Problem with corals

[SteveConn]

I'm all for water changes to some extent, but I think you'll have diminishing returns after a while.. and your system is fairly large.
If I were in your shoes, I would do the usual water changes (about 5-10% per week) and find a solution to the phosphates: GFO, biopellets...

[TimT]

Make sure that your salinity is accurate. Best to use a calibrated refractometer to test it. The plastic hydrometers are horribly inaccurate. I have seen them out by .003.

If your Alk is low(< 7.3dKH) it can cause problems.

Phosphates will cause problems for corals if they are too high(typically >0.5mg/l and you will get problems, especially trying to adapt new corals).

As for Phosphate removal I would recommend Foz Down. I make and use Foz Down so I know it works and is safe. It is cheaper and easier to use than GFO or pellets.

Here is a link http://www.oceanfreshaquarium.com/foz-down/

You might want to try adding some Iodine as well.

Water changes are one of the best ways to maintain a healthy environment for your animals.

Cheers,
Tim

[daniella3d]

also you might want to test for copper. I recently put Kent carbon in my tank and all my xenias (3 varieties) melted in few hours. It's not the carbon because I was using Seachem Matrix carbon before and I had my xenias thriving for the past 2 years until my tank was contaminated by copper.

Problem is, there might still be a lethal level of copper in your tank and that would be lower than what the commercial tests can detect. Anyway it is a good start to test for that anyway.

[subman]

I know it was mentioned before but i lost a massive colony of xenia and colts just as you described 'melting away' in a very short period of time. Mine was caused by a massive increase of phosphates because of a new container's I started using for ro and salt mixing. I didn't clean them properly before using and poof they dissapeared in less than week.

[1bigstud]

Lots of great suggestions,
Last I checked my nitrates were fine,
Never tested for copper
if I do have copper in my tank how do I get rid of it?
all my fish, hermit crab,mushroom and baby star seem to be doing great.
I think I will take a water sample to the lfs and test for everything possible.
Also I will move forward with the water changes every few days.

[daniella3d]

I had copper contaminate my tank recently and kill half of my corals. All xenia melted in few hours and all my snails were just fine. The level of copper needed to kill xenia seem to be much lower than what is required to kill snails.

If it is copper, then use Seachem Cuprasorb to remove it and do water changes.

Anyway it is something to test.

Originally Posted by 1bigstud

Lots of great suggestions,
Last I checked my nitrates were fine,
Never tested for copper
if I do have copper in my tank how do I get rid of it?
all my fish, hermit crab,mushroom and baby star seem to be doing great.
I think I will take a water sample to the lfs and test for everything possible.
Also I will move forward with the water changes every few days.

[1bigstud]

I use an aquarium pharmeceuticals r/o unit. I keep a garbage can full of r/o water. The stuff usually sits for a few days before being used to top up, or water changes.