What could be wrong with my tank

[El Camaron]

Just got home and a few acros show signs of receding, I just tested and my params are

 

ca 420

kh 8

salinity 1.026

my water is ro/ di only

[El Camaron]

Also my ph test is a color one and seemed to be in the 8.2 range

[dbartco]

pests?

[scott711]

flow? where are they receding from?

[Coral Hind]

I would do a nice size water change, dip the corals to make sure no pests, install a poly-filter.

[El Camaron]

I have 4 pumps going so there is plenty of flow, I don't see any pests at all, the are just receding from the under side of the acros. I did a water change yesterday but i can do another one tomorrow. I do run chemipure elite as well as a 100 micron polly pad.

[lhcorals]

If you think there is a chance of losing the colony go ahead and frag it. Maybe the frag will make it.

[L8 2 RISE]

Did you have the salt mixed for at least 24 hrs before putting the water in the tank? Or did you happen to test the new water first? Sometimes there's bad batches.

[El Camaron]

Yes the water mixed for 24 before I did the change, I have been using tropic Marin pro reef but I am

right at the end of it, next water change will be with new salt.

 

Lh, hopefully it does not get that bad.

[davelin315]

Check nitrates... I was dumb enough to think mine were low but then found out how high they really were... 50-100ppm... ugh...

[flowerseller]

Yes the water mixed for 24 before I did the change, I have been using tropic Marin pro reef but I am

right at the end of it, next water change will be with new salt.

 

Lh, hopefully it does not get that bad.

 

I still believe in changing salt mixes slowly over a few exchanges. Just like pets, if you change their chow, they often get the runs.

 

Has the ALK fluctuated much?

[El Camaron]

i have not checked for nitrates but i will now, thanks Dave.

 

the last time i checked the alk it was about a week or two ago and it was 9 dkh i think.

 

Is it a sign when sand starts to clump and harden?

[flowerseller]

Is it a sign when sand starts to clump and harden?

Yes, do you add kalk as well or any 2 part

[El Camaron]

i dose the two part but no kalk, should i be dosing kalk too?

[El Camaron]

anyone else have any input on how to correct this? sand clumping or hardening in some areas of my tank.

[Jon Lazar]

anyone else have any input on how to correct this? sand clumping or hardening in some areas of my tank.

 

 

According to Randy Holmes-Farley:

 

"It is reasonably common to have sand harden, especially when new.

 

It is not entirely clear whether sand bed hardening is a purely physical process involving calcium carbonate deposition (or other minerals) that cements grains together, or whether it is mediated by bacterial processes, but it does not always happen.

 

It happens most frequently to new sand, and especially when the pH is high (as when using limewater). It happened to me when I first set up my first tank, but not when adding tanks to the existing system using the same type of sand. I would guess that higher alkalinity and calcium also contribute, as well as lower magnesium.

 

Often the effect disappears as tanks mature (the hard sections stay hard, but unclumped sand stays that way, and new sand won't as readily clump).

The addition of organisms (cucumbers, etc) seems to delay or stop the process as they keep it mixed up and perhaps break tiny links between grains before they become too established. "

[El Camaron]

thank you Jon, i am now thinking my PH is high thus the reason why this is happenening, does high PH have any relation to acros receding? and how can i lower my PH with least effect to my tanks livestock?

[chucelli]

You can lower PH by adding seltzer or soda water, or vinegar in extreme cases.

I don't think your PH is causing any issues though.

Whatever you do, do it slow. I find that many times, when we discover an issue, the proposed remedy is applied too fast, causing bigger problems.

-Robert

[El Camaron]

thanks Robert, do you have any idea of what it could be? is STN something that affects the whole tank or just acros?

[Coral Hind]

Why do you think your pH is high? I would not play around trying to correct what may not need fixing.

[El Camaron]

well, the only ph testing kit i have is red sea with the color chart that lets you know if your "in the good range", every time i test the color is the same, not quite light purple nor too dark so it really does not tell me much other than well i guess its ok lol, yeah i need a better one. also because of what Jon commented about what Randy Holmes farley said concerning high PH and sand hardening.

[Jon Lazar]

well, the only ph testing kit i have is red sea with the color chart that lets you know if your "in the good range", every time i test the color is the same, not quite light purple nor too dark so it really does not tell me much other than well i guess its ok lol, yeah i need a better one. also because of what Jon commented about what Randy Holmes farley said concerning high PH and sand hardening.

 

I think I steered you off track of your original question (about tissue recession) with my post. You asked why your sand was clumping, and I answered with RHF's comment that no one is really sure why sand clumps. But there may not be a connection between sand clumping and tissue recession.

[El Camaron]

hmmmm, well if all these params seem not far out of the ordinary then i may just have STN since the recesion is not rapid but we will see how bad it is when i get home.

[chucelli]

IME, STN and RTN are some of the most difficult things to find causation for...

Sometimes, there just may be nothing you can do. I wouldn't be able to begin to suggest what may be causing your STN, but the best advice I would have is not to take any drastic measures, as the already weakened corals may just "kick the bucket".

Are these frags or colonies fairly new?

-R

[El Camaron]

One is a frag one is a colony, if it looks worse when i get home tonight i may have to frag it and it will hurt my feelings... :(

 

Also after reading some more on STN it could be Alk swing, if i shut off my doser and do a big water change will this help stablize the system and not be considered drastic? im thinking a 30% change and maybe another one this weekend?