Corals dying

[Seriak]

I can't seem to figure this one out.

It started with some algae growth on my birds nest and setosa, then my monti started to bleach and get covered in green film algae, now my LPS are slowly losing their heads. A couple SPS colonies bleached over night and now some of my smaller SPS are starting to have algae form on the tips.

My Parameters are as follows.

Salinity 1.026
Ca 350
Mg 1250
Alk 9.0
PO4 0

I did introduce bio pellets around 2 month ago, but I went very slowly. I also started to dose CaCl2 around the this time. I have a new skimmer that I am running fairly wet and I have to empty it every couple of days. I don't have a nitrate test, but hope to get one soon.

I tested my water and it looks like my membrane needed to be changed as it was in the 16 range. I have now fixed that and its back down to zero. I will do a big water change tomorrow, but can anyone else think of what I might try.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Seriak

I can't seem to figure this one out.

It started with some algae growth on my birds nest and setosa, then my monti started to bleach and get covered in green film algae, now my LPS are slowly losing their heads. A couple SPS colonies bleached over night and now some of my smaller SPS are starting to have algae form on the tips.

My Parameters are as follows.

Salinity 1.026
Ca 350
Mg 1250
Alk 9.0
PO4 0

I did introduce bio pellets around 2 month ago, but I went very slowly. I also started to dose CaCl2 around the this time. I have a new skimmer that I am running fairly wet and I have to empty it every couple of days. I don't have a nitrate test, but hope to get one soon.

I tested my water and it looks like my membrane needed to be changed as it was in the 16 range. I have now fixed that and its back down to zero. I will do a big water change tomorrow, but can anyone else think of what I might try.

calibrate your refrac you never know id also up your cal and lower your alk just a tad.

spring is a hard time to have your membrane wear out


gl buddy

[Madmak]

From what I've been reading your Alk is a bit high and Ca is a bit low for running pellets. This alone shouldn't be causing the issues though. Are you feeding everything heavily? This is important when using pellets as they strip it all out quite quickly. Is your reactor a recirculating type? Too much flow through the reactor can introduce too much of the mulm they talk about. It might be worth adjusting your Alk and Ca, feeding heavy, and turning down your reactor's output for a while and see what happens.

I too have started pellets recently and did noticed some coral decline initially. I converted my reactor to a recirculating type and started feeding more fish food and more coral food (reef roids) and things turned around quickly.

I'm no expert, just sharing some info I've read and some things I've tried.

[Seriak]

Originally Posted by reefwars

calibrate your refrac you never know id also up your cal and lower your alk just a tad.

spring is a hard time to have your membrane wear out


gl buddy

Lol I just did that which is why its at 1.206 and not 1.025. I will be lowering it back to 1.025

Thanks

[Seriak]

Originally Posted by Madmak

From what I've been reading your Alk is a bit high and Ca is a bit low for running pellets. This alone shouldn't be causing the issues though. Are you feeding everything heavily? This is important when using pellets as they strip it all out quite quickly. Is your reactor a recirculating type? Too much flow through the reactor can introduce too much of the mulm they talk about. It might be worth adjusting your Alk and Ca, feeding heavy, and turning down your reactor's output for a while and see what happens.

I too have started pellets recently and did noticed some coral decline initially. I converted my reactor to a recirculating type and started feeding more fish food and more coral food (reef roids) and things turned around quickly.

I'm no expert, just sharing some info I've read and some things I've tried.

That is what I thought a while a go and I started to feed more but the algae growth in my tank is starting to cover my zoas and coralline. This is what leads me to think too much nutrients.

I also just cleaned out my salt water bin. There was a small covering of black algae inside that is now gone. Maybe that was contributing.

I have increased my Ca dosage by double but it's still not climbing very much. I guess I will have to turn it up a notch again.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Seriak

the algae growth in my tank is starting to cover my zoas and coralline. This is what leads me to think too much nutrients.

id take a water sample over here to test with my kits, we can compare them to yours just to make sure we are at par.

my guess.........also nutrient related.

[Madmak]

Originally Posted by Seriak

That is what I thought a while a go and I started to feed more but the algae growth in my tank is starting to cover my zoas and coralline. This is what leads me to think too much nutrients.

I had some of this too. An increase in green algae and a bit of cyano. I tested often and the nutrients were dropping. I ran across a few articles or threads about the excess carbon coming off the pellets was the cause, especially if the flow was high or the reactor wasn't a recirculating type. Slowing down my amount of processed water and having it directly feed my skimmer has made an immediate difference.

One author compared it to overdosing vodka, same effect, low nutrients but algae increase.

[daniella3d]

pellets...why do I read so many horror stories about them?

[naesco]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

pellets...why do I read so many horror stories about them?

I have to agree with you Daniella. I have read more bio pellet destroyed my reef threads than algae problem threads and I have to post

" if it ain't broke don't fix it" as a warning to others. I know it is not helpful to the OP but I am sure he would post the same warning.

[Madmak]

Like most things in life, you only hear the bad stories. No one is interested in writing or reading happy stuff.

I think pellets have their place, but they can also cause issues if not used correctly, just like any carbon dosing. The trouble with pellets is the ambiguity of how much to use, how fast to tumble, how to introduce them, etc. I believe the biggest problems come from non-circulating reactors. They seem to flood the water column with carbon and bacteria as the output is more than the skimmer can handle. I run about 100 GPH of processed water in to my 2000 GPH skimmer pump. This zero bypass method has made a big difference.