Slow decline of multiple corals

[PghReef]

Been dealing with slow decline and death of corals since late spring. Everything previously thrived and grew. Started with montis, then Birdsnest and candycanes, then stylos, then some acros. PE was always great but skin would fade and slough off and then the PE would dissappear. Would start at the base and work up to the tips.


Testing showed nothing abnormal, everything stayed stable and was within the same parameters as it was from day 1. My nitrates are higher then I'd like at around 20 but other than that everything is where I aim. Use an ATO

Sg 1.026
Alk 8.3-8.8
Ca 430-450
Mag 1500 eith RedSea
Phos .05-.07
Nitrate 10-20

Even sent some ICP and nothing jumped out as being completely out of what typical low iodine but no toxins, heavy metals, etc. Fish and inverts doing great.

Didn't want to knee jerk react since the tank is only about a year old and I didn't want to do more harm then good. Only thing I can think of is summer does bring some fluctuating Temps and I hit 85 a handful of times over the summer for a day or 2. I also always did small WC of 5gal on the 115 gallon system weekly to try and promote stability and avoid major shifts. If I did too many my phosphates got too low, didn't want to bottom out my nutrients so backed off some.

Well enough is enough. I think it may be something untestable with trace elements that isn't replenished via 2 part. I'm picking up WC to 15gal a week, about 13% as opposed to 4%, and started dosing korallen-zucht trace elements to see if this rights the ship. If not I may just try to do a large 50% WC. My Walt Disney acro and grew slimer still look great and are growing but most of my other corals have been stagnat or declining for months.

 

[Taipan88]

Have you tested for ammonia?
Are you using A salt mix or Natural salt water for your WCs.

I would say that there may have been some polyp die off from the temp swings.
Some hard corals such as Frog spawns and hammers have a very low tolerance for temp swings.


How clean is your sand bed? No bubbles forming under the sand?

 

[PghReef]

Have you tested for ammonia?
Are you using A salt mix or Natural salt water for your WCs.

I would say that there may have been some polyp die off from the temp swings.
Some hard corals such as Frog spawns and hammers have a very low tolerance for temp swings.


How clean is your sand bed? No bubbles forming under the sand?

Red sea blue bucket. Never any cloudiness or smell to make me think there's ammonia. Also I have a dwarf angel and in my past experience they seem very sensitive to ammonia and will die with the slightest trace of ammonia or something being off, almost like a canary in a coal mine.

Never bubbles in the sand. I do get some cyano on the sandbed but never on the rocks or corals.

Odd thing is almost every time the corals skin would appear to die but polyps would remain fully extended before eventually bailing out over a few days. Also they would usually appear to die off but I'd see small slivers of life on the corals. After a month or so they'd start to grow back and give me hope. Then all of a sudden after weeks of growing back and reencrusting the new growth would suddenly die off.

My best guess is some sort of defiency or bacterial bloom/infection. I was tempted to treat the whole tank with an antibiotic but am nervous to blondy treat my DT. These corals all thrived and grew great for many months,some tripling in size or more.

 

[nezw0001]

I have a similar issue going on in my 450G. Have slowly lost most of my large mature SPSs and a bunch of LPS, softies. Fish are fine. multiple ICPs detect no real abnormalities.

I agree it seems bacterial/disease as it will start on one coral, slowly decline, kill it then move on to another.

I treated my whole tank with a low dose of cipro followed by repeated dosing of MB7 with no positive results. I do not yet have a solution but the cipro did not negatively affect the tank.

 

[nezw0001]

double post, sorry

 

[PghReef]

I have a similar issue going on in my 450G. Have slowly lost most of my large mature SPSs and a bunch of LPS, softies. Fish are fine. multiple ICPs detect no real abnormalities.

I agree it seems bacterial/disease as it will start on one coral, slowly decline, kill it then move on to another.

I treated my whole tank with a low dose of cipro followed by repeated dosing of MB7 with no positive results. I do not yet have a solution but the cipro did not negatively affect the tank.

Thanks for sharing. Sounds very similar, it's heartbreaking for sure. I take some comfort in knowing at least my fish are all healthy and I'm growing coralline algae so the tank at least looks healthy and pretty to people who don't understand reefing.

Very frustrating as my frags all thrived and grew beautifully. Then out of nowhere the slow and painful decline. I'm praying some larger WC and trace elements will help. Also increased Temps do lead lead more bacterial blooms and problems so I'm hoping as winter comes I can get things back on track. I havnt added anything to the tank since February, many months before any signs of trouble, so it wasn't something new brought in.

