Sarah Ann's Fluval Spec III Pico Reef

[A Little Blue]

6 hours ago, dferrari13 said:

I struggled to keep my pink goni alive...but it eventually died....gonis are awesome but sometimes tough to keep for some reason

Wonder why that is? Now I’m starting to worry about my pink flower pot. 

[Ranjib]

This tank is not matured for acros or gonis. Those are relatively hard to keep. It is likely they'll die off . Keeping them in pico is particularly challenging. I'd suggest go with easy to keep corals  (like lps and softies) , doing some reading before buying corals and have as much patience as possible.

 

If you want to keep sps, start with montipora digitata, then try green slimer or birdnest and then finally to acro.. each with couple of months gap in between

[A Little Blue]

True, some SPS corals are relatively easy, 

There are number of reasons why your SPS corals (acros in particular) might not do so well. From lock of stability, nutrients levels to toxins other corals may produce. 

Here is a short list of things that can kill your corals. 

Coral Diseases and Parasites

 

P.S 

I experienced a fair share of those but small percentage of loses haven’t discourage me yet. 

Starting with easier SPS corals (in newer tank) is a good advice. Wild Acros are probably the highest risk of all. 

 

[Sissy]

4 hours ago, Ranjib said:

This tank is not matured for acros or gonis. Those are relatively hard to keep. It is likely they'll die off . Keeping them in pico is particularly challenging. I'd suggest go with easy to keep corals  (like lps and softies) , doing some reading before buying corals and have as much patience as possible.

 

If you want to keep sps, start with montipora digitata, then try green slimer or birdnest and then finally to acro.. each with couple of months gap in between

Tank is super mature (stable for 3 years). Water quality was fine. I'm guessing that these particular species were super sensitive, as I have other SPS that continue to thrive and grow rapidly. The only parameter that changed with the water change was nitrates.

 

4 hours ago, A Little Blue said:

True, some SPS corals are relatively easy, 

There are number of reasons why your SPS corals (acros in particular) might not do so well. From lock of stability, nutrients levels to toxins other corals may produce. 

Here is a short list of things that can kill your corals. 

Coral Diseases and Parasites

 

P.S 

I experienced a fair share of those but small percentage of loses haven’t discourage me yet. 

Starting with easier SPS corals (in newer tank) is a good advice. Wild Acros are probably the highest risk of all. 

 

I am guessing it was a wild acro and goni. The goni deteriorated over a period of time, and I accept that they're just hard to keep, and I failed that one. The acro just rapidly died, literally in a few hours went from thriving to skeleton. My best guess is that the yuma on the crab stung it. Not the first story of a $.49 hermit taking out a $75 frag.

[mitten_reef]

How long has it been in your tank?  RTN like that screams water chemistry to me, specifically alk.  Your tank may be stable, but your alk level could be drastically different than that of the frag source - thus, causing rapid decline. 

[Ranjib]

8 minutes ago, Sarah Ann said:

Tank is super mature (stable for 3 years). Water quality was fine. I'm guessing that these particular species were super sensitive, as I have other SPS that continue to thrive and grow rapidly. The only parameter that changed with the water change was nitrates.

 

I am guessing it was a wild acro and goni. The goni deteriorated over a period of time, and I accept that they're just hard to keep, and I failed that one. The acro just rapidly died, literally in a few hours went from thriving to skeleton. My best guess is that the yuma on the crab stung it. Not the first story of a $.49 hermit taking out a $75 frag.

My mistake, i was under the assumption its started in Jan, apologies.

 

[Ranjib]

3 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

How long has it been in your tank?  RTN like that screams water chemistry to me, specifically alk.  Your tank may be stable, but your alk level could be drastically different than that of the frag source - thus, causing rapid decline. 

Yeah, I am thinking same, but there are whole bunch of other things that can go wrong as well. Light and water movement is not strong enough. A80 is barewaly 5w per gallon for 3G tank, and I know personally that unlike a160 these a80s are pretty wide, so not too much par under a tall 2G tank like fluval spec. I am having a hard time growing acros beyond green slimer or garf bonsai

 

@Sarah Ann you mentioned other sps are doing good. Are they acros or montis ?

[Sissy]

11 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

How long has it been in your tank?  RTN like that screams water chemistry to me, specifically alk.  Your tank may be stable, but your alk level could be drastically different than that of the frag source - thus, causing rapid decline. 

