Will cold water kill my coral?

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

Recently my tanks water temperature got a couple degrees colder than i normally keep it and a bunch of my coral closed up and one montipora died. I got it back up to normal but my coral are still closed. Will they open back up by themselves or is there something i can do to help them?

brmreefer · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
Recently my tanks water temperature got a couple degrees colder than i normally keep it and a bunch of my coral closed up and one montipora died. I got it back up to normal but my coral are still closed. Will they open back up by themselves or is there something i can do to help them?

If temp was the culprit, then just keep temp stable and prevent any additional significant temp fluctuations/changes from re-occurring. See if they pull through. If the remaining coral continually have minimal stress, then they could open back up.

Pistondog · Sep 17, 2021

A couple of degrees will not kill coral, otherwise they'd all die in shipping.

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

I don’t know the exact temperature or how long it was so that temperature but it may have been up to a week

Woodyman · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
I don’t know the exact temperature or how long it was so that temperature but it may have been up to a week

What's your ambient temperature where the tank is located?

TheDragonsReef · Sep 17, 2021

Yes if it got too cold for too long it could kill coral. Probably not 2 degrees, but 6-8 possibly

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

About 65

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

Degrees

Woodyman · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
Recently my tanks water temperature got a couple degrees colder than i normally keep it and a bunch of my coral closed up and one montipora died. I got it back up to normal but my coral are still closed. Will they open back up by themselves or is there something i can do to help them?

Where do you normally keep your temp and what temp did you find the tank at?

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

About 75 degrees

Woodyman · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
About 75 degrees

Is 75 the temp you found the tank at or your regular temp?

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

R that is my regular temp

Woodyman · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
R that is my regular temp

And how cold was the tank when you discovered the problem?

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

Around 68

DrufusReef · Sep 17, 2021

I live in Fl. My house is kept at 74 degrees, and my tank hovers around 75. We don't have cold weather so I don't run a heater, but my tank has gotten down to 68. That is not a killer, but dropping 6 degrees quickly or anything under 70 for a prolonged period can kill coral. I don't think your temp was the killer of the Monti unless it dropped quickly. What are your prams?

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

Nitrate 10 nitrite 0 ammonia 0

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

It could have been nitrate but i also have a firework a later and a gonipora that are shrunk up

DrufusReef · Sep 17, 2021

Nitrate 10 ppm? That's on the upper level of safe. You can run it higher, but I would try to bring that down slowly and see if that helps

Woodchip · Sep 17, 2021

Ok thank you for helping me figure that out i am fairly new to this hobby

DrufusReef · Sep 17, 2021

Woodchip said:
Ok thank you for helping me figure that out i am fairly new to this hobby

No worries. Since it is a new tank it also may not be ready for SPS even though Monti's are fairly easy to keep. There are 100 ways your coral could have died, but most likely it was your tank was not ready not that there was a temp decrease. Try some Softies and LPS to get your feet wet. If they stay alive go back to SPS