losing SPS colonies fast!!!

mag 1450. salinity is 1.025

 

as you can see on the second picture. the colony is being attacked but the red planet just behind it is thriving and growing without any sign of distress and even has nice coloration.
it is driving me crazy.

 

come to think of it YES. new batch of reef crystals 6 weeks before. could it be possible a bad batch of salt? if it is no wonder how many times i do water change it is still the same. like i said i have done 30g water change almost every 4 days.

but i don't think it is the salt for my other reef tank is doing fine and i use the same batch to do my water change on the smaller tank.
i am thinking it is something in the tank itself that is affecting the colonies.

 

will a ph swing cause this?
i used a ph buffer before for my ph was at 7.9 before but is now at 8.1 for i increased my kalk ration of 2tsp/1g of water.

 

So you raised your kalk about the time this started? In that case, seems like an Alk swing to me, rather than pH.

 

do you use bio-pellets?

You never saw any AEFW at night correct?

Has flow changed? What about stray voltage?

Have you verified all of your parameters? Your tests aren't expired or anything. Your refractometer has been calibrated?

Do you check the TDS of your topoff and mixing water?

Do you live with anyone else in the house that may have done something around the tank or in the room the tank is in? (I know I came home one day and was upset at the wifey who was spraying air freshener into the room the tank was in)

How many thermometers do you use to measure the temp of the tank? Do you have a backup system in case the heater fails?

Your wall hammer coral may have released something into the tank as it was dying off or when it contracted brown jelly disease maybe run a little extra carbon.

 

I have to agree with alk swings. I had the same thing happen to my SPS once when I overdosed my alk 2 part. Massive RTN then everything recovered over the next few months.

 

Completely circumstantial, but I have NEVER had any luck with Reef Crystals. Plain old Instant Ocean has always been more stable for me.

 

Are you running t5's for light? Could the bulbs need replacing? Not sure if that is the case but I figured I would throw it out there. SPS generally require the most light so if the bulbs are getting too old, they might feel the effects first.

Really, I'm guessing but maybe someone with more experience might know more. I figure if my guess helps at all then it was worth a shot.

 

Did you increase your kalk all at once, or slowly? What were you dosing before? Definitely could be alk swings due to alk swings. Also, do look out for predators such as AEFW.