Last night I noticed a little string mucus coming from my Frogspawn with some on the shell nearby. This morning there was a lot more of this mucus stuff coming from it. The mucus color was kind of brownish. I did a small water change just on Sunday and the tank has been established for 9 months now. Any help on identifying what it might be and what to do about it? Thanks

I'm not sure which Frogspawn you are talking about or maybe that's a Duncan on the left. Anyway, it doesn't look so good either. I'm seeing a couple issues with the coral in that pic.

Please 1) post a pic of the whole tank and 2) answer these questions:

A. What is the Salinity and is it measured with a Hydrometer or a Refractometer? 

B. What is the temperature?

C. If you know it, what is the Alkalinity level?

D. If you know it, what is the Calcium level?

E. What coral and anemones have you tried and what is their history in your tank?

EDIT> I had just posted the text above, when I found another new thread, also about your tank. I suggest we combine and tackle these issues together.  <EDIT

you wrote: ] I currently have 2 sunsun 800 gph wavemaker pumps In my tank on opposite sides yet I am still having trouble on making sure all my corals have some water flow. I have a frogspawn in which a couple heads on one side don't get water flow but all the other heads do. As a result they will not open fully. Is there any pumps that are better for covering a wider area? Or is the only thing I can really do is just mess around with they locations? I have a couple pieces of small rock with some zoas on it. 1 I have had for a few months and one just a couple weeks. I can't seem to get them to open at all. The new one is about 15 inches down and the 5 month old one is about 17 inches. Any suggestions on what I might do to get them to open? Is it lighting? I don't believe it is water parameters because I have quite a few other corals in the tank that are doing well. Thanks for all the help and or suggestions. :)

F. What size is this tank?

G. Is there a glass lid or cover over the tank or can you do a pH test early in the morning before dawn?

I. What is the lighting?

Aloha,

Mark 

It is definitely a frogspawn. But okay I will try to answer as many as I can.

A: 1.030 (Surprised it is running this high right now)

B: Temp- 79 F

C- No idea

D- No idea

E- I've successfully had 1 RBTA anemone, 1 large GBTA, 1 Rose anemone, devils hand leather, a green hammer coral, and kryptonite candy cane. I've struggled with zoas and frogspawn. The tank is 9 months old. I run activated carbon, have a protein skimmer, sump, on sunday I did a 10% water change.

F- Tank size is 55 gallons

G- No cover just a light stand on top. I don't currently have stuff to test ph with

I- Lighting is 2 Blue actinic T5 HO 48" bulbs and 2 Sunlight T5 HO 10,000 bulbs.

Hopefully that all makes sense and can give you some idea on what's going on.  Thanks for the help Mark.

Thanks for answering the questions. I'm sorry I didn't have time to talk when we did the trade a few weeks ago. Okay, I'm going to answer the questions as honestly as I see them. I can see that the coral in the middle of the pic was a frogspawn, but it's dead. The coral on the left looks like it may be a Duncan. If it's also a Frogspawn, then I'm sorry to say, it's struggling.

A: 1.030 (Surprised it is running this high right now) I actually expected that. I could see it in the pic. (crazy huh!) If you are using a Hydrometer that has never been cleaned, the salinity is actually even higher, probably 1.033. Clean the Hydrometer with a 10 minute soak in White Vinegar and a rinse in RO water. Remove 3 gallons of tank water and replace with RO water. Do this once daily until the Salinity is at 1.025.

B: Temp- 79 F This is also contributing to the coral difficulties. Higher temperature combined with inadequate flow makes it difficult for the animals to breathe. Unplug the heater and let the tank run at room temperature, but not below 70 degrees F. Let us know what temp it stabilizes at with the heater unplugged. (Ideal is around 74 degrees and there are several good reasons for 74 as the optimal heater setting.)

C & D- No idea It's critical that you know and understand these values and Mg as well. After the Salinity is at 1.025, get the water tested for Alk, Ca, and Mg by a fellow hobbyist or a LFS and come back and report the numbers. I suspect they are low and need to be raised. We can talk about how to do that when we have the test results.

