Water parameters out of whack? More questions re killing stony corals    6/22/09
Hi all, I have been out of the hobby for about two years and decided to make a come back. At any rate, I decided to do a SPS/Clam/Zoa tank.
So here is the issue, I added some frags SPS from a friends tank about 4 weeks ago...all dead with in a week. Their tissue sloughed away.
<Oh, now that doesn't sound good... This was the first life you added to a new system?>
two weeks went by and I bought a frag from a LFS, It's showing signs of tip burn and I have had it for about 3 weeks. I bought another 4 frags from a LFS (Idaho Grape Cap, Orange Cap, Leng Sy Cap, and a green slimer) The caps are doing ok (Idaho grape is starting to show tissue slough). The green slimer is starting to turn white at the base and start to have some of the tips turn white.
<...>
The clam looks great, but the a few of my Zoas have closed up and appeared to have died.
<What? The Zoanthids could have poisoned the Scleractinians... see WWM re them, allelopathy>
The local reef group (salt-city.org) I am in thinks that my Alk is the issue, but I am looking for some direction as far as where to start because I don't think that Alk is it.
<... Ok>
Here are my tank parameters:
Tank is a bare bottom 120 gallon with 40 gallon sump.
<Why no substrate?>
Skimmer: Deltec AP702
CA reactor: Geo 612 (not in use)
<Why?>
Running Phosban and Activated carbon 24/7
<Again, why? Cnidarians need the materials these remove...>
Lighting: 2x250 watt DE Hamilton 14k MH with Lumen Bright reflectors and 2 54watt T5 actinic for supplementation
<Is this much more than these were exposed to previously?>
Circulation: 2X Tunze 6100s on a Neptune Aquasurf
Tank has been running for 3.5-4 months.
water parameters :
Temp: 79-79.3
pH: 8.11-8.23
Spec. Grav: 1.026
dKH: 12 (4.29 mEq/L)
Calcium (460-480)
<Too high>
Mag: 1140
PO4: 0 (Undetectable)
<Needed>
Nitrate: 0 (Undetectable)
<Ditto>
Ammonia: 0 (Undetectable)
Top off/Make up TDS: 0-1
Salt used for water changes is half Instant Ocean half Oceanic. Last water change was done yesterday at the advice of my local forum. I did 25% in hopes of getting the dKH reduced (my tank was at 12)...the dKH remained the same, 12. I tested the new water prior to doing a water change and it was at 12 dKH also.
I'm trying to solve the mystery that is causing things to die off.
<Understood... see the questions above? Search them on WWM. Bob Fenner>
Thanks!
Travis

Re: Water parameters out of whack?   6/22/09
Thanks Bob! I will do some research and ask if I have any more questions. thanks again, for all your help!
Travis
<Welcome Travis... do gather data... and we'll chat further... Together we can work this out. BobF>

Filamentous algae growth on coral skeleton 6/11/09 Dear Crew, I have successfully transferred the full content of my nano to a larger 80g system following your advice and all is well and thriving - THANK YOU! <Happy we have helped you out!> New set-up includes sump with refugium, skimmer with O3, Rowaphos, carbon, DSB and lighting with 250W of 14,000k MH and 96W of blue and actinic T5s. Readings are: pH:8.18; Alk:3.43meq/L; ORP: 420mV; <A bit high.>NH3/NO2/P: 0; NO3: 10ppm; Mg: 1350ppm; Ca: 460ppm;<Also artificially high.> Sal: 35.5ppt; T: 26C. I have 2 issues: 1/ I have the impression that I run the Alk on the high side of acceptable levels, as I need to add about 1 tsp of Seachem marine buffer every second day to keep the pH up where it belongs. What are the risk associated to too high Alk levels? <Your water can only "hold" so much, eventually your Ca and Mg would drop.> Should I consider another supplement? <Your level is at the upper range. If you wish to lower it just dose less.> 2/ The other issue is outstanding from my previous set-up and remains unsolved: 2 of my corals (Seriatopora Hystrix and Montipora Digitata) have very tiny blotches of naked skeleton amidst their healthy tissue where there are now growths of filamentous algae. The blotches originate from the suboptimal lighting conditions in my previous set-up. In the new set-up, the corals are fine with great polyp extension and good colouring, and healthy growth of new tissue and tips (see pics). <Ahh, nice.> I can't however get rid of the algae blotches. I regularly scrape the algae off with a sharp blade, but it keeps growing back. Any suggestions on how to solve this problem? <I would just pull what you can off as it gets long enough to. Otherwise with good system husbandry your corals will eventually grow back over these patches.> Thank you very much, Yours, Tim <Welcome, Scott V.> Re: Filamentous algae growth on coral skeleton 6/11/09 Before you make any replies, please note the modification regarding the circulation in the tank - which I am certain you would have pointed out as being a potential source for the issue... Best regards, Tim Van den Brande <Looks good, Scott V.>

