Oceanwave45
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Oh no!!! I'm so sorry!!
Wit's End
- Thread starter CodyRVA
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OP
OP
Depends, I've fragged some of these and they seem to be pulling through, others just didn't. I'm not sure if it depends on the coral type itself or maybe the degree of damage already done. Maybe flow and lighting play a role as well. Best I can say is if this happens to you, frag it and hope for the best; not much more you can do honestly.
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
You have a "mixed" tank and mixed tanks can experience "chemical warfare" events. What causes softies to attack each other or defend them selves is still not well known. It's possible that "warfare/defense"could have damaged your SPS.
OP
OP
I agree it is possible, however based on my test results I really do think this wound was self inflicted on my part and not from within the system itself. There's enough evidence to support this theory. If I was truly clueless and my parameters were consistently on point, I would agree.
OP
OP
Removed most of what is clearly dead, I hope this is the last of it.
drblakjak55
Active Member
Ouch. Call it "pruning the garden".
OP
OP
Sad how empty the tank looks now. Currently, I went from 80ml of ALK a day down to 30ml a day; that's how much of my stony stuff has died.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Sorry to hear about this die off.
OP
OP
Quite literally the most depressing post i've ever made... The losses:
1. Chilli Pepper Monti
2. Pink Pavona
3. WWC Tyree Brick Cyphastrea
4. Green Tenuis
5. Pink Lemonade Acro
6. Unknown Pink Acro
7. ORA Green Birdsnest
8. Unknown Blue Acro
9. Green Stylo
10. Red Digi
11. Hulk Lepto
12. Hollywood Stunner Chalice
13. Yellow Porites
14. Bubble Gum Millie
15. Cali Tort
16. Red Acan
17. Green Spongenodes
18. Rainbow Monti
19. Unknown Yellow Acro
1. Chilli Pepper Monti
2. Pink Pavona
3. WWC Tyree Brick Cyphastrea
4. Green Tenuis
5. Pink Lemonade Acro
6. Unknown Pink Acro
7. ORA Green Birdsnest
8. Unknown Blue Acro
9. Green Stylo
10. Red Digi
11. Hulk Lepto
12. Hollywood Stunner Chalice
13. Yellow Porites
14. Bubble Gum Millie
15. Cali Tort
16. Red Acan
17. Green Spongenodes
18. Rainbow Monti
19. Unknown Yellow Acro
Wow, that sucks, sorry for your corals. If parameters, water quality, lighting are good, why would this happen? Electronic spike in system from stray volts???
I've had this happen, and could never figure out why? Hate to see that
I've had this happen, and could never figure out why? Hate to see that
OP
OP
Spike in PO4 is what ultimately started a chain of events. Honestly, debated breaking down the system and selling everything off.
Szigedi
Community Member
Ouch. That sucks, did you figure out where the PH4 came from? I am shocked that the green stylo died but the purple looks untouched. If you are on the fence my vote is keep the tank! There are not many people out here that have such a clean looking system and sell frags at such reasonable prices.
OP
OP
Definitely self inflicted wounds, but how it peaked at .75ppm I'm not sure. I know the PO4 was the start of the downfall, but not the lone culprit. I think I failed to test it or visually see any change to the corals themselves while it was building until the "bubble popped'' so to speak. Once it did, everything went into shut down mode which caused my ALK to spike to almost 10 dKH, CA rose to well over 500 ppm, MG spiked as well. Basically, I had a high demand system and it was as though I had pulled all my stony coral out because the ALK, CA and MG were no longer being utilized, thus they climbed drastically.
I thought if I managed the high PO4, things would rebound; this method had worked in the past. Unfortunately, I let it linger for too long and most of the corals reached a point of no return. The days and weeks that followed resulted in constantly lowering my ALK, CA and MG dosages which told me my corals were not coming back. In addition, I screwed up by dropping my PO4 too fast to undetectable levels during the same time the ALK had spiked. So, for at least a week I had ALK of at least 9.5 dKH with undetectable nutrients.
So, it really was a domino affect and entirely my fault. On one side I have a much greater appreciation for the balance of a healthy system; which I probably didn't have before this happened. On the flip side, it's quite depressing seeing years of growth die off in a matter of weeks.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Sorry.
FIWW, I wouldn't be sure the elevated phosphate is the actual cause, as opposed to a result.
Some fabulous tanks have higher phosphate than that:
https://reefs.com/magazine/skeptical-reefkeeping-ix-test-kits-chasing-numbers-and-phosphate/
from it:
Rich’s 150 gallon display, on a 300 gallon system, is running a phosphate level of 1.24 ppm, a level at 24.8 times higher than the often recommended .05 ppm. Photo by Richard Ross.
FIWW, I wouldn't be sure the elevated phosphate is the actual cause, as opposed to a result.
Some fabulous tanks have higher phosphate than that:
https://reefs.com/magazine/skeptical-reefkeeping-ix-test-kits-chasing-numbers-and-phosphate/
from it:
Rich’s 150 gallon display, on a 300 gallon system, is running a phosphate level of 1.24 ppm, a level at 24.8 times higher than the often recommended .05 ppm. Photo by Richard Ross.
OP
OP
Sorry.
I don't think "high PO4" was the root cause, but more of what set things in motion; I think the spike and consistently high levels ultimately caused the plethora of other issues, noted above, that followed. I'm aware of many systems running high PO4; that being said this system has been a ULNS for well over a year.