E- I've successfully had 1 RBTA anemone, 1 large GBTA, 1 Rose anemone, devils hand leather, a green hammer coral, and kryptonite candy cane. I've struggled with zoas and frogspawn. The tank is 9 months old. I run activated carbon, have a protein skimmer, sump, on sunday I did a 10% water change. Back in November you had a struggling Anemone. Whatever happened with that? It's normal for Frogspawn to do worse than Candy Cane, but the Candy Cane is also struggling. I'm sorry, you may not know it, but it is.

F- Tank size is 55 gallons. & G- No cover just a light stand on top. I don't currently have stuff to test ph with  Thanks, that's okay. I can figure the approximate pH. The flow is moving in an ineffective manner, not good for pH.  Take those powerheads, move them down about 8 inches and point them both up to the water surface so the streams hit at center top surface. This will improve conditions for the health of all the life in the tank, even bacteria. What that means is that the biofiltration will work better and coral will do better. You might even try disassembling, inspecting and completely cleaning the powerheads to make sure they are operating at full capacity. They look a little clogged. If they are broken, especially the impeller, I'd replace them with two $20 Maxijet 1200's.

I- Lighting is 2 Blue actinic T5 HO 48" bulbs and 2 Sunlight T5 HO 10,000 bulbs. How old are the tubes? If older than one year, they need to be replaced. Consider using two blue tubes, one actinic tube and one Pink/Purple tube. Colors will show better and coral will be healthier and happier. Don't switch them all at once, as suddenly brighter light will cause a sunburn. 

Now for another observation and a question.

The Anemones look a little stressed. This again may be partly a pH issue due to improper water flow and gas exchange, exacerbated by the high salinity issue. 

Does the Sump utilize an RDP Refugium and may we see a pic of what's below  

Thanks for being such a good sport to reveal all about your tank and to listen to my advice. Sometimes I wonder if I've been at this hobby way too long.  My wife tells me I spend too much time do too much for free. 

Aloha,

Mark  

Hey Mark thanks for all the input I will start to get the salinity lower with the 3 gallon exchanges and unplug the heater so the temperature goes a little lower.

None of the bulbs are older then a year.

With the anemone a while back that wasn't doing well I had found out that my white light had gone out and didn't even realize it for who knows how long. Once I replaced it they slowly started coming back and regrowing the tentacles.

So a couple of additional questions. What makes you say that the candy cane are struggling? Just curious. They seem to open pretty big and have good color.

Also if I move the powerheads down and point them upwards how will the corals get some water flow on them so they lightly move?

Thanks for all your help again.

Well, Candy cane are closely related to Frogspawn so it's an assumption. I hope I'm wrong.

Are you using 1-2 cups of AC in a good flow area replaced every two weeks? AC needs to be moved around/jostled once or twice and then replaced because it becomes saturated.

 A water stream pulls other water with it. When all that water hits the surface it turns and rolls over all around the tank, lots of turbulence. Below are pics of a 40 and a 55 showing the turbulence achieved with just one powerhead pointing up and a third pic of a 75 gal utilizing two powerheads in like manner. Just for fun, can you find the powerheads in these tanks?

May we see a pic of the sump?

Aloha,

Mark 

Okay sweet I will get the fans moved downward. Also question about the temperature I've read that 80 degrees is in the safe range and that the average coral reefs run around 82 degrees. But I trust your experience with what is best.

Here are a couple pictures of my sump. I have marcroalgae, protein skimmer, live rock, and AC in there.

80, 82?   I went looking for where in the world you would have read that. I easily found one reference to it at Marine Depot.

http://www.marinedepot.com/reef-tank-parameters.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.marinedepot.com/reef-tank-parameters.html

I've gotta go but I'll come back tomorrow to add detail to my answer in B. above, what's better and why.

Thanks for the pics.