HELP!! Algae killing corals 5/31/09 Greetings Bob & Crew! <Hey Ray.> Got a major problem that has me perplexed as to why it is occurring and how to solve it. <Okay.> For the last 2 months, I have green algae thriving in my tank and it is now killing off my stony corals. My prized turquoise Acro colony is nearly 80% wiped out right now, my green slimer Acro is not fairing well, and my neon pink Birdsnest is starting to show signs of trouble. So far, my blue Acro colony is doing fine, as are most of my soft corals, LPS corals, anemones, inverts and fish. What is happening is this algae covers and attaches to the corals, killing them off. <And as it kills it fuels more algae growth.> Attached is a pic of the coral colony suffering the worst.  I have added nothing to the tank in a while (almost a year), and nothing gets added without strict QT. Tank info: 50 gal tall, 20 gal sump/fuge 50 lbs LR in tank and another 20 in fuge along with tons of macro algae (cut back on a regular basis). About 2" of live sand in DT with another 2" in fuge (sand less than a year old as I put new sand in with last move). <May be part of the issue, the sandbed is better off less than an inch or more than 4". Two inches is a no man's land that can act as a nutrient/detritus sink.> Running an ASM G3x skimmer, got over 800 gph in random water flow in DT, <I would actually up this with the SPS.> 250w Hamilton 14k MH with a Lumenarc-III reflector and a PC bulb in fuge, MH running 11 hours per day and the fuge light alternates for 12 hours (MH on during day, fuge at night) Have a phosphate reactor with Seachem PhosGuard  Also have a HOT filter whose filter pads totally clog up within 3 days and need to be changed. <A disturbing sign.> Parameters: SG 1.025, pH 8.28, Calcium just under 400, dKH 8 (working on that), and nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phos, and silica all zero. I have been doing 10-gallon water changes weekly and try to suck out as much algae as I can with each one. I have also been doing a 5-gallon change mid-week as the algae seems to be growing faster than I can remove it.  Also changed out the media in phos reactor, and added carbon to HOT filter.  Skimmer producing the same amount of dark, foul skimmate.  Other things I have done is to change out the MH bulb, adjust the current flow pattern, cut back on fish feeding. Nothing seems to work.  None of my snails (5 different types), hermits or urchin touch the stuff. <They will not.> I am out of ideas. After nearly 8 years of keeping reef tanks, I feel like giving up because this green algae has nearly ruined my prized tank and corals that started out dime-sized and grew to dinner-plate size are nearly dead. Please help. <Nothing new or groundbreaking to say here. From what you describe I would in fact deepen your sandbed, add some more flow to the tank, take a look at your feeding (be very sparing) and possibly your source water. See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm for more. One thing not mentioned here, what is the stocking level in the tank, what fish are in it?> Thanks -Ray <Welcome, Scott V.>

