Kannin
10/28/2007, 10:41 AM
My friend who actually got me into this hobby is having some serious issues...
Here's some background;
He has a 180 gallon fowler... He doesn't take very good care of it but, he is getting better and wants to do well. He uses tap water and a wet dry filter, with no skimmer. He started getting cyano about 3 weeks ago. Then two of his fish started getting ich last which he treated with RidIch.After seeing what I have done with my tank, he has been contemplating using better husbandry and thinking about going reef. He installed a phosban reator last weekend to help with the cyano.
Because of the cyano plus the recent ich outbreak... I offered to come by and see if we could figure it out. I went to his house on Friday to test his parameters. The first 3 are off the chart!
Ammonia =>.50
Nitrate =>75
Phosphate =>.5
SG =1.023
DKH 11
Calcium 500
I checked his tap water for phosphates and it was neglegible so, the phosphates are coming from food.
I think his immediate problem is stemming from this... He had two gigantic hermit crabs that were very effective cleaners. They used shells close the size of a fist. One died about 6 weeks ago and the other one died about 3 weeks ago (right when the cyano started to appear). So I'm thinking that there is food that is rotting which is causing the ammonia and phosphate problem.
So... I put a large dose of prime in the tank on Friday hoping to at least get the ammonia level down. He did a 25 gallon water change yesterday with RODI, and will do another in 3 days. He is running carbon and a filter pad designed to take the copper out of the water. And, he will get some new crabs next weekend. His flow is very low so we are installing 2 Koralia 4's next weekend.
Is there anything else we could be doing? Short term/long term?
Here's some background;
He has a 180 gallon fowler... He doesn't take very good care of it but, he is getting better and wants to do well. He uses tap water and a wet dry filter, with no skimmer. He started getting cyano about 3 weeks ago. Then two of his fish started getting ich last which he treated with RidIch.After seeing what I have done with my tank, he has been contemplating using better husbandry and thinking about going reef. He installed a phosban reator last weekend to help with the cyano.
Because of the cyano plus the recent ich outbreak... I offered to come by and see if we could figure it out. I went to his house on Friday to test his parameters. The first 3 are off the chart!
Ammonia =>.50
Nitrate =>75
Phosphate =>.5
SG =1.023
DKH 11
Calcium 500
I checked his tap water for phosphates and it was neglegible so, the phosphates are coming from food.
I think his immediate problem is stemming from this... He had two gigantic hermit crabs that were very effective cleaners. They used shells close the size of a fist. One died about 6 weeks ago and the other one died about 3 weeks ago (right when the cyano started to appear). So I'm thinking that there is food that is rotting which is causing the ammonia and phosphate problem.
So... I put a large dose of prime in the tank on Friday hoping to at least get the ammonia level down. He did a 25 gallon water change yesterday with RODI, and will do another in 3 days. He is running carbon and a filter pad designed to take the copper out of the water. And, he will get some new crabs next weekend. His flow is very low so we are installing 2 Koralia 4's next weekend.
Is there anything else we could be doing? Short term/long term?