125 reef tank - fish thrive, corals and inverts don't

[orchbelt00]

I've had a 125 gallon reef tank setup for about 2 years now. Any type of fish has thrived in the tank. I can't seem to keep any form of coral (SPS, LPS, etc.) for more than a week before its completely dead. I've noticed that snails and crabs (both emerald and hermit) last a few weeks than die too. My sump housed protein skimmer pulls out enough filth. My flow is great. My T5s are bright and changed frequently. My sand is clean. My rock is nicely colored (reds and greens). Water tests (both myself and local stores) all come back normal. I've got a few tangs, wrasses, and dwarf angels.

 

I'd love to figure out what is wrong with it so that I can thoroughly enjoy the hobby with coral and inverts.

[surf&turf]

Tell us your water parameters and how you maintain them, mainly you Alk and Cal. and Nitrate and Phosphate.

 

Also what SG do you keep your reef at?

[jimlin]

and what is the tempeature, how many bulbs and total wattage on those lights,does the red and green color means it has coraline algae? any pictures of your tank, setup?

[Coral Hind]

besides the already long list of good questions, how many and what sizes of fish do you have?

[OldReefer]

It sounds like metal contamination. Fish will thrive but corals and inverts will perish. Could this tank or its contents have ever been exposed to copper?

[L8 2 RISE]

I can almost guarantee it's copper. Did you buy the tank new or used? Check ALL of your fittings on the tank, are any of them copper fittings? Get a poly filter and run it in the sump. If it turns blue then it's copper contamination.

[zygote2k]

sounds like copper.

FWIW, I just had a reef tank get exposed to copper treated water for a few months and I watched the inverts wither and die. When I finally figured out what was going on, nearly all of the corals and other inverts were dead but hte fish were nice and healthy. I took the water to an LFS and the copper was 0.92 ppm. I started using poly-filter and bottled water and many of the corals like ricordea, shrooms, gsp, cloves, trumpets, chalice all made a turnaround in a few months and are now growing.

If your tank has copper, it's not the end of the world and you will be able to remove it but it will take some time.

[steveoutlaw]

First off, welcome! Listen to the folks above, they have a lot of experience in this. For my 2 cents, you mentioned that you change your T5 bulbs frequently........how often is frequently? Other than the possible copper contamination, frequent changes in the lights can stress the corals.

 

Also, I would recommend the $20 fee to become a full member. You will get access to ALL the forums that way......including the For Sale/Trade/Free section. In addition to the good advice you'll receive on this forum you will also find outstanding deals on livestock and equipment, to include free stuff. The members here are great and will help you get your tank right and eventually restocked with corals and things.

[orchbelt00]

Thanks all.

 

I did buy the tank used. I got into the hobby a few years ago with a 28 nano, within months moved to a 55, bought a house and had room for a 125. I'm already eager for something bigger! The 28 and 55 did fine, but they were also bought new. I've been afraid it may have been copper...even though all my water (for changes and top off) are bought. I change out 25 gallons each weekend and do manual top offs daily. I have 8 T5s. I change the oldest pair every month, so they oldest set of lights is 4 months old (maybe slightly obsessive, but I want to get things running). I've got a 40 gallon sump below which collects water from 2x 200 gph hang on the back overflow boxes and 2x tank drilled 1" PVC pipes. I estimate I'm cycling about 600+ gph. I have 2x 700 gph water circulation pumps, 4x PVC returns from sump, and 1x 1400 gph pump sitting in the tank creating really nice flow.

 

As for the fish... I have:

1x Tomini Tang about 5"

1x Pacific Blue Tang about 10"

1x Naso Tang about 10"

1x Clown Tang about 5" (the alpha fish)

1x Flame Angel about 3"

1x Cleaner Wrasse about 3"

 

The tank

 

The sump (might be getting rid of rock down there if anyone is interested)

 

A few happy fish with clean sand

 

One side of overflow box plus drilled PVC pipe

 

I suspect this is coralline

[STEVE]

Where are you located...I have a copper test kit and would be glad to test for copper for you.

[trockafella]

I dont know if its your problem, but your filtration is lacking in my opinion, especially for having such large fish. That skimmer looks like its tiny, way undersized for your bio-load. Your fish look beautiful and healthy. I also dont think that coraline algae, looks more like turf algae or something to me. I think a fwe upgrades in equipment would do you a lot of good.

 

Asmentioned above, the $20 member fee will give you access to lots of equipment sales as well as coral sales once your ready for corals again. This club is a very useful tool, and can really be a lifesaver. I speak from experience.

[Coral Hind]

This is not coralline algae to me. You really need to test your water and post that info up here. I would get a copper absorber like cuprisorb. If you have copper it will remove it and turn blue letting you know there was copper in the tank.

 

You can slow down on changing your bulbs. I would let them go to 9 to 12 months if you have corals. If no corals let them go until they start to turn black and die.

[L8 2 RISE]

Test the water or get a poly filter to figure out if it's copper. It almost certainly is copper as everything else checks out. It's really one of the only things that will have the effect you described. Changing T5's about every 9 months is more than enough, but it's personal preference!

 

As Zygote said, you can turn it around and get the copper out of the water relatively easily. I had a tank with the same issue, and Polyfilters work great, there's also a relatively new product called cuprasorb and that works extremely well. I suggest keeping a polyfilter in the sump as well though. When it stops turning blue, you can start adding inverts!

[OldReefer]

+1 for Poly filter and Cuprisorb. The poly filter will indicate if you have copper and the Cuprisorb will pull a lot of it out. Polyfilters are great at removing a little copper, but if you have a bunch of copper, Cuprisorb is better.

[Coral Hind]

Cuprisorb also turns blue like a polyfilter would. Running carbon would also help. I think once some testing is done high nitrates may also be an issue.

[Coral Hind]

Any update? Did you ever test the water?