- Today in the five minute salt water aquarium guide,
sometimes things don't go the way that we like.
Corals can sometimes show signs of stress, or even die.
But as long as we're prepared,
and we know what to do before hand,
that part of the journey can just be a bump in the road.
There's something really satisfying about
spotting a problem, instinctively knowing what to do,
and implementing the right actions.
All that's coming up.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Ryan, your host of BRStv,
in the five minute salt water aquarium guide.
This is a clear, simplified, and direct path,
to setting up a first successful reef tank.
Today unless you follow all the best practices perfectly.
Which, to be frank, is nearly none of us.
The challenge is almost everyone will run into a phase,
where the corals don't look so great.
Maybe even losing some tissue.
And after some time may even die.
We obviously want to avoid that today.
We're going to get the knowledge and tools
to solve that kind of thing that vast majority of cases.
Simply knowing what to do is one of the challenges here.
And we're gonna beat it.
I'm gonna sum up a vast majority of the possible issues in,
water parameters, lighting, water quality, and pests.
All this guidance aimed at the types of corals
that we put in these two tanks.
And the types of issues that reefers run into
in that first year.
The number one cause of coral issues in a first tank
is water parameters.
Particularly if a variety of corals are all
showing issues at the exact same time.
There are four parameters I'd look at.
And they matter in this order.
Solidity being number one.
Because when solidity is off, everything's off.
We're looking at 35 parch per thousand.
If it's off a point or two,
you probably won't see an immediate major issue.
But more than that the risks are increasingly high.
In either case it should be fixed once identified.
Reducing solidity is just removing some salt water from
the tank and replacing it with fresh RODI water.
Increasing solidity is just adding
some salt water to the tank,
and letting the excess water evaporate off.
For larger increases, where solidity is way under like
30 or 25 parch per thousand.
A series of larger water changes might be the best solution.
Next is alkalinity.
This is the most important single parameter.
By most important I mean let this be
the main take away from today's video.
If you maintain stable alkalinity
you'll be a hundred times more successful than if you don't.
Right after that is calcium, and still important
but to a lesser degree magnesium.
If any of these tree parameters are off
an easy low cost method of fixing
is the BRS calculator in related two part.
I check out the five minute guide episode
on calcium and alkalinity for more info.
The second major cause of coral issues is lighting.
If you run into issues right when you had an otherwise
healthy coral and everything else looks good.
There's a high likelihood it's because of lighting
or par is too high for that coral.
Too much light is toxic to the coral.
And can kill it in a matter of days.
Or not enough light can take weeks
to show signs of distress, and months to die.
Corals like the ones we added to this tank
will often show not enough light
by stretching out and reaching for the light.
As well as gradually turning brown.
Corals receiving too much light will shrink up,
or track pile ups, bleach white, or close.
And often start to lose tissue.
If this happens to just a newer coral addition,
then move it to a lower light ara of the tank.
Like the sides or bottom.
And give it many weeks to recover before moving it again.
If this happens when you add your first batch of corals,
or after you make a setting adjustment to your lighting.
Then turn the lights down.
Just remember the sliders are not a toy.
This is life support for an organism that depends on you.
And they thrive on stability, not tweaking.
Corals can adapt to most lighting.
Simply as long as you leave it alone after.
Every tweak you make should be considered
an immediate set back.
With only a chance at improvement over the long run.
Best practice, or if you really want to know
that you got this right for sure.
Rent a parameter for $60 or so.
Just know you got this living thing handled right.
With corals like these we're looking for 50 to 150 par
in as much of the tank as possible.
Probably in the center of that window.
The third cause of coral issues is water quality.
Either from slow deterioration water quality
from less than stellar feeding or maintenance practices.
Or from unintentional contaminants.
To identify this I'd start looking at
nitrate and phosphate levels.
If they're sky high they may actually cause stress.
But more so just general indications
of low quality polluted water.
Most first reefers are shooting for
a few parch per million nitrate,
and ten a few tenths of a point phosphate in a new tank.
An established tank for algae's less of a threat, nitrate
can actually be found at ten or so parch per million.
And I personally consider it worth addressing
if you're post to feeding filtration
are rising above twenty parch per million.
The bucket test is also something you can consider as well.
Put a bucket of water from your tank
next to a bucket of freshly mixed salt water.
And you'll be able to visibly see if the water is polluted.
Doesn't need to be perfect but test like these
are solid pulses on water quality.
There also unintended pollutants that can cause issues.
Like lotions, oil soaps, or other residues on your hands.
Aerosols used on or near the tank are a no no.
Really any unintended pollutant.
Anytime I suspect low quality water
unintended pollutants is the issues
my knee jerk solution is change out the carbon.
But this time use a little extra.
And preferably a power filter.
If I don't see result or things improve in a day or two.
It's my personal opinion that on tanks this size
it's not time for anything cute like special medias,
which can have unintended consequences.
It's time for good old fashioned water changes
and getting those water pollutants out.
Do three to four 30% water changes
a few days apart and turn over
most of the water in the tank.
If you suspect particular harmful accidental contaminant
and think things are dire and rapidly deteriorating.
With hardy corals like this,
as long as it's properly mixed and heated
50% or even 90% water changes
are better than letting things deteriorate further.
In any case if water changes solves your issue,
it's absolutely time to look at
the general maintenance practices, potential pollutants,
and what was in the water that was stressing the corals out
so you can avoid that in the future.
The fourth type of coral issue is pest fungus or infections.
These types of things often only affect
a single coral or type of coral.
In this case it's time to take a coral out and dip it.
We talked about dips I previous episodes.
But depending on what you suspect.
I'd consider KORALMD PRO or CORAL REVIVE for most pests.
Do the dip and then look closely
at what's in the water after.
If you see something that concerns you,
take a picture and share it on Reef2Reef,
Or on the hashtag ask BRStv Facebook group,
and the community will help you identify what it is.
If you suspect a fungus or microbial infection,
there are a couple of paths.
Iodine based dip like Brightwell's MEDICORAL.
Or Tropic Marin's PRO-CORAL CURE.
These are great for GSP'ers that won't open.
Or ufilia like torches, hammers,
or frog spun that are deteriorating.
Frankly, with the ufilia,
I'd also consider cutting off the diseased portion.
That'll often stop the progression right there.
One of these solutions or approaches
should solve your issue to vast majority of cases.
If it doesn't the best thing you can do
is take detailed pictures
and share them with the reefing community.
If you want to ask us in the BRStv community directly,
hashtag BRStv Facebook group is best.
Just remember the more details and effort
you put in a request for information,
the better the solutions will be.
So detailed, high quality pictures, what happened,
what you've actually tried before, and system parameters
are helpful to those who want to help you.
This leads us right into the next big question.
What's next for the five minute guide?
This much I can tell you.
If you want your questions answered,
this is what it's all about.
I think you're going to want to see how we do it.
The entire five minute guide's always found here.
But if you want to see how we're gonna answer
your reefing questions, answered directly by the BRS team,
this is it!