Also I'm hoping some of it can just be attributed to a newer tank. The tank was set up last October so only a year in. I used about 30 lbs of kpaquatucs live rock and 50 lbs of dry pukani along with dry sand. Really helped accelerate the maturation of the tank with the live rock but still takes time I feel.

 

[flourishofmediocrity]

what's your Ph, how's the flow in the tank? <and have you thought about doing an ICP test?> sorry, I missed that you already did ICP test, so that's good! Maybe try to borrow someone else's test kits to make sure your params are really what you think they are?

 

[PghReef]

what's your Ph, how's the flow in the tank? <and have you thought about doing an ICP test?> sorry, I missed that you already did ICP test, so that's good! Maybe try to borrow someone else's test kits to make sure your params are really what you think they are?

Flow is a gyre, mp10, mp40 on a 90gal. Been the same since set up. Lighting 2 kessil 360x with 4 t5 bulbs also been then same since set up. I do think I want to rent a par meter some day though.

Test kits I use a refractometer for SG but check it with a floating glass hydrometer. Alk and phos I use the Hannah checker. Calcium and Mag are red sea pro and nitrate API or salifert. When I send the ICP test I do a water testing at home with my kits at time of collection so I can compare the results. Only thing that was significantly different was mag read a few hundred lower on ICP then it did on my home red sea. To my understanding red sea as a tendency to read mag higher then other kits.

 

[flourishofmediocrity]

I have no idea tbh. the only other thought I had is Marc Levenson had an issue that sounds similar to yours; some corals were fine in his reef while others were declining. His ICP test showed he was severely deficient (his words) in Potassium and dosing it turned everything around for him. I'm not suggesting Potassium is your issue, but he did a video where he talks about ICP testing. Maybe another ICP with a different company (or two) could help you track down this issue.

 

[PghReef]

My last ICP showed the K+ not to be an issue. I will watch the video to see what I can find out. My strontium was low but not 0 not,

sure how much of an effect thwt would have..

I started dosing zorallan zucht complete trace element yesterday to see ir it'll give me any night and day differences.

 

[outhouse]

Over lighting. To much intensity does such

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

I agree, possibly could be lighting, everything else seems to be in order.

 

[PghReef]

I agree, possibly could be lighting, everything else seems to be in order.

For the 90 gallon tank standard dimensions, I have 4 36 inch bulbs 10 inches above the water. They run for 8 hours a day. I have 2 kessil 360x also about 10 inches above water, they ramp up and down with a max of 60%. I provide 2.5 hours of a dawn/dusk before and after the t5s.

I also wondering if it was too much light but I made no changes and these corals did great with great coloration for months with good growth beforehand.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How old are your bulbs? (Just to cover that possibility)

 

[jassermd]

I'm having a similar issue... LPS dominant tank with montis. Montis are growing like a weed and some corals are completely thriving, where others are slowly receding. No specific pattern, just slow tissue regression. And several of the same kind (specifically acan lords) are doing fabulous, where others right next to them are receding. No explanation... just like OP, all parameters are stable and ICP didn't show much of anything.
Following here as I've racked my brain (and asked numerous reefers) and all seem to throw their hands up and say "no clue!"...
Lighting is 3 AI hydras running at 38% using the BRS setting for LPS. PAR at top of tank is 250 and at bottom 75-125.
I'm at a loss!!

 

[Uncle99]

Colour on T5 will “shift” more to the red spectrum as they age.
Some corals won’t like that much.

 

[Lavey29]

Following this mystery. Sure seems like you have everything in balance. Anything in the room like air freshener or other aerosols that could get in the water?

 

[PghReef]

How old are your bulbs? (Just to cover that possibility)

Changed 2 bulbs 2 months ago at 8 months. 2 bulbs this past weekend thatvwwre 10 months. A little overdue but didn't want to change all 4 at once. Problems started and the bulbs were only 5 or 6 months old.

 

[PghReef]

Following this mystery. Sure seems like you have everything in balance. Anything in the room like air freshener or other aerosols that could get in the water?

No nothing that I can think of. To be safe I've run rox carbon 10T in a reactor changed every 2 weeks since set up. No candles or airfresheners allowed in the room. Tank is about 115 gallons volume with display and sump after rock and sand displacement.

 

[Uncle99]

Changed 2 bulbs 2 months ago at 8 months. 2 bulbs this past weekend thatvwwre 10 months. A little overdue but didn't want to change all 4 at once. Problems started and the bulbs were only 5 or 6 months old.

Does the slow demise coincide with your last bulb change?