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Coral help

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by Jandala, Jun 30, 2018.

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  1. Jun 30, 2018 #1
    Jandala West des moines iowa

    Jandala New User

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    So I've been running my reef for 2 years now and I've never had any problems. So I recently did a deep clean and changed my filter media and got all the coraline algae off my glass and I added a new rock. Turns out the new rock even though I cycled it and it was sold by a petstore it wasn't painted with tank safe paint. So the next thing I know is the ph drops to 6-7 in a crash. So I caught the crash in time and did some water changes but I can't get the ph back up. All my corals are ok now (their flesh was peeling off) they seem to be doing better but they're still in poor condition. Ph is now 8 I can't get it any higher. Nitrates are 0 calcium is 400 all params are normal. Plenty of aeration temp is at 78. Any advice on how to get my ph back up and save my corals?
    Sorry for the long post I've never had this happen to me before so I'm scared I might lose some of my corals.
     
  2. Jul 1, 2018 #2
    blackx-runner Cedar Rapids, IA

    blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

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    Not entirely sure how a rock would drop the pH like that, I can definitely see it causing issues if it was painted, but I wouldn't think pH would be one of them. Did you disrupt a sand bed at all during the deep cleaning? What type of filter and media did you change out? Might have more issues going on with the tank than just the toxic rock.
    There is nothing wrong with a pH of 8. Plenty off reefers that don't dose to raise pH run it at 8 without any issue at all. I would focus on other things before chasing that to get it higher.
    I would go with plenty of carbon and water changes, don't dose anything new or chase numbers, you might be causing other affects doing so. Just maintain a stable water chemistry and work on cleaning up any toxins in the water.
     
  3. Jul 1, 2018 #3
    Jandala West des moines iowa

    Jandala New User

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    West des moines iowa
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    Thanks for the advice I'll try to run some carbon I already did some water changes. I still have no idea how the ph dropped. The tank has always been stable. The only thing new I put in was the rock so I assumed that that's the reason.
     
  4. Jul 1, 2018 #4
    blackx-runner Cedar Rapids, IA

    blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

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    Cedar Rapids, IA
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    That's why I was wondering if you disturbed the sandbed much and what kind of filter you run. Sometimes a deep cleaning could disturb a sand bed enough to release all kinds of stuff and cause havok on a tank. Same thing with a filter that hasn't been cleaned for awhile. Could really mess with the biological system established in the tank which could certainly cause some pH issues and a tank crash.
    How large is the system?
     
  5. Jul 1, 2018 #5
    Jandala West des moines iowa

    Jandala New User

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    West des moines iowa
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    75 gal. I usually stir up the sand bed whenever I do a water change and it's never caused problems before. My filter is a marineland HOB filter mainly used for surface agitation and as a refuge for microfauna.
     

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