Pocillopora coral dies in few hours any reason why?

[nightmarepl]

have Pocillopora coral in my tank got stung by my hammer alittle bit moved him over to the other side of the tank mostly same height and all from light started growing back for about a week today i look and all his polyps Are gone basically a whitish stick is he dead? If so what could of caused it

Nitrates 10ish
Nitrites 0
Ammonia 0
Ph 8
Temp 75-78
Calcium 480
Alk 12
Light marine orbit
Salinity 1.025

10 gallon tank

 

[TessGlo]

It looks dead to me. How long did you have it before it was stung by the hammer? If its been with you for awhile and the only thing that changed is location (lighting) and the sting, it could be either of those factors, its hard to know. With a 10 gal tank, and especially if there are other SPS absorbing key elements, I would wary of swings in your parameters being a factor.

Also, pocilapora polyps bail out when stressed and can form a new colony, so don't be too surprised if in awhile you find a tiny polyp taking hold somewhere else in your tank. Its a slim chance, but it does happen.

This is not helpful to answer your question but sometimes you just loose corals. Sometimes for no reason you can pinpoint. I've had corals for close to a year, changed nothing, and wake up one day they are completely gone. It does not happen often, but it happens. I hope this is only a bump in the road and your tank will thrive.

 

[nightmarepl]

It looks dead to me. How long did you have it before it was stung by the hammer? If its been with you for awhile and the only thing that changed is location (lighting) and the sting, it could be either of those factors, its hard to know. With a 10 gal tank, and especially if there are other SPS absorbing key elements, I would wary of swings in your parameters being a factor.

Also, pocilapora polyps bail out when stressed and can form a new colony, so don't be too surprised if in awhile you find a tiny polyp taking hold somewhere else in your tank. Its a slim chance, but it does happen.

This is not helpful to answer your question but sometimes you just loose corals. Sometimes for no reason you can pinpoint. I've had corals for close to a year, changed nothing, and wake up one day they are completely gone. It does not happen often, but it happens. I hope this is only a bump in the road and your tank will thrive.

Thank you for the advice buddy, I’ve had him for about 3 months for stung about 3 weeks ago i moved and do water changes weekly with reef crystals so my elements should be there i don’t dose tho is if possible he’ll grow back?

 

[mcarroll]

IME they are tender frags and DO not like to be moved around. A difference in flow is all it seems to take in some cases.

(They're tougher once well.established.)

 

[nightmarepl]

IME they are tender frags and DO not like to be moved around. A difference in flow is all it seems to take in some cases.

(They're tougher once well.established.)

So mostly likely he’s dead huh safe to remove?

 

[TessGlo]

Thank you for the advice buddy, I’ve had him for about 3 months for stung about 3 weeks ago i moved and do water changes weekly with reef crystals so my elements should be there i don’t dose tho is if possible he’ll grow back?

Weekly water changes should help with stability. Sadly, it wont grow back from the skeleton.

 

[nightmarepl]

You think my tank just isn’t suitable for one of these too weak light or not enough flow?

USA marine orbit ( not the ic or the pro )
240gph wave maker
10 gallon tank

 

[Gareth elliott]

They are easier to kill with less light than too much light. I am not positive on the amount of par that fixture produces tbh. They will thrive around 250-350. Agree with @mcarroll about flow. Even larger colonies will start to die off deep inside if not enough flow going through them.

 

[nightmarepl]

They are easier to kill with less light than too much light. I am not positive on the amount of par that fixture produces tbh. They will thrive around 250-350. Agree with @mcarroll about flow. Even larger colonies will start to die off deep inside if not enough flow going through them.

Think 250gph in a 10 gallon tank is too little?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Think 250gph in a 10 gallon tank is too little?

What pump are you using? Often when a pump says a gph it’s significantly less in reality. I would aim closer to at least 40x your total volume for sps. When your sand bed wont stay put you have too much, or need to re aim them.

 

[TessGlo]

You think my tank just isn’t suitable for one of these too weak light or not enough flow?

USA marine orbit ( not the ic or the pro )
240gph wave maker
10 gallon tank

Plenty of flow, hard to say about the light w/o PAR measurement, however poci is not a super high light coral, so theoretically it could do well placed high up under even a weakish light. W/o a lot of SPS you should be able to keep your pentameters in place with weekly water changes but there will still be some fluctuation which could bother some corals.

 

[nightmarepl]

What pump are you using? Often when a pump says a gph it’s significantly less in reality. I would aim closer to at least 40x your total volume for sps. When your sand bed wont stay put you have too much, or need to re aim them.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Koralia-Nano-Aquarium-Circulation/dp/B0036S4YZ0?th=1&psc=1
That’s the wave maker I’m using my tank is 10 gallons

 

[lzrlvr]

Is it possible the hammer coral did kill your pocillopora.

 

[nightmarepl]

Is it possible the hammer coral did kill your pocillopora.

He’s across the whole tank from him

 

[mcarroll]

Think 250gph in a 10 gallon tank is too little?

Even just on a basic calculation of "GPH / gallon" your tank only has "25x flow".

One of my tanks has more than 50x of always-on flow, and another 40x of variable flow.

The other tank has about 100x of flow, half of which is running at any given time.

IMO it seems likely that flow is too low.

 

[nightmarepl]

Even just on a basic calculation of "GPH / gallon" your tank only has "25x flow".

One of my tanks has more than 50x of always-on flow, and another 40x of variable flow.

The other tank has about 100x of flow, half of which is running at any given time.

IMO it seems likely that flow is too low.

Hmm good point I’ll put a another 240 hydro in flowing the other way should left i have a lot of dead zones behind my rocks

 

[Brew12]

Hmm good point I’ll put a another 240 hydro in flowing the other way should left i have a lot of dead zones behind my rocks

If you have dead spots, you don't have enough flow.

I know I'm in the minority, but I don't like setting flow based on pump ratings and tank volume.

If you have wide flow pumps, you can put out an amazing amount of flow near the pump and very little in most of the tank. A pump with a narrow flow pattern may push a lot of water further into the tank, but can leave dead spots on the sides. Gyres put out way more total flow through a tank than their ratings suggest. Of course, non gyres can be set up and programmed to create gyres which also impacts total flow.

The flow needs for every tank are different. You don't want to blast a coral directly with a narrow flow source. You don't want dead spots. Your aquascape will dictate the number and style of pumps that work best for your tank.

 

[nightmarepl]

If you have dead spots, you don't have enough flow.

I know I'm in the minority, but I don't like setting flow based on pump ratings and tank volume.

If you have wide flow pumps, you can put out an amazing amount of flow near the pump and very little in most of the tank. A pump with a narrow flow pattern may push a lot of water further into the tank, but can leave dead spots on the sides. Gyres put out way more total flow through a tank than their ratings suggest. Of course, non gyres can be set up and programmed to create gyres which also impacts total flow.

The flow needs for every tank are different. You don't want to blast a coral directly with a narrow flow source. You don't want dead spots. Your aquascape will dictate the number and style of pumps that work best for your tank.

Yah Ima definitely setup a second one gotta fix my land scapes and the flow than focus on my light feel like my light isn’t producing enough juice