Re: HELP!! Algae killing corals 6/2/09 Thanks for the reply! <Welcome.> Answer to a few of your comments. I took another look at the sandbed and most of it is just over an inch. The Nassarius snails keep moving it around along with water flow. <Good.> I use only RO/DI water with a TDS of 0. I flush the membranes regularly and change filters when TDS goes over 5. I am using Red Sea Coral Pro salt mix. Fish load has not changed since tank set up. Was fine for 8 months and then this algae appeared. 2 Perculas, 2 Pajama Cardinals, 2 blue-green Chromis, a small 2" Foxface (will be going to a bigger tank soon), skunk cleaner, blue urchin, orange brittle star, and snails. <Sounds fine.> As far as more flow, I looked things up and way underestimated the flow. I have 6 powerheads 2 Seio Super Flows (620 GPH each) 2 Hydor Koralia (400 GPH each) 2 Maxi Jets (295 GPH each) Return pump (Quiet one 3000 with 780 gph, probably more around 400 with 5' head height) And my HOT filter that is another 350 GPH. Therefore I am running well over 3000 gph. <Good again.> Feeding is frozen foods mostly. Only use the dried foods when someone watching the tank when I am out of town, and then it is minimal (give them a measuring spoon with strict instructions, and they know to follow them). <Frozen foods can be a source of algae fuel. Do be sure to defrost the food first and drain off any liquid. This can make quite a large difference.> As far as the carbon I use, only the stuff that comes with the filter (Whisper). Been using it for years and never had a problem. And looking in the tank today, I saw an Aiptasia appear!!! I have not had one of those in my system in over 5 years! <Uh oh.> Nothing added without QT so I have no idea where this thing came from. <Likely lurking where you could not see before.> This is getting frustrating. Anything else I could try? Different phos media? <The ferric media's can be much more effective, but can also strip the water of too much phosphate.> Change lighting schedule? <I would not, it is a treatment of the symptom, not the problem.> Was thinking keep fuge light on longer to give that algae a chance to get more nutrients out. <May help.> I am afraid that this will spiral out of control soon and then I will have a FOTWLR and a ton of algae. I am even debating setting up an emergency frag tank and take frags of all my corals to preserve them in case of disaster. Money is a little tight for that though, but I am getting to that point. Any other input would be helpful. <Just not much new to say here. There is a source somewhere fueling this algae. You will have to take a look at your total system and practices to figure out where.> Thanks -Ray <Welcome, Scott V.>

High Magnesium and corals losing color 3/15/09
Hi, I have a 175 gal reef. Calcium is 450 mg/l alkalinity is 9 dKH, Magnesium is 1800 ppm.
<Mmm, I would remove a good deal of the water in this system, and re-fill with new seawater with less Mg>
Everything was fine until a friend of mine gave me this magnesium supplement he sells, but he gave it for free since the instructions were wrong, I couldn´t find the right instructions in his homepage either, so I added 2 full caps and the day after I noticed that my Montiporas were losing color. Only the Montis: rainbow, superman, orange capricornis and green capricornis, the Monti palawensis was not affected and neither was the sunset Monti. Acros and all other corals were not affected.
<... not yet>
The Montis affected look rather pale, the Magnesium level was probably around 1600 ppm and this supplement raised it to 1800 ppm. Is this the reason for the pale colors?
<Could well be... directly or not>
Some people suggest that is good to have high magnesium as it will improve coralline etc.
<Mmm, not to my knowledge... about three times Ca conc. is ideal... more gets worse>
My Mag levels have always been high, the average was 1300 ppm until I started dosing Mag supplements then it went up. A curious thing is that my green Monti cap has never had a good coloration, it has always looked pale, I´m wondering if high mag has this effect on corals?
<Can, yes>
Now the question is how to lower the Mag, I heard this is done with water changes, I did a water change last week before adding the Mag supplement which raised Mag, so I´m wondering if I can just wait 4 more weeks to do the water change as usual or I should treat this as an emergency and do the water change now to lower magnesium?, is there an urgency?.
<There is... again... diluting with new water of lower [Mg] is called for... stat>
Also for my calcium I use Seachem's advantage calcium which "maintains magnesium" does that mean it will keep Mag at 1800 ppm as long as I keep using it?.
<Depends on how much you use... I would use three times Ca levels as a target, and NOT add the Advantage if Mg is about three times this concentration>
Also what is going to happen with the corals that went pale in coloration, will they die from this?
<Hopefully not>
, or they will just go back to normal in time?.
<Hopefully so>
Did they become pale because of High Mag levels or because the increase on Mag levels was to much to fast?
<Can't say... but is a possibility that it is the sudden and/or finished high degree. Bob Fenner>

