New Reefer Facing Coral Health Issues – Seeking Guidance

[alexech2024]

Good morning,

I’m new to this channel and reefing. My journey started about two years ago when my wife bought a used medium tank for her freshwater fish. The tank came with two clownfish, and needless to say, I was hooked from that moment on. Fast forward to today.

I purchased a 150-gallon tank a little over a year ago and focused on getting the environment right before adding corals. Since then, I lost 8 fish in the span of two weeks without explanation from my local supplier (extremely frustrating). I’ve replaced all my fish since then, and they seem to be doing well in the new environment.

Fish:

1. Foxface
2. Clownfish (2)
3. Chromis (3)
4. Firefish Goby (2)
5. Dwarf Angel
6. Coral Beauty Angelfish
7. Blonde Tang
8. Naso Tang (2)
9. Damselfish (2)
10. Camel Cleaner Shrimp
11. Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Equipment:

• 2 Hydra 32 HD
  • Using David Saxby template – lights come on at 10 am and off at 11 pm
  • David Saxby Template
  • 17” from the top of the water
• 2 Hydor Pump Koralia 3 Gen
• 1 Hydor Koralia Wavemaker Basic Controller
  • Set to 1-minute intervals
• 1 H2Pro 200w Titanium Heater w/LED Display Controller
  • Set at 78 degrees
• 1 5-stage RO/DI System
  • Aquarium is set to auto top-off

Feeding: I feed the fish twice a day, brine shrimp in the morning and formula one flakes at night. This was suggested by my supplier after I lost my fish.

Problem: I cannot seem to keep any coral alive; most of them do well for a while, then they begin to close. My local supplier recommended stopping weekly water changes since the tank is stable. My supplier only had me testing salinity, alkalinity, and ensuring the temperature was set to 78 degrees. Here is what I’m testing for now:

• Salinity
• Alkalinity
• Temperature

I know phosphates are high, so I’m planning to change about 15 gallons of water today.

I would appreciate any suggestions and advice you can provide.

I’m sorry for the long post; I figured I would provide as much information as possible.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Alex

 

[Formulator]

Nothing jumps out at me with your parameters that would explain the fish loss, so maybe a disease or toxin. Any chance of household chemicals making their way in? Things like bug spray, windex, febreeze, hot tub/spa chemicals are common culprits.

Regarding corals, stability is key. You list a very wide target range for alk. That range is the acceptable range, but not what your tank should be allowed to operate in. You need to personally choose a number and keep alk within +/-0.3 dkh of that target dKH consistently. It looks like you are operating between 8.5-9, but pick a number and strive for stability. There are many pros/cons related to the number you decide on and there are lots of threads here on the topic.

My other takeaway is that 2 koralia’s in a 150g is on the low end for flow. I have 5 wavemakers/powerheads in my 120g and all are quite a bit more powerful than the koralias you have. Note, I am probably an extreme case as I can’t stand dead spots and am a bit obsessive with getting flow into every nook/cranny with strategically aimed powerheads. But still, I think you could use more.

I don’t know much about LED lighting as I’m kind of old school and still run metal halides and T5 fluorescent bulbs, but insufficient lighting is also a common culprit in new systems. Maybe someone else can offer advice on your specific LED fixture. If you can get your hands on a PAR meter that will greatly help us identify a potential problem. They are pretty expensive for something you will only use once or twice, but LFS will often rent them out.

 

[ptrusk]

Fish deaths was likely disease.

I agree with Formulater, your flow seems low. Do your wave makers move water on the other side of the tank? They need to have enough oomph to reach the other side. I would seriously consider up sizing and/or adding more. That is a big tank.

Parameters look fine except phosphate. Not the end of the world, but may want to lower it. Don't think that is killing your coral though.

No expert on zoanthinds, but they look like they are being chowed on. The camel shrimp would be my #1 suspect. May be spiders as well. What other corals are you having difficulty with? The fact that the torch is alive is a good sign! Caulastrea looks happy as well.

