Coral

[couragefirst]

Good morning
I have a tank thats approx 6 months old and have struggled to keep any coral alive for more than 48 hours from purchase.

Having had all the water tested and it is correct but have no idea whats causing this problem.

I was advised soft coral was a good start. Any advice would be appreciated.

Paul

 

[Timfish]

A lot more information is needed. What are the parameters, are the parameters going up or down, how did you set up the system, what equipment including lighting, what are you dosing (if any), frequency and size of water changes.

This is purely a guess based on the pictures you posted but it looks like the system was set up dry with just basic nitryfing bacteria added.

 

[couragefirst]

A lot more information is needed. What are the parameters, are the parameters going up or down, how did you set up the system, what equipment including lighting, what are you dosing (if any), frequency and size of water changes.

This is purely a guess based on the pictures you posted but it looks like the system was set up dry with just basic nitryfing bacteria added.

Hi Timfish Thank you for getting back to me. When I set the tank up I used live sand and dry rock but not artificial. AS I am new I am still learning mushroom corals are doing well as the pictures show the other corals collapse and disintegrate.
I change my water weekly around 25% TDS and Top up with RO.

The parameters are:
Ammonia 0
Calcium 400
KH 10
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
PH 8.0
Phosphate 0.25
Salt level 1.03

I add coral food once a week as well.

My tank is 120 litters Blue Marine with blue & white led lighting.

I have removed the glass cover and replace it with a mess cover to prevent jumpers and potentially add more oxygen but this was only recently as I thought the coral may not be getting enough oxygen.

Hope this is of use and look forward to any advice

 

[VintageReefer]

I doubt it’s the glass covers. I’ve used solid glass lids on all my tanks for 20 years

When you say “blue and white” led lighting…there is a huge span of light fixtures and leds. On my freshwater 40 breeder I have a blue and white led fixture - maybe 200 leds? It keeps the tank lit well. But it wouldn’t be able to grow coral. Then there are black boxes that are blue and white and can grow anything.

Do you know the brand and model of the light itself ? And what settings you have the channels on?

Also checking your parameters you say salinity is 1.03. I hope his is a type o. Salinity should be 1.025-1.026

 

[couragefirst]

I doubt it’s the glass covers. I’ve used solid glass lids on all my tanks for 20 years

When you say “blue and white” led lighting…there is a huge span of light fixtures and leds. On my freshwater 40 breeder I have a blue and white led fixture - maybe 200 leds? It keeps the tank lit well. But it wouldn’t be able to grow coral. Then there are black boxes that are blue and white and can grow anything.

Do you know the brand and model of the light itself ? And what settings you have the channels on?

Also checking your parameters you say salinity is 1.03. I hope his is a type o. Salinity should be 1.025-1.026

Okay thank you about the glass lid. The lights came with the tank so I have limited experience with this. I am keeping the blue on at the moment as I was informed that would penetrate further which appears to work with the mushrooms on the sand bed. The Salinity fluctuated and was but is stable now at 1.025 for a few weeks now. Maybe the tank is settling down as its about 7 months in as I have had the nuisance algae. The fish are fine and the temp is 27 degrees

 

[VintageReefer]

Is this the tank and light

Blue Marine Reef 120 Aquarium and Cabinet

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

 

[VintageReefer]

Stability is key. Salinity drops or increases will annoy soft corals and can lead to sliming up, releasing toxins, and dying. It can affect others too.

I would suggest a water changes weekly for a few weeks, keeping the skimmer on and tuned for nice foam, and some chemipure media in the filtration chambers. When everything’s been stable for a month try another coral

 

[VintageReefer]

Avoid leather corals like the toadstools. Leathers can release nasty toxins. Avoid Xenia, cloves, and palythoa.

Try zoanthids. Great starter coral, not dangerous, tons of varieties and colors, cheap frags

 

[couragefirst]

Is this the tank and light

Blue Marine Reef 120 Aquarium and Cabinet

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

Yes this is the tank

 

[couragefirst]

Is this the tank and light

Blue Marine Reef 120 Aquarium and Cabinet

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

Yes that's the one

 

[VintageReefer]

Do you mix /make saltwater at home or buy it premade from a LFS?

Do you have an auto top off ?

 

[couragefirst]

Do you mix /make saltwater at home or buy it premade from a LFS?

Do you have an auto top off ?

I buy saltwater from the place I bought the tank and have always used this water with RO. No auto top up just warm the water to the same temp in the tank and then pump it in

 

[VintageReefer]

How many fish and crabs/snails/creatures are living in the tank? What kinds are they?

 

[couragefirst]

How many fish and crabs/snails/creatures are living in the tank? What kinds are they?

I have
1 x chalk goby
1x Cherub Angelfish
1 x Pyjamma cardinalfish
1 x Cerith snal
3 x tuban snails
2 x Tuxedo urchins
1 x Zombee snail

 

[VintageReefer]

I have moved on from your coral issue to your algae issue, which is more of a phase for tanks around your age. I see
see no issues here except your cleanup crew is light

I would suggest adding :
5 Mexican turbo snails - these are great. You can Identify them by the spiral shaped shell

3-4 more cerith
3-5 asterea snails

1 fighting conch - this guy will constantly clean your sandbed and works much better than the zombie snails. You only need one in this size tank

10 scarlet hermit crabs - these are the red hermits with yellow eyes. There are dwarf red leg hermits and blue leg ones - you don’t want them they are aggressive. The scarlet hermits are a little more money, but they are larger and more reef friendly

YES:

NO:

And 1 emerald crab

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Seeing the coral lay down on the sand like that, I wonder how much flow is in the tank? The lighting seems questionable to me too. These are the major 2 that I think is the issue here.

Something is severely wrong if corals are dying in 2 days. I have put soft corals into a bucket of tap water to die and they lasted longer than 2 days.

Can we see a full tank pic?

 

[couragefirst]

I have moved on from your coral issue to your algae issue, which is more of a phase for tanks around your age. I see
see no issues here except your cleanup crew is light

I would suggest adding :
5 Mexican turbo snails - these are great. You can Identify them by the spiral shaped shell

3-4 more cerith
3-5 asterea snails

1 fighting conch - this guy will constantly clean your sandbed and works much better than the zombie snails. You only need one in this size tank

10 scarlet hermit crabs - these are the red hermits with yellow eyes. There are dwarf red leg hermits and blue leg ones - you don’t want them they are aggressive. The scarlet hermits are a little more money, but they are larger and more reef friendly

YES:

NO:

And 1 emerald crab

Thank you for the advice that dose seem quite an addition in my tank but in your opinion as I am new these would be not to much in the tank of 120L

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Seeing the coral lay down on the sand like that, I wonder how much flow is in the tank? The lighting seems questionable to me too. These are the major 2 that I think is the issue here.

Something is severely wrong if corals are dying in 2 days. I have put soft corals into a bucket of tap water to die and they lasted longer than 2 days.

Can we see a full tank pic?

WHY IS WATER FLOW SO IMPORTANT IN A REEF TANK?

Cultivating a thriving reef tank can be a challenge with all of the requirements you must meet. You may be surprised to know that one of the most important requirements is not salinity or lighting…

www.lifestyleaquarium.com.au

Water Flow in a Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide by Michael S. Paletta | coralvue.com

Author Michael Paletta distills 20 years of reef keeping experience into this comprehensive report on optimal water flow and turnover in a modern reef aquarium.

www.coralvue.com

Water flow is more important for corals than light. Part 1. Introduction to Gas Exchange

Considerations for water flow are almost always secondary to other decisions made when assembling a reef set up when in fact, water flow is paramount to the health and vitality of a reef system.

reefs.com

 

[Cell]

0 nitrate. Starving.

 

[Timfish]

First is your salinity is high if it is 1.030 SG. Some corals won't care some will depending on how well they acclimate. PO4 of .25 mg/l is ok (some corals are great at much higher levels) but .3 mg/l is the highest corals might see in the wild. .03 is the minimum. I don't worry much about nitrate except to keep it low however seeing it at 0 with PO4 at .25 suggests a nutrient imbalance. Your lighing may not be sufficient for some of your corals, I'd suggest finding a local reef aquarist to maybe look at your system. Here's an article on establishing healthy microbiomes:

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

About this article This article describes an experiment documenting the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium. While I’ve tried to tell the story as briefly as I can, it’s the story of a month-long study of replicated tanks, with analysis of both water chemistry and the microbial...

www.reef2reef.com