The acro for 2 weeks. Alk is the only thing I didn't test during the water change, but got a test earlier today. The goni probably died because of the water chemistry. It never really looked super great after I got it. The acro was thriving though.

[Sissy]

11 minutes ago, Ranjib said:

My mistake, i was under the assumption its started in Jan, apologies.

 

Oh, no, that's just when I started posting about it. I started the tank in about 2015. I changed tanks, but all live rock, sand, etc., has stayed the same. I've had no swings from tank changes.

9 minutes ago, Ranjib said:

Yeah, I am thinking same, but there are whole bunch of other things that can go wrong as well. Light and water movement is not strong enough. A80 is barewaly 5w per gallon for 3G tank, and I know personally that unlike a160 these a80s are pretty wide, so not too much par under a tall 2G tank like fluval spec. I am having a hard time growing acros beyond green slimer or garf bonsai

 

@Sarah Ann you mentioned other sps are doing good. Are they acros or montis ?

I have a green goblin acro, which I know is super hardy. I've broken it a few times, and it heals up in like a day. It's branches have also grown well over the last 60 or so days. My other SPS is a leptoseris, the yellow one in my previous posts, which is growing rapidly. I have a white goni that was free with my Aqua SD order, which is doing super well and growing new polyps. . .go figure.

[mitten_reef]

11 minutes ago, Sarah Ann said:

The acro for 2 weeks. Alk is the only thing I didn't test during the water change, but got a test earlier today. The goni probably died because of the water chemistry. It never really looked super great after I got it. The acro was thriving though.

That’s why it’s called RTN, rapid tissue necrosis. My 4-5” colony red dragon lost most of its flesh in the matter of hours, with no forewarn signs, colors and polyps extensions were all there the day before it happened - but I knew I had alk issue the week(s) prior. 

[Sissy]

2 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

That’s why it’s called RTN, rapid tissue necrosis. My 4-5” colony red dragon lost most of its flesh in the matter of hours, with no forewarn signs, colors and polyps extensions were all there the day before it happened - but I knew I had alk issue the week(s) prior. 

I will now routinely test alk, as I never have before. I'm very patient and diligent with my tank, and spend a lot of time with it, but just missed something, which is why it is frustrating.

I'm also going to do MUCH smaller changes, down to 10%, more often.

 

Thanks for the input on this, as SPS are new to me. I shouldn't have to dose a tank this small if I do water changes every 5 days or so, should I? If I do, could I add supplements to my ATO reservoir?

[BaristaBob]

14 minutes ago, Sarah Ann said:

I will now routinely test alk, as I never have before. I'm very patient and diligent with my tank, and spend a lot of time with it, but just missed something, which is why it is frustrating.

I'm also going to do MUCH smaller changes, down to 10%, more often.

 

Thanks for the input on this, as SPS are new to me. I shouldn't have to dose a tank this small if I do water changes every 5 days or so, should I? If I do, could I add supplements to my ATO reservoir?

I have a 5.5g acro reef, and I dose everyday. You should test for KH and retest 3 days later. Write that info down and figure out how much KH you use per day. If possible dose in morning, and night. If you can't, once per day is fine. The key is super stable parameters. I find that once KH is stable, the sps will start using more KH and Ca, so make sure to test every week to adjust dosages. 

 

I would do 50% WC once per week to replenish trace elements. I also match my parameters to my salt mix, so there are no spikes. I like fritz rpm for the lower KH.

 

And no to the ATO reservoir: I did some research and found that you shouldn't mix Ca and KH.

[A Little Blue]

Sensitive Acro taken from stable environment (and I assume that vendor facility is running their tanks pretty stable) and placed in new tank, under new light with basic parameters fluctuating up and down, could be the reason. Or at least part of it. 

Walking stinger could also be a reason for premature death or at least a trigger that started it. Once it started, bacterial infection could finish it off pretty quickly. 

As to your question if you should dose your tank...... well, that depends how stable your Alk/Ca/Mg is. 

There is one product that I know of that you can use in your ATO that will raise your Alk/Ca. Tropic Marin just came out with a product that contains Alk and Calcium in one product. It’s already premixed, concentrated, in powder or liquid form, ready to use. It cought my attention during ReefApalooza. Not sure if it is out already but it is on their website if you want to check it out. 

[Ranjib]

39 minutes ago, Sarah Ann said:

I will now routinely test alk, as I never have before. I'm very patient and diligent with my tank, and spend a lot of time with it, but just missed something, which is why it is frustrating.