If it were me, I would up the flow, blow the mulm from the rocks and do some water changes. You don't mention a skimmer or any mechanical filtration. You need a method to export the waste being generated. Water changes only go so far with the large tank and fish population.

 

[alexech2024]

Nothing jumps out at me with your parameters that would explain the fish loss, so maybe a disease or toxin. Any chance of household chemicals making their way in? Things like bug spray, windex, febreeze, hot tub/spa chemicals are common culprits.

Regarding corals, stability is key. You list a very wide target range for alk. That range is the acceptable range, but not what your tank should be allowed to operate in. You need to personally choose a number and keep alk within +/-0.3 dkh of that target dKH consistently. It looks like you are operating between 8.5-9, but pick a number and strive for stability. There are many pros/cons related to the number you decide on and there are lots of threads here on the topic.

My other takeaway is that 2 koralia’s in a 150g is on the low end for flow. I have 5 wavemakers/powerheads in my 120g and all are quite a bit more powerful than the koralias you have. Note, I am probably an extreme case as I can’t stand dead spots and am a bit obsessive with getting flow into every nook/cranny with strategically aimed powerheads. But still, I think you could use more.

I don’t know much about LED lighting as I’m kind of old school and still run metal halides and T5 fluorescent bulbs, but insufficient lighting is also a common culprit in new systems. Maybe someone else can offer advice on your specific LED fixture. If you can get your hands on a PAR meter that will greatly help us identify a potential problem. They are pretty expensive for something you will only use once or twice, but LFS will often rent them out.

Thank you for you feedback. No chemical or toxin got in the tank, we believe it was a disease which we were able to removed the fish in putting in another tank for about a month before we added them back. I will look for other powerhead options later tonight.

as for acceptable ranges, I'm not sure what is the range I need to set since I'm too new to this hobby but I will do research. I will also look into renting a PAR meter.

 

[Formulator]

Thank you for you feedback. No chemical or toxin got in the tank, we believe it was a disease which we were able to removed the fish in putting in another tank for about a month before we added them back. I will look for other powerhead options later tonight.

as for acceptable ranges, I'm not sure what is the range I need to set since I'm too new to this hobby but I will do research. I will also look into renting a PAR meter.

No problem! I think your latest measurements are a great place to be. I just noticed the range you stated in the first column and wanted to make sure you understood that you shouldn’t allow your tank to vary that much. If you can keep it between 8.6-8.9 dKH consistently, that would be a great target.

Happy reefing!

 

[alexech2024]

Fish deaths was likely disease.

I agree with Formulater, your flow seems low. Do your wave makers move water on the other side of the tank? They need to have enough oomph to reach the other side. I would seriously consider up sizing and/or adding more. That is a big tank.

Parameters look fine except phosphate. Not the end of the world, but may want to lower it. Don't think that is killing your coral though.

No expert on zoanthinds, but they look like they are being chowed on. The camel shrimp would be my #1 suspect. May be spiders as well. What other corals are you having difficulty with? The fact that the torch is alive is a good sign! Caulastrea looks happy as well.

If it were me, I would up the flow, blow the mulm from the rocks and do some water changes. You don't mention a skimmer or any mechanical filtration. You need a method to export the waste being generated. Water changes only go so far with the large tank and fish population.

Thanks, wave makers are on my list to purchase this week. I lost some candy canes, zoanthid, and a couple of anemone.
I forgot to mention I have a Octo 130 skimmer which gets clean once a week. I also replaced filter socks every 3 days.

 

[alexech2024]

No problem! I think your latest measurements are a great place to be. I just noticed the range you stated in the first column and wanted to make sure you understood that you shouldn’t allow your tank to vary that much. If you can keep it between 8.6-8.9 dKH consistently, that would be a great target.

Happy reefing!

I wrote those changes after watching many videos from BRStv (I like this guys) about taking care of your tank. I will make a note to maintain chemical parameters at the same range going forward.