to hear about your animals. I am wondering about your salinity. I know it says 1.025, but which measuring method are you using? I notice my shrooms and anemone shrivel up when the salinity raises up. My tank gets as high as 1.027(shriveling animals) when there is a shortage of topoff water.
help me please help me i am so frustraited
- Thread starter reefsRcool
- Start date
to hear about your animals. I am wondering about your salinity. I know it says 1.025, but which measuring method are you using? I notice my shrooms and anemone shrivel up when the salinity raises up. My tank gets as high as 1.027(shriveling animals) when there is a shortage of topoff water.I agree, your phosphate and nitrite levels are to high. How long have you run those products (poly&carbon)? I've had problems with phosphate removers, but not polyfilters, as far as coral irritation. You say they are run in a canister filter, is detritus building up in them?
Do you see any signs of your sand bed cycling, ie cynobacteria growth on glass below substrate or bubbles forming?
How about coraline algea, bet your having a problem growing that to, huh? If thats the case, did you have a ph problem in the old tank w/ live rock before adding the rock to this one, ie. running at a low ph? If thats the case, your live rock @ supressed ph, acted like a phosphate magnet, and now @ normal ph, it's releasing it. When giving you the test back, did they go over the readings with you, or did they give it to you saying "waters cool, not that"? Have you battled ph in this tank?
8" dsb in refugium? DEEP SAND BED!!!
reefsRcool wrote:
"don't know if one has to do with the other but something that is happening in this tank that never happened when i had my 55 is my live rock gets fuzzy"
Are you talking about the "puddles" of silt that seem to collect on rock, sometimes making mounds? Fuzzy as in algea?
Do you see any signs of your sand bed cycling, ie cynobacteria growth on glass below substrate or bubbles forming?
How about coraline algea, bet your having a problem growing that to, huh? If thats the case, did you have a ph problem in the old tank w/ live rock before adding the rock to this one, ie. running at a low ph? If thats the case, your live rock @ supressed ph, acted like a phosphate magnet, and now @ normal ph, it's releasing it. When giving you the test back, did they go over the readings with you, or did they give it to you saying "waters cool, not that"? Have you battled ph in this tank?
8" dsb in refugium? DEEP SAND BED!!!
reefsRcool wrote:
"don't know if one has to do with the other but something that is happening in this tank that never happened when i had my 55 is my live rock gets fuzzy"
Are you talking about the "puddles" of silt that seem to collect on rock, sometimes making mounds? Fuzzy as in algea?
the fuzzy i am refering to on my rock looks like super fine sand settling except it clings even upside down and clumps up into what has the apearance just like a piece of felt. just a tan fuzz.
and yes i have some bubbles in my DSB. i have never notice one breaking the surface to check for a fish reaction but there is definatly some air trapped under the surface.
and yes i have some bubbles in my DSB. i have never notice one breaking the surface to check for a fish reaction but there is definatly some air trapped under the surface.
hey-
i second the large water change idea-a big volume at one change.if you do have a toxin present-it will take a very large number of partial changes to eliminate it.the large change will help you 'reset' the chemistry values to more closely reach those of nsw.
try two 70-80% changes back to back, even.(also try incresing the circulation in the tank prior to the changes)
hth,
and good luck!
i second the large water change idea-a big volume at one change.if you do have a toxin present-it will take a very large number of partial changes to eliminate it.the large change will help you 'reset' the chemistry values to more closely reach those of nsw.
try two 70-80% changes back to back, even.(also try incresing the circulation in the tank prior to the changes)
hth,
and good luck!
Are you missing a nudibranch or other invert; some of these give off very potent organic non-biodegradable toxins when they finally give up that will effect corals only.
Do a 90% water change in one go and then try again with a left over from your LFS.
Do a 90% water change in one go and then try again with a left over from your LFS.
A few suggestions...
First off, the immediate reaction suggests shock. I suggest testing the original water from the LFS and comparing with yours. Use your equipment (including your hydrometer and thermometer) to do the test. If the LFS is at, for instance, 1.020, the salinity shock could be substantial. Other possible sources of shock include light (if you're more intense) and temperature.
Second, you say you have .1 ppm NO2. That's at the high end of the acceptable range for fish and may be too high for some inverts. In a fully conditioned tank you shouldn't be able to measure any nitrite. Some say nitrite is more toxic than ammonia. I suggest rechecking, perhaps with a different test kit.
Third, if you have EVER used copper in that tank, there might be enough residual to cause trouble with some invertibrates. In that case it might be better to keep the tank as FOWLR.
