I refuse to pull the plug

[masterswimmer]

Craig, have you tested your waters' parameters? Leathers are very hardy coral. There's an old standard joke in the hobby that states in order to frag a leather, you just throw it in a blender, chop it up and put the pieces in your tank. THIS IS JUST A JOKE, DO NOT TRY IT. However, it does relate the relative hardiness of leathers.

Test your water. Post the results. Hear the feedback.

Russ

 

[Craig]

here are the specs;

phosphate: 0.5
SG= 1.023
temp=79
calcium=440
ph=8.2
ammonia= 0.5
nitrate=5
nitrite=0

other thing to note is that I'm planning to do a 10% water change tomorrow and put some fresh phosban into my filter.

 

[masterswimmer]

Other tests needed are:

Alkalinity (extremely important test)
Magnesium

swimmer

 

[Craig]

I've never tested for those

I'll run out and pick up those test tonight.

 

[masterswimmer]

Craig, also mention what brand test kit you're using. When you go out for the new Alk & Mg kits, try to get Salifert.

swimmer

 

[Craig]

Took a few days for my lfs to order, but I managed to get the Salifert test kits today. Damn these were pricey!

alk 9.9dKH salifert
Mag 1200ppm salifert
phosphate: 0.5 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
SG= 1.024 instant ocean hydrometer
temp=78 stick on thermometer
calcium=430 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
ph=8.3 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
ammonia= 0.5 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
nitrate=5 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
nitrite=0 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals

The leather has been coming apart for the past few days. It's about half the original size. I moved it closer to my filter intake so the crud coming off can be captured.

Do the H2O parameters seem ok?

 

[masterswimmer]

Your water parameters aren't terrible at all. How long has the tank been set up? Refresh my memory, how many lbs of LR in what size tank? You're showing a reading of .5 Ammonia. This could be an indicator that your cycle is not complete, or maybe you just recently added more LR that is causing a mini cycle.

Otherwise all the rest of your parameters are fine. I would most definitely ditch the hydrometer and get yourself a refractometer:


$59.95
$44.95
$39.95
$29.95

You won't be disappointed with any of the above. Hydrometers are notorious for inaccurate readings.

swimmer

 

[Craig]

Tank has been setup for over 6 months. It's a 46 gallon with 65lbs of live rock and 40 pounds of live sand.

I've recently added a couple of frags which were attached to nice size chunks of liverock, and about 15 snails . It's been at 0.5 for just under a week. Prior to that it was at 0. I'm going to do a small water change tonight (approx 5 galoons) and clean out my cannister filter to try to help it out a little.

I will definately be purchasing a refractometer after my next paycheck. The $30 one seems perfect! Thanks for that tip