Corals Dying after upgrading tank

highlite2nice · 12/03/2014, 06:35 PM

Hello Everyone,

This is my 1st post, but I have been browsing for about a year now. I have learned a lot over the last year, but still have a lot to learn.

About a month ago I upgraded my tank from a 75 gallon to a 125 gallon. When I first moved everything over from the old tank to the new tank all the corals were doing good and there was no issues. I started getting a diatom bloom a couple weeks after and currently still have diatoms in the tank.

I am running a sump set up with a skimmer, refugium with Cheato, return
Lights are led full spectrum 120w evergrow.

I am running carbon and phosphate remover

Corals not doing good:
-I have a frogspawn that was doing great and growing it is now closed up and dying.
- plate coral that turned white
- open brain that is dying I can see the skeleton
- Zoes are open sometimes but not that much in the last couple weeks
-Green star- sometimes open and sometime closed
-both BTA is now hiding- might be due to increase flow that I added to tank

Corals doing good
-candy cane that seems to be doing great
-clam that looks healthy
-Bubble coral looking good.
-Fish all look good

perma

Temp 79
Salt- 1.025
Amonia-0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate-0
Calcuim- 380
ak- 6
Phosphate-0

PH- seems to be swinging anywhere from 7.82 to 8.16 I don't know if my probe needs to be re calibrated

Flow is on a wave maker about 3100 gph alternating from one set of power heads to another set of power heads and then about another 1800 gph from the return pump running at all times of course. I have tried adjusting flow and sometimes I have run all power heads at the same time about 6200 gph on 15 min off 15 min.

I just started dosing 2 part reef fusion to get my calcium and alkalinity up.

Not sure what other information my be helpful. Any advise would be appreciated.

Zer0. · 12/03/2014, 07:05 PM

What lights were you using? The same LEDs?

Zer0. · 12/03/2014, 07:08 PM

What lights were you using?

highlite2nice · 12/03/2014, 07:10 PM

I was using a lower grade light a marineland Led light 48"

wcarterh · 12/03/2014, 10:37 PM

Might have bleaching due to increased lighting. Try eggcrate on top of the tank under the lights. Corals and anems need to slowly adjust to changes in lighting.

tmz · 12/03/2014, 10:46 PM

Could be low alakinity or a change in PO4 and NO3. .Zeros for PO4 and N)3
are often a problem.More intense lighting could also be contributing.

Dan_P · 12/04/2014, 06:58 PM

That's enough to drive you to drink. Sorry to hear it.

When you upgrade an aquarium, you are likely resetting the bacterial community to a smaller and possibly less diverse one. How far back no one knows, but new tank blooms of diatoms, algae and cyanobacteria are often reported on this forum with upgrades. These nuisance algae do not grow unless there are nutrients. Without a robust bacterial community, a lot of nutrients become available to these organisms and you do not need to invoke the mysterious nutrient leakage from rocks explanation.

Another thing concerning bacteria and coral. There are bacteria on the outside of coral, some on the surface of the tissue. These can grow quickly and smother the coral. Carbon nutrients can cause this rapid bacterial growth. This is a "gotcha" that we know little about. Maybe it is luck that some upgrades don't have this explosive growth. Maybe it is something else, e.g. someone suggested a change in light intensity.

Of course, we don't know how many upgrades proceed without problems because they are not reported. It would be good to hear from forum members on what they think is the "right" way to upgrade. We could then use this wisdom of the crowd to guide future upgrades.

JoelA7 · 12/04/2014, 09:40 PM

Knee jerk reaction your alkalinity is low. Ca too. I've just had the opposite problem with dKH up to 15. Shut off CO2 into the Ca reactor and 4 days later corals are looking better. Need to see current dKH but I know it's lower, probably around 13 which is the value of my salt mix.

Second thought is that the poster above who mentioned bacteria on corals has a point. Not sure how much bacteria it kills but there many posts from folks whose corals were having trouble which subsided after a Bayer Advanced dip. You might try it. Certainly will not hurt.

Good luck!

