SOS!!! DYING acan!!!

[Eienna]

Help me with my acan...I need to know what to do, if I can save it, or at least what caused it so it doesn't happen to any of my others!!!

Up until about 3 days ago the green and blue Aussie acan looked like this:

I did notice that my fiery depths acan next to it was almost obviously growing (or maybe stretching out?), while this one wasn't. About 4-5 days ago it seemed to stop really trying to feed. Then it deflated. Having seen the fiery do that and come right back, I wasn't horribly worried...but it didn't come back. 3 days after it first deflated, I came home tonight to it flaking away from the skeleton!! Here's how it looks now:

I'm even more scared because the fiery is starting to act odd. Please help me!!! Every creature in my care is precious to me and these corals are pretty much irreplaceable.

Tank parameters that I have tests for (a couple of these are bad so I'm gradually changing out the water. Problem is, my TDS tester is missing and I had to buy water this time and last time - wondering if there's something wrong with the water?! I get my RODI unit tomorrow if all goes well.)

pH: I can't find my high-range pH test but the low range reads a solid 7.8, which is the highest that test goes.

Phosphate: 0.5

Calcium: 420

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20(!)

Salinity: 1.028(!)

I should also mention that my lighting period has been trashed this week because, apparently, I cannot trust my family to understand the importance of light acclimation to LEDs!

I need to know what may have caused it and what it is - and fast!

 

[Mrfresh]

Phos at .05 is a little high aim for .02-.08
Nit also is a little high. Sme say zero but I keep mine at 10ppm and my corals are happy with that

Salinity bring that down to about 1.026 and you should be good.

This is just my thoughts but I feel it's better to rapidly change the water to ideal levels then slowly change it. S I would think about a large water change or a few...I had low alk and cal when I left for a weekend and my pumps stopped work. Alk was 5.6 and cal was 300. I did a water change and dosed the heck out of the tank and over night my levels went to alk 8.6dkh and cal 440. Corals were happy two days later...

What are your alk and cal LPS some what need alk and cal in the water.

 

[Mrfresh]

Also how is the flow ur LEDs might have burned them...

The issue with something going wrong is its never one thing like high salinity. It's a combination of several things... I think that might of happened with you.
A combination of LEDs phos nit and high salt levels.

 

[Eienna]

I put the acans in light shade, a little bit out of the main strong flow. I'm thinking back here and the green and blue somehow got pushed into the light more...I nudged it back but perhaps it was simply too late?

I would call the current flow on them moderate. Just low enough that the polyps would extend all the way.

 

[Eienna]

Calcium is 420.

Alk is the same as pH, isn't it? My reef master kit didn't come with alk or mag tests.

 

[Eienna]

So...basically I need to do a major water change?

 

[Reefs-A-Lot]

i would do a large water change, get those levels down. have you try to see if it would eat?? acans a strong corals and should come back- i burned my colonies when i swithed over to LED's and had to keep them under a seperate led pendant at about 30%

 

[Reefs-A-Lot]

Alkalinity is the name given to the quantitative capacity of water to neutralize an acid.^[1] Measuring alkalinity is important in determining a stream's ability to neutralize acidic pollution from rainfall or wastewater. It is one of the best measures of the sensitivity of the stream to acid inputs.<sup>[2]

pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.

this is intresting.... but no the two are not the same PH should be 7.9-8.3 and alk can range from 7-12</sup>

 

[Mrfresh]

Ph relates the the base of the water or the acidity of the water. 1ph is really acidilty 7ph is dead neutral. (Drinking water) 14 ph is super strong base

Alk is a mineral used to help build the skeleton of corals. There is a relation ship between alk and ph tho.



A water change might not help that coral but it will be good for the over all health of the aquarium

 

[Eienna]

i would do a large water change, get those levels down. have you try to see if it would eat?? acans a strong corals and should come back- i burned my colonies when i swithed over to LED's and had to keep them under a seperate led pendant at about 30%

It hasn't taken any food the last few days. Doesn't even try. T.T

 

[Eienna]

Ph relates the the base of the water or the acidity of the water. 1ph is really acidilty 7ph is dead neutral. (Drinking water) 14 ph is super strong base

Alk is a mineral used to help build the skeleton of corals. There is a relation ship between alk and ph tho.



A water change might not help that coral but it will be good for the over all health of the aquarium

Then...could I use a KH kit to test alk?

 

[Mrfresh]

Yes

 

[Eienna]

Ok I'll do that now.

 

[Eienna]

Alk came out 14dkh on the api liquid kit.
Edit: is that bad?

 

[Carlos Gutierrez Jr.]

14 is on the high side, I would aim at keeping your alk between 8-10.

 

[Eienna]

14 is on the high side, I would aim at keeping your alk between 8-10.

I didn't add anything other than aiptasia-x recently...

 

[Duffam3434]

What do you feed them? When I first started with corals a few years back I just target fed them. They never really seemed to grow a whole lot then for no reason they started to shrink like yours. I started adding Oyster Feast and Phytofeast for all the corals Never had a problem since. Every Coral loves the stuff IMO.

 

[Eienna]

I've been trying to give them brine and mysis shrimp... :/ All I have at the moment. I was going to get them some Coral Smoothie but ended up having to buy a new RODI unit instead.

 

[Eienna]

Not easy, reefing on a social security disability budget. At least I have that, I guess.

Woke up at 4:30am and checked on the acans...the red had its feeder tentacles out and I'm taking that as a good sign. Unfortunately, the aussie did not. I'm not totally sure those polyps even have mouths left.

 

[Eienna]

I am sick to my stomach over this.