.

The chemicals were out of necessity as water changes were not helping at a point with over 50ppm of phosphates. It is only in the last three weeks that phos has been brought down to below 0.1. Am I just doomed with this torch? Any hope?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

50 phosphates will hurt/kill corals. You might be seeing the after affects of recent extreme changes in the tank.

Corals need stability, and they dont react immediately, they are slow, so you can see their unhappiness weeks after the event that made them unhappy.

I would suggest just focus on keeping your tank stable, and hopefully it will recover, good luck

 

[Salty87]

50 phosphates will hurt/kill corals. You might be seeing the after affects of recent extreme changes in the tank.

Corals need stability, and they dont react immediately, they are slow, so you can see their unhappiness weeks after the event that made them unhappy.

I would suggest just focus on keeping your tank stable, and hopefully it will recover, good luck

Oh no sorry I should have made more sense. The 50ppm phosphates were before I had any coral or LR. I got the rocks and inverts once phos hit 1.4ppm... Anyways thanks. I will aim for stability.

 

[Pkunk35]

The chemicals were out of necessity as water changes were not helping at a point with over 50ppm of phosphates. It is only in the last three weeks that phos has been brought down to below 0.1. Am I just doomed with this torch? Any hope?

prob doomed yes, but I’ve had torches make complete recovery, just don’t reduce phos too fast anymore, don’t touch it, move it, or feed it. Give it time, if it can make it, it will. Some nitrate in the water would prob help if you are truly at 0.

 

[Salty87]

prob doomed yes, but I’ve had torches make complete recovery, just don’t reduce phos too fast anymore, don’t touch it, move it, or feed it. Give it time, if it can make it, it will. Some nitrate in the water would prob help if you are truly at 0.

Nope... No more phos reductions. Everything is offline. Won't touch the torch either or feed it. Will try to bring nitrates up slow. Thanks for taking the time. All of you. Truly appreciate it.