In this Refugium it looks like the ASM Skimmer is submerged up to the collection cup, leaving the exit pipe completely submerged. Am I seeing that right? If so, I recommend placing it on a raised platform so the Refugium water level sits at about the top of the intake elbow. Works a lot better that way. A round cylinder sponge can be purchased that quiets the exiting water and filters it too. A silencer is easy to make if the intake air tubing is noisy. Cleaning the venturi with a grabber screw is very important so the air intake works properly to produce plenty of foam.

Do I see a rusty metal hose clamp holding vinyl tubing to the return pump outlet? Iron actually helps the Macroalgae grow better, but it can also pollute the water and it can rust away until the tubing slips off the powerhead at just the wrong time.

If the electrical power goes off, can the sump overflow? If no, how close to the top does it get?

I see nice vibrant growth of Caulerpa Taxifolia.

Aloha,

Mark 

Well actually I am still confused about which coral in that pic you are talking about. I see a Euphyllia(Frogspawn, Hammer, or Torch) in the center that's either mostly dead or completely dead with only skeleton showing. From the pic it's hard to tell exactly. Maybe that center piece is the one you called a shell. It's actually called the skeleton of the coral.

The other coral is on the left side and is in such bad shape that it doesn't even look like Frogspawn. Frankly, it looks to me like it's dieing. I can't say whether it was a disease or not because it appears the conditions in the tank are such that I'm not surprised that Frogspawn has been having difficulty and Zoanthids are not doing well.

Aloha,

Mark 

P.S.

I'm pretty confident with what I'm saying about your tank. I've been evaluating tanks in person at hobbyist homes and businesses for over 20 years and here on the forum for as long as the forum has been around (2002). Some of my own tanks are pictured here. They show that I know what I'm doing. http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37523" rel="nofollow -

At this point, I believe that the Alk and Ca need no attention. They are within range. Nitrite at zero? I don't believe it. It cannot be zero when Ammonia and Nitrate are so high.

The reason Nitrogen pollution(Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate) is that high is because more food is going into the tank than the biofiltration can process/decompose. Biofiltration is not only bacteria living in and on rock and sand, but includes tiny animals that have not yet reached their full potential in this reef aquarium. Tiny bugs and worms are essential to a properly functioning reef. The high pollution has reduced the population of bacteria, bugs and worms and the high salinity along with elevated temp, though temporary, have not helped. FYI, overfeeding is the most common cause of problems for new hobbyists.

In order for this tank to recover and to be in good shape from here on, there are several things that should be done now and some things that should be conscientiously watched in the future.

WHAT TO DO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

1. Stop feeding the tank for a week. That means no food at all for at least 5 days, 7 days if you can handle it. The fish will be fine. Fasting is a healthy thing to do. If you are concerned about them, throw a tiny amount of food in the tank at day 5, but believe me they can go a long time without supplemental food. They find stuff to eat in the tank.

2. Leave the Refugium light on continuously for a week.

3. Put some Macroalgae in the display and extend the photoperiod to 18 hours

4. Consider a larger than usual water change (not necessary, but it can help).

5. Place 1/2 cup of Activated Alumina(AA) in a media bag next to the intake screen of the return pump. I have high quality AA and will give you a cup of it for free. Otherwise buy a small bottle of Kent Phosguard or SeaChem Phosphate Sponge at the LFS.

Why is Macroalgae my #2 and #3 recommendation? Because as it grows, algae eats Nitrogen pollution very fast, very effectively and with no effort on your part. A good amount of algae, illuminated 24/7 can cut N pollution by about 30% every day, so long as no food is going into the tank. This high N situation was going on for a long time. It does not need to be corrected all in one moment. Gradual changes are better for our tanks anyway.

Water changes can only dilute the N pollution by the percentage of the water change. A 30% water change will dilute the Nitrates by 30% (from 100 down to 70 ppm), a subsequent 30% WC will bring it down by 30% again (from 70 ppm down to 50 ppm). A decent goal is <20 ppm Nitrate. Multiple water changes are not only a lot of salt and water, they are a lot of hassle. In my book that is a less efficient way of fixing the problem than simply growing algae

WHAT TO DO LONG TERM

1. Watch the condition of coral for the signs that you now have learned are due to high N pollution, using the points above to bring N pollution down if necessary. The coral will tell you, by how good they look, whether N pollution is acceptable or whether it's gone out of whack.

