tank is crashing idk why

[romsoccer12]

nothing abnormal about my tests. I really think there is some element in my water i cant test for.
29gal biocube 2 clowns 1 blenny 1 chromis
various corals that are now dieing
params:
Temp- 78-80
SG- 1.025
pH- 8.2
ammonia nitrite-0
nitrate- .5ppm
calcium-420
alk-11

i think my tank is like getting poisoned by something in my water. I use RO btw. Would running carbon help to get crap out like chlorine? I think that may be it something like that and i heard running carbon helps but i cant really find anything on it on the net.

[romsoccer12]

well i wouldnt say crashing, things just arent really looking as good. I just wanna here some suggestions to see whats going on. Polyps to most of my corals just arent opening up as much and i can never keep a shrimp for more than a couple weeks.

[dots]

Your alkalinity may be a bit high, 11dkh is pushing it.

Specificaly "what" is going on?

[Superstretch18]

If nothing is looking good, should you really be selling it to others?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1668169

[romsoccer12]

the pictures I send is what they look like now. I said its not crashing, just not looking as good as it used to.

[romsoccer12]

the problem is I cant keep one ornamental shrimp in my tank and i think something it poisoning them. What should alk normally be? my lfs said 10-12 is what i should go for.

[snorvich]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15325325#post15325325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dots
Your alkalinity may be a bit high, 11dkh is pushing it.

Specificaly "what" is going on?

Alkalinity is too high. About 9 would be much better.

[VacavilleFC3S]

has any copper based medication ever been used in your tank???

[dots]

Try www.google.com

Just kidding,
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

7-11dkh is the range you are shooting for. However, you may be higher than 11dkh because of testing inacuracy, which is fairly common.

I shoot between 8-9dkh, this gives me a little wiggle room for inaccuracies and an accidental over/under dose.

Do you have any snails? Are they "sleeping" all the time and not grazing?

[romsoccer12]

yes this happens all the time. my cerith snails and nas snails will rarley move and my turbo snails take 2hour breaks all the time not even moving.

[romsoccer12]

google.com LOL.. that kid has a problem
that reefkeeping link was great thanks. ive never added copper

[Aquarist007]

[i]
i think my tank is like getting poisoned by something in my water. I use RO btw. Would running carbon help to get crap out like chlorine? I think that may be it something like that and i heard running carbon helps but i cant really find anything on it on the net. [/B]

Chlorine? are you possible using tap water---if so that is more than likely your problem.
Tap water contains all kinds of dissolved substances including copper which do not evaporate and can build up over time to an affective level to inverts and corals

[romsoccer12]

nope RO but isnt RO only 90% filtered?

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15326538#post15326538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by romsoccer12
nope RO but isnt RO only 90% filtered?

actually 95 %

How often are you feeding and are you using alot of flake food

Do you have a flow rate of between 20-40 times the vol of your tank in gph

Are you rinsing frozen food before using?

Are you feeding your corals at all--frozen cyclopeeze once a week would be a good thing to try if not

Running carbon is an excellent idea---it removes a group of organics that can cause the water to look yellow

Finally--how much live rock do you have?

[n00by]

Sorry to jump in, alk dkh? What does this translate to in