I'm also going to do MUCH smaller changes, down to 10%, more often.

 

Thanks for the input on this, as SPS are new to me. I shouldn't have to dose a tank this small if I do water changes every 5 days or so, should I? If I do, could I add supplements to my ATO reservoir?

Yes. I would say make strong flow, strong light, stable water chemistry (alk, ph, calcium). You dont have to dose if you are doing frequent water changes, but it all depends upon your coral intake, and that will only be clear after you do some tests periodically

[A Little Blue]

1 minute ago, Ranjib said:

Yes. I would say make strong flow, strong light, stable water chemistry (alk, ph, calcium). You dont have to dose if you are doing frequent water changes, but it all depends upon your coral intake, and that will only be clear after you do some tests periodically

I test at lest once a day. Elos Alk test is super fast and easy but accuracy is limited to within 0.5. Red Sea is more accurate and process takes maybe a minute longer than Elos. 

Yes, you should get the Ca/Alk test kit. 

It will give you a peace of mind and more clarity. 

[Sissy]

2 hours ago, BaristaBob said:

I have a 5.5g acro reef, and I dose everyday. You should test for KH and retest 3 days later. Write that info down and figure out how much KH you use per day. If possible dose in morning, and night. If you can't, once per day is fine. The key is super stable parameters. I find that once KH is stable, the sps will start using more KH and Ca, so make sure to test every week to adjust dosages. 

 

I would do 50% WC once per week to replenish trace elements. I also match my parameters to my salt mix, so there are no spikes. I like fritz rpm for the lower KH.

 

1 hour ago, Ranjib said:

Yes. I would say make strong flow, strong light, stable water chemistry (alk, ph, calcium). You dont have to dose if you are doing frequent water changes, but it all depends upon your coral intake, and that will only be clear after you do some tests periodically

 

1 hour ago, A Little Blue said:

I test at lest once a day. Elos Alk test is super fast and easy but accuracy is limited to within 0.5. Red Sea is more accurate and process takes maybe a minute longer than Elos. 

Yes, you should get the Ca/Alk test kit. 

It will give you a peace of mind and more clarity. 

And no to the ATO reservoir: I did some research and found that you shouldn't mix Ca and KH.

Thank you! I will start testing and logging before adding any more SPS and looking at supplement options. I don't intend to add many SPS, due to height and limited space for them up top, but I don't want any more to die.

[Sissy]

My torch is now retracting and doing poorly. I think I got some shitty water, as absolutely nothing else has changed. I tested it and everything, but I can't think of anything else that would cause random corals to just start dying.

Any ideas about how to get the blue legged hermit out of the shell with the yuma on it? Dip it maybe, then offer another shell?

[A Little Blue]

20 minutes ago, Sarah Ann said:

My torch is now retracting and doing poorly. I think I got some shitty water, as absolutely nothing else has changed. I tested it and everything, but I can't think of anything else that would cause random corals to just start dying.

Any ideas about how to get the blue legged hermit out of the shell with the yuma on it? Dip it maybe, then offer another shell?

Do you get your water from LFS or mix it yourself? 

As to hermit issue....... The only idea that I can come up with is to spot-glue (Crazy Glue) Yuma shell to larger piece of rubble rock and leave empty shell next to it. Hopefully that will force hermit to swap shells. 

[Sissy]

1 minute ago, A Little Blue said:

Do you get your water from LFS or mix it yourself? 

As to hermit issue....... The only idea that I can come up with is to spot-glue (Crazy Glue) Yuma shell to larger piece of rubble rock and leave empty shell next to it. Hopefully that will force hermit to swap shells. 

From LFS, but I do test before every water change. The only issues I've ever had in 3 years has been isolated to the most recent jug of water. I still have about 70% of the tissue on the torch, so I believe it can be saved. I am so frustrated with this rapid decline, of course, with my most expensive corals. I am going to take some of my water for the LFS to test and also get a new jug of water from another LFS.

The only other constant has been the crab in the yuma shell, which could potentially irritate my other corals it rubs against. I'll glue it down and he should move out. There are plenty of other shells that are the same size. Thank you for the recommendation!

[A Little Blue]

1 hour ago, Sarah Ann said:

From LFS, but I do test before every water change. The only issues I've ever had in 3 years has been isolated to the most recent jug of water. I still have about 70% of the tissue on the torch, so I believe it can be saved. I am so frustrated with this rapid decline, of course, with my most expensive corals. I am going to take some of my water for the LFS to test and also get a new jug of water from another LFS.

