Yet another out of town disaster...

rjs5134 · 11-25-2006, 03:31 PM

For the third straight "vacation" I've had a major problem. Last time it was a heat wave that pushed the temp well over 90, this time the pump on the QT stopped working and the temp dropped to about 70. In the QT are 5 frags. The green sinularia looks like it wilted and is laying flat on it's side. The clove polyps and the zoo's are completely closed and look like they may be dead. The mushroom and the montipora look fine. I have relocated the heater to the tank itself and put an airpump in to circulate the water and add oxygen. I am trying to get a picture right now. Is ther anything else I should be doing?? I'm going to get a replacement pump shortly.

Moral of the story... No more vacations.

Rob

rjs5134 · 11-25-2006, 03:41 PM

And heres the photos. The first is the clove polyp in the foreground(not that you can see it well) and the green sinularia in the rear. The second is the orange zoa, and the third is the mushroom and the monti. HELP!!! Hopefully there not goners.

rjs5134 · 11-25-2006, 03:43 PM

Shoot, here's the photos...

dougc · 11-26-2006, 08:50 AM

The zoas are just closed up. 70 shouldn't kill them or the sinularia, for that matter. I have lost montis to low temperatures before. You just have to wait it out and see what happens.

Ixthys · 11-26-2006, 01:56 PM

I agree with dougc. My tank just hit 74 from a GFCI tripping just after heading out for Thanksgiving, but no damages.

I do everything I can to create redundancy in the tank, but something always strikes. One thing I do is have my neighbor check on the tank daily. I print up a checklist of everything to look at and look for. Any problems and he calls he.

rjs5134 · 11-26-2006, 05:46 PM

I have a 12 year old cousin who checks on the tanks for me, but ironically he was also out of town during both my thanksgiving trip and my August vacation. I have a battery powered air pump on the display tank, but not the QT. I'm guessing the suffering was caused by lack of water movement(lack of Oxygen) rather than the slight drop in temp.

Well it's been over 24 hours and the condition improved on slightly. The sinularia has lifted up off the bottom just a bit, the clove polyp shows just the tips of the polyps, the monti and the Zoa haven't changed and the mushroom has reduced in size slightly, but still looks so so.

I was hoping to do a TMPCC dip today, but have decided to wait. Should I wait until everything looks normal again, or could a dip help the situation?

Also, the light on the QT is less than optimal. The display tank has 2x250W MH's + PC's, should I try to acclimate and get them into a better situation now?

Thanks as always.

Rob

Ixthys · 11-26-2006, 06:25 PM

I would definitely wait on the dip. Why stress them out even more right now?

Full lighting during stressful times is a bad thing for corals. I purposefully decrease my lighting in my quarantine tanks to avoid RTN, and bring it up slowly.

rjs5134 · 11-28-2006, 05:13 PM

It's now been 3 days since I came home to this latest horror. I kind of expected a little more improvement by now. The green Sinularia still looks "iffy", the polyps on the clove polyp come out about 1/8" and it doesn't look good at all. The orange Zoa hasn't changed, no sign of polyp extension at all. How long should I wait until I do something?

***Reefland*** · 11-29-2006, 12:42 PM

I wouldn't do anything different. Make sure that the conditions are good in the tank and let the corals recover; don't move them or anything. From the pictures, I don't think anything is dead so just let them be. I think they will recover fine.

rjs5134 · 11-29-2006, 04:19 PM

That's comforting, thanks for the input Scott. I'm getting anxious to get them into the display tank, they've been in QT for just about 6 weeks.

11-25-2006, 03:31 PM	#1
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	Yet another out of town disaster... For the third straight "vacation" I've had a major problem. Last time it was a heat wave that pushed the temp well over 90, this time the pump on the QT stopped working and the temp dropped to about 70. In the QT are 5 frags. The green sinularia looks like it wilted and is laying flat on it's side. The clove polyps and the zoo's are completely closed and look like they may be dead. The mushroom and the montipora look fine. I have relocated the heater to the tank itself and put an airpump in to circulate the water and add oxygen. I am trying to get a picture right now. Is ther anything else I should be doing?? I'm going to get a replacement pump shortly. Moral of the story... No more vacations. Rob

11-25-2006, 03:43 PM	#3
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	Shoot, here's the photos... Last edited by rjs5134; 04-01-2007 at 09:04 PM.

11-29-2006, 12:42 PM	#9
*Reefland* Owner Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Bardstown, KY Posts: 13,166	I wouldn't do anything different. Make sure that the conditions are good in the tank and let the corals recover; don't move them or anything. From the pictures, I don't think anything is dead so just let them be. I think they will recover fine. __________________ Scott Z. 75 Gallon Reef Log Powered by Reefland's Personal Online Aquarium Log

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11-25-2006, 03:41 PM	#2
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	And heres the photos. The first is the clove polyp in the foreground(not that you can see it well) and the green sinularia in the rear. The second is the orange zoa, and the third is the mushroom and the monti. HELP!!! Hopefully there not goners.

11-26-2006, 08:50 AM	#4
dougc Contributing Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Posts: 484	The zoas are just closed up. 70 shouldn't kill them or the sinularia, for that matter. I have lost montis to low temperatures before. You just have to wait it out and see what happens.

11-26-2006, 01:56 PM	#5
Ixthys Tenant Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia Posts: 56	I agree with dougc. My tank just hit 74 from a GFCI tripping just after heading out for Thanksgiving, but no damages. I do everything I can to create redundancy in the tank, but something always strikes. One thing I do is have my neighbor check on the tank daily. I print up a checklist of everything to look at and look for. Any problems and he calls he.

11-26-2006, 05:46 PM	#6
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	I have a 12 year old cousin who checks on the tanks for me, but ironically he was also out of town during both my thanksgiving trip and my August vacation. I have a battery powered air pump on the display tank, but not the QT. I'm guessing the suffering was caused by lack of water movement(lack of Oxygen) rather than the slight drop in temp. Well it's been over 24 hours and the condition improved on slightly. The sinularia has lifted up off the bottom just a bit, the clove polyp shows just the tips of the polyps, the monti and the Zoa haven't changed and the mushroom has reduced in size slightly, but still looks so so. I was hoping to do a TMPCC dip today, but have decided to wait. Should I wait until everything looks normal again, or could a dip help the situation? Also, the light on the QT is less than optimal. The display tank has 2x250W MH's + PC's, should I try to acclimate and get them into a better situation now? Thanks as always. Rob

11-26-2006, 06:25 PM	#7
Ixthys Tenant Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia Posts: 56	I would definitely wait on the dip. Why stress them out even more right now? Full lighting during stressful times is a bad thing for corals. I purposefully decrease my lighting in my quarantine tanks to avoid RTN, and bring it up slowly.

11-28-2006, 05:13 PM	#8
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	It's now been 3 days since I came home to this latest horror. I kind of expected a little more improvement by now. The green Sinularia still looks "iffy", the polyps on the clove polyp come out about 1/8" and it doesn't look good at all. The orange Zoa hasn't changed, no sign of polyp extension at all. How long should I wait until I do something?

11-29-2006, 04:19 PM	#10
rjs5134 Council Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 406	That's comforting, thanks for the input Scott. I'm getting anxious to get them into the display tank, they've been in QT for just about 6 weeks.

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