Coral toxin removal tips needed please.

Things were going swimmingly (pun intended) in my 120 gallon. I was dabbling in corals with more success than failures, and then it happened. I decided that my one small patch of waving hand xenia that was growing out of control, needed to be moved away from the rest of the live rock to try to stop it from spreading.





What I didn't relize is that this now massive colony was actually attached to 3 really good sized rocks, and when trying to move it all, it basically "tore" where the rocks split.


I didn't see any stringy goo or anything, and it didn't seem to be impacting my tank until the next day. Then my really large Kenia tree just shrank down instead of being open. Then my large green leather slowly followed suit and now is about half the size (which is actually a pretty good reduction) and sort of slumped over backwards where it used to be upright.


When I split the waving hand xenia, I was also doing a water change at the time, so if anything, water quality should have improved and not gone down had I not split the Xenia, thus the reason I think that it is the culprit.


So that was a week ago. Then I go out of town for work, I get back yesterday, and I am noticing no improvement on the Kenya Tree or green leather, but nothing worse either. The Xenia pieces are all happily flowing in the water.


Then today, all but a tiny patch of one of the Xenias has turned from long flowing browning/tan Xenia, to contracted blueish and non-flowing Xenia. The Kenya and Leather look the same.


The few mushrooms and handful of zoas in the tank seem uneffected. There are also a couple of small Kenya "sprouts" elsehwere in the tank that seem uneffected.


Could this be a toxin released by the Xenia when it was "ungracefully" split a week ago, and then some sort of toxin retaliation from another coral?


I usually do a 20 gallon water change, but today I mixed salt into my 20 gallon RO/DI container as well and did a 40 gallon (the most that I can really do) water change. I also replaced the (fresh just yesterday) GFO in my reactor with high quality carbon today. I am tweaking the skimmer to skim a little more wet than I usually do as well.


I just have basic water tests, but before the water change the specific gravity was right at 1.025 per the refractometer, pH was right at the low end at 8.1, ammonia was at a small blip, which surprised me, of about 0.1 ppm (still low, but not 0), nitrite and nitrate both at 0.0 ppm. Water temp is at 76F.


Post massive water change, specifc gravity is still at 1.025, pH is 8.2, ammonia is now at 0.0 ppm, nitrite and nitrate still at 0.0 ppm, and temp still 76F.


Could it be coral toxins? Something else? No fish or inverts have died. Shrimp, snails, sand sifting starfish are all active during their normal active times. No other noticable indicators of anything wrong outside of these 3 corals not being happy and the only changes were the water change (again started with normal RO/DI mixed with salt mix) and then the splitting (roughly) of the Xenia.

 

I've been using a combination of Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals (bought a BUNCH from AC&C last Spring). I usually do about 2/3 Instant Ocean and 1/3 Reef Crystals. Have been doing that for a long time now.


The corals "in question" have been in the system for about a year.


Nothing new added since fall fest, and that was just a couple of zoas.


So my water could be "too clean" ???


Here is what the 3 sections of Xenia looked like just a few days ago. (They were quite large.) Happily waving in the flow of the water...

 

Since introducing the carbon right after my large water change, things are looking better today. The Xenia is more its normal color and "waving," the Kenya Tree is more plump that it has been, and the green leather, while still small, is more upright.

I will see where things go, and then slowly start taking the carbon out in a few days/week.

 

Nope. I bought one of those BRS dual reactors where you are supposed to be able to put GFO in the first chamber and carbon in the second. Getting flow dialed in was a pain as it needed to be strong enough to get through all of the media, and the MJ1200 pump that it came with just doesn't have enough umph. So I have been running just GFO for a while. I was fighting nasty hair algae and stuff. The guy that I got my tank and rock from let his system go over 4 years without any maintenance at all outside of top offs. Sounds like it was a great looking reef at one point, but what I got was all bleached coral and rock, and the sand looked like it had turned to mud from all of the detritus in it. I pitched the sand (all but one dirty cup of it) and started with new sand, but you could tell that the rock had so much nasty phosphates and stuff in it that it was a feeding ground for algae. After trying everything else I could think of, the GFO finally pulled almost all if not all of the bad crap out of the rock and now my nasty algae problems are long gone.

Maybe some day I will modify my dual reactor and make it so that it supports 2 pumps, has two inlets and two outlets (basically plumb it back into 2 separate canisters)...

 

If you read the reviews on BRS, there are actually a good number of complaints about not enough flow to keep things working well.

If could also have something to do with tank size. I have a 120 gallon with a 40 gallon sump (minus live rock/sand of course), and the proper amounts of GFO and carbon (at least their regular stuff) pretty much fills both canisters. with just enough space for the GFO to lightly tumble. it just seemed like the MJ1200 struggled to push through that much media and quickly stopped being able to push water at all even fully opened.

 

Interesting. I've had the issue since day 3 (day 1 and 2 were fine). LOL


I could try cleaning out the MJ1200, but again since it hasn't had enough "oomph" since it was new, I don't think that is the main issue.


I did JUST switch to the 0.8 ROX carbon. It seems like I only need about half as much as I did before, so maybe that will be the difference. I have been using their regular granular GFO. That stuff is expensive already at about $62 for a 1 gallon container, the high capacity is $180 for the same amount. Eek.

 

Everything is bouncing back. The Xenia looks 100% back to normal. The Kenya tree is about half way to recovery, and the green leather is taking its time, but looking better every day.

In fact the Xenia is looking so good again that I am thinking about going back to my original plan and selling off 2 of the 3 large colonies. I have no idea what they are worth, but they are on nice big purple live rock pieces (a few pounds of rock each)... Of course with spring fest this weekend, nobody is probably wanting to buy, and I can't make it. I will be in Des Moines for a family reunion of sorts Friday and Saturday. Oh well, maybe I will wait a bit and see if there is any interest.

 

Sweet. We will have to figure something out. I've got a little patch of gsp, and a couple of somewhat boring brown mushrooms...

 

We are heading to Des Moines mid-day on Friday, and coming home after midnight Saturday with a van full of people, plus I am leading the pack of 4 vehicles of family coming to Cedar Rapids middle of the night.

Those orange Yumas are cool though.