Question

[sagent3000]

alright i have a couple of questions

1. how long does it take for coralline algae to grow? i have been dripping two bags 1000ml of calcium and carbonate alkalinity refilling each bag every two days for the past week. how long before the coralline starts to grow

2. all of my LPS died. my frogspawn and my torch coral developed a white film over the openning and when i moved the film there was nothing in the them. my plate lost everything and all was left was his bones and the same with my fox. what could have possibly happened?

 

[jhnrb]

well sorry to hear about your wipe out. cant be sure what is going on not enough information provide a complete list of water parameters. I assume you are driping Kalkwrasser? or a two part? wonder why you are doing that. also tell us what is left in the system that is alive and how do the animals look. seems to me initially you loaded up too quickly. I assume your system is apprx. 6 months old? (could be "new tank syndrome"). anyways first check all water parameters and bring the parameters back into line slowly. see helpful articles there are several in the sticky ones that will give you some very general advice, and there are articles on algae you should read, also visit newbie articles, and new systems etc. you will find a lot of information in the articles that will help you decide what went wrong and how to deal with it or give you enough information to decide what to do and how to be successful long term. doing something that makes things work for you right away and not knowing why is a formula for short success. understanding what happened, how to prevent it is a formula for long term success with your system. so read read read. once you have browsed the articles extensively, and still have questions post back here. hope this helps, I know it dosnt specifically answer your questions but not enough information or history provided. good luck.

 

[sagent3000]

NH4 - 0
pH - 8.4
Salinity - 1.025
NO3 - 10
NO2 - 0
claicum - ?????
Alkalinity - ????

my bubble split the other day (which i thought was a good sign) my cup mushroom is getting bigger and y toadstool is starting to stand up.

i also have two red dwarf star fish, on green brittle starfish, and one sand shiftting star fish and they all seem to be doing well. the brittle is bigger than he was when i first bought him. i only see him at night ccause he hate the light. and the sand star pops up to the top every now and then.

any ideas on what i need to do? i am dripping seachem advantrage calcium and carbonate alkalinity because i thouht my levels were low which attributed to gfhe death of all my LPS.

 

[ReefWannabe]

You shouldnt add the calcium and alk if you cant test for it first.

 

[minireefer]

What a bummer! :sad: Some of the problem could be new tank syndrome that John spoke of.I had a frog spawn that this happen to also.Mine fell inthe sand and got stress out.I found out after it was to late that sometimes if you remove alittle of the top of the hard tube sometimes they will heal and sprout again.Hopefully this might be an available option for you.Also I agree with ReefWannabe that you need to test before dosing.To much kalk is toxic.As an example to kill an aiptaisa you inject it with kalk.Coraline also sometimes grows slowing in to much intense light.Also what kicked mine off was I got some scrapings of it and a rock coated in it.Then over time it spread everyware including the glass.You have alot of starfish in your tank.The sand star you have will depleate you copeapods and than prossibley starve. .You might want to remove it.I have one and kept my tank very well sifted but no copeapods to be founf till I removed it.It may be possible that the starfish may have perched on the coral you have and caused some stress (not sure here just put it ou there).

 

[jhnrb]

1st things 1st. Never add anything to your system unless you 1st determine that it is needed. you should get the needed test kits and test for water parameters you are providing additives for. 2nd the green star is one of the most agressive hunters in the family. is omnivous. the corals you lost could have been affected by the stars, or your additions. hard to say. so get the test kits and test. also bring your no3 down too high. The needs of the corals you lost are a bit more demanding than the animals you have left. get your no3 below 5ppm. reevaluate your water currents, and filtration. the softies like to slough off/ or wax off and this film or mucus is toxic to other corals. many things could have happened but most likely a water parameter problem, or toxic chemical competition, or a combination of all of the above. hope something here helps. check out the articles, there are a few with information on adding animals and their interaction with each other. good luck.