why can't acros survive in my tank

[PRTA79]

cant figure out whats wrong with my tank.
my lps and digita are fine , but i cant seem to keep acros????
acouple weeks ago i got 3 new frags and they all died one by one , the flesh just slowly melts off??? while my digita remains fine?
ive had this problem for about 6 months now
i cant seem to figure it out
all my water parameters check out fine
temp 79-81
nit 0
ph 8.0-8.2
calc 460
alk10
mag 1200

 

[dz6t]

how about water flow? AEFW?

 

[PRTA79]

flow

i think i have plenty
mag 12 closed loop
mag 18 return
75gal disp

 

[dz6t]

How about acro eatting flatworm? I think they leave digita alone.

 

[Aquadiva]

Mag's a little low...

How about those phosphates???

Is everything stable?? No big PH swings on day/night cycle...temp swings?? etc.

 

[PRTA79]

.

well that my next guess i have to inspect my last frag if it dies
i broke all the dieing pieces off
but would they stay in my tank if there were no acros to feed on (stupid question)

 

[~Flighty~]

Mag seems really low, but I'm not sure if it is low enough to kill stuff. You might notice a big change in growth rate if you get it up to normal levels though.
A few other things to ponder:
What is your salinity and how do you test it and calibrate?
What lighting do you have and how big of a change is it from what the corals are used to (depth, water clarity)

 

[PRTA79]

Mag's a little low...

How about those phosphates???

Is everything stable?? No big PH swings on day/night cycle...temp swings?? etc.

ph is 8.0 night 8.2 day
i run 1 175 on sump reverse cycle
0 phosphates
i changed my rodi filters a month ago added extra di chamber
now i get 1ppm

 

[PRTA79]

.

Mag seems really low, but I'm not sure if it is low enough to kill stuff. You might notice a big change in growth rate if you get it up to normal levels though.
A few other things to ponder:
What is your salinity and how do you test it and calibrate?
What lighting do you have and how big of a change is it from what the corals are used to (depth, water clarity)

i use IO swingarm type 1.25
lights 2-250hqi 4 54 t-5
they were under 250se
i started them all in the middle depth they all died within 3 weeks
clarity? 20/20?

 

[~Flighty~]

Definately get a refractometer or at the very least, bring in a sample of water to a store or friend who can test the salinity with a calibrated one because the swing arms can be really far off. Other than that, I'm out of ideas tonight.

 

[waltm]

Refractometer

I can attest the the swing arms being off. I picked up a refractometer at Coral Reef over the weekend. They calibrated it at the store and when I compared it to my old swing arm the readings were different by .05

 

[smcnally]

Nobody has asked what lighting is being used? That is a BIG factor in keeping acros alive. Mine barely grew under 175WMH in my 75 Gal, but do great under 250W MH in my 125. What are you running for lights?

 

[~Flighty~]

covered

lights 2-250hqi 4 54 t-5

 

[jovreef]

How do you acclimate your acro's to your tank? if your doing it to fast they could be going into shock and dieing.

 

[Michael Mota]

I would start with the salinity level, have someone test it with a refractometer. I say this cause I had a swing arm at one time and it was way off. I was getting a reading of 1.024 with the swing arm and once i got the refractometer I found out it was at 1.021 way off. Then I would get the mag to 1300-1400 level. Then check your Phosphate levels and get them down to
.01 I like to drip acclimate the corals and then I dip them in iodine for a safe measure. If the coral frags you buy have the same lighting as your tank then you can probably place them where you like but if not then I would start them low in the tank and within about a week or two move them up slowly till you have them where you would like them. Acro really need a lot of light. also check for bugs like acro eating flatworms and red bugs. Just some ideas, take care and good luck

 

[NateHanson]

I'd say your stuff is dying too fast to indicate a parasite problem.

I'd suspect a salinity or acclimation procedures. With that much light I'd probably start them on the bottom of your tank. Then move them up after a few days or a week.

 

[smcnally]

covered

Ahhh...How'd I miss that? I really looked too

 

[Greg Hiller]

>type 1.25<

I hope you mean 1.025. I think it's worth getting a good read on this.

1200 ppm Mg I don't think should be a big deal.

I don't even usually aclimate corals, I just plunge them into the tank, so I'm not sure I buy the aclimate thing.

More question are in order though. How long has the tank been set up? Were the frags encrusted onto some type of substrate, or freshly taken? Many times fresh frags are under a lot of stress.

You have quite a lot of light, you might need to start them at the bottom of the tank. Do you know what type of light they were under before you received them?

The iodine bath mentioned above sometimes helps when introducing new Acros. 3 weeks might be enough time for the Acro eating flatworms to do their work, but they would have had to come in on the frags of course. Did you ever see any signs of eggs on the frags?

How did the corals look as they were dying? Was it truely RTN, with the flesh falling off in a web like pattern, or was it a slower recession from the bottom up, or was it from the top down?

 

[~Flighty~]

lights 2-250hqi 4 54 t-5
they were under 250se
i started them all in the middle depth they all died within 3 weeks
clarity? 20/20?

Don't you guys read?
Just kidding

 

[PRTA79]

.

Greg
the tank is alittle over 2 yrs
sorry 1.025
they didnt all die at the same time the other 2 died last week
2 of them were fresh cut
i dripped for 1 hr with iodine they were under 250mh orignally in the middle of his tank,
and the flesh started falling of from the top area in random patches