demon_speeding
Active Member
When doing maintenance this week I noticed that my salinity was high. I measured it at 1.030 with a refractometer. It appears that my valve for my ATO was partially blocked and not allowing adequate water to pass by and refill the tank. It was slowly getting by, but not enough. I cleared the blockage, scrubbed down the ATO, and refilled. I also took the opportunity to check and clear all of my dosing lines. The CA one in particular had sediment build up that was likely blocking the line, at least partially.
In order to lower the salinity I used a calculator to figure out a ratio for my water change and mixed up a batch of approximately 8 gallons of lower salinity water. I cleaned the tank as usual and added the lower salinity water. Tank now read SG 1.026. Slightly elevated, but within tolerances. After the water change my mushrooms responded very poorly, photos below. My acros and many of my other corals responded very favorably. It was a mixed bag. I believe the mushrooms will recover, but they clearly didn't like something. The polyp extension on my acros is fabulous, for me anyway. They seem to like the new chemicals and the lowered salinity.
The other major setback is the loss, or likely loss of my acan colony. It was about the size of a hockey puck and doing quite well. The morning after the water change I noticed it was half destroyed. To me it looks like something ate it. There were large chunks torn away and bits of flesh floating away from the skeleton. The half that was no affected is in perfect condition. I would suspect that rapid necrosis or some chemical ailment would affect the entire colony, not select polyps, is that accurate? Right now my suspicion is that either my coral beauty, or a rogue hermit crab is the culprit. My Highlander crab drags around a giant conch shell which easily could have torn the flesh on the acan and rang the dinner bell for other creatures to come feast on it, or something entirely different could have happened.
Lastly, my euphylia is being weird. It is a medium size colony with 2 main branches. One branch has 2 heads, the other has 5. The side with 5 heads retraced polyps about 3 weeks ago and they haven't come out since. The other side is doing perfectly fine. I removed it from the tank and dipped it, no pests observed. I also tried moving it to a lower light and flow area with no change. The flesh doesn't appear to be receding, I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it. Any ideas?
Livestock:
2x Clowns
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Watchman Goby
1 Royal Gramma
1 Mandarin Dragonet
1 Coral Beauty
1 Sallylightfoot
1 Porcelain Crab
1 GBTA
1 Rainbow BTA
Large CUC - hermits, snails
Large variety of corals, LPS, SPS, and a few softies (mostly mushrooms and zoas)
Current Parameters:
In order to lower the salinity I used a calculator to figure out a ratio for my water change and mixed up a batch of approximately 8 gallons of lower salinity water. I cleaned the tank as usual and added the lower salinity water. Tank now read SG 1.026. Slightly elevated, but within tolerances. After the water change my mushrooms responded very poorly, photos below. My acros and many of my other corals responded very favorably. It was a mixed bag. I believe the mushrooms will recover, but they clearly didn't like something. The polyp extension on my acros is fabulous, for me anyway. They seem to like the new chemicals and the lowered salinity.
The other major setback is the loss, or likely loss of my acan colony. It was about the size of a hockey puck and doing quite well. The morning after the water change I noticed it was half destroyed. To me it looks like something ate it. There were large chunks torn away and bits of flesh floating away from the skeleton. The half that was no affected is in perfect condition. I would suspect that rapid necrosis or some chemical ailment would affect the entire colony, not select polyps, is that accurate? Right now my suspicion is that either my coral beauty, or a rogue hermit crab is the culprit. My Highlander crab drags around a giant conch shell which easily could have torn the flesh on the acan and rang the dinner bell for other creatures to come feast on it, or something entirely different could have happened.
Lastly, my euphylia is being weird. It is a medium size colony with 2 main branches. One branch has 2 heads, the other has 5. The side with 5 heads retraced polyps about 3 weeks ago and they haven't come out since. The other side is doing perfectly fine. I removed it from the tank and dipped it, no pests observed. I also tried moving it to a lower light and flow area with no change. The flesh doesn't appear to be receding, I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it. Any ideas?
Livestock:
2x Clowns
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Watchman Goby
1 Royal Gramma
1 Mandarin Dragonet
1 Coral Beauty
1 Sallylightfoot
1 Porcelain Crab
1 GBTA
1 Rainbow BTA
Large CUC - hermits, snails
Large variety of corals, LPS, SPS, and a few softies (mostly mushrooms and zoas)
Current Parameters:
| Parameter: | Current Level: | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Specific Gravity | 1.026 | ||
| Temperature | 79°F | ||
| pH | 8.4 - 8.6 | ||
| Alkalinity | 9 dKH | ||
| Ammonia (NH3) | Undetectable | ||
| Nitrite (NO2) | Undetectable | ||
| Nitrate - Nitrogen (NO3) | .02 ppm | ||
| Phosphate (PO4) | 0.26 ppm | ||
| Calcium | 600 ppm | ||
| Magnesium | 1280 ppm |
