Some corals dying

Paul B · Nov 21, 2013

I guess I have to pay some attention to my tank. My oldest coral which is an SPS is bleaching and my organ pipe disappeared while I was in Hawaii last month. I also noticed that one of my monti's died. I am not sure yet as the only thing I did differently in the last few months is installed a bio pellet reactor which I will be removing this week. I think they are a silly invention but they look so cool so I made one.
All my fish are spawning so whatever happened only affects the corals and maybe even makes the fish more amorous. They have been smiling more lately.
This week I hope to get to the ocean to collect some water and mud as I didn't do that much this year, It is 37 degrees here today so I am not in a real rush to get wet. :worried:
But this gives me an opportunity to see if I can figure out what the cause of the dying coral is. I look forward to these opportunities to learn something. Of course I don't want my corals to croak but I love when I have a goal and figuring out why 10 year old corals die is a goal.
There are a few things I have in mind. The bio pellet thing has to go because I am not sure what that did to the water. Also the light over my algae trough died, or most of it did so I have to build a new light for that.
The stuff I use to dose calcium which is Dow Flake ice melter, turned yellow and I have still been using it, so that is another possible cause. Maybe it got infected with anthrax or the heartbreak of psoriasis, I am not sure.
Of course this is the holiday season so time is scarce, I play Santa Claus and get involved in the festivities but I will have to fit in some time for the tank. Collecting water is my first priority.
Have a great Thanksgiving. :usa2:

nstarcoral · Nov 21, 2013

Time to seriously test water parameters! I would wonder what is going on with you alkalinity/calcium/magnesium. What about lights? Old bulbs? Do you have high nutrients that you decided to go with a bio-pellet reactor? How are they now? I wouldnt remove the reactor unless you know that is a cause, because it could cause more problems. Hard to say honestly without more information. I know that ice melt has been used for years in tanks without issue, but I seriously don't trust that something made for the driveway is _always_ safe for the tank. Never know what waste gets accidentally added to certain batches. I would never use this, regardless of the past experiences. The fact that its oxidizing is a tad scary too. Maybe nothing to worry about. Who knows.

rworegon · Nov 21, 2013

Maybe a predator of some kind? Nudibranc? I've had them almost kill a monti before. Alk swing has caused my acro's to bleach. I know you have way more experience than most people on the site. Good luck with your search.

Paul B · Nov 21, 2013

The ice melter does look scurvy so I may get a new batch. I have been using that for quite a few years but it picked up a lot of moisture from the air and I have to chop off pieces of it. As for testing, I am not a big test person but I did just get the nitrates checked and they are about 15 which I feel is to low. The bio pellets lowered them from 40, but at 40 the tank looked the best it ever had in it's 42 year lifespan. The PO4 is .25 and it has been the same for decades. I don't have a calcium test kit but it was 350 a few months ago. The magnesium I am not sure about but I did add magnesium a few months ago. I use Epsom Salts and always have. As I said, nothing changed in over a decade except the bio pellets. I think a fairly large water change with NSW will help but I don't want to fix it unless I figure out what is causing it. My tank is an experiment and everything that happens, good or bad I want to know why. A few months ago I posted a few times that the corals are growing faster than ever, and I didn't know why. I know it is a cycle but I want to know the cause. This tank is very stable but of course things happen. I just like to learn the cause before it fixes itself.

Paul B · Nov 21, 2013

Maybe a predator of some kind? Nudibranc?

I was hoping for maybe Godzilla, then I could write a paper. No, no predators.

cdness · Nov 21, 2013

Paul, I added bio-pellets to my system for approximately 6 months. It was the worst decision I made as my nutrients went down to zero and my SPS started to bleach. It was actually so bad that I almost had a full tank crash. I have removed the pellets slowly and the tank has recovered really well. I would lean toward the pellets as the cause of your issues in all honesty.

Paul B · Nov 21, 2013

I would lean toward the pellets as the cause of your issues in all honesty.

cdness, I think you are correct and tomorrow I will dump them. I hope that is the cause because if it is, I will have learned something important.
They did lower my nitrates, but what else do they do to the water? Remember this tank has been running great for decades and the only thing I did was add these pellets as a test. I think the test failed. I do like it when things like this happen because if your tank always runs good, you will never learn anything.
I was going to wait until next week to dump the pellets, but I will do it now.
Thanks Paul :thumb: