Corals not looking good

[kathya0321]

Ok I don't understand why my zoa's and my Duncans are not opening and looking bad. My water parameters are perfect, the only thing I notice is my tank is running around 82-84 degrees. Could it be to warm for them or shouldn't that matter?

 

[Wolffman64]

Hi, Could you please post your water parameters?

The temp does seem high IMO, I have run my tanks between 78 - 79 degrees, and much warmer than that and the corals will start showing signs of stress. Have your temperature gone up recently, or do you always run it that high?

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

zoas pout from time to time & duncans like light

How often are you doing wc & what %? Are you dosing anything? I don't think it's the temp...

https://sites.google.com/a/asira.org/www2/duncans

 

[Frankie]

Please post water parameters.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Over 82 degrees is what I consider the danger zone.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Hey Frankie - great to see you on the boards mate !

 

[Frankie]

Hey Frankie - great to see you on the boards mate !

Finding time again brother!
Sorry to jack your thread Kathy!
I agree with Mike, 82 is a red zone. Look forward to seeing your parameters and helping you get those corals to open up!

 

[kathya0321]

Ok here are my parameters

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 5 ppm
PH 8.4
KH 8
Calcium 380

I really don't know how to get the temp down in my aquarium, any help would be appreciated. I do 20 % water changes every week. I am not dosing anything at this time. Everything was looking really good and now they look like crap.

 

[kathya0321]

Hi, Could you please post your water parameters?

The temp does seem high IMO, I have run my tanks between 78 - 79 degrees, and much warmer than that and the corals will start showing signs of stress. Have your temperature gone up recently, or do you always run it that high?

My temp has gone up with the increase in the outdoor temps, I tried leaving the top open to help cool it, but I do think the heat is what is doing it.

 

[reefer gladness]

Calcium is a bit low at 380ppm, alk is fine. A large water change wouldn't hurt to bring calcium up and replace other trace elements.

Evaporative cooling is good for about 2-4 degrees depending on factors like relative humidity, volume of air pushed by the fan, tank size, etc. Something like this might work for you http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_C_Breeze_Adjustable_Clamp_On_Air_Blower_Cooling_Fans_for_Aquarium_Lighting-JBJ_Lighting-JB1311-FILTACAF-vi.html

There are also microchillers available but evaporative cooling is more economical. There is a trade off with having to top off evaporated water with RO/DI far more often, an ATO is pretty much required IMO but an ATO is a good addition to any aquarium regardless.

 

[kathya0321]

Calcium is a bit low at 380ppm, alk is fine. A large water change wouldn't hurt to bring calcium up and replace other trace elements.

Evaporative cooling is good for about 2-4 degrees depending on factors like relative humidity, volume of air pushed by the fan, tank size, etc. Something like this might work for you http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_C_Breeze_Adjustable_Clamp_On_Air_Blower_Cooling_Fans_for_Aquarium_Lighting-JBJ_Lighting-JB1311-FILTACAF-vi.html

There are also microchillers available but evaporative cooling is more economical. There is a trade off with having to top off evaporated water with RO/DI far more often, an ATO is pretty much required IMO but an ATO is a good addition to any aquarium regardless.

So this would work on my 14 gallon bio cube, its hard to find anything because of the top of the tank.

 

[reefer gladness]

So this would work on my 14 gallon bio cube, its hard to find anything because of the top of the tank.

Marine Depot customer service is pretty good, I would give them a call first to be sure. One of the reviews was from someone with a BC8 tank but I would still call to be sure unless you can find someone with a BC14 to confirm.

And it doesn't have to be this fan, any fan will help you just need to find one that fits over the tank. An 8 inch oscillating fan works great too if you can put one over the tank.

 

[Frankie]

excellent advice reefer gladness!
nitrates are a bit high. You want them to be 0. Lps is sensitive to nitrate, phosphates.
You may want to try an external phosbane reactor to help. Or whatever new equipment has come out. (Been out of the hobby for a few years, need to catch up!)
Honestly, I can handle 84° if all is perfect and consistent with no deviation. Hard to do but possible. The waters your corals come from are in those ranges. Most aquariums benefit in the 78°-80° zone.
The ca++ (calcium) is fine at 380 ppm if that is the true reading. Those corals do not need 420 ppm to thrive. But would be ideal. What salt are you using?
magnesium and potassium would be helpful in understanding your water chemistry.
Once you have the nitrates under control cut back on the water changes to 10% weekly. Because your so small at 14 gallons it will keep things more stable with smaller water changes done more frequently.
Always make sure the water change water matches your aquarium temperature and salinity.
What is your salinity?

 

[Choff]

How quickly did the water temp rise and what do you normally keep it at during the winter? My guess is with a 14g tank the temp shot up pretty fast.

Since you don't have a chiller, if it was me I would keep my water in the high side (80 maybe even 81) the rest of the year so in the summer the rise in temp would not be as big of a change.

I have read of people freezing RODI water and using that to cool off small tanks.

I really do not think it's a nitrate issue. 5ppm is not high and zoos especially would not be impacted. I run my SPS/LPS dominate tank around 1 ppm and find coloration is better with small amounts of nitrate present.


...stupid auto correct

 

[kathya0321]

excellent advice reefer gladness!
nitrates are a bit high. You want them to be 0. Lps is sensitive to nitrate, phosphates.
You may want to try an external phosbane reactor to help. Or whatever new equipment has come out. (Been out of the hobby for a few years, need to catch up!)
Honestly, I can handle 84° if all is perfect and consistent with no deviation. Hard to do but possible. The waters your corals come from are in those ranges. Most aquariums benefit in the 78°-80° zone.
The ca++ (calcium) is fine at 380 ppm if that is the true reading. Those corals do not need 420 ppm to thrive. But would be ideal. What salt are you using?
magnesium and potassium would be helpful in understanding your water chemistry.
Once you have the nitrates under control cut back on the water changes to 10% weekly. Because your so small at 14 gallons it will keep things more stable with smaller water changes done more frequently.
Always make sure the water change water matches your aquarium temperature and salinity.

I am using Reef Crystals and my salinity is 1.025. I am also having a problem with a powdery algae in my tank. Could that be from the heat also, going buy a phosphate testing kit to see if that is also a part of the problem.

 

[kathya0321]

How quickly did the water temp rise and what do you normally keep it at during the winter? My guess is with a 14g tank the temp shot up pretty fast.

Since you don't have a chiller, if it was me I would keep my water in the high side (80 maybe even 81) the rest of the year so in the summer the rise in temp would not be as big of a change.

I have read of people freezing RODI water and using that to cool off small tanks.

I really do not think it's a nitrate issue. 5ppm is not high and zoos especially would not be impacted. I run my SPS/LPS dominate tank around 1 ppm and find coloration is better with small amounts of nitrate present.


...stupid auto correct

I usually keep the temp at 78

 

[Wolffman64]

You've got some excellent advice in here.

The higher temp will probably also increase algae growth.

I would suggest a fan over the tank to get the temperature down. The frozen bottle advice from Choff is a good temporary solution.

Also, when you get the phosphate test kit, also get a magnesium test kit.

Best of luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Frankie]

I am using Reef Crystals and my salinity is 1.025. I am also having a problem with a powdery algae in my tank. Could that be from the heat also, going buy a phosphate testing kit to see if that is also a part of the problem.

thanks ! sorry for the late response. look forward to seeing the results from the phosphate test

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