Something's Gone Awry

Well, I hoped I'd never post such a message, but I'm in need.

During the last 3 weeks or so, my tank has gone downhill. I read and read, researched and researched some more. I planned every move for the upgrade to the 90 gallon tank. . . ...

I currently own a GSP, bubble, yellow polyp, hammer, frogspawn, zoas, and two types of mushrooms on their own respective rocks. I had a xenia, but unfortunately was my first coral loss. It first stopped pulsing, then stopped opening. When I finally removed it, it was dead, but not yet rotting.

My parameters have never really varied from ideal. I've never had any nitrates. No ammonia or nitrites. This tells me that my nitrifying bacteria population is strong and healthy. My pH is blessedly solid at 8.4, with little or no variation--ever. I use a Typhoon 5 Stage RO/DI unit that's less than 6 months old.

My calcium is maintained b/w 440 and 500. Mag. is maintained near 1300. Alkalinity might dip to 10 now and then, but I hold it steady near 12 or 13. I've read these three parameters kept near perfection will foster coral growth and health, but if they're off (to the degree that mine have been off-which is slight) would only be a detriment to where coral growth would be halted.

In my tank currently, my mushrooms look thin and sickly, their color is there, but they've lost their meaty pimply texture. The bubble coral has deflated and looks wrinkled. I can see much more skeleton on it than ever. My zoas are all but gone. The individual polyps have become thin and pale. My frogspawn is a mere shadow of what it was just a month ago. The polyps on the frogspawn are withdrawn, although their color is bright. My yellow polyp--perhaps my least costly coral, but always the most healthy, have begun to brown, thin out, and look sickly and stringy.

To my knowledge from observation, I have no worms or nudi's. My fish are super happy and healthy (two banggais, a powder blue tang, a yellow canary 'coris' wrasse, and a percula clown). They eat well. I feed about every other day. I also spot feed the frogspawn and hammer and bubble coral, brine shrimp and cyclops.

I haven't the slightest clue what my issues are. I don't have a ground probe, but the only electrical component in water is my main return pump, which is less than 9 months old. Living in Fl. I have no heater, and my Vortech's motor is outside the glass, so no stray voltage from it. Being an electrician, I've tested for stray voltage with a meter that can detect a rat pissing on a cotton ball at 100 yards. No stray voltage.

I have a refugium housing chaeto that is lit overnight and has ample flow. The other side is my sump, and for my 90 gallon tank, from the sump/fuge standpoint, I have about 600 GPH recirculated through the sump/fuge. My koralia #2 and Vortech make the total flow top out at more than 2000 gallons per hour.

I just replaced my two-150W halide bulbs with Blue Life SPS 14000K bulbs. They look good, although I don't perceive the blueness I expected. I had the issues before the bulb change, and in my heart, purchased the bulbs in the hopes that it would rectify my problem. With the bulbs, I purchased some high quality carbon and ROWAPhos, and have put it into action in my reaction chamber. Phosphates are zero, as far as I can tell with my API test kit.

I keep up on my tank maintenance, and nothing has changed of which I'm aware. The current conditions are the same as when my corals were thriving, so I can only guess that this downhill slide isn't attributable to some new parameter being out of whack. I'm really at a loss, and the worst part is the helpless feeling that accompanies the cluelessness.

I know it's a long post. Thanks for reading all the way through. I pray that someone with similar experiences can lend a hand. :-/:-[

 

Brother..... I am sorry to read a post like this from you. I find it scary actually because if this kind of thing can happen to you then I feel like anything can happen to anyone in this hobby. I feel like you have explored every avenue I would have gone down. I know that you don't have a heater but what is your temp at? Do you have any foreign substance in your tank I have heard of seals in motors failing and leaking oil? some wierd gasket somewhere? I feel like it is a foreign substance something that you would never test for not a tank parameter you know maybe some metal?

 

Sorry to hear about your problem Sparky. If all other params are in check I would buy a copper test kit, test your stronium(sp), and or possibly your iron is way outta whack. The things you don't have a test for could be in affect. Honestly Maybe some crazy person came over and threw a penny in your tank wanting to make a wish !!! :-/ One of the guys at my lfs had that happen to him. Goodluck !!!! Keep us posted.

 

Hey Crabby Bro! My water temps vary between 79 and 82. Far as I know, they have not gone beyond this range ever. My AC is cranked 24/7 keeping my house at 70F.

I once read a post where someone unwittingly used a pump with a brass impeller shaft which slowly but progressively wreaked havoc on their coral stock. I've inspected my shaft, and it's not metallic. (No jokes, people!!) LOL.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Tangster? Otty? Geekdafied? Coral Reefer? Guru? Beuler? Beuler?

 

Hey have you painted or fumigated your place? I am just thinking over here what could it be?

 

Yeah, you have to call in the big guns on this one Spark..

 

Im so sorry for whats happening to you. The only thing that I can think of, apart from what you have posted is;
What is your SG?
Are any of your test kits expired?
Temp comes to mind. I had a large size xenia colony until my temp made a big swing and killed just about all of them. All that I have left is two VERY small colonies of about three "hands".
Have you checked for copper?
Still thinking...............................Luna

 

I inspect my shaft every day........................sorry, I couldnt resist....lmao

Beuler......thats way too funny Luna

 

Thanks Luna, SG is something I forgot to report on. I keep it at 1.026, same as seawater. Having a refractometer, it's a parameter I've kept tight. ??? Temp is pretty solid too. Since day one, it's never varied from 79-82.

 

Did you build a custom stand? what kind of wood and how is it finished?