let me know if you are a pro in Manhattan that can come and see this tank and try to help.
I have a Fiji Cube 32 AIO (about 27 gallons of actual water volume) that finished cycling in late April and has been running well until this week. Equipment includes an AI Prime 16HD, Nero 3 wavemaker, Fiji Flow DC return pump, RODI water (Aquatic Life 4-stage), Reef Crystals salt, filter floss, and activated carbon. I perform 5-gallon weekly water changes, use RODI for all top-off and mixing, and have logged every test, maintenance task, livestock addition, and equipment purchase in a spreadsheet since the tank was started.
Current livestock includes 2 Ocellaris Clownfish, Royal Gramma, Yellow Watchman Goby paired with a Tiger Pistol Shrimp, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Blood Red Fire Shrimp, Trochus, Nassarius, and Cerith snails, along with a mixed reef of hammers, Duncan, candy cane, zoanthids, mushroom, favia, and a Jack O' Lantern Lepto. On 7/6 I added the Royal Gramma plus the cleaner and fire shrimp. On 7/9 I added approximately 10 new coral frags along with several additional snails. Everything initially looked fine, but around 7/14 my hammers began losing extension, followed by the Duncan retracting, several zoas staying closed, and the candy cane becoming much less inflated. Over the last few days the issue has progressed to where nearly every coral in the tank is noticeably less open, while the fish continue acting completely normal.
Current parameters are 78.4°F, 1.024 specific gravity, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ~5 ppm nitrate (API), pH 7.8, and 9 dKH alkalinity. The tank has also developed a noticeable uniform haze/cloudiness over the same time period. I found one Trochus shell upside down today that may have died (the shell appeared empty), but all fish and the three shrimp continue behaving normally with no heavy breathing or obvious signs of distress. I don't see obvious tissue recession or brown jelly disease—just widespread coral retraction and cloudy water.
Today I completed my scheduled 5-gallon water change, gently vacuumed the areas where detritus collects, replaced the filter floss, and I'm running fresh activated carbon. I'm trying to determine whether this sounds more like a bacterial bloom, dissolved organics, chemical irritation from recent additions, contamination, or something else entirely. Has anyone experienced a situation where the fish remain perfectly healthy, the water becomes hazy, and almost every coral retracts over the course of about a week? I'd really appreciate any ideas on what else to check or what you think I'm overlooking.
I have a Fiji Cube 32 AIO (about 27 gallons of actual water volume) that finished cycling in late April and has been running well until this week. Equipment includes an AI Prime 16HD, Nero 3 wavemaker, Fiji Flow DC return pump, RODI water (Aquatic Life 4-stage), Reef Crystals salt, filter floss, and activated carbon. I perform 5-gallon weekly water changes, use RODI for all top-off and mixing, and have logged every test, maintenance task, livestock addition, and equipment purchase in a spreadsheet since the tank was started.
Current livestock includes 2 Ocellaris Clownfish, Royal Gramma, Yellow Watchman Goby paired with a Tiger Pistol Shrimp, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Blood Red Fire Shrimp, Trochus, Nassarius, and Cerith snails, along with a mixed reef of hammers, Duncan, candy cane, zoanthids, mushroom, favia, and a Jack O' Lantern Lepto. On 7/6 I added the Royal Gramma plus the cleaner and fire shrimp. On 7/9 I added approximately 10 new coral frags along with several additional snails. Everything initially looked fine, but around 7/14 my hammers began losing extension, followed by the Duncan retracting, several zoas staying closed, and the candy cane becoming much less inflated. Over the last few days the issue has progressed to where nearly every coral in the tank is noticeably less open, while the fish continue acting completely normal.
Current parameters are 78.4°F, 1.024 specific gravity, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ~5 ppm nitrate (API), pH 7.8, and 9 dKH alkalinity. The tank has also developed a noticeable uniform haze/cloudiness over the same time period. I found one Trochus shell upside down today that may have died (the shell appeared empty), but all fish and the three shrimp continue behaving normally with no heavy breathing or obvious signs of distress. I don't see obvious tissue recession or brown jelly disease—just widespread coral retraction and cloudy water.
Today I completed my scheduled 5-gallon water change, gently vacuumed the areas where detritus collects, replaced the filter floss, and I'm running fresh activated carbon. I'm trying to determine whether this sounds more like a bacterial bloom, dissolved organics, chemical irritation from recent additions, contamination, or something else entirely. Has anyone experienced a situation where the fish remain perfectly healthy, the water becomes hazy, and almost every coral retracts over the course of about a week? I'd really appreciate any ideas on what else to check or what you think I'm overlooking.
