All corals about to die

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Robbiesamp

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
707
All my levels are fine except nitrates and they are .25 I just did a water change
My temp is at 77 and my radian is on less than 50% I only have 2 clowns 5 cromis a lawn mower Benny that I just added and a black Benny that I put in the tank when all this started! I have 1 power head and just the flow that's from the return pump! It's a 60 cube with 10 gall sump I have a huge skimmer but it's only on for a few hrs a day! What can I do?
 
First, there isn't any reason to turn your skimmer off. Why limit your ability to take excess nutrients out of your water?
What has changed in your tank that things would start dying off?
 
What types of corals are dying and how do you know they are dying? A calcium/alkalinity/magnesium reading would help as well.
 
We are going to need a lot more information to help you out.

1. What exactly are your parameters including pH, Alkalinity, Calcium, Salinity, and Magnesium?
2. What is your water change schedule?
3. Are you absolutely sure the salinity in your freshly mixed water matches the tank?
3. What corals are having trouble?
4. Why do you think they are dying?
5. Can you post pictures of them?
6. How long do you run your lights daily?
7. How many light fixtures do you have running?
8. What is the specific light fixture you are using?
9. What size tank is this?
 
Just from the limited info stated, I would say, turn the lights down to 25% and give it a week or so, and turn the skimmer on and never turn it off again.
 
I disagree with never turning off skimmer. I have a 180 and all my softies were looking flat and dull in color. I turned my skimmer off for 3 days because since I've started the tank in July I'm never had any trace of nitrates. Within 3 days my colors have come back and they all filled back up. Coral live on internal algae and what does algae feed on? Nitrates. I feel is a massive balancing act to keep nitrates at 5-10 so the internal algae has something to live on. I am trying to keep nitrates at 5-10 and phosphates at .04-.08. That's when all my coral look the best.
 
I disagree with never turning off skimmer. I have a 180 and all my softies were looking flat and dull in color. I turned my skimmer off for 3 days because since I've started the tank in July I'm never had any trace of nitrates. Within 3 days my colors have come back and they all filled back up. Coral live on internal algae and what does algae feed on? Nitrates. I feel is a massive balancing act to keep nitrates at 5-10 so the internal algae has something to live on. I am trying to keep nitrates at 5-10 and phosphates at .04-.08. That's when all my coral look the best.

Softies enjoy nitrates but it is detrimental to stony corals when they are trying to build their skeletons. Same goes for phosphates. If either get above 0 in my tank I see less polyp extension on my sps.
 
But if there isn't any organic material in the water for the skimmer to skim, it can't remove anything. You assume that it just keeps going until the water has nothing left in it, which isn't the case normally or for the OP. His issue will be assisted by having his skimmer remaining on.
 
Bottom line, never turn off the thing that cleans the water. Contrary to myth, having cleaner water will not make corals suffer. If you have fish in the tank, there is a constant supply of organic material in the water column.
 
Bottom line, never turn off the thing that cleans the water. Contrary to myth, having cleaner water will not make corals suffer. If you have fish in the tank, there is a constant supply of organic material in the water column.


I agree to a point but after turning my skimmer off for a few days and seeing the color difference in my softies I believe there needs to be some of those nutrients in the water. I run a nac9 skimmer on a 180 and my nitrates were always and I mean always at 0 with phosphate at .04-.06 and I don't run gfo/ carbon or biopellets. I ran gfo carbon and my tank looked blah even more. Only reason I ever do water changes is to replenish trace elements that I don't dose and that's only once a month. I'm actually gonna put my skimmer on a 12 on 12 off timer off my apex and see how things do.
 
Back
Top Bottom