What could have happened?!

[scumonkey]

Last night before bed ,everything in the tank looked fine.
This morning when I got up everything looked fine as well but.....
after cleaning the glass I saw this:
last night:

After cleaning the glass::shocked1:

This is the first time I have had, or seen this happen!
Could the new UV unit I installed have caused this?
Everything else seems to be just fine?!?!
Water params
PH-8.4
Cal- 450
Alk- 4.45
Mag- 1320
Nitrate -undetectable
Phos - undectectable

 

[drunktank]

highly doubt the UV would have anything 2 do with it. What exactly do you mean, "you cleaned the glass"

 

[nanoreefer22]

Looks like RTN the way the coral is just bubbling its skin away.

Is that your Alk in Dkh??

 

[JHOV2324]

maybe since the glass was dirty u thought it had color...and it was really bleaching....

 

[scumonkey]

maybe since the glass was dirty u thought it had color...and it was really bleaching....

HA HA! (my eyes aren't that bad....yet!)

What exactly do you mean, "you cleaned the glass"

I used a mag float to clean the glass of the tank from any buildup.

 

[pecan2phat]

1st pic looks like bleaching cause you can still see extended polyps, 2nd pic doesn't look so good for the acro.

Monitor the acro and see if there are still polyp extension on the bleached area, if so, try moving it to another part of the tank.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Is it just me or is that acro's skin bubbling away from the skeleton??

 

[scumonkey]

It didn't bleach.... the first pic shows how the coral always looked.
It doesn't show the true colour though- a light peach- not white.
It was even starting to colour up to a light blue on the tips.
The polyps always came out and looked nice waving around in the current.
It even looked better after feeding time!?
I have 5 more acros in the same area- all appear to be doing great?!
This was a wild colony from Reefermadness- such a shame- my first sps loss.
Should I start freaking out with worry over my other acros?!

 

[loismustdie]

Cleaning your glass had nothing to do with it. It's RTN from high alkalinity. By looking at the color in pic number 1, I'm also doubting your undetectable readings for NO3 and PO4.
It's a goner... nothing you are going to be able to save it.

such a shame- my first sps loss.

Join the club. SPS are hard and you are going to lose some. I'd look into lowering that alk and getting a good reading on your PO4 before you lose a lot more.
Keep a close eye on your other SPS. Since this one is not going to make it, I'd dip it in freshwater to rule out pests. It is a wild colony. The fact that it is just one and others around it are fine tells me you may have something you don't want.
Also consider running carbon. Sometimes an SPS coral will go into RTN due to stress for one reason or another and they can (not always) send out a chemical signal which will trigger others to RTN.

 

[scumonkey]

Cleaning your glass had nothing to do with it.

I know...that's just what I was doing when I noticed the problem!

By looking at the color in pic number 1, I'm also doubting your undetectable readings for NO3 and PO4.

You can doubt all you want but it's true - I have also sent my water out to have someone else test -just to make sure! I don't have any fish, I hardly feed (when I do it's mostly live baby brine shrimp), and make lots of small water changes. My water quality is about as good as you can get!
I don't have any kind of algae problems- it even takes over a week before I can see any kind of film on the glass... so i'm sure I don't have excess nutrients.
Also, pic number one was taken the day after the coral was placed in my tank- it's what it looked like when I bought it- so you can't judge my tank from the colour in that pic!
As far as high alk is concerned....
according to the chemistry calculator, a calcium level of 450 is balanced with an Alk level of 4.45 meg/L
I try and bring my alk up to that spec each afternoon cause by the next morning it has fallen down to around 3.66-3.88 or 10.2-10.9 dkh
Is the calculator wrong? should I let it fall lower each night and bring it back up to 10dkh each day....am I operating with the wrong info here?

The fact that it is just one and others around it are fine tells me you may have something you don't want.

Maybe- but I don't think so....
The other acros have been in my tank for a while now, and are all showing tremendous growth and colour!
I guess I should get this bad boy out of the tank ASAP?!?!

