and i continue on, WHY??????

[niloc16]

some may remember it was about a year ago that i whined and complained to you guys that i had a wicked bout with dinos that wiped ALOT of stuff out. well just with my luck almost a year later it happens again. this time its not dinos it was a change in salt. why i switched i still have no clue. i went from IO to seachem reef salt and after the bucket was done and i just started the second one disaster hit and has been continuing. i'm doing my best with tons of water changes but with summer and what not its hard to find the time. i took pics tonight to vent to you, but i will not put comparison pics up to what the colonies used to look like because then it would really bum me out.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02714.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02715.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02716.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02717.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02719.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02720.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02721.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02722.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02723.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02724.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02725.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02726.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02727.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02728.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02729.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02730.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02731.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02732.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02733.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02734.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02735.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02736.jpg

[fkshiu]

Are you sure it wasn't the heat?

This hobby can really try your patience sometimes.

[Chowder]

Colin really sorry to hear about your losses. Have you figured out what it is that is causing it? I use Seachem as well and have had some losses myself but I also just switched to a new bigger tank and kinda owned it to that.

[niloc16]

heat is not the issue, i have central air the temp rarely changes. the only thing changed is the salt. i've tested for everything i can and everything seems ok although the CA and ALK were high because of the salt

[michika]

That really really sucks. I say go back to your old salt, and see what happens.

[Underwater]

OMG!!! I am SO sorry to hear about this! I have a pit in my stomach as I scroll through your pictures. Like so many of us, I have been there and there is no way to describe the feelings you go through with stuff like this.

Best of luck to you...I've admired your corals for some time now and hope that you are back to making us all jealous again very soon!

[Chaloupa]

Oh Colin! How very awful. You went through so much last year and now this??? How horrible! Your's was a tank I LOVED!

Hmmm strange though...I use Seachem exclusively and have for over a year with no problems.......

[marie]

Some of those corals look the same as mine :cry: .
I know what your going through I'm still having some issues with my tank that started in dec. I never changed salt brands though, in my case it happened after I treated the tank with inteceptor.

[Mikee]

So sorry to hear this man.. that sucks. This is weird a guy i talk to actually had a bucket of salt (ATI) go bad and his mag levels were VERY low after mixed with RO/DI. He kept dosing mag and always had troubles getting it to be where it should be at and eventually crash. After he tested his mag it was only 475..his frag tank mag was 875 and his DT was 1200 (added mag in top off). It's a really good thing to check once and a while your salt levels when doing WC's..this is the second time i've heard of this happen because of salt.

[Borderjumper]

OMG I feel so bad for you!
I switched to Seachem Reef salt 12 months ago and havent had any problems. Did this come on slowly or just Bam!? That just sucks!

[untamed]

OMG I feel so bad for you!
I switched to Seachem Reef salt 12 months ago and havent had any problems. Did this come on slowly or just Bam!? That just sucks!

I switched to Seachem a few months ago from Ocean Pure Pro....I haven't seen anything unusual.

Sorry to hear about your losses. If there is any consolation, most of us have pieces of the corals you've lost, so you can get them back again!

[Borderjumper]

I still have a piece of that Kryptonite green candycane. Let me know if you need a frag back.

[Mik_101]

sorry to hear that. Your tank was soooo nice.hopfully things will change for the better sooner than later.

[Bryan]

IMHO the biggest SPS killer excluding bugs, disease etc is fluctuating alkalinity or alkalinity that has dropped or has risen rapidly. Let me guess you are using a Salifert alkalinity test kit to monitor your alkalinity?

[fishoholic]

That really sucks!!!! I feel bad for you, it really hurts when you loose one nice coral never mind a lot of nice ones :sad: I guess we keep continuing on for the love of the hobby and the hope for things to get better.

[christyf5]

Holey cow!! Thats terrible. I had the same experience the first time I tried Seachem, burned corals. Mine wasn't quite so drastic though and I immediately switched back. I even found Seachem was ok if I mixed equal parts with IO but I'll never use it on its own.

