Page 1 of 2

my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 6:00 am
by 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?

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 7:52 am
by 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.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 8:37 am
by 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.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 9:24 am
by 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.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 10:30 am
by emberx
Torvik22 wrote: Sat Jun 28, 2025 7:52 am 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?

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 11:26 am
by 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.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 1:06 pm
by dulcia
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll test magnesium and do a water change tonight. Fingers crossed it helps.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 1:12 pm
by stargazer
dulcia wrote: Sat Jun 28, 2025 1:06 pm 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?

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 1:56 pm
by 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.

Re: my coral is melting, why?

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2025 2:43 pm
by 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?