Ok I have had most of these Ricordea colonies for many years most of them for more then 6 or 7 years. I did add a few newer ons from a fellow reefer maybe 8 months ago and they have been growing well during that time. Then I noticied one of the new ones seem to be bleaching out a little, then shriveling up slowely over a period of time. Then is seemed to spread to another in that area, then to another on another rock and now it seems to be affecting all of my Ricordea. I have yuma, Florida, and St Thomas Rics and they are all in the same sad shape. They are all over the tank in all different lighting conditions from top to bottom. They have always done well and I have nevre ahd any issues with them.
I just did a water change and measured my parms:
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
PO4 ~.01
MG 1180
CA 450
KA 11
PH 8.2
Now I have recently changed my lights from T5's to currently LED's w/ 2 T5's from 7 T5'S. With that being said this started to occur before the lights were changed it just seems to be spreading more now. SPS's, LPS, and other softies are fine for the most part duirng this time. I'm having a little issue w/ my SPS since the light chnage, but that is b/c I need more LED's which are on order. Certainly not related to the Ric issue. I really don't know what to do with these? Its very weird since I've had them for so long. Its not like I got a stressed sample from a store and it melted down these have been in the same tank forever. They have lived through tank moves, power outages, salinity issues basicaly everything over the years and now they are disapearing when all seems fine??? I haven't been fragging them so its probably not a bacterial infection? Can they catch the Ric equivialnt to the Flu??Any thoughts beyond the standard stuff would be appreciated.
Yep they were totaly fine when I gave the last ones too u, and slightly after that time is when I started to notice some of them receeding. It has just slowly gotten worse. Its weird to me that its only affecting the Rics especialy since they were so old and hardy. They lived through terrible water conditions when I moved and now for three different types of ric and several different colinies to all go to **** is odd. I have lost a few heads before in a similar fashion from a salinity drop but they would always shrivel up then once the salinity issue was fixed they would just grow back and often even split. If there were any major water issues it would affect other inhabitants. Its like a strange ric disease.
Originally Posted by chort55
I have no idea Joe, definitely weird. The couple I've gotten from you in the past are all doing good, including the yuma not long ago
The probe is definitely not to be trusted, but the salinity has been stable since I disconnected the ATO. I checked it w/ the refractometer yesterday. I have seen what happens to them when salinity is the issue and its very similar but usualy when the salinity goes back to normal they recover.
Originally Posted by chort55
Have you manually checked your salinity, maybe the probe has drifted and it is off
[QUOTE=jimsflies;151671]I believe it has everything to do with temperature.
What has your tank been running compared to where it does in the cooler months?[/QUOTE
Interesting. I never really thought about temperature. My tank is controled by a reef keeper and them temp rarley fluctuates much from 78.5. I recently had a power outage and I could see that having a negative effect on them b/c the tank may have warmed up w/o the AC on that day, but it was back to normal in a day and it seems like they should improve if that was the issue not to mention that this started well before the power outage. This did start around the time it started to get warm out so that does interest me a little. hmmm
I would get a second thermometer and double check your temp readings. I had a customer recently his tank was running 82-84 consistently and all his rics receded away.
Not sure what kind you use, but have you ever looked at the digital ones at the LFS? They almost all have a different reading on the shelf. I personally like the old school variety thermometers...when you look at those on the LFS shelf they all have the same reading.
Also be sure you are getting the highest reading of the day....for me it is usually around 5-6 pm these days.
I have an old school manual thermomter downstairs. I will throw it in the tank today and check it several times throughout the day and see what I get. Currently I rely on my Reef Keeper and associated probe and two 400W Ebo Jager heaters to keep my temp stable. One thingof interets maybe that myy sump is in the basement and it always stays cool down their. The tank is on the main floor and the water obviously circulates but I wonder if its warmer upstairs or if the Reef Keeper is out of wack. I guess I will find out today. I will post my temp readings.
Originally Posted by jimsflies
+1 be sure you're thermometer is correct.
Not sure what kind you use, but have you ever looked at the digital ones at the LFS? They almost all have a different reading on the shelf. I personally like the old school variety thermometers...when you look at those on the LFS shelf they all have the same reading.
Also be sure you are getting the highest reading of the day....for me it is usually around 5-6 pm these days.
Controllers usually have a calibration setting for the temp probe. You can give it an offset based on the reading of a more reliable thermometer. As with most equipment, always calibrate it in the range you are operating (e.g., 78 degrees).
I'm not that familiar with the Reef Keeper does it maintain a history of the temp?
Temp taken at 1:00PM = 79 w/ standard old school thermo flaoting in my tank.
---------- Post added at 01:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 PM ----------
Originally Posted by jimsflies
Controllers usually have a calibration setting for the temp probe. You can give it an offset based on the reading of a more reliable thermometer. As with most equipment, always calibrate it in the range you are operating (e.g., 78 degrees).
I'm not that familiar with the Reef Keeper does it maintain a history of the temp?
I don't belive it keeps a history in my current configuartion. You can hook it to your network and save a history of everything in their software but I haven't went through the hastle yet of getting a network connection to it in my basement yet. That is on my list of thinsg to do.
---------- Post added at 01:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 PM ----------
Originally Posted by chort55
That is a possibility, my sump is closer to the air duct, and has less pumps and alot less light and runs slightly cooler then my display (75.7 compared to 76.1 display) so with it sitting on the cool basement floor (or did you raise it I forget) and with the cooler air it could be a bit cooler then the display but I wouldn't think it would be a huge difference as long as you have a good amount of flow from the sump to the display.... as long as the temp probe is accurate anyways.
That is what I assumed that it would be pretty close b/c of the flow. You keep your display at about 76? Maybe I should lower my temp a little anyway? I've always kept it at 78.5 but maybe that is a little on the warm side.
Why are my Ricordea dying?
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by chort55
