why are my acro's dieing??

imdaring

imdaring

love my reef
i did notice that the ph was low today so I added buffer and after the buffer was added it went up to 7.99 after the lights went down
 

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the 1st pic is the one that died with in a day and a half the 2nd pic has the start of die off I circled it
 
looks like RTN. Frag the branches that you can and hopefully you can save some of it. You could also give it an iodine dip to stop the infection 50 50 shot.

What are the rest of your water perameters? Temp?
 
I agree. What are your water test results esp. calcium. Iodine dip sounds good also. You can get a actual reading of PH closer to when the lights go out in the evening.
 
actually iodine dips are pretty stressful.... i wouldn't recommend it on SPS that is already dying and most likely due to water quality issues.

not trying to sound rude in any way.... but if you are going to ask questions related to why animals are dying, especially SPS, then you have to include some parameters. and a bit of background info.

are you new to SPS, and is this your first batch?
PH swings depending on whether or not the display lights are on. (algae photosynthesis = reduction in Co2) What is your PH during the day, and are you taking a reading at night?
since it's SPS, how's the flow?

check your calc/alkalinity. From looking at your pics I just get the feeling that either your calc/alk is off (and i'm feelin' it might be alk considering your low PH), or you don't have much in the way of lighting... (tank set up in april 08 but little coraline, and a rather dim picture) What do you have for lighting and how is calc/alk?

tons of questions, for sure, but we need lots of info to give good answers.
 
+1 Nathan
Also are you testing magnesium?Once you start SPS,thats just as important as calc/alk IMO.
 
Lighting ( 2 ) 250 wt MH and ( 4 ) 65 wt, I have had the MH only running for 3 hours a day for the last 4 day Because I have had a Brown algae problem that is about gone now do to the new algae scrubber..

1st time with the SPS and yes it's the 1st batch I have had them for about 2 month now they were doing great till yesterday

PH during the day has been about 7.4 I have a electric PH meter that is in the tank all the time I put PH buffer in today and it uped the PH to 7.94 and now that the lights are off it's 8.0

Calcum 440

Sg was also high and I added 10 gal on RO/DI water with out salt and it dropped it to 1.026

Flow I have (2) # 3 Korilas

I have not checked the ALK I will check that after I get home from the store LOL Late shopper NO KIDS THIS WAY

I have no idea why I don't have much coriline algae???


ndepratt said:
actually iodine dips are pretty stressful.... i wouldn't recommend it on SPS that is already dying and most likely due to water quality issues.

not trying to sound rude in any way.... but if you are going to ask questions related to why animals are dying, especially SPS, then you have to include some parameters. and a bit of background info.

are you new to SPS, and is this your first batch?
PH swings depending on whether or not the display lights are on. (algae photosynthesis = reduction in Co2) What is your PH during the day, and are you taking a reading at night?
since it's SPS, how's the flow?

check your calc/alkalinity. From looking at your pics I just get the feeling that either your calc/alk is off (and i'm feelin' it might be alk considering your low PH), or you don't have much in the way of lighting... (tank set up in april 08 but little coraline, and a rather dim picture) What do you have for lighting and how is calc/alk?

tons of questions, for sure, but we need lots of info to give good answers.
Click to expand...
 
3 hours of MH isn't very much.... but it should be a slow browning out if that were the problem. how were they doing previously?

SPS to me means "stability promotes success" to really high salinity all of a sudden, and changes in ph, especially when it's hitting 7.4.... ouch..... really could be your culprit. i would say less than satisfactory conditions in general, with an emphasis on ph, are what caused your SPS to die/RTN.

don't give up on it... keep trying. get your salinity and all other parameters sittin' steady, pick up the flow a bit, and try again.
 
they were doing great till 2 days ago?? I just did a water change the day b/4 they started to die off and I had used a bucket of salt that I had put aside because it had such a high cal level in it so I thought I would mix it in with the salt that I'm using now well I didn't check the SG b/4 I put it in the tank I use RED SEA salt all the time and I know exactly how much to mix in my water well I never thought twice when I mixed the seachem salt with it MY BAD I'll know better next time :grumble:

ndepratt said:
3 hours of MH isn't very much.... but it should be a slow browning out if that were the problem. how were they doing previously?

SPS to me means "stability promotes success" to really high salinity all of a sudden, and changes in ph, especially when it's hitting 7.4.... ouch..... really could be your culprit. i would say less than satisfactory conditions in general, with an emphasis on ph, are what caused your SPS to die/RTN.

don't give up on it... keep trying. get your salinity and all other parameters sittin' steady, pick up the flow a bit, and try again.
Click to expand...
 
imdaring said:
why do you think the coraline is not growing very well??
Click to expand...
Coralline needs the same parameters SPS corals need. They both use the same process for calcification, so it's not really suprising to hear you have problems with both.
You definitely need more than 3 hrs of light, but I don't think that's your problem. My guess would be either high phosphate...which sounds very likely being you had a algae problem, plus phosphate inhibits calcification, or a big swing in your alk or possibly, not not as likely, very low mag.
PH during the day has been about 7.4 I have a electric PH meter that is in the tank all the time I put PH buffer in today and it uped the PH to 7.94 and now that the lights are off it's 8.0

Calcum 440

Sg was also high and I added 10 gal on RO/DI water with out salt and it dropped it to 1.026
Click to expand...
YIKES
Am I understanding this correctly. In 1 day, your pH went from 7.4 up to 8 by adding buffer? That jump alone can kill SPS.
You added 10g of fw to your 55g tank at once to lower the salinity? That rapid swing in salinity can kill SPS.

SPS need stable parameters...you don't seem to be providing that.
 
Last edited:
I added the Buffer durning the day the ph didn't hit 8.0 till the lights went down
right now my actnic lights just came on and the PH is at 7.95

I added the water slow not all at one time
 
the brown algeae is almost gone I'm going to start to add a hour a day back on my MH lights

I don't have a mag test kit I don't think that they have them at the LFS maybe I will take some of my wtaer in and have them test it, is there a sup. for mag
 
I really don't think mag is your problem. Even if it was, you have several other much bigger problems that would be harming the SPS long before magnesium would even come into the picture, namely pH and salinity swings. You had really big swings within a 24 hour period, which is enough to kill them.
 
Biff and Capts right.
Those are some wild swings your getting.Your gonna have to get those stable before SPS will live.
 
Did you end up losing your coral? Did you do an iodine dip to try to stop the infection? unfortunatley you probably would have lost it anyway, due to your water issues. You might start with an easier sps once you get things back in line.

Iodine dips are stressful as nd stated, but it can stop an infection and save an animal it is worth it.
 
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