Coral Colours and Amino Acids

[Ron99]

Well, after some more time and trying to keep ALK more stable I am fairly certain it was a voltage leak issue. After a bit of reading at RC I figured less than one volt shouldn't be a problem as many people seemed to have several volts with no ill effects. While my multimeter only showed less than one volt I don't think it was reading correctly. The other day I put my hand in the tank with a cut on my finger and felt a strong buzz in the cut. So there was obviously more voltage then I read. So a new heater and a ground probe later no more buzzing in the cut and some positive signs in the corals. The zoas seem to be opening a bit more where before they were melting and the sps that was in serious decline is now showing a bit of PE for the first time in weeks.

So it looks like voltage was the problem. Something to think about for those having issues with no other obvious water quality issues etc.

[hillegom]

Ron99 did you build your own probe? If so what metal did you use for the probe?
Thanks

[fkshiu]

Ron, anytime you dip a cut finger in SALTwater you'll feel a buzz voltage or not

Have you tried unplugging each electrical device one by one with the multimeter in the tank to see if you get any variance?

FWIW I run the gamut of ZEO additives (incl. AA and LPS AA) except for the actual main ZEO system (go figure) and found that less is more - i.e. you need very little; anything approaching the max dosages on the bottles leads to an algae bloom.

[Ron99]

I did unplug items and found the buzz in my cut went away when I unplugged the heater and came back when I plugged it back in. It wasn't just a product of putting it in the water but was obviously electrically related. I've been shocked before and it felt similar to that or to putting a 9 volt battery on your tongue. The voltage showing on the meter did change with unplugging things but the magnitude on the meter was obviously less than reality. I doubt I would have felt less than a volt in my cut but this was quite noticeable. The proof is in the pudding as the corals started to look a bit better within hours; i.e zoas opening more and some PE starting in the SPS that had none before and were in fact bleaching and dying.

As for the probe, no I just bought the $13 titanium one at J&L. I probably could have built one for a few dollars less than that but this was easier; buy it and plug it in.

[Ron99]

Things are doing much better now. Consistent PE on the SPS which is starting to show some colour again. Zoas are opening up and seem happy. The other softies and LPS look fuller and are open almost all the time and my pulsing xenia has started growing like a weed again. Sadly I did loose a couple zoa colonies and frags of SPS in the process and the jury is still out on one or two others that still don't look great.

So definitely worth checking for voltage leaks if you are having issues that don't have another obvious cause. Probably doesn't hurt to have a ground probe as well.

[freezetyle]

Originally Posted by kien

I don't feed my SPS corals anything other than Alk. and Calc. and they seem to be doing fine.

I know this is a little off topic, but i don't understand how a small current in the water would inhibit the growth of the corals. I mean with the Conservationists using things like biorocks (http://www.biorock.net) to speed the growth of coral production.

To the OP, like its been previously stated maybe your corals were still adapting to your system. If there wasn't very much PE until recently that may have been a sign that they were still under some stress. I would probably just keep on top of your calcium and Alk. for a little bit before adding a bunch of things that may or may not help out your situation

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by freezetyle

I know this is a little off topic, but i don't understand how a small current in the water would inhibit the growth of the corals. I mean with the Conservationists using things like biorocks (http://www.biorock.net) to speed the growth of coral production.

To the OP, like its been previously stated maybe your corals were still adapting to your system. If there wasn't very much PE until recently that may have been a sign that they were still under some stress. I would probably just keep on top of your calcium and Alk. for a little bit before adding a bunch of things that may or may not help out your situation

No, the corals were doing well and growing and then things went downhill with no obvious cause. I suspect it was more then a small current to actually feel it that way when I put my finger in the tank. I also suffered a couple of fish losses during that period so it is likely the electricity was stressing them out and making them susceptible to infections or something.

The coral reef restoration you mention is based on very small currents and voltages generated by chemical reactions of different metals in seawater; sort of like a very weak battery. You would likely not feel that level of electricity which is far lower then what can be generated by a voltage leak in your tank's equipment. In this case it had to be close to or more then 9 volts with significant current. As I mentioned before, the turnaround was noticeable within hours of fixing the voltage leak as the SPS started to show some PE that day after several weeks of no PE and fading and then bleaching etc.

[Reefer Rob]

Good to hear things have turned around for you, and thanks for posting the results.