my coral is melting, why?

[dulcia]

I noticed my Zoanthids started melting a few days ago. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, nitrate around 5 ppm. Tank's a 40-gallon with AI Prime lighting, running for about a year. Any ideas what's going on?

[Torvik22]

Yo, that's sketchy. What's your alk and calcium at? Melting usually means something's off with those. Also, any new additions lately? Sometimes they bring in pests that mess with corals.

[stargazer]

I've had this happen before. Check your magnesium levels too. If they're low, it can throw everything out of whack. Also, how's your flow? Too much or too little can stress them out.

[brooklynix]

Man, that's rough. I had a Duncan melt on me once, turned out my heater was busted and cooking the tank. You might wanna double-check your temp, just in case.

[emberx]

Yo, that's sketchy. What's your alk and calcium at? Melting usually means something's off with those. Also, any new additions lately? Sometimes they bring in pests that mess with corals.

Alk's at 8 dKH, calcium's 420. No new additions, but I did move some rocks around last week. Could that have done it?

[Voyager2]

Moving rocks can definitely stir up detritus and mess with params. Did you test after the move? Might be worth doing a water change to be safe.

[dulcia]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll test magnesium and do a water change tonight. Fingers crossed it helps.

[stargazer]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll test magnesium and do a water change tonight. Fingers crossed it helps.

Keep us posted. If it's not params, it could be a lighting issue. How old are your bulbs?

[Torvik22]

Yep, lighting's a sneaky one. Also, if you're running carbon, maybe cut it for a bit. Sometimes it pulls out stuff the corals need.

[brooklynix]

Dude, I forgot about carbon. Good call. Had a buddy lose a whole tank because of that. Dulcia, you running any media right now?