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Corals dying

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    Posted: May 23 2015 at 9:48pm
I've been having a problem with my corals dying and/or not looking so good. I have a 200 total volume, all parameters that I could test are ok - nitrates nitrites ammonia calcium and alkalinity magnesium iron and potassium. Phosphates were a little high (.08) and iodine was low (.3). I have sps, lps, zoas and mushroom and they're all being effected. I'm running Rox, skimming the heck out of my tank and temperature is right on. The only thing I haven't checked is my lights that I have had for 3+ years (ai vegas) (I don't have a par meter). Not all, but 80% of my corals are closed if not slowly fading away. Zoos closed and brown junk on them, monti going white and lps either completely sucked in or actually falling apart. There has been a tiny amount of diatom bloom, but nothing close to being a pandemic. Please let me know if anyone could help - I'd appreciate it =D
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Reefer4Ever Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 10:03pm
Pics might help since everything as you say that the parameters are all ok. What are the actual numbers from your testing.

Edited by Reefer4Ever - May 23 2015 at 10:03pm
90 gal reef w/refugium
24 gal softie tank
11 gal nano anemone tank
5 gal fresh water
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 10:07pm
My pictures are horrible. But calc was 460, alk 9.2, mag 1400+, nitrates 10, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, iodine .3, potassium can't remember, iron can't remember
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Krazie4Acans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 10:19pm
Have you tested for any heavy metals? This sounds a lot like a heavy metal toxin from what you describe. Pictures could help diagnose further but that's where I would go next. Cuprisorb would take most metals out. You could try that but I would test first.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 10:37pm
How do you test for heavy metals? And what type of metals would cause this?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kody72 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 11:54pm
I had this happen from a batch of bad carbon
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kody72 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2015 at 11:56pm
Any cleaning crew dieing off?
KODY72 FISHROOM BUILD
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 12:05am
The carbon was actually only put in after the ill-effects started popping up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 12:06am
And I put in some prime to help with the metals
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 7:03am
SeaChem Prime is for removing chlorine and ammonia. It will do no good in this situation, except as the coral die off contaminates the water with increased N pollution. 

Did someone throw a penny into this tank? Copper could cause the issues you describe. There are several products for removing some of the common metals, including Copper. SeaChem Cuprisorb has been mentioned. Poly-bio-Marine's Poly Filter is the best I have used to adsorb a broad range of contaminants, though Seachem's Purigen and Boyd Enterprises Chemipure also work well.

Assuming the fish are okay, right?

Are other inverts(snails, hermits, worms, bugs, shrimp, etc.) dieing?

Were Alk and/or Ca recently raised quickly?

Lights were mentioned. Has the lighting intensity or photoperiod been increased recently? Coral are more sensitive to sunburn than people. Sunburn can be lethal if lighting is changed or intensity increased too swiftly.

What is the current running temperature? Was there a temperature spike?

How is the water source? Contaminants? What is the TDS of the water used for top-off and water changes?

Was a new salt or new container of salt used just prior to this issue?

Could any other contaminant have entered the water via buckets, hands, etc?

Aloha,
Mark  Hug




Edited by Mark Peterson - May 24 2015 at 7:19am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hogie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 8:34am
Have you checked for any electricity in the water?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 2:17pm
Sorry for the slow reply. Everything you said was normal no changes in the lights no quick increase of alkalinity and calcium The temperature is 76 and that is exactly why am running the carbon is just in case contaminants got in. and I do have two titanium rods in the tank one of the display in one of the sump
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 2:18pm
I woke up this morning and my monti ports are getting white patches all over them, heads of euphelias are melting and my zoas that I had just peroxide dipped are almost covered in brown crap again
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 2:20pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 2:20pm
It's a very bad picture but it's the only one I could get showing the blotching - the blue spots are actually white

Edited by Fishflop - May 24 2015 at 2:21pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 2:35pm
Could a razor do this?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 3:15pm
If you left a rotor blade inside the tank to rust and dissolve, then yes, that could cause your corals to react badly.

But if you mean you just used a razor blade to scrape the glass, and then promptly removed it..?

Then, no, that would not harm your tank.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 3:21pm
If a razor blade to scrape the glass had fallen in the tank. That could cause the ill effects I'm dealing with?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 6:35pm
Activated carbon does not remove metallic compounds so if the water has copper, lead, arsenic, etc they are still there, causing issues. A rusty razor blade rusting in the tank might assist in the deaths you are describing, yet pure Iron oxide (rust) is actually not too harmful. We use a specially formulated rust (Granulated Ferric Oxide) to remove Phosphate.

Can you clean the glass and post a pic of the entire tank? (not the stand, just the tank)

There are several items mentioned in my post above which have not been answered, such as:
- are fish okay?
- are other inverts okay?
- top off water TDS?
- whether a new bag/bucket of salt was used?

Aloha,
Mark  Hug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fishflop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 24 2015 at 6:45pm
Yup, everything but the corals are ok, I get my water from a lfs so the tds is always low, and I don't know for sure about if new salt was used. And I'd be happy to. Let me scrub the glass (didn't want to just in case it would harm something even more) and I have added some cuprisorb to a reactor and put it on the tank
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