Different issues all happening????

[anotheraddiction]

HI ok not a lot of time and a few different issues going on w/ a coiple of pics.... just started adding corals to my tank 90g. added a hammer, leather coral and the one as my avatar. when we put them in all looked great and did fine about 2-3 days later leather coral "closed" up and got the film so I thought it was doin it's thing the head is now open but the small tenticle things have never come back out (been 4 days) on the hammer have lost one complete branch and now another one looks like it's not doing good?? also now noticed my favorite starfish which has always been fine and vey mobile has not moved in 3-4 days now and woke up to my Coral Beauty very pale and white around the eyes he is still alive (barely) and now up against the intake, move him and he is right back? tested all water last night calcium,salt,nitrate,nitrite etc and all was fine. any ideas?
ok sorry pics will be this afternoon didn't realize had to be hosted elsewhere first

[chrisd]

what are the actual readings? (numbers please)
how long has the tank been running?

[Loverotties]

+1

[luther1200]

What is the Alk? And Temp?

[anotheraddiction]

ok whew sorry guys, it has been one of those days
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 5.0
ammonia- 0
pH- 8.4
specific gravity- 1.022
KH- 10

ok well just tried to upload the pics and will not let me because I have not made 20 post/threads
also my temp today got up to 84.5, could this be a problem? also as figured, when I finally got home my coral beauty was dead

[anotheraddiction]

when checking this morning the temp has dropped to 81. My LFS said when it comes to temp I need to be more concered w/ the temp fluctuations, is the 81 to 84.6 too much?

[Mark_Winn]

I believe your temp is too high and having too much flutuation. Keeping your tank between 78 and 80 is where I would want to be. As for the leather it could be stress, but it is not so unusal for it to close up and shed. Sorry about the Coral Beauty.

[chrisd]

salinity is a little low get it to 1.025.
temp is a little high like mark said 78 to 80 is idea but more important is stability. the wide swing can reack havoc on your tank. but im not sure thats whats causing your problem.
how long has the tank been running?
when you added the new corals to the tank did you have anything on your hands that may of polluted the water?
working with chemicals house hold cleaners etc.

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by chrisd

how long has the tank been running?
when you added the new corals to the tank did you have anything on your hands that may of polluted the water?
working with chemicals house hold cleaners etc.?

Also concerned about mixing the Sarco with the eEuphyllia spp. how close are they together?

Do you have sand?

Very concerned about tank maturity and how old the rock is at this point.

How do you replace your evaporative losses?

What is tank/system total volume? do you keep a sump?

What about a skimmer?

Do you use GAC?

[three90s&125sump]

tag, for the results.

[anotheraddiction]

Going to try and answer this all correctly

Originally Posted by tdwyatt

Also concerned about mixing the Sarco with the eEuphyllia spp. how close are they together?
about 10" apart and the hammer is also "raised" above on a piece of live rock
Do you have sand?
yes, approx 1"
Very concerned about tank maturity and how old the rock is at this point.
tank has been up for 17 mths w/ live rock
How do you replace your evaporative losses?
top off losses in sump w/ fresh water
What is tank/system total volume? do you keep a sump?
90 gal tank plus sump
What about a skimmer?
yes Pro Clear aquatic
Do you use GAC?

yes

overall things seem a bit better, leather coral has opened up and starfish finally starting moving again. Have two 175w 15k MH this past weekend added two T5's w/ reflectors and wondering if the extra lighting from the T5's caused the heat/temp fluctuations and stressed everything out? I do not have a chiller

tried to add pic lol (hammer)-> seems that half of the sickly one has receded from it's skeleton but the other half has been hanging in there.
should also mention that since the coral beauty died and started posting I have not turned the T5 lights back on and temp has been 81 and rose to a steady 82

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by anotheraddiction

Going to try and answer this all correctly


yes

overall things seem a bit better, leather coral has opened up and starfish finally starting moving again. Have two 175w 15k MH this past weekend added two T5's w/ reflectors and wondering if the extra lighting from the T5's caused the heat/temp fluctuations and stressed everything out? I do not have a chiller

tried to add pic lol (hammer)-> seems that half of the sickly one has receded from it's skeleton but the other half has been hanging in there.
should also mention that since the coral beauty died and started posting I have not turned the T5 lights back on and temp has been 81 and rose to a steady 82

My initial concern was that your tank might be going through a new cycle, but at 17 months, I don't think this is the issue unless you don't have enough rock.

Two other things come to mind concerning the new light:

• the temp issue you mentioned
• a grounding short through the tank

I am still concerned at 6" that you might have Euphyllia vs Sarcophyton isues. The Sarcophyton recognizes the Euphyllia due to the presence of sweeper tentacles that are produced at night by the Euphyliid, as it recognizes that there is an octocoral (the Sarcophyton) in the water by the allelopthic terpene and diterpenes it prodicese as a response to shipping/transfer. The sweepers would tent to not be an issue if the Euphyllia were succumbing to allelopathic attack after a few days, wheras if the sweepers had stung the octocoral, it would increase allelopathic subtance production. For the Euphyliid, it is a no-win situation. You can try GAC in the water and heavy skimming, as well as moving each specimen to opposite ends of the tank, but ultimately, you may need to find separate water columns for the two, as once this reaction is triggered, it is usully difficult to stop (I say this, yet I have Frogspawn and Sarcophyton both in a small tank (45 USG) and doing well) n proximity to each other but more than 8" apart). Once they are stimulated by touch or trauma, these responses are very long-enduring.

You might benefit from having a grounding probe, but test the system for stray voltage just in case before installing one.

I hope they all improve.

[bcrum51]

salinity of 1.022 won't cause this reaction in coral I would say its the temp getting into the high 80's and how are you checking ur salinity anyways? it could also be light shock if the LFS had the corals under less intense lights the MH's could be causing the reaction

[Fat Tony]

Temp ios not an issue.. the swing may be a tad much. My tank is set to stay between 80 and 83. In nature the reef temps are normally betwen that range with swings that could be much higher due to upwelling and such.. I would not be concerned too much with your temp, more so with chemical warfare between the corals. My suggestion, seperate the corals and run some carbon for a few days. Also suggest a grounding probe. Also, acclimation would possibly be another concern with your salinity at 0.022... suggest bumping it to 025 or 026. Speaking of which, how are you t4esting the salinity? Refractometer or hydrometer?

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

Temp ios not an issue.. the swing may be a tad much. My tank is set to stay between 80 and 83...

My only concern regarding the temperature is if the system is going into 86+^oF during the daytime period of the photoperiod with the new lights. THAT would be an issue.

Heck, 80-83^oF is where my systems stay year-round.