Help!!!!
 

my tank has a massive problem right now and im freaking out im going on holidays next saturday morning for 17 days and my tank is falling apart


its been stable for probably 2 years and one of my dosing pump motors crapped out and i didnt notice for god knows how long probably a week to 10 days it was the alk pump
so my alk dropped to like 2.5 dkh my calcium somehow managed to climb to over 600 my mag also climbed to 1500

i know have red algae on like 1/2 my sand and my 2 prized corals are very unhappy my GBTA which is usually 12" or so is now hiding in the corner closed up my 18x18x18 green birdsnest is now slowly going white on the lower branches the ends are green but the rest is brown its always had a little ****e in the middle i always assumed it was lack of light but now its farther out is this STN???????????

my parameters for 2 years

cal 420 elos
alk 7 elos
mag 1350 elos
sal 1.026 refractometer
temp 78 controller
phos 0.00 hanna meter


now its
500 ca salifert
alk 8.3 salifert
mag 1500 salifert
rest read the same but i know i have some phoshate as i now have algae

in the last 3 days ive done 2 40-45 gal water changes
but my salt is mixing up at 500 ppm cal
ive disconnected my cal dosing pump the alk is back online but the calcium doesnt seem to be dropping

tank is 120 G display 40 gal sump vertex 180 skimmer 2 250 MH snapper return also running carbon and GFO snapper CL.

what do i need to do? my anemone and birdsnest are my favorite corals i have and theyre huge and i dont want to lose them but im leaving next saturday for 17 days!!!! ugh could not have happened at a worse time does it sound like i need to frag my birdsnest ???

i also cannot remember how to post pictures online so if anyone feels they need some extra karma this year i know how to text pictures if your willing to PM me a phone number......
thanks!!!!!

Well don't do anything drastic, obviously the corals are reacting to the pumps messing up the water. for now i would try to stabilize the parameters close to what normal is for you as you can.

For the pictures most use a photo bucket account take 2 min to sign up (it free and you upload to there and then copy paste the link to the board)

500 calcium isn't to to insane its the alk swings that mostly would cause the corals to bleach initially

Low alk swing that quick will bleach the lower part of the corals and a quick rise in alk will bleach the tips of the corals so sounds like it droped off quick

mag is ok at 1500 temporally
calcium at 500 is ok temporally

Alk at 8.3 is ok

Take all the dosing off line id say until the levels are back in range then slowly dial it back up, watch your corals to see if the bleaching stays or starts to spread

Im pretty new to dosing so hopefully someone else will pipe in

I don't really see any "BIG" problem that can ruin your holiday. And it shouldn't. Looks like you have everything under control right now. Parameters are alright (500ppm ca and 1500ppm mg is nothing to be concerned about honestly!). If you are really worried about your birdnest and anemone, here's what I would do:

Cut off the white parts of the birdnest and see whether the rest of them have their polyps out within a day or two. And I am 90% sure it will; its birdnest after all :)

The anemone can be a bit tricky since well, its anemone. See whether it gets back to being normal within a couple of days and if not, just leave it in a holding tank or something while you are gone. They won't be consuming calcium, mg or alk in any drastic way so a heater, the anemone, saltwater, some pieces of live rock and a wave pump will be fine for the holding tank. And enjoy your holiday. An anemone is not something to ruin your holiday....I am just being practical :smile:

The alk swing would have been over a few days probably about 4-5
The algae came overnight my main concern is the birdsnest it's white on 1/3 of the branches from the base

http://imageshack.com/a/img21/2306/aafv.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img191/2849/2f7o.jpg

Be a shame to break up that big birds nest..

I know the pics are crappy but old iPhone ...... I really really do not want to frag the birdsnest
Does it look like STN tho??? Going away so soon I really don't want to come back to a massive dead colony