LMK if you want any donations to help get you back on your feet, I can ship you some stuff :biggrin:

[Snappy]

Colin, that is some scarey recession. Are you sure it is just the salt? Nothing got dropped in by children? stray voltage? etc? How many water changes did you do with the bad salt batch? How long since you switched to a better salt after you noticed the problem? What salt are you using now? Have you tried dosing sponge power to see if it will help what's left alive heal faster?

[seanoman]

Hey Colin,

SO sorry to see this happen to you... We are currently using Seachem as well and haven't had any negative side effects yet. Hopefully you can get this figured out soon and get back on track. Please let us know if there's anything we can help you out with and if you would like some frags once this is all over with.

[Jason McK]

Oh My God Colin I'm sad to see such devastaion.
I've heard of problems when switching salts before but I've never seen it this bad.

J

[Tom R]

Colin really sorry to hear about your losses.

I have often thought of changing my salt (Instant Ocean) but i have never had the courage. I certainly will never think twice about it now.

Keep us posted as to any other ideas you come up with about the cause.

Tom R

[Oceanic]

The pictures are depressing and certainly show that your colonies are pretty upset; however, I almost guarantee the destruction you see is a result of the high borate alk from the Seachem, the shift was to fast or the ALK test was not accurate. Why change something that works? Instant Ocean is good salt! I have often thought about changing salt but in the end never went through with it. Everyone’s reef and all the inhabitants get used to the chemistry of the tank regardless of the salt that is used, when a change comes to quickly is when disaster happens.

I also agree with Snappy, ZEOvit sponge power would be an excellent choice to help these corals heal but I would also add Coral Snow. Coral Snow doubles as a transporter or carrier of elements, within our water composition, easing their absorption [incorporation] by our corals as well as causing the skimmer to skim out extra toxins etc from the water column. Coral Snow has facilitated both of these functions very well for me.

Apart from one of the colonies you pictured that had obvious tissue necrosis, I believe given a little time and the right counter measures you will once again have a beautiful tank.

Here is a list of exactly what I would do should this situation happen to me, take it or leave it. :wink::mrgreen:

All dosages are formulated considering your water volume including your sump. Am I correct that you water volume is about 440 gallons?

~ Mix 18ml of ZEOvit Coral Snow with 18 drops of Sponge power. (Helps deliver elements to the coral more efficiently) Also add ZEOvit Coral Vitalizer 18drops per day alternating mixing with coral snow. These supplements all can be used on a non ZEOvit tank with excellent results.

~Let mixture stand for 5 mins then dose into high flow are of tank or sump. Do not turn off skimmer. Tank will cloud heavily for 2-3 hours.

~Change Carbon once every two weeks for the first month. Then once a month after.

~5% water change per week, any more than this may shift ALK too quickly. Sounds like you have already changed lots of water.

~Reduce photoperiod a couple of hours if possible for a couple of weeks.

~Adjust skimmer to skim very wet.

~Test for stray voltage

~Test for copper (never know!)

Confirm RO/DI TDS is ZERO!

Adjust water parameters to as close to NSW values as possible

ALK 7.5-8.5 DKH
SG 1.025-1.026
Temp 78-82 minimal fluctuation
K+ 380 (potassium)
CA 380-420
MG 1325-1500 ppm
PH 8.0-8.3

Nitrate 0-15 ppm
Po4 0 !!


I would be happy to give you some frags should you need to replace any colonies that won't make it.

Let us know the progress.





Details on products recommended by snappy and I.

CORAL SNOW

For small polyp and large polyp stony corals, soft corals and clams as well as problem solving/solution in a salt water tank.