My Corals Dying?   3/11/07
Hi WWM,
<<Hi Maison.>>
Three nights ago I noticed that my hammer coral was dying, the part that died turned into slime and it stays on the rock. The same thing happened to my frogspawn coral 2 weeks ago. Do you know what it is? If you know what it is can you tell me how to treat it?  Reply quickly, it is my favourite coral in the tank and I don’t want it to die.
<<Please use the WWM search feature, and look through the numerous articles on Coral Diseases.  Try searches for RTN, rapid tissue necrosis.  Much information is there for your use, if you’ll only look for it.>>
Thanks,   Maison
<<Enjoy the learning. Lisa Brown.>>

Re: Brad in Basalt writing in panic. Scler. hlth.   2/6/07
I understand your point.  And, I feel so confused.  This coral looks very much like Goniopora lobata photographs I have seen from the Philippines.
<We're in agreement>
Yet, a close inspection of the coral polyp reveals only 12 tentacle tips.
<About right... for... which genus?>
As a matter of history, this coral started from a few small polyps that hitchhiked in on the Florida gulf-side maricultured live rock
<?! Not from FLA... or the Atlantic>
that was the first part of our original shipment from Tampa Bay Saltwater.  I will try to photograph the coral when it is fully retracted (e.g., after a hermit crab campout), and perhaps this will give more information to go on as the structure is starting to form a rising mound from the center of the colony (what may be the start of a "finger").  Thanks again for your wonderful site.
Brad
<A mystery for sure... Bob Fenner>  

Xenia and Bubble death?? 1/27/07
Hello,
<Greetings! GrahamT here.>
  I have had a 26 gal nano reef going for over a year now with a nice bubble coral, two types of hammer-heads, some green star polyps and a yellow star colony.  A few days ago I bought a pulsating xenia (about four stalks attached to a rock) and now at day 3, some of my tank seems on the decline.  The second day with the xenia, I noticed my large pink snail (no idea what type he is) was sucking on the bottom of one of the stalks.  The next morning I awoke to that stalk completely gone and a neighboring stalk cut open and melting on the rock.  The other two are thriving.  It seems to me that snail probably did this, but that's not even the worst of the problems.  Today I come home and my bubble coral (which is usually big and beautiful- never had a problem with it) is closed up tight and even seems to be retracting from its skeleton.  The most disturbing thing was a hermit crab was on top of it ripping into its flesh.  I was wondering if perhaps having the ripped open xenia in the tank still is causing my bubble to die, is that a possibility?  
<Not likely, no.>
The rest of the tank seems to be doing fine, everything else is eating and acting as usual.  The only other changes I made within the time frame of getting the xenia was lowering the water temp (I noticed it was a bit high when I added it, now its at 74 which is the usual)  and we relocated the green star polyps.  <74 is a bit low by my reckoning. I would go with 77-79, depending on how much your temp fluctuates during the light-on hours. >
Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated!
<Xeniids are (as a rule) passive, unpredictable specimens. People report their success on both ends of the spectrum - either they have so many, they want to get rid of them, or they can't keep any alive. I would firstly suspect the green star-polyp is using it hefty arsenal of chemical weaponry here to attack the Xenia. This might be hurting the bubble, too, given the small system volume, though I would be interested in the hermit crab's actions in this case also.
GrahamT.>
  Thanks in advance,
  Alyssa Schladt