The only other constant has been the crab in the yuma shell, which could potentially irritate my other corals it rubs against. I'll glue it down and he should move out. There are plenty of other shells that are the same size. Thank you for the recommendation!

No problem. It’s a silly issue to have with that crab & Yuma on top of it. Hopefull that crab is smart enough to move from “anchored” shell to new home? 

As to water issue....... I wouldn’t trust your water source at this point. 

The best advice that I can give is this:

- get pre-made sea water such as 

or even this

and do a larger water change. Say %40-50 and then another one several days later. Just check salinity of this pre-made sea water as it varies from 1.023-1.029 (depending on the batch) and adjust it to match your tank. 

2nd, I would really try to make my own water with salt and distilled water (available everywhere) of your choice. 

You can get one of those

portable/foldable containers for easy storage and use it to make your own salt water batch when you need it. 

 

I am not doubting your LFS water source but occasionally they fall behind with RO filter changes and use contaminated reservoirs and plumbing in their RO setup. 

With so much work, effort and money invested in your setup, it isn’t unreasonable to invest just a bit more to get the basics such as pristine salt water for your WC in order. 

It might be a bit inconvenient but it will make it more enjoyable and less aggregating in a long run. 

As to your Torch well, give it an iodine dip. It should help with potential bacterial infection. 

 

Hope it helps. 

[Five.five-six]

Are you useing anything that I might pull heavy metals from the tank?  Sometimes those can build up and short of a trident test or the like, you aren’t going to test for them.  

[Sissy]

On 7/15/2018 at 10:28 AM, A Little Blue said:

No problem. It’s a silly issue to have with that crab & Yuma on top of it. Hopefull that crab is smart enough to move from “anchored” shell to new home? 

As to water issue....... I wouldn’t trust your water source at this point. 

The best advice that I can give is this:

- get pre-made sea water such as 

or even this

and do a larger water change. Say %40-50 and then another one several days later. Just check salinity of this pre-made sea water as it varies from 1.023-1.029 (depending on the batch) and adjust it to match your tank. 

2nd, I would really try to make my own water with salt and distilled water (available everywhere) of your choice. 

You can get one of those

portable/foldable containers for easy storage and use it to make your own salt water batch when you need it. 

 

I am not doubting your LFS water source but occasionally they fall behind with RO filter changes and use contaminated reservoirs and plumbing in their RO setup. 

With so much work, effort and money invested in your setup, it isn’t unreasonable to invest just a bit more to get the basics such as pristine salt water for your WC in order. 

It might be a bit inconvenient but it will make it more enjoyable and less aggregating in a long run. 

As to your Torch well, give it an iodine dip. It should help with potential bacterial infection. 

 

Hope it helps. 

Thank you for the recommendations. I’ve switched to another lfs for water. They only use Catalina water. So far, there’s been a huge improvement in water clarity and glass algae, which I never had a problem with prior to the last jug of water before the switch. So frustrating. Everything else is so happy. I’m confident there are no parasites or diseases. Had to have been the water. I’ve never seen anything like it in almost 15 years. 

[Sissy]

On 7/16/2018 at 7:13 AM, Five.five-six said:

Are you useing anything that I might pull heavy metals from the tank?  Sometimes those can build up and short of a trident test or the like, you aren’t going to test for them.  

Not that I know of, however, I’m not sure what would cause this. Please tell me more!

[Sissy]

My tank seems to have stabilized after $300 in lost corals, probably due to some crap water 😞 

I added this guy today that I think looks really promising if I can nurse it back from bleaching, which I succeeded with two other rhodactis that turned out awesome. This one has green, blue, purple, and orange. Excited to see how it turns out!

[A Little Blue]

On 7/29/2018 at 11:34 PM, Sarah Ann said:

My tank seems to have stabilized after $300 in lost corals, probably due to some crap water 😞 

I added this guy today that I think looks really promising if I can nurse it back from bleaching, which I succeeded with two other rhodactis that turned out awesome. This one has green, blue, purple, and orange. Excited to see how it turns out!

Sorry to hear about that costly wipe-out. 

You are probably better off with distilled, store bought water than your previous source. Glad you found decent water supplier. Shrooms usually melt in my tank. So I stopped that genocide and add only what works and thrives.