Coral Snow is a liquid secondary biological facilitator for elements like B-Balance or Potassium-Iodide/Fluoride Concentrate. Compatibel with all elements, also for Amino Acid and Vitalizer. Coral Snow contains among others a natural Calcium-Magnesium Carbonate mix. With just 2.5µ Coral Snow has an optimal size for absorption by SPS corals.
We dose Coral Snow daily with another element each. The dosage can be put into a glass together with another product, mixed and after about 5 min. slowly into the streaming of your tank.

You can dose 1 to max. 4 ml Coral Snow per 100L/25gallons tank water daily.

Coral Snow neutralizes undesirable acids and is a solution against e.g. slime algae and cyano bacteria.
Therefore take Corals Snow and add 1 drop of ZEObak per 100L/25 gallons tank water each 2nd day.

The cloudiness in the water is harmless for all fish as well as sensitive corals.


SPONGE POWER

Enhanced growth of sponges and sea squirt support their water cleaning character and thus water quality significantly.
SPS corals get longer colored growing tips.
Especially purple is enhanced on all SPS.
The recovery of harmed corals is highly improved.

Dosing: 1 drop for 25 gallons or 1 ml for 500 gallons daily.

[Lance]

HOLY CRAP! Colin, that's Terrible. I've admired your tank so much. I hope you can get it back on track soon. I've used IO salt from day 1 and have sometimes thought of switching brands. Maybe not a good idea.
Good Luck and chin up!

[niloc16]

IMHO the biggest SPS killer excluding bugs, disease etc is fluctuating alkalinity or alkalinity that has dropped or has risen rapidly. Let me guess you are using a Salifert alkalinity test kit to monitor your alkalinity?

no i'm using ELOS actually. i do agree with the 'killer' but it came from the salt change

[niloc16]

Colin, that is some scarey recession. Are you sure it is just the salt? Nothing got dropped in by children? stray voltage? etc? How many water changes did you do with the bad salt batch? How long since you switched to a better salt after you noticed the problem? What salt are you using now? Have you tried dosing sponge power to see if it will help what's left alive heal faster?

the tank is pretty sealed up as far as kids being able to get in. no one touches it but me. stray voltage? maybe but cannot find any cause of it. i went through an entire bucket of salt before it really started to show. i could a slow start of color loss half way through the bucket but never attached it to the salt, once the second bucket started, then it was game on. i've done about 160gallon of IO changes and the death has slowed a bit. i have never heard of sponge power! i have put extra carbon in to absorb some of the death

[Snappy]

The pictures are depressing and certainly show that your colonies are pretty upset; however, I almost guarantee the destruction you see is a result of the high borate alk from the Seachem, the shift was to fast or the ALK test was not accurate. Why change something that works? Instant Ocean is good salt! I have often thought about changing salt but in the end never went through with it. Everyone’s reef and all the inhabitants get used to the chemistry of the tank regardless of the salt that is used, when a change comes to quickly is when disaster happens.

I also agree with Snappy, ZEOvit sponge power would be an excellent choice to help these corals heal but I would also add Coral Snow. Coral Snow doubles as a transporter or carrier of elements, within our water composition, easing their absorption [incorporation] by our corals as well as causing the skimmer to skim out extra toxins etc from the water column. Coral Snow has facilitated both of these functions very well for me.

Apart from one of the colonies you pictured that had obvious tissue necrosis, I believe given a little time and the right counter measures you will once again have a beautiful tank.

Here is a list of exactly what I would do should this situation happen to me, take it or leave it. :wink::mrgreen:

All dosages are formulated considering your water volume including your sump. Am I correct that you water volume is about 440 gallons?

~ Mix 18ml of ZEOvit Coral Snow with 18 drops of Sponge power. (Helps deliver elements to the coral more efficiently) Also add ZEOvit Coral Vitalizer 18drops per day alternating mixing with coral snow. These supplements all can be used on a non ZEOvit tank with excellent results.

~Let mixture stand for 5 mins then dose into high flow are of tank or sump. Do not turn off skimmer. Tank will cloud heavily for 2-3 hours.