2. Watch the temperature every day and if it rises, take action to correct it ASAP

3. Watch salinity at every water change, always check the salinity of the water change salt water and try to add only RO water for top-off.

4. After the 7 days of no or little food, feed half as much as has been fed prior to the fast and don't increase the amount of food until another fish goes into the tank that needs it. (Yes, a penny size piece of food (is that 1 or 2 cubes?) every day is too much for 5 fish)

5. Test Alk and Ca at every water change. Eventually, a need to supplement Alk, Ca and Mg will arise, especially as all the stony coral(frogspawn, Candy Cane, Moon Coral, etc.)  and Snails start to thrive. See the Reefkeeping Tips, linked below in my signature line, for information and methods.

6. Watch the bag of AA, flip it over every so often, mixing up the media to extend it's usefulness and change it out when it loses it's bright white color, when it's looking more of a tan color.

Feel free to come back here with questions.

Speaking of questions, there is one unanswered question that's got me curious. Is the Skimmer working better now, after making the recommended changes? A skimmer isn't really needed for this tank so don't worry if it takes a while to get it set up right.

Aloha,

Mark 

What is it hanging on to in the Refugium? I always put sand in the Refugium for more biofiltration and for Caulerpa to use. Rubble rock in the Refugium is okay, and useful to an extent, but LS can harbor a much larger population of bacteria, perhaps as much as 100 times larger than LR, depending on the sand grain size.

Rubble Rock is great for holding down Caulerpa. Every tank needs to have some rubble rock, small pieces of LR (marble to ping pong ball size), because it not only makes for more natural looking aquascaping to have a zone of rubble, but it's a place where bugs can live in the display, protected from predators. Take a larger piece of LR and/or dead coral skeleton and break it up with a hammer and chisel or flat screwdriver. Dump all the pieces (and calcium carbonate dust) back into an area on the sand.

Another way to stabilize Caulerpa is to use an elastic to hold it to a rock outcropping or to hold it to a dead coral skeleton, or even bury the rhizome in a couple spots in the sand, deeper than before if necessary. As it grows, it will start attaching itself to the sand. For some reason I love pulling up Caulerpa that has sent it's "roots" deep into the sand bed.

Speaking of sand, what kind of sand is it and how deep is the sand bed? A deeper sand bed, or a less deep bed of Oolitic sand harbors more bacteria for biofiltration. I have a ton of excellent Oolitic Sand for $0.50/lb.

Like the Refugium light, leave the display light on the extended photoperiod for a week, or as long as you think is needed.

Look again. I wrote two brand and product names in that post. I doubt Petco has it, but your nearest "real" LFS, Bird World, should carry it.

Aloha,

Mark 

And what type of sand? Do you have a close-up pic?

Is the Ammonia and Activated Carbon Sponge a filter pad or a granular media? Typically we don't mix carbon and ammonia media for use in reef aquariums(they are more for freshwater aquaria). In fact, after this pollution issue is resolved you will probably never need to worry about ammonia ever again.

Hydrometers are good devices but really ought to be calibrated before use(or after cleaning as described below), otherwise they may be off by as much as 0.003. It's okay, fish and coral can live okay in anything from 1.020 to 1.030, but it's better to be more exact than 0.003. Calibration is easy. Compare the reading to the same salt water measured by a Refractometer. All LFS should have a refractometer and be willing to test a sample of their salt water with both devices. Simply note how far off it reads and mark that + or - value on the hydrometer with a permanent marker.

A temporary high reading comes about when a tiny bubble sticks to the needle. A re-dip in the water is the quickest way to resolve this. Microscopic bubbles will have a tiny but insignificant influence. If exactness were really that important I would be using the more expensive and delicate Refractometer myself.