A question about our hard corals, all of which are beginning to bleach out 12/30/06
Justin, I have a question about our hard corals, all of which are beginning to bleach out. I have been doing some reading on your site and researching  some journal articles that debate the question of light vs. water movement being best for hard corals. Naturally both are ideal, but our problem is that our light creates warmer water and the warmer water ( I believe) has led to bleaching out of our plate, trumpet  and brain corals. I just moved them farther away from our  "spotlight-feature area" -which we created in hopes that the corals would thrive - and in line with more intense water flow instead.  DO you have any suggestions for us besides spending more on lighting (which we cannot do in the immediate future)?
Thanks for your input, Justin. We have come to rely on the wisdom of your website!
Gloria  
<Hello again, Gloria. Nothing really stands out from your description to me, however you don't list what lighting you currently have. Without knowing this, I can't begin to assume what could be causing the bleaching. For starters, do research some of the specific care of your corals. Specifically, your plate may be having problems due to improper placement, if its been kept in rockwork. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fungiidae.htm as a starting point, and get back to me with some specifics as your current water test readings, temperature and lighting. Hope this helps! -JustinN>

Brown Jelly   12/25/06
Hello, and merry Christmas.  I recently had a brown jelly infection on a Goniastrea brain coral which I moved to a separate tank and cleaned the coral regularly.  It seems to be gone although much of the coral seems to have died or possibly just receded and may come back.  My question is how contagious is brown jelly disease as I am worried about other corals "catching" the disease?  
<Is a good question... there are instances I'm aware of where both situations... isolation and spread occurred... the etiology of this "condition" is not entirely understood>
I recently added a Acropora Tortuosa which today I noticed had some "goo" stretching between polyps in a couple of areas.  Rather that worry about what it was I decided just to break that part of the coral off to prevent it from spreading anywhere else on the coral.
<Good idea... This is what I would have done at least>
The coral was is rather small anyway and it wasn't all that expensive, so I'd rather just dump it than worry about spreading infections.   Can all corals get brown jelly infections or is it mainly just the LPS corals?
<All can... larger polyped species seem more susceptible>
My water quality is good and all other corals are healthy.  Water parameters are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5,
alk 10.6 Dkh, calcium 400, Ph 8.3, salinity 1.024, temp. 78.  I have been doing a ton of reading about brown jelly infections and even wrote Eric Borneman regarding the brain coral and followed his recommendations.  My main concern is the infection spreading throughout my tank, does brown jelly mainly attack corals that are unhealthy?
<The latter>
Sorry this email was a little scatter brained, I am a little freaked out about this spreading as I would lose a lot of corals and the money I paid for them.  Thanks, Ryan Nienhuis.
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>

Strange encrusting coral... actually strange lack of info. query   11/6/06
Hi, Newbie here. Not real good at maneuvering the site yet, but I checked everywhere I thought appropriate, both on WWM and internet, and could not find an answer. I will not bore you with complete tank set up for ID question. I have a 4 month old Fox Coral,
<The Euphylliid?>
that started a few weeks ago recessing. It gets fed regular and seemed very happy with its tank location Med flow and high in the tank under 40 watt PC. I looked closely and found what appeared to be a brown flatworm. I think, I have finally located enough photos to say this is some sort of Cyphastrea ocellina or crusty star coral.
<?... the Faviid?>
It is tan in color. I can find photos, but no information on this thing. It seems to be growing very fast. Does my conditions seem favorable for such coral?
<Which? Actually your lighting is a bit low for either>
Is it harmful to my fox? Is it LPS, SPS, or what?
<What? The Faviid? See WWM re...>
Should I try and remove it from the fox coral and if so how, or.......is the fox going to die (skeleton exposed) and I should let it have the space for encrusting? Thanks in advance for your help.                       Cindy
<... Where is information re water quality? Maintenance, feeding?... Please... read what is archived on our site for these species. Bob Fenner>