~Change Carbon once every two weeks for the first month. Then once a month after.

~5% water change per week, any more than this may shift ALK too quickly. Sounds like you have already changed lots of water.

~Reduce photoperiod a couple of hours if possible for a couple of weeks.

~Adjust skimmer to skim very wet.

~Test for stray voltage

~Test for copper (never know!)

Confirm RO/DI TDS is ZERO!

Adjust water parameters to as close to NSW values as possible

ALK 7.5-8.5 DKH
SG 1.025-1.026
Temp 78-82 minimal fluctuation
K+ 380 (potassium)
CA 380-420
MG 1325-1500 ppm
PH 8.0-8.3

Nitrate 0-15 ppm
Po4 0 !!


I would be happy to give you some frags should you need to replace any colonies that won't make it.

Let us know the progress.





Details on products recommended by snappy and I.

CORAL SNOW

For small polyp and large polyp stony corals, soft corals and clams as well as problem solving/solution in a salt water tank.

Coral Snow is a liquid secondary biological facilitator for elements like B-Balance or Potassium-Iodide/Fluoride Concentrate. Compatibel with all elements, also for Amino Acid and Vitalizer. Coral Snow contains among others a natural Calcium-Magnesium Carbonate mix. With just 2.5µ Coral Snow has an optimal size for absorption by SPS corals.
We dose Coral Snow daily with another element each. The dosage can be put into a glass together with another product, mixed and after about 5 min. slowly into the streaming of your tank.

You can dose 1 to max. 4 ml Coral Snow per 100L/25gallons tank water daily.

Coral Snow neutralizes undesirable acids and is a solution against e.g. slime algae and cyano bacteria.
Therefore take Corals Snow and add 1 drop of ZEObak per 100L/25 gallons tank water each 2nd day.

The cloudiness in the water is harmless for all fish as well as sensitive corals.


SPONGE POWER

Enhanced growth of sponges and sea squirt support their water cleaning character and thus water quality significantly.
SPS corals get longer colored growing tips.
Especially purple is enhanced on all SPS.
The recovery of harmed corals is highly improved.

Dosing: 1 drop for 25 gallons or 1 ml for 500 gallons daily.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h210/Trainer02/goodpost.gif
I agree with this 100% and it's what I would also recommend.
Colin, what salt are you using now?

[niloc16]

i'm back to IO

[Jason McK]

Great Post Oceanic, I've often heard of borate issues with salt but was unaware it was that bad in Seachem. I thought with Seachen salt we had found a new alternative high end salt.

Again sorry for your losses Colin.

J

[Oceanic]

Great Post Oceanic, I've often heard of borate issues with salt but was unaware it was that bad in Seachem. I thought with Seachen salt we had found a new alternative high end salt.

Again sorry for your losses Colin.

J

Thanks! I think Seachem is a pretty good salt; however, 1.2 - 1.3 has to be deducted from our standard ALK tests due to the borate concentration of the product.

Instant Ocean is a very good salt; however, I do add magnesium to the fresh batch before it goes into my tank. Instant Ocean is also low in potassium and needs to be supplimented especially when running ZEOvit or Fauna Marin.

I don't change anything I do with my tank if it proves to be working. Why fix it when it ain't broke? :wink:

[JDigital]

^^ Love that bird in your sig.. :lol:


Sorry to the OP for your heavy losses. I hope you can get back to how it was.

[niloc16]

today was a rough day. i've dreaded cutting out the dead pieces and i finally did it. didnt think it would bother me as much as it did. some of these colonies were bigger than my 2 fists. pics will explain better......

FTS before

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC021892.jpg

FTS after

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC027831.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02776.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02777.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02778.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/death/DSC02779.jpg

[michika]

I really feel for you. I remember pulling out my own buckets of dead SPS, and wanting to cry. Its tough, and I hope everything starts to come back for you with the change in salt.

