Slowly Dying

[StevePhx]

This is my RSR525xl.

I started it out Zeovite and was having okay success and then made a dumb choice and added a bag of ROX carbon instead of the less aggressive Zeovite carbon.

I lost all my sps and new it was totally my fault.

This was almost 6 months ago. I have done several massive water changes and added coral nutrients thinking I stripped the system.

Since then I have added a few test sps and some die within days (tissue sloughs if quickly) and the others take a few weeks to slowly bleach and die.

I also loose my acans I add to the system.

I have a BTA, several softies that are growing like weeds.

The system is now run off a refugium with Kessil plant light, Vertex 150 skimmer (very dry skimate), light by 3xKessils 360.

Stopped dosing since no SPS so alk, calcium is replenished though ATO kalk.

LR was BRS Pukani and after watching Paletta’s video on his Elos added 30# of Tampa Bay LR.

Fish
Yellow tang
Clown tank
Pair flame angels
Flame wrasse
4x green chromis
Pair of oci clowns
Pair Wantanabi Angels


I would think it was lack of nutrients but my Phosphate and Nitrate don’t support that.

I’m at a total loss.

Hanna for Alk and PO4.

Red Sea for Nitrate

 

[Flippers4pups]

Sudden changes in water chemistry can have devastating effects. I doubt GAC suddenly caused this, but it could have contributed to it. Your alkalinity has jumped quite a bit.

I thinking contamination from some thing caused this. Aside of drastic change in water pramameters, change in lighting/intensity, stay voltage......

Hands in the water, air fresheners, bug sprays, cleaning products......etc.

 

[StevePhx]

The alk jump was between test sticks.

I wanted to try Sanjays methodology of higher nutrients and higher alk until the refugium kicked in to reduce phosphate and nitrate.

 

[Flippers4pups]

How are you testing alkalinity?

 

[StevePhx]

How are you testing alkalinity?

I use a Hanna

 

[J. Austin]

Try to keep your alk more stable for sure. It's not a big deal to fluctuate a little bit, but big swings will stress acro out fast. Like Flipper said, check for contamination and or stray voltage.

Dipped with Bayer latley? Sometimes people don't rinse their corals after a good dip and it gets brought into the DT where it kills montiporas first, then acroporas. Seems to not affect softies unless it's a lot of Bayer.