A longer term issue develops over time if the hydrometer has not been periodically cleaned by soaking in white vinegar for 10 minutes. The Calcium Carbonate that forms on the needle makes it heavier so that it reads lower than the actual specific gravity(SG, salinity).

Regarding the readings changing, salt dissolves quickly enough for water changes, but salinity does not change without an outside influence, such as evaporation or RO top-off. In my experience different readings usually occur because salinity was not double checked by the hobbyist. If in doubt, I check the tank water before the water change, check the water change water and then check the tank water after the water change.

When checking salinity with my Hydrometers, I typically measure twice to be sure I'm getting the same reading, or three times if the first two readings didn't match.

Hope this helps.

Aloha,

Mark 

Nope, Nitrates do not create sediment or waste.

That is a healthy sand bed, supporting bugs like Copepods, Amphipods and those little swimmers called Mysid Shrimp. I wouldn't touch it. See the worm tunnels next to the glass.   Lot's of good animals in there doing their cleanup job.

Sounds like bigger rocks are needed to hold the Macro in place in the display. Yes, Damsels eat algae.

FWIW, it's not a fan, it's called a powerhead and the thing that spins to push the water is a propeller.

If there is something creating Nitrates, it is probably where the water drains into the sump. How is that set up? May we see a pic?

May we see a pic of the display as it is now? I would like to see a full frame pic of the left side and another of the right side.

I may be coming your way in the next few days. I'll text to see when we can meet up.

Aloha,

Mark 

Update:

Everything is looking soooo much better than what I saw in the image posted in the OP. No Frogspawn skeleton is showing and the anemone looks like an anemone.

Alk 9.2 dKH, Ca <290 ppm, and Mg 1340 ppm. No need to check N compounds. I can see that everything is fine. The Nitrate test kit must be bad/old. Calcium needs to be dosed heavily and Alk will need to be dosed moderately as the Ca level rises.

We checked SG with a Refractometer and found it to be currently 1.020. It can be raised to 1.025 by topping off with salt water in place of RO water.

The fish are acting normal, eating algae and doing the things that fish do. This tank is headed for the

Aloha,

Mark 

Mg is well within range.

What I recommend is what a lot of us here use. The chemicals and how to do it is discussed in the Reefkeeping Tips thread linked below. It may surprise you that it's so simple and so inexpensive.

Aloha,

Mark 

Because we can tell whether the N pollution is a problem just by looking at the coral and the tank in general, the most important tests that we use are Alk, Ca and Mg. The best three test kits for the money also happen to be the least expensive. It's the Red Sea Reef Foundation(Alk,Ca,Mg). On Amazon right now it's $51.33 with free shipping. A really good thing about it is that the refills are about $15 so we don't have to buy the whole thing again when all we need is more Alk tests. See if this link works:

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sea-Reef-Foundation-Test/dp/B004FUJ5NE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461617125&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sea+test+kit+pro" rel="nofollow - http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sea-Reef-Foundation-Test/dp/B004FUJ5NE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461617125&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sea+test+kit+pro

I would not get any Stars at all right now in that tank. Here is a recent thread about Blue Linkia.

http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79684" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79684

Mandarins need live food and plenty of it. Feel free to search the many discussions that have been posted here about this topic too. The live food I'm speaking of is that growing in the system. Buying live food is prohibitively expensive. With all the Damsels and the recent week of no feeding, there are very few live bugs in the display tank. I would not recommend a Mandarin in that tank. In fact, that size of tank is the bare minimum size that could reasonably support a Mandarin's live food needs.  

BTW, If you are looking for ideas for your next fish, consider the Clownfishes(of course), the Blennies, the Cardinals, the Wrasses, the Pygmy & Dwarf Angelfish, the Rabbitfishes and the Tangs. Remember the Assessor that Ross was so proud of and how cool it was hanging upside down under the huge Blue Wall Hammer Coral? That fish along with the Royal Gramma or the Pseudochomis would also do well as a next fish.

Aloha,

Mark