[Delphinus]

Ouch. I too have been there with the bucket full of carnage, so I know what you're feeling (and smelling). Hope things bounce back...

[Lance]

OMG that is a depressing sight! i really feel for you.

[Jason McK]

OMG for TOTM to tragidy of the month

Let me know if you need any frags to cheer you up. I'll put some aside for you

J

[untamed]

First off....this thread scares the ^%*%%# out of me!!!

Second...that smell. Oh man, I dislike that smell.

Hang in there man.

[midgetwaiter]

Thanks! I think Seachem is a pretty good salt; however, 1.2 - 1.3 has to be deducted from our standard ALK tests due to the borate concentration of the product.


They changed this over a year ago.

[Haloreef]

Hey Colin, you and I have both had tank disasters within the same month.
It's a good hard kick to the "beets" but, like any kick to the beets it will start to feel better sooner or later. I tried to look at it as making room for all the pieces that I really want.
My tank has turned around now so if you want any free frags let me know.
Sorry man!
PS. I don't know if it will make you feel better but I deleted all photos off of my computer so I would not have to watch the slide show.
Keith.

[JDigital]

First off....this thread scares the ^%*%%# out of me!!!

Every reefers nightmare..

[digital-audiophile]

coral skeletons make me sad :(

[muck]

Sorry to see Colin.. so very sad. :sad:

If I still had my tank up I'd send you a few things.

[Chowder]

You can look at it this way .......Now you have more room to start cherry picking pieces and get the ones you couldn't fit in before. You got to admit it is the colour changes the pieces make that is exciting also the growth patterns.:biggrin:

[OCDP]

Ouch. I too have been there with the bucket full of carnage, so I know what you're feeling (and smelling). Hope things bounce back...

Yup, been there too. Had a stocked 20g, my fish sitter messed about with my light timer, and I had 250w HQI blazing a 20g tank for 5 days straight. The smell was the worst. It's a tough time.. for anyone.

I'm sorry for all the losses man.

[niloc16]

well as of tonight i'm at about a 90% loss of all sps i used to have. i have about 25 or so pieces left that are hanging on but struggling. i've tried everything. guess its more then the salt or something. if there is anyone that has a SERIOUS offer for a complete system, pm me. i'm not desperate so i'm not going to lose my shirt over this system but if its reasonable i'm open to your offer. i dont know what the :bad-word:**** else to do. i've tried to stay positive but this is the second massive disaster in 2 years and i am about at my wits end.........:twised: :bad-word:

[Diana]

I just recently came within a hair of loosing my entire reef tank due to a bad BAD bucket of Seachem salt. Thank you Reefer's Best, you saved *most* of my reef.

[Oceanic]

well as of tonight i'm at about a 90% loss of all sps i used to have. i have about 25 or so pieces left that are hanging on but struggling. i've tried everything. guess its more then the salt or something. if there is anyone that has a SERIOUS offer for a complete system, pm me. i'm not desperate so i'm not going to lose my shirt over this system but if its reasonable i'm open to your offer. i dont know what the :bad-word:**** else to do. i've tried to stay positive but this is the second massive disaster in 2 years and i am about at my wits end.........:twised: :bad-word:


Don't do it! This is the downside of this hobby; however, the positives outway the negatives. Give it time to recover, don't throw in the towel!

[christyf5]

well as of tonight i'm at about a 90% loss of all sps i used to have. i have about 25 or so pieces left that are hanging on but struggling. i've tried everything. guess its more then the salt or something. if there is anyone that has a SERIOUS offer for a complete system, pm me. i'm not desperate so i'm not going to lose my shirt over this system but if its reasonable i'm open to your offer. i dont know what the :bad-word:**** else to do. i've tried to stay positive but this is the second massive disaster in 2 years and i am about at my wits end.........:twised: :bad-word:

Keep trying to stay positive. I know it sucks looking at the tank but maybe you need to just do the basics on it for awhile and ignore it. Worked for me, fish got fed, water got changed but other than that I just didn't look at it. I'm sure the good people of canreef will help you get back on your feet when you/the tank is ready. I know I've got lots of frags for ya.