Coral Gall Crabs   7/31/06
Dear friends.
        I have a project in Biology due on the gall crab. I have been unlucky when it comes to researching it. Will you please post something on your website regarding it. thanks.                                                            Sincerely.                                                                        Erica
<Mmm, try inserting the string: "Coral Gall Crabs" in the search tool on WWM. Bob Fenner>

Nudibranchs/Ceratosoma tenue   5/15/06
Hi Crew,
<Hello Mohamed>
This weekend I found 10 Nudibranchs which looks like the Ceratosoma tenue on the site. All my new corals are dipped before placing in my display tank. At the time of removing some sick corals for a dip, I found the Nudibranchs which I removed but yet all the corals did not survive.  I would assume that the Nudibranchs was feeding on the corals. I am sure there are more. I have used a trap but have not caught any as yet.
Is there a fish, invert, etc that can be used to feed on the Nudibranchs but must be reef safe.
<None that I know of due to the fact of their nasty taste.  Bob may know of a predator and hopefully inject something here.>  <<Nothing specific. RMF>>
Most Nudi's are carnivores and each species usually has a particular victim.  Victims are immobile invertebrates such as barnacles, zoanthids, anemones, hard corals, etc.  I'd pluck them out by hand to be on the safe side.> <<Or siphon out. RMF>>
Thanks
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
   Mohamed.

Green brain coral... health, env.?    4/25/06
Hello,
My green brain has over the past few months been separating from its skeleton and as of yesterday is now no longer attached. It looks huge now but I know this is not a good thing.  What should I do to save it?
Scott
<...? What re history, set-up, water quality, other tankmates... Read: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm
Scroll down to the Stony Corals tray... Bob Fenner>

Frogspawn & other various corals ... health, sys.   - 03/26/2006
Hi I am currently having a small problem with my frogspawn and my maze brain coral. My setup is an 80 gallon peaceful reef with metal halides (double ended) actinics and moon LEDs. Last week I installed the LEDS and I also left the glass off of the tank on the right side. The brain has since had a mucus coating and does not open up very much. I blew off the mucus the first day and thought that I had "burned" the coral.
<Reads like this>
The frogspawn has about 6-7 different colonies I guess you could say. They have been opening up huge until I left the glass off but they are not directly under the light. Now only 2-3 open up and maybe only get about halfway to what they were doing. All of my water parameters are the same and I add a full regiment of Kent additives. I also have a leather that is on the opp. side of the tank and it looks waxy and no polyps are coming out like they used to. My LFS said that they do this to expel waste and algae, etc.
<This is so... you want to remove this waxy material once it is shed>
every once in awhile. I guess that my main question is how can I help my frogspawn and brain back to good health. I am very appreciative of your website and all of the help that it provides.
Thanks,
Dustin
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Flatworms On Hammer Coral - 03/21/06
I just recently received a small hammer coral from a fellow reefer.  The whole thing including the plug would fit inside of golf ball.  It's very small.
<<Indeed>>
I just noticed some small brown flatworms on it today.  I didn't know what they were until I tried to pick them off with a pair or tweezers.  The problem I'm having is that the flatworms are on the tentacles and every time I try to pick them off the tentacles retract.  I can't siphon them off or I'll damage the coral.  I want to get them early before they infest my tank.
<<Likely too late, they have probably already spread.  Quarantine could have prevented this.>>
What can I do?  I really need your guy's help, I can't think of anything.  Thanks in advance for all your help.
<<You can try giving this coral a temperature and pH adjusted freshwater dip, though be aware this process is not without peril (do a search on our site re for more information...you can start here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm).  Regards, EricR>>