First off, the immediate reaction suggests shock. I suggest testing the original water from the LFS and comparing with yours. Use your equipment (including your hydrometer and thermometer) to do the test. If the LFS is at, for instance, 1.020, the salinity shock could be substantial. Other possible sources of shock include light (if you're more intense) and temperature.
Second, you say you have .1 ppm NO2. That's at the high end of the acceptable range for fish and may be too high for some inverts. In a fully conditioned tank you shouldn't be able to measure any nitrite. Some say nitrite is more toxic than ammonia. I suggest rechecking, perhaps with a different test kit.
Third, if you have EVER used copper in that tank, there might be enough residual to cause trouble with some invertibrates. In that case it might be better to keep the tank as FOWLR.
Are you acclimating the corals to your lights.When I first went to MH bulbs I found that you really need to be careful not to put corals too close to lights right away.Start them down on the bottom of tank and over a month or longer slowly move them higher up to the spot you want them to end up.Stronger lights or different spectrum of light can shock them.
One more thing about the cancer stick. If I tell you the smoke covered hand is a no no for the tank and that will force you to quit, then I would say that.
But chances are you are a long time smoker and saying that ain't gonna help you quit either. I smoke near my tanks, I extinguish cig in my tank water. I smoke near the skimmer air intake in effort to see if there are any reactions to nicotine with fish. I fill the room with smoke and watch smoke appearing and disappearing into the shadows not lit by the MH pendant.
Whatever killed your corals, cig ain't it, not unless your cig are packed with chelated copper strips for occational fireworks.
But chances are you are a long time smoker and saying that ain't gonna help you quit either. I smoke near my tanks, I extinguish cig in my tank water. I smoke near the skimmer air intake in effort to see if there are any reactions to nicotine with fish. I fill the room with smoke and watch smoke appearing and disappearing into the shadows not lit by the MH pendant.
Whatever killed your corals, cig ain't it, not unless your cig are packed with chelated copper strips for occational fireworks.
through a bunch of random occurenses this week, i think i may be onto something. UV radiation. i wanted to clean some of the who knows what off my rock so i put what i have for corals into my refugium to hold them while i rinsed off my rock. lo and behold i come back down a few hours later to put them back in the main tank and a clump of green star polyps i though died two months ago was opened. not 100% but a good 65 anyway. i got wicked excited. now the water obviosly is same stuff, the only difference is the lighting. i use a 65 watt loa compact florecent over my refugium. i remember my mushrooms used to thrive under the old lights i had and pretty much started to crap out as soon as the giesemanns went up. i atributed this to to much light, but everything i put under them does poorly. i don't know much about the uv filter it came with weather it is directional or not but i went ahead and flipped it over, i'm hoping to see some diference but who knows.
oh oh i'm seeing a diference already YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my leather is starting to perc up and the ployps are poking out a bit. my green starts are more extended and the mushrooms are looking better too. folks i think we have the problem. thanks to all who tried to help me
one side note if corals bleach can they ever regain the pigments lost?
one side note if corals bleach can they ever regain the pigments lost?
The lights are good bet -- I too learned the hard way I had a false brain, leather, and a rabbit ear that all went in at the same time directly under my brand new 10000K MH (3). Big mistake -- I lost everything within 2 weeks - the brain's tissue disappeared immediately and the leather and rabbit ear kept sloughing until there was nothing left -- gross -- sunburn!
I had much better success by keeping the new tenants at the bottom of the tank and gradually moving them closer to the lighting over the process of up to 1 month depending on how they are doing. Maybe mid tank depending on how close your halides are to the surface of the water.
Also, another thing that really helped was simulating dawn and dusk by having my secondary lights (actinic VHOs in this case) come on/off for about 2 hours before/after the halides -- keeping them on during the halide burn. This will reduce the shock of direct intense lighting there and then not...
There is a sweet spot with halides - I have found limiting my halides to no more than 6 hours a day has boosted my success tremendously.
Thinking about real world simulation of light intensity, it would be tough to find a place on the planet that squeaks out 10 hours of uninterrupted light at a constant intensity, 365 days a year...
I had much better success by keeping the new tenants at the bottom of the tank and gradually moving them closer to the lighting over the process of up to 1 month depending on how they are doing. Maybe mid tank depending on how close your halides are to the surface of the water.
Also, another thing that really helped was simulating dawn and dusk by having my secondary lights (actinic VHOs in this case) come on/off for about 2 hours before/after the halides -- keeping them on during the halide burn. This will reduce the shock of direct intense lighting there and then not...
There is a sweet spot with halides - I have found limiting my halides to no more than 6 hours a day has boosted my success tremendously.
Thinking about real world simulation of light intensity, it would be tough to find a place on the planet that squeaks out 10 hours of uninterrupted light at a constant intensity, 365 days a year...
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