Reefer_Madness June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 A word of advice. Don't get overconfident when things are going "perfect" in your tank. Reality checks are not far behind. I did so much research and got so much advice when setting up my tank, that I apparently got relaxed. Everything was growing like weeds, colors were ridiculous, and everyone was happy. Corals were beautiful. I took my setup very seriously and was very patient. No changes without a lot of research and back checking advice I received. My newest tank is about 8 months old and I had never had any issues.....until a couple of weeks ago. I made a combination of mistakes that compounded and cost me dearly. Looking back, I am very disappointed in myself. I guess I needed this reality check to make me realize the reef tank owns me.......not the other way around. From this point forward I am just going to hold on the reigns and try to stay on for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 What happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 +1, hope all is ok / getting better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 22, 2015 Author Share June 22, 2015 (edited) I wanted to polish my water a little and decided to get a small BRS reactor for carbon/gfo. I didn't do enough research. I bleached a bunch of SPSs with an alk burn. Stupid me. I didn't realize it was something I should really keep an eye on. Came home to a bunch of white corals. Edited June 22, 2015 by Reefer_Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 What's the relationship between carbon and alkalinity? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 Let me guess. First time user of an aggressive GAC such as Rox quickly strips water column of organics. Reduced nutrients coupled with increased light intensity caused sensitive corals to bleach and shut down. The shut down will cause alkalinity to increase, thus burnt tips. GAC and GFO can quickly upset the balance and cause serious problems. Run 25% of the recommended dosage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 22, 2015 Author Share June 22, 2015 Let me guess. First time user of an aggressive GAC such as Rox quickly strips water column of organics. Reduced nutrients coupled with increased light intensity caused sensitive corals to bleach and shut down. The shut down will cause alkalinity to increase, thus burnt tips. GAC and GFO can quickly upset the balance and cause serious problems. Run 25% of the recommended dosage. That was Ducati fast.....your explanation was about as quick as my nutrient reduction! That is exactly what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khh27 June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 Lol no joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Yup carbon will do that. My recommendation if you want to polish the water is run 1/8 the recommended dosage of Ozone into the air intake of your skimmer. Has a similar effect without nuking your sps. I had 3 buddies do this in the past 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 23, 2015 Author Share June 23, 2015 I was headed that way, but took the cheap way out and got the carbon/gfo reactor instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 I was headed that way, but took the cheap way out and got the carbon/gfo reactor instead. yup Ozone is expensive for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Let me guess. First time user of an aggressive GAC such as Rox quickly strips water column of organics. Reduced nutrients coupled with increased light intensity caused sensitive corals to bleach and shut down. The shut down will cause alkalinity to increase, thus burnt tips. GAC and GFO can quickly upset the balance and cause serious problems. Run 25% of the recommended dosage. BINGO !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Let me guess. First time user of an aggressive GAC such as Rox quickly strips water column of organics. Reduced nutrients coupled with increased light intensity caused sensitive corals to bleach and shut down. The shut down will cause alkalinity to increase, thus burnt tips. GAC and GFO can quickly upset the balance and cause serious problems. Run 25% of the recommended dosage. Good to know, I'm getting ready for this route soon, carbon that is. Nice explanation. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Good to know, I'm getting ready for this route soon, carbon that is. Nice explanation. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk run it at 1/4 the dosage if you are "polishing" your water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 23, 2015 Author Share June 23, 2015 Looks like my complete 100% losses are: Purple Monster Red Dragon ORA Birds of Paradise Forest Fire Digi Garf Bonsai Most were frags doing well, except for the last two that were colonies.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Looks like my complete 100% losses are: Purple Monster Red Dragon ORA Birds of Paradise Forest Fire Digi Garf Bonsai Most were frags doing well, except for the last two that were colonies.... NOOOOOOOOOOOO PURPLE MONSTER!!!!!! (sorry this is like my holy grail of acros :P) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 23, 2015 Author Share June 23, 2015 NOOOOOOOOOOOO PURPLE MONSTER!!!!!! (sorry this is like my holy grail of acros :P) Was mine too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miggs76 June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 I got your back with forest fire and birds of paradise so that's 40% back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 Sorry for the loss. KISS is my mantra in this hobby. I can cut you some red dragon and bonsi. I work in DC if you want to meet up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 23, 2015 Author Share June 23, 2015 Mike and Jason - Very generous offer, but I am going to wait for a while until everything gets back to normal. I don't want to risk it until I am 100% positive that I am back on track. I'm going to take it slow for a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malacoda June 26, 2015 Share June 26, 2015 Not to throw the thread track, but I've got to say that threads like this are great for newbies like me -- for two reasons... The first is kind of obvious: a great opportunity to learn from the experiences -- both good and bad -- of others. But the second may not be so obvious: knowing this kind of support, experienced insight, and generosity is offered by members of the community in times of trouble or mishap goes a long way toward giving a extra little boost of confidence to someone who is still a bit on the fence over whether or not to take the plunge and join the hobby. Sorry to hear about the hiccup you've encountered Ben, thanks for posting about it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer_Madness June 26, 2015 Author Share June 26, 2015 Not to throw the thread track, but I've got to say that threads like this are great for newbies like me -- for two reasons... The first is kind of obvious: a great opportunity to learn from the experiences -- both good and bad -- of others. But the second may not be so obvious: knowing this kind of support, experienced insight, and generosity is offered by members of the community in times of trouble or mishap goes a long way toward giving a extra little boost of confidence to someone who is still a bit on the fence over whether or not to take the plunge and join the hobby. Sorry to hear about the hiccup you've encountered Ben, thanks for posting about it though. Thanks. Join the hobby!! It is awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b June 27, 2015 Share June 27, 2015 I have killed my corals quite a few times but never all of them. Killed most of the fish a few times also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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