Tank corals unhappy -- zoas closed up?

[ps2cho]

I was looking at the tank today and I noticed everything looks really unhappy. My zoa's are closed up, my hammer coral is not extended all the way and my smallest SPS frag is all discolored.

 

I plan to do a 25% water change first thing tomorrow morning, followed by another the next day in case something is wrong.

 

What could be causing this?

 

Here are current stats right now:

 

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate 0

Ca: 450

Mg: 1320

Alk; 9.1

Temp 79.5

Salinity: 1.025

 

Nothing seems out of whack?

The only changes that have happened in the last 3 weeks have been the dual media reactor running marineland carbon and phosguard and the addition of a Kole Tang and a couple small sps frags. Nothing else. All were quarantined prior.

 

I went ahead and dumped the phosguard and carbon out in case its all used up...debating if I should replace the carbon right now or wait it out and see what happens.

[Tamberav]

hmm possible tank is too clean? any way a chemical may have got in the tank?

[Nanofreak79]

I'd suspect the reactor addition. Stripping to much out of the water and causing a swing in amount of nutrients available.

[ps2cho]

Now you mention chemical..last week I bought windex vinegar it is ammonia free. Could that be an issue?

[Formula462]

Did you have even higher alk than that before the phos reactor? Too much gfo can yank down alkalinity and mighty piss off some coral. And there is such a thing as too clean

[ps2cho]

This morning the tank is really cloudy.

Something is definitely going on.

 

Doing a large water change right now.

 

No fish have died. I don't get it...

 

Should I put more carbon in the reactor or could that exacerbate what is going on?

[Formula462]

Cloudy water= bacterial bloom or algae bloom

[markalot]

Get the phosguard out of there for now. Did you rinse it first? Do you know you can't tumble phosguard very hard without grinding it down and releasing aluminum into the tank? Be aware of these limitations before using it. Phosguard works better in a bag than it does in a reactor.

 

Numerous things can happen to mini-crash a newer tank.

 

Rapid reduction of phosphate.

Removal of an old media bag that had a significant amount of the biofilter on it, possible due to low flow in the display tank.

Rapid increase in water clarity due to the addition of carbon, leading to light shock.

Something else that we don't measure.

 

I personally do not think reactors belong in young tanks that aren't heavily heavily fed. I mean heavy cloud the entire tank during feeding heavy. You run the risk of stripping the water of too many nutrients and harming the corals.

[ps2cho]

The phosgaurd was in there for about 2 weeks...I am now reading that could have been too long and that you are in fact supposed to only keep it in there for a 2-5 days tops.

 

I have a feeling it was either too much food, or from the vinegar windex.

Either way I guess I have to just let the bacterial bloom run its course.

 

I will make sure to use GFO in the future going forward.

[markalot]

The phosgaurd was in there for about 2 weeks...I am now reading that could have been too long and that you are in fact supposed to only keep it in there for a 2-5 days tops.

 

I have a feeling it was either too much food, or from the vinegar windex.

Either way I guess I have to just let the bacterial bloom run its course.

 

I will make sure to use GFO in the future going forward.

 

I still don't think you need anything in there. What problem are you trying to solve?

 

Here's the thing. We are taught we need to have these things to keep a healthy tank but I'd be real money that carbon, phosguard, and GFO have killed more than they have saved due to mis-use. Understand the problem, then do what you need to do to solve it, otherwise you'll end up with a Getting Out of the Hobby post.

 

If you want to see an idiot doing just about everything wrong then look at the thread for my 40 gallon tank. I've harmed it 3 times doing things I thought would help.

 

Your latest FTS

 

 

Very sterile, and the frogspawn looks bleached. Dim the lights, remove the media, let the tank settle down IMO.

 

Not sure I understand the windex issue. Regardless of new or old Windex if sprayed in the tank will cause issues. In this case a bag of carbon and water changes to remove any residue will help. Keep all chemicals away from the tank, wipe the glass down with just water or water and vinegar.

[ps2cho]

That brown on the rocks is algae and I cannot get rid of it. I blow it off multiple times per week and the entire tank is covered in the brown bits. It just settles and grows again... (I reduced lighting about a week ago since I didn't even know it was bleached...so that should be progressing soon)

 

Today the tank is clear again. Phew....I was just freaking out since I've put a long of time and effort in the last 3 months and FINALLY got the Kole Tang that I wanted into the tank after Quarantine. Along with the few sps frags I'm easily a couple hundred in livestock so far, so I was afraid of losing anything...

 

My 2nd question I guess is still food quantity. I still cannot find a quantifiable amount of food and frequency. The stupid 5 minute all food gone thing is worthless. I feed for maybe 60 seconds and it vanishes, but I still feel like I'm overfeeding. I think part of the deal is that I don't want the shrimp to miss food, so I put a little extra in so the voracious clowns don't get it all first!

[markalot]

That brown on the rocks is algae and I cannot get rid of it. I blow it off multiple times per week and the entire tank is covered in the brown bits. It just settles and grows again... (I reduced lighting about a week ago since I didn't even know it was bleached...so that should be progressing soon)

 

Today the tank is clear again. Phew....I was just freaking out since I've put a long of time and effort in the last 3 months and FINALLY got the Kole Tang that I wanted into the tank after Quarantine. Along with the few sps frags I'm easily a couple hundred in livestock so far, so I was afraid of losing anything...

 

My 2nd question I guess is still food quantity. I still cannot find a quantifiable amount of food and frequency. The stupid 5 minute all food gone thing is worthless. I feed for maybe 60 seconds and it vanishes, but I still feel like I'm overfeeding. I think part of the deal is that I don't want the shrimp to miss food, so I put a little extra in so the voracious clowns don't get it all first!

 

 

I pour flakes in, someone will eat it. I do what I've read a lot of people with successful reef tanks do ... I tend to feed whenever I am at the tank, so some days get way overfed and some days get just one or two feedings. Every other morning I put in a few pinches of reef roids for the corals. Some days I put so much in the tank is a cloudy mess. 3 days later I have technicolor crap growing on the back walls but the corals noticeably look better. I have a yellow tang in my 40 who is a critical part of the crew. He eats algae off the walls and rocks while my hermits get everything else.

 

Your tank is still new so problems you are having will eb and flow until 6 months or so, then start to fade. Take a turkey baster to the cyano if you feel like it to clear it off the rocks. Maybe increase flow in the tank, or re-aim your flow. Careful with the frogspawn, though, if it gets too much flow it will recede.

 

Now that I'm over two years into the hobby it's easy for me to say relax and don't sweat it.

 

One last thing, as far as advice goes. My tanks are doing well right now. This does not mean they will be ok tomorrow or that I'm doing anything right, so take all advice and add your own research to it. Take a look at some of the longer lived tanks here and read about what they do. Kat's TOTM winner from a year ago, for example. Heavy heavy feeding and most of us would kill for those colors. The tank is still going strong.

[ps2cho]

I looked up cyanobacteria and my algae doesn't seem to be that. Its 100% brown, not red at all...

 

Should I just keep blowing it off the rocks multiple times per week and eventually it will subside?

 

I have noticed my Kole Tang is eating it though -- my overflow box had a layer on it and its now gone. Slowly but surely I guess!