 

[loismustdie]

I doubt the pests as well, but better to be safe than sorry, especially with a wild colony. You're not going to save it, so you might as well get it out.
Your alk is too high. In dKH, you're at around 12.5. I wouldn't go above 11.2 dKH. I'd be willing to bet alk is your problem. It also looks like alkalinity burn. After this one is done, another will start to RTN.

 

[mgchan]

Also, pic number one was taken the day after the coral was placed in my tank- it's what it looked like when I bought it-

What is the time between when the 1st photo was taken and the 2nd one? There's no EXIF data on the photos, so it's hard to get a timeline on the decline.

 

[loismustdie]

Quote:

Cleaning your glass had nothing to do with it.

I know...that's just what I was doing when I noticed the problem!

I don't have any kind of algae problems- it even takes over a week before I can see any kind of film on the glass... so i'm sure I don't have excess nutrients.

:scratchch

Also, pic number one was taken the day after the coral was placed in my tank- it's what it looked like when I bought it-

Soooooo, your glass is crystal clear, your colors are so good that only after you cleaned your glass did you notice that kind of recession AND color loss?
Scumonkey, I'm not trying to bash here, but it always seems that the guys with "perfect" water quality are the ones having trouble. You're contradicting yourself as you post.

 

[scumonkey]

The pics were taken 14 days apart.
The coral looked fine last night- with full polyp extension.
I took it out of the tank and the RTN is only on the front side?
The back side(not seen in pic) still looks fine?

Your alk is too high. In dKH, you're at around 12.5. I wouldn't go above 11.2 dKH. I'd be willing to bet alk is your problem.

It doesn't stay that high for long...it drops along the course of the day.
It avarages at around 11dkh. If I don't bring it up each day it has a tendency to fall down to as low as 9.6- or lower each night.
Which is worse-bringing it up a little high and keeping a good average , or just bringing it up to 11dkh and letting it fall into the 9's at night?
I just tested for the day and the alk is at around 10.8dkh (before I start my daily dosing).

 

[nanoreefer22]

You think the constant swing in alk for 14 days might have had something to do with it RTN'ing? :scratch:

 

[loismustdie]

Which is worse-bringing it up a little high and keeping a good average , or just bringing it up to 11dkh and letting it fall into the 9's at night?

Best thing to do is get yourself a doser and maintain it at a constant level throughout the day and night.
Before I got my doser, I only added enough to put me at 11.2 and let it drop before dosing again.

 

[loismustdie]

You think the constant swing in alk for 14 days might have had something to do with it RTN'ing? :scratch:

I think constantly going over 12 dKH over 14 days did it. I could be wrong, but most of what he's saying about his alkalinity does point directly at this.

 

[loismustdie]

The back side(not seen in pic) still looks fine?

the back side may not be getting hit with the same flow that is blowing the tissue off of the front side.
Just for the hell of it... Lighting and photo period?

 

[scumonkey]

Soooooo, your glass is crystal clear, your colors are so good that only after you cleaned your glass did you notice that kind of recession AND color loss?
Scumonkey, I'm not trying to bash here, but it always seems that the guys with "perfect" water quality are the ones having trouble. You're contradicting yourself as you post.

What is your hangup with cleaning the glass?
That is the first thing I do everyday! I have to do it to get all the snail eggs off that have started to show up the past few weeks!
How am I contradicting myself?
I didn't see the damage cause I wasn't looking for it!
As soon as I looked at the coral today -I noticed it right off the bat!
pic from the other side (taken while in the fuge)

 

[scumonkey]

My lighting consists of 2 -90w VHO super actinics with 2 -250w 10k MH's
Actinics 1 comes on at 11am, the other at 11:30.
The MH's come on at 12 and go off at 6:30pm
The Actinics go off-one at 10:30 the other at 11pm
LED blue Moon lites come on at 11pm and go off at12:30am


OH yeah... forgot to mention I also feed DT's Phyto 3 times a week.