[Reefer Rob]

Hang in there! You don't want to quit when your tank is like this, you'll always look back at your aquarium as a failure. You had a nice tank once, it'll nice again. I'm with Christy, stick to the basics, and find the problem that caused this. Turn this into a victory, you know how good that feels!

[Delphinus]

Just hang in there for now Colin. Having been in the situation more than once, my position on this is that this sort of thing is unfortunately inevitable. We do our best to prevent it, when it happens we do our best to mitigate the damage, we learn something to take away from it and we try again - and usually the result is something that gives you more satisfaction down the road.

In short - the downs are what accentuate the highs. Without the lows there are no highs.

Surely there are still things that are deserving of your adoration in your tank - work with those and from there work your way out. Fish? Clams? etc. Find a new happy place and from there it will get better.

[Oceanic]

I will donate 3-4 nice frags for you when you are ready in order to get you some new color and health back in your tank. Stick to the basics. Stick to your "normal" salt. Skim Heavy.

Let me know when you are ready for the frags.

Cheers!

Oceanic Corals

[niloc16]

i really appreciate the support guys. wow.

i forgot to mention and maybe you guys have seen it before but since this has been happening, the past 2 weeks the skimmate has been a dark green color like a phyto culture but darker. it has never been that color before. any ideas?

[christyf5]

I think it just depends on the organics you're pulling out of the water. It could be that you're skimming a very heavy organic load due to all of the die off. I've had the dark green skimmate before as opposed to the normal brown gunk I usually get. Although I have never paid much attention to it nor have I linked it to any tank event.

[michika]

I get greener skimmate when I have a higher bioload, or really dirty fish.

[Sushiman]

oh Colin this is horrible. I've admired your system for a long time. Well misery certainly loves company, my tank has nose dived as well. (Somethings bad in Mission I guess). I even lost my zoos, xenia & softies that were on the "nigh impossible to kill" list. Dispite my best efforts, heat got the best of me & a spiral of slow destruction has ensued. I am soo bummed out I have been looking at my system & seriously considered switching back to a heavily planted F/W set-up again. I am so tired of seeing my fish & corals die a slow death due to my ineptitude or my simple lack of dollars required for high end equipment. I love this hobby so much but I think I have some serious decisions to make. :cry:

[niloc16]

well aside from alot more corals, in the past week i have lost a chocolate tang, mystery wrasse (my favorite fish), 2 bartlett anthias and a male bellus angel. i have finally gotten rid of all the cyano and have been very diligent and working on the system. but damn it is frustrating

[michika]

I'm sorry Colin.

May I be so crude as to ask how their corpses looked? Open mouth, flared fins, etc?

[Haloreef]

Hang in there buddy! If you need any help just PM.
Keith.

[niloc16]

to be honest they all looked perfectly fine aside from nibbles from the night time clean up crew. the bellus angel look rough almost sluffing off some skin or something

[Raf]

This is almost exactly what happened to Diana's reef...again, with Seachem as the culprit. She lost fish as well, days after the corals had died/were dying.....

?

[niloc16]

well to a major relief for me, the tank is recovering. it was a LONG battle, way longer then last year and with a ton more casualties. i even lost 6 fish with this wipe out. i'm down to maybe 10 or 12 sps from the 40 plus i had. 'im getting some color back in what i have left and some signs of growth again. the tank overall is looking 'healthy' finally. its been on this track for about 2 weeks i guess, with no losses or anything. it is just REALLY bloody hard to think of the money i need to spend again to get it back to where it was. i've decided this time though that i'm stickin to only frags, no colonies so i can place the coral exactly where i want it and not where it will fit. through it all my GSP grew strong. :biggrin: i even made a big frag rock out of it today.

