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I think I killed my corals. (1 Viewer)

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G

Guest

So I'm coming back from Global with a new pulsing xenia. I'm about to place it in my tank when I realize that one of my moonlights is dangling in the water. So I unplug the lights, take them down, then begin the process of acclimating my new xenia.

I notice that my zoo's aren't extended, they are tucked away. The mushrooms are shriveled up, as if the lights weren't on.

The lights are still on, but the corals are not responding. Even the zenia looks bad, after it has been in my tank overnight.

my parameters look good, but after 12 hours, i have no response from the corals. My brittle star, hermits, and snails are fine. They were doing great before this, and i have had these corals for a few months.

The timing really sucks, i'm supposed to get my first protein skimmer in the mail today.

I'm pretty sure i zapped my corals to death! Dumb mistake on my part, but to anyone with homemade moonlights, be careful how you mount them.
 
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G

Guest

Have you tested your water...it might just be a coincidence. Especially if you're star, snails, hermits, etc. are okay. Also, you acclimated the Xenia after unplugging the lights, so I'm not sure it would have affected the Xenia.
 
C

cparka23

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it would partly depend on what is in the tank. as certain things are stressed or dying, the water becomes fouled. i'm not sure about mushrooms and zoos though. it does sound strange to me though. at least you can pretty much rule out electricity for the xenia's poor appearance.

btw, were the moonlights shorted out? i'd think that a breaker might have tripped if you really were shocking everything in the tank to death.
 
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G

Guest

That makes sense (about the breaker). i just can't think of another reason why the corals would have this response all of the sudden. I looked at the moonlights, and the part that fell in was heavily corroded.

i ran some activated charcoal, and the mushrooms perked up a bit.

two things i don't have are an alkalinity or calcium test. i have been dosing with Aragamilk daily to increase my corralline algae.

Another thing i didn't mention, i have a seargent major that has not been affected. He's a tough fish, though. (from Galveston)
 
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G

Guest

WHOA!

24 hours later, the zoo's and mushrooms are starting to come out again! (barely)- guess it was a false alarm... i hope.

Sure is weird that it happened though. Hopefully, my protein skimmer will get here tomorrow and fix this problem.

Thanks for the advice.
 
K

KarenB

I have to agree that some of those zoas will survive just about anything. I have some green/brown palys that survived Abran's crash when his temps got over 115 degrees, and they survived the cycling of my tank and the many mistakes I've made with it over the last nine months :D
 
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Guest

Moonlights

Just as a side note, the materials in LED's and circuits can cause woes if directly exposed to your water. Solder, flux, copper, insulation, etc. This was one of the reasons for developing our light (MoonScape) as we felt the light housing was one of the critical aspects of any lighting design. I would have to know more about the circuit voltage and draw to estimate if electricity stressed your tank for a bit. However, if your water was very stinky, it could've been a death in the family causing unrest. Either way, glad you it seems to be on the way back.
 
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G

Guest

I sniffed the water and it did seem to have a light foul smell.
I have a brain coral that has been slowly deteriorating for several months. It's my only hard coral, and i bought it before I realized that a combination of pc lighting, carbon filtration, and amateur reefkeeping weren't adequate to keep these magnificent critters.

Guess that was the culprit. I'll take it out tonight and see if things improve.
The neon green color is almost gone anyway, and my newbie opinion says it's past the saving point. I won't buy anymore hard corals until I have some more experience under my belt.
 
B

BrianPlankis

You might want to post on buy/sell/trade to see if anyone wants to try rescuing the brain coral?
 
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G

Guest

Too late, I took it out last night.
i tried to give it away before, there are pictures of it on this thread.
Note- the coral is much worse off now than in the photos.
I did a 10% water change, and currently running carbon.
My zoas and mushrooms look ok now.
my xenia still looks terrible. i did some research and learned that my ph is too low for them, (8.0) so i need to increase my ph slowly.
Funny, my test kit says that 8.0 is ideal for marine aquariums.
Right now I'm trying to learn how to raise my ph.
 
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