Hi all, I need some if your collective experience here.
Basics: tank is 2 years old, mainly lps but soft and a couple sps too. Tank readings end sept were: dalt 35, kh 9.0. Phos 0.0.7, nitrate 0 (!) Latter worried me a bit but all looked OK in tank.
End Nov I noticed a couple of clumps of GHA and aquarium glass was v. dirty... turns out my roller filter broke (now fixed). Here I noticed some scarring on my candy cane..I thought a nearby torch was stinging it. Params were salt 35, kh 9, nitrate 5, phos 0.02 -- which is what I run my tank at past 28mths.
Then ugh ... trumpet nearby losing flesh, favia also showing skeleton a little , and my two duncans both suffering and losing heads. Everything else in tank fine. Then part few days outbreak of algae on sand (it clumps, so maybe diatoms? I'll get microscope out later). Did full params : kh 9.4, mag 1360, calc 470, phos 0.05, nitrate 0. I presume algae is reason for latter. Rest is where I expect it. I did water change today.
So.. my theory is: lack of filter caused phos spike, GHA came, then d-algae came and outcompeted GHA. I need to up water changes and keep an eye on it - but not much else to be done? Is my theory wrong? What did I miss? Don't want other corals to die... !
On the plus side, my torches etc are thriving.
Basics: tank is 2 years old, mainly lps but soft and a couple sps too. Tank readings end sept were: dalt 35, kh 9.0. Phos 0.0.7, nitrate 0 (!) Latter worried me a bit but all looked OK in tank.
End Nov I noticed a couple of clumps of GHA and aquarium glass was v. dirty... turns out my roller filter broke (now fixed). Here I noticed some scarring on my candy cane..I thought a nearby torch was stinging it. Params were salt 35, kh 9, nitrate 5, phos 0.02 -- which is what I run my tank at past 28mths.
Then ugh ... trumpet nearby losing flesh, favia also showing skeleton a little , and my two duncans both suffering and losing heads. Everything else in tank fine. Then part few days outbreak of algae on sand (it clumps, so maybe diatoms? I'll get microscope out later). Did full params : kh 9.4, mag 1360, calc 470, phos 0.05, nitrate 0. I presume algae is reason for latter. Rest is where I expect it. I did water change today.
So.. my theory is: lack of filter caused phos spike, GHA came, then d-algae came and outcompeted GHA. I need to up water changes and keep an eye on it - but not much else to be done? Is my theory wrong? What did I miss? Don't want other corals to die... !
On the plus side, my torches etc are thriving.