Things just keep getting worse...

[jdeb101]

I went back and re-read your other thread, to see if anything stood out. You changed bulbs, as well as ran carbon around the same time; I'm wondering if the carbon really cleared the water to the point of an increase in PAR enough along with the new bulbs to shock some corals. There was also mention of flatworm exit in that thread. Did you ever end up using that to treat planaria? If so their die off is pretty toxic in a large quantity. Have you tested for Nitrate at all? one other thing that just came to ming was CUC; any sandsifters that could have moved some sand that has been un-disturbed for some time?

I'm still leaning toward Alk and the stability of parameters to be the culprit here. But a combination of all the above could have a hand in it as well. How are things looking today? better, same, worse?

Very interesting comments regarding the par. Can cleaning water with carbon affect par that much? FYI I did replace bulbs slowly over a month period to try not shocking the corals too much. Regarding flatworms I never got around to running few exit. My plan was to eradicate as many as possible first naturally with the nudibranch. Nitrate was tested at 0 last night before my water change. It is possible I stirred up some of the sand bed recently moving some frags and repositioning my clam. That's a possibility.

Today things look better I suppose, nothing new appears to be dying at least lol. Toadstool looks a little better as well, no skin shedding but it's still not 100% expanded to its full size. My large Duncan colony has me slightly concerned as its fully retracted, but they are known to do that from time to time so we'll see how it looks over next few days.

 

[jdeb101]

Thanks for the tip radreefer, but its not looking as bad today so ill leave it be for now.

 

[Pat02026]

I don't necessarily think the carbon made a huge difference, but it will most definitely clear water enough to let more light through. Just trying to run through all possible scenarios until we can really pin down a cause.

If things aren't getting any worse, sit back and observe for a few days and see what happens. My tanks tends to do much better when I ignore it lol. Meanwhile let someone else do some tests on a sample of your water just for the peace of mind.

 

[dz6t]

Good point Pat, carbon can have a very large effect on water clarity and can significantly boost light intensity in water.

 

[jdeb101]

Thanks Pat and everyone else that has input thus far. Fingers crossed things don't get worse and I'll sit back and take it day by day for now. I can def say the same that the more I leave things alone the better off it seems to do.

 

[jdeb101]

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Everything is looking a lot better! Is my tank giving me a nice bday gift? Toadstool looks almost 100%, my favia looks great and even some zoas, dendro and Duncan are open and happy! I'm going to try and leave things alone for a while, maybe just do another small wc over the weekend. Still not sure what caused it all but my guess is prob me stirring up the sb or dosing alk, or maybe a combo of things. Again thanks everyone for your help and support, I really appreciate it!

 

[Pat02026]

Glad to hear it, happy b-day.

 

[P-Nut]

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Everything is looking a lot better! Is my tank giving me a nice bday gift? Toadstool looks almost 100%, my favia looks great and even some zoas, dendro and Duncan are open and happy! I'm going to try and leave things alone for a while, maybe just do another small wc over the weekend. Still not sure what caused it all but my guess is prob me stirring up the sb or dosing alk, or maybe a combo of things. Again thanks everyone for your help and support, I really appreciate it!

Awesome. Great news.

My bet is also on you dosing stuff.