Nano Quiz 101; Can You Spot The Errors

[steelhealr]

Hi...I spotted this thread 'elsewhere' and thought this might be a good exercise to show how nano reefs are not a walk in the park. Post your thoughts on why this newcomer to nano reefing is stumbling. This person's forum registration date was 03/26/06. Just food for thought. SH

Title of post, "Corals dying, what's going on?"

Perhaps someone here can tell me whats going on before my corals completely die off.
Little background info. I got a coral pack from Live Aquaria. All seems fine except for these.

(pictures of dying softies)

As you can see the some of the coral is still alive. The coral on the front of the rock has turned into what looks like ash. (its the bright orange coral polyps).Last, I have a few mushrooms throughout the tank. The hairy mushroom is thriving. Two of the green mushrooms seem to be doing great. My blue mushrooms have shriveled up and look almost dead.

All my parameters are in good shape except my PH is a bit low.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0.5ppm

I also have just started to get some coraline growth on my backwall so my tank seems healthy.

Tank is a nano-cube 12dx.

Experienced nano reefer replies:

What corals are they, how long have they been in your tank, and how much light do you have?

Response:

Im not sure. I got the mashroom/polyp pack that had assorted corals.

Nano reefer:

What about the other two parts of my question?

Response:

about a month and a half and 48watts of pc light in a 12gallon tank.

Nano reefer:

Do you think that the ones that are not thriving could be lacking light? 48W is a little low... Are they 50/50 bulbs?

I can't tell from the pictures b/c they are too blurry, but are any of them close enough together to be stinging one another?

You said your pH was low, how low?

my PH is 7.8

No, they are not touching any other corals. Its weird, they just sort of seemed to disintegrate. The ones that died look like they have turned into mummified ash. There are still 8 or 9 polyps on the rock that are alive. Id like to save them.

Also, any idea why my blue mushrooms are shriveling up while my green ones are thriving?

Second nano reefer chimes in:

Thats reef keeping my friend just happens! Your lighting is more than enough to keep these species. Have you try adding calcium? might help

Dunno.

Adding calcium is a good idea and if you want to save the polyps you have, try splitting the LR that they are on and keeping only the healthy ones.

Yes I dose about two times a week with kent marine calcium. I add iodine once a week.

 

[fish_keeper2]

easy as pie..........the person is messing with the tank parameters thus creating an unstable tank.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Firstly I would be curious as to what corals they are, as some are sensitive to iodine while some mushrooms thrive with a bit in their water. She says she add iodine and calcium each week.

Secondly, I would also wonder what salt she is using. I know Kent has recently had a problem with their alkalinity coming out extremely low, and if she's adding calcium she could be driving her alkalinity down even further. Which in turn could be harming some of her more fragile corals.

only guessing I'm just a newb.

 

[@ombomb]

The above sounds right to me, adding too much calcium, although I'd be interested to know about the water circulation too.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Parameters inculde alot more than Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia. What SG and temperature is she running? Stable water stats could be a possibility, but Shrooms normally take a beating.

The fact she/he mentions she has Coralline growing shows stability, good alk, and good calcium, as corralline is quite demanding in that regard.

Wuv, for your question, what corals are they, the post mentions "mashroom/polyp pack".

 

[@ombomb]

Actually I think the temperature of the tank is probably also partly to blame, I wouldn't be surprised to see the temp of the tank being way too high.

 

[steelhealr]

This is my take on it:

1) first off, the new nano reefer didn't even know what types of corals that they added to the tank, so, no one (probably even the new reefer) knew what the requirements of the corals were. How can you adjust lighting, water circulation and coral positioning without knowing the species of coral you added?

2) most 'reputable' lfs' like Dr.s Foster and Smith will maintain corals under optimal condtions, most likely a pH of 8.2 - 8.4. If this reefer's tank is at 7.8, the tank is immature, unstable and still having wide pH swings. Corals should NOT have been added to the tank until this was resolving.

3) This person is dosing iodine without testing for the three major components of this element that are in flux in the marine system...elemental iodine, iodide and iodate. Iodine is used as an antiseptic prior to surgery. Blindly dosing iodine, he may have a toxic level in the tank.

4) The presence of coralline algae doesn't imply the wellness of the tank.

Lessons learned:
1) The most common error in nano reefing is rushing to stock your tank. The most critical and unstable period is the beginning: the first months. Although parameters may be 'normal', swings occur that may be detrimental to sensitive corals. Also, hair algae and cyanobacteria usually visit during this time period.

2) The next most common error is tossing things into your nano without knowing why. NEVER DOSE YOUR TANK without measuring the parameter you are trying to affect. Always know what you are trying to achieve by dosing. NEVER DOSE TO SIMPLY ACHIEVE A TEXTBOOK NUMBER.

3) Regular weekly water changes will replace most elements lost to livestock metabolism

4) Corals die quickly and can poison a nano tank and hurt your wallet. Research them thoroughly before adding them to your tank. Understand their lighting requirements, if any, the position they prefer in the natural reef environment, what water movement they prefer and how they should be fed and if they pose a danger when placed near a competitor or if they have sweepers.

PATIENCE. Almost NO Nano tank should have a coral in it immediately after cycling, in fact, for weeks until stable. Hope this helps. SH