[christyf5]

Great to hear you're on the road to recovery! :mrgreen:

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Did you use any of the advice you received from everyone? If so which piece of advice do you think helped the most?

Just curious just in case we see another disaster like this.

[niloc16]

well i dont know if it was any one thing. although i respect everyones advice, i'm not one to use additives. i used alot of carbon and changed it about every 2 weeks. regular water changes. changed my rowaphos every 3 weeks in the reactor. brought my mg up to snuff and finally put mg in my ca reactor. eventually i used red slime remover to destroy the cyano. some advice that i did take was to not worry about was dying and concentrate on what was alive and do what i could to keep them that way. this was really hard some days but i had no choice. each day the color is getting better and tank looking better. i actually get a smile again looking into the beast. last night and this morning i have been picking out spots to put new frags and wanting to start getting some.

[bullit67]

Good To hear Colin sounds like you are well on the way to recovery. I went through a bad stretch about a year ago it is hard to go though I was ready to throw in the towel as well but fought back. Looking forward to seeing some new pics of your tank with lots of new corals

[Lance]

That's Great! I'm so glad you didn't throw in the towel. (many would have.)Before you know it your tank will be looking as good as it used to. (maybe even better.) Hopefully decades of trouble-free reefing await you.

[Haloreef]

Great to hear you haven't given up Colin. For A while there it seem like every one I started this hobby with was packin er up. I have picked up some sweet acro colonies out of A. A. lately along with what I managed to salvage from the seem letting go on my tank. My coral et su coral. Man my French sucks.
Keith.

[niloc16]

i may have to come raid your tank keith :lol: i still need to check the beast out too. i could always bring some wobbly pops too

[untamed]

As I recall...I have a few of your old coral, so someday when you come over you can take a few of them back.

Brad.

[niloc16]

i may take you up on that brad. well today i made the jump back into it and went out to aquatic addictions. they really hooked up me to get me going again. thanks guys. but i picked up some sps, rhodactis, acans and blasto. i would have come home with a ton more but i had to stop myself. i also grabbed the healthiest achilles tang i have ever seen. its a juvenile which i'm glad for, no pics though cuz he is still hiding out but no one is bothering him so far

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03055.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03056.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03057.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03058.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03059.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03060.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03061.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/DSC03062.jpg

[purplepolypeater]

i got some for ya too

[niloc16]

that would be awesome, thanks

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Colin,

I would be happy to donate one of my popular Rhodactis mushrooms to help get you back to loving your tank!

:mrgreen:

[niloc16]

that would be sweet, let me know when. i'm definitely going to collect rhodactis and ricordeas this time around

[Marlin65]

PM me when you are coming into this neck of the woods and I usually have at least a few pieces around. I will donate a few frags as well to help you get back that stellar tank.

[Aquatic Addictions]

It was great to see you today Colin! Glad to see everything settled in :smile: We are so thrilled you didn't throw in the towel!!
It's been a long road from your 30G till now and it sucks to think that the hobby almost lost you. We are happy to help you get things back and going strong! You've had so many offers from others to get some of your original coral and new ones, that I guess it was just ment to be! Your a lifer now!!:mrgreen:
Can't wait to see more pics and updates as things progress.

Nikki

[seanoman]

Hey Colin great to hear that you have stuck it out. It would have been a terrible loss if you would have shut down. Just so you know, the few corals I got from you, are all doing very well. If you don't remember, I got the rainbow monti, cali tort, and the lime in the sky. I don't know if any of those survived the big crash, but if not I can get you a frag of each when they grow out a little more. Keep in touch. If you ever need a hand with anything, just let me know.

Hope to see you at Aquatic Addictions soon!!

[niloc16]

thanks seanoman, those survived except the cali tort, and it was my favorite coral and KILLED me to have to pull it out so i would LOVE a frag when ready.