12/03/2014, 06:35 PM	#1
highlite2nice Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 16	Corals Dying after upgrading tank Hello Everyone, This is my 1st post, but I have been browsing for about a year now. I have learned a lot over the last year, but still have a lot to learn. About a month ago I upgraded my tank from a 75 gallon to a 125 gallon. When I first moved everything over from the old tank to the new tank all the corals were doing good and there was no issues. I started getting a diatom bloom a couple weeks after and currently still have diatoms in the tank. I am running a sump set up with a skimmer, refugium with Cheato, return Lights are led full spectrum 120w evergrow. I am running carbon and phosphate remover Corals not doing good: -I have a frogspawn that was doing great and growing it is now closed up and dying. - plate coral that turned white - open brain that is dying I can see the skeleton - Zoes are open sometimes but not that much in the last couple weeks -Green star- sometimes open and sometime closed -both BTA is now hiding- might be due to increase flow that I added to tank Corals doing good -candy cane that seems to be doing great -clam that looks healthy -Bubble coral looking good. -Fish all look good perma Temp 79 Salt- 1.025 Amonia-0 Nitrite- 0 Nitrate-0 Calcuim- 380 ak- 6 Phosphate-0 PH- seems to be swinging anywhere from 7.82 to 8.16 I don't know if my probe needs to be re calibrated Flow is on a wave maker about 3100 gph alternating from one set of power heads to another set of power heads and then about another 1800 gph from the return pump running at all times of course. I have tried adjusting flow and sometimes I have run all power heads at the same time about 6200 gph on 15 min off 15 min. I just started dosing 2 part reef fusion to get my calcium and alkalinity up. Not sure what other information my be helpful. Any advise would be appreciated. Last edited by highlite2nice; 12/03/2014 at 06:48 PM.

12/03/2014, 10:37 PM	#5
wcarterh Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Tn, USA Posts: 238	Might have bleaching due to increased lighting. Try eggcrate on top of the tank under the lights. Corals and anems need to slowly adjust to changes in lighting. __________________ The devil is in the details. Current Tank Info: 68 Gal with 20 gal sump.

12/03/2014, 10:46 PM	#6
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	Could be low alakinity or a change in PO4 and NO3. .Zeros for PO4 and N)3 are often a problem.More intense lighting could also be contributing. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

12/04/2014, 09:40 PM	#8
JoelA7 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,056	Knee jerk reaction your alkalinity is low. Ca too. I've just had the opposite problem with dKH up to 15. Shut off CO2 into the Ca reactor and 4 days later corals are looking better. Need to see current dKH but I know it's lower, probably around 13 which is the value of my salt mix. Second thought is that the poster above who mentioned bacteria on corals has a point. Not sure how much bacteria it kills but there many posts from folks whose corals were having trouble which subsided after a Bayer Advanced dip. You might try it. Certainly will not hurt. Good luck! __________________ New 48x24x26.25 w Precision Marine R30 sump, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, 2@Vertex 1.5L reactors for carbon & phosban, GEO Ca reactor w Aquarium Plants regulator. 2 MP40's 2@Radions. #120 live rock & #12

12/03/2014, 07:05 PM	#2
Zer0. Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 479	What lights were you using? The same LEDs?

12/03/2014, 07:08 PM	#3
Zer0. Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 479	What lights were you using?

12/03/2014, 07:10 PM	#4
highlite2nice Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 16	I was using a lower grade light a marineland Led light 48"

12/04/2014, 06:58 PM	#7
Dan_P Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 1,432	That's enough to drive you to drink. Sorry to hear it. When you upgrade an aquarium, you are likely resetting the bacterial community to a smaller and possibly less diverse one. How far back no one knows, but new tank blooms of diatoms, algae and cyanobacteria are often reported on this forum with upgrades. These nuisance algae do not grow unless there are nutrients. Without a robust bacterial community, a lot of nutrients become available to these organisms and you do not need to invoke the mysterious nutrient leakage from rocks explanation. Another thing concerning bacteria and coral. There are bacteria on the outside of coral, some on the surface of the tissue. These can grow quickly and smother the coral. Carbon nutrients can cause this rapid bacterial growth. This is a "gotcha" that we know little about. Maybe it is luck that some upgrades don't have this explosive growth. Maybe it is something else, e.g. someone suggested a change in light intensity. Of course, we don't know how many upgrades proceed without problems because they are not reported. It would be good to hear from forum members on what they think is the "right" way to upgrade. We could then use this wisdom of the crowd to guide future upgrades.