Having Problems, Need Help

[mudplayerx]

Good thoughts Pyro, but if I have to buy new live rock I am no longer for this hobby
No cleaning products or other contaminants that I know of in my tank. I keep the door tp the tank room closed all of the time (ventilation is provided by central cooling/heating). However I do have a 9 year old nephew that lives with me so you never know... but he respects the tank probably more than I do.
One thing kind of worries me though. The tank is in my bedroom and I utilize a warm-steam humidifier during the winter and when I am sick due to my asthma. Do you think that this humidifier could be the source of contaminants?

 

[murph145]

i had an aissue in my other tank too before i switched to my new 180
i couldnt figure it out but i lost lots of my sps and some other things i attributed it to a few things being a Ph swing from morning to evening of .5-.6 my salinity was high at 1.30 i was using a hyrdometer but got a refractometer and now its at 1.025 not enough random flow in the tank, just to mention a few
how long have u been running MH?
ive heard xenia dont like MH li9ghting and was wondering if after u changed to MH u noticed the start of them dying?
your Alk is fine i run mine at 8dkh and my corals in my new tank are just fine everything from my sps to clams to softies and lps are happy natural sea water is 7-8 a friend around the corner has a 260 with tons of sps and his alk is 8 also everything does great i use a reactor to keep it steady u dont want big changes in alk or CA
id say temp is a lil high at 84 i really wouldnt wanna go higher than 81-82 mines at 81 on a chiller
other then that its hard to say whats causing the issue like i said ive had the same probs and i think if u add some small things up it can cause the prob

 

[mudplayerx]

Murph, I've been running metal halides since day 1. I sure hope I didn't get defective 14k bulbs that aren't supplying enought PAR. I really need to get a refractometer as I am currently using a hydrometer. It has been calibrated, but it is still kind of scary. Since it relies on a plastic swing arm I'm sure age can affect the calibration with dry-rotting and constant exposure to corrosive salt water.
I just spent $400 on a skimmer and an RO machine, so the refractometer is going to have to wait at least a month lol.
ps- you think I got ripped off? I bought a Coralife Super Skimmer (for 65 gallon tank) and a Coralife 3 stage RO machine (50 gallons a day) all for $314 plus tax.

 

[murph145]

hmmm .... supposedly u need to get a new hydrometer every 8 months from what ive been told they lose there effectiveness after that....
it was sure true with mine i had my hydrometer reading 1.0245 and when i got my refractometer for $50 i tested the water and it came back at 1.030! best $50 i spent
as far as a skimmer goes im not sure on that brand but i know i spent a pretty penny on my skimmer and my RO unit
my ASM G-4 skimmer cost me $400 and my 75gpd 4 stage RO/DI unit costme $200 but both are vital pieces of equipment
i dont think your bulbs are deffective so much.... how long did u have the 10K's for before u got the new bulbs maybe the new bulbs were stronger and coulda shocked the corals just a thought i know when u get new bulbs u gota be careful to acclimate again
ive also heard that xenia like dirty water maybe your water is too clean for them now .... i tried a frag of xenia in my tank and its just withered away

 

[reefreak29]

hydromiters will last forever but u need to soak it ib hcl every 3 months, and my coral life skimmer for a 120 was 120.00 sorry to tell u that

 

[reefreak29]

also every once in a while ill trade cured rock for uncured rock at the lfs about 10 lbs every 3 months .

 

[mudplayerx]

I had my 10k mh for about a year before I replaced them with the 14k, but that was about 3 months ago. Do you think they would still be doing poorly this far down the road due to poor lighting acclimation?
It is possible that my tank is too clean for my xenia due to my incredibly light fish bioload (one damsel and one mandarin). However, I have other corals doing poorly as well that don't necessarily depend on turbid water such as my fungia.
Speaking of the fungia, the flesh is wasting away in some areas and the skeleton is showing through. Provided I fix the problem causing the tissue atrophy, do you think it is too late in the game to save the fungia? Do plate corals have the capacity to recover from tissue necrosis? I only had the fungia for about a month before it started dying and that totally bothers me when I start killing critters that quickly.

 

[reefreak29]

it may turn around but u have to fing the problem ,what was your salinity again it could be off if ur using a hydrometer and dont clean it , what salt do u use and do u add iodine, to much iodine can be really bad for your tank

 

[mudplayerx]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
it may turn around but u have to fing the problem ,what was your salinity again it could be off if ur using a hydrometer and dont clean it , what salt do u use and do u add iodine, to much iodine can be really bad for your tank
My hydrometer is rarely cleaned adequately, but I do routinely calibrate it vs a refractometer at school. I need to get rid of it and replace it with a refractometer for sure. I do have iodine, but I only dosed it for 4 days very minimally (8 drops per day in a 55 gallon tank). I thought I was getting an iodine test kit but I couldn't, so I stopped dosing. The problems in my tank were happening way before the 4 days of iodine.
I'm hoping my warm-steam humidifier in my room that ran all winter isn't the culprit. It has a metal part that heats the water....but I don't think heavy metals are nebulized along with the water, ...do you?

 

[reefreak29]

well the only thing i can think of , if your perameters are all right on is the heat issue 84 imo is pretty warm and xenia likes 79 degrees , u must be agrevated , is the refractometer calibrated with di water , i really wonder if your salinity is off?

 

[reefreak29]

and i dont think its your lighting i also have 250watt 10ks and the xenia goes nuts

 

[reefreak29]

no i dont think it was your humidifier i have one to , if worse comes to worse cut your xenia at the base and mabie it will start growing back

 

[jacklax]

Hey Mud...no fair leaving! I lost some xenias at first...I feel it was due to temp...dropped it to 79 and everything came around. Also...I have a much higher dHK...try uping it a bit. My xenia have been taking off! For the record...my lfs told me that some tanks just will not take xenia, even though everything else takes off...may be the luck of the draw...

 

[pyro]

Severly doubt it's the humidifier. Repaint anything lately? Maybe lead fumes?
Possibly some bad test kits? Maybe overtime ones effectiveness faded and has constantly given you a weaker reading and it's just now passing the point where your corals can't adapt to it.
I took a turkey baster to mine last night and really blew a ton of nasty stuff out. I think I'm going to add it to regular maintence more often. But even then you would see N/PO4 levels kicking up. Maybe just do it for the heck of it.
How about the sandbed in your system? Is it a dsb or anything? Maybe your sand is just all leached out.

 

[mudplayerx]

Originally Posted by Pyro
Severly doubt it's the humidifier. Repaint anything lately? Maybe lead fumes?
Possibly some bad test kits? Maybe overtime ones effectiveness faded and has constantly given you a weaker reading and it's just now passing the point where your corals can't adapt to it.
I took a turkey baster to mine last night and really blew a ton of nasty stuff out. I think I'm going to add it to regular maintence more often. But even then you would see N/PO4 levels kicking up. Maybe just do it for the heck of it.
How about the sandbed in your system? Is it a dsb or anything? Maybe your sand is just all leached out.
We did have the house painted awhile back but it was while we were away and I locked the room with the tank (that room wasn't painted). I sure hope the central air didn't pull paint fumes under the crack in the door or something.
The test kits could be an issue. I really do need to buy new ones as the ones I have now are from day 1, except the alkalinity test.
I'm doing a 20% water change tonight, have carbon in all the hob's, and have my new skimmer churning away so hopefully this crisis will smooth out.

 

[ssweet1]

Your soft corals could have slimed a little causing the other stuff to react. I would run alot of carbon to remove any impurities as soon as possible. The water parameters and lighting are good and a humidifier isnt going to cause any trouble so it is the only suggestion I can think of at the moment.

 

[bang guy]

The two corals you mentioned as not doing well seem to do better in "dirty" water than in a pristine reef environment. That could be playing a part. Another possibility was brought up earlier - chemical warfare from the leathers.

 

[supalupa]

I also have an organ pipe and xenia that are not doing well. Everything else in the tank is doing awesome. Hope you can figure this out cause I need the answers too.

 

[putz]

You use a heater of some sort? I would check that. It may be spiking the temp at various times. From mine own recent equipment failure/bad experience, it sounds very much like you have a heat related problem. At the temps your normal is there isn't room for any addtional heat in the tank.

 

[mudplayerx]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys and girls. I did a 25% water change, raised my dkh and have my new skimmer on full blast. It seems to be helping as the fungia actually puffed up last night and it seems to be regenerating the lost flesh. The xenia and organ pipe may be too far gone to recover, but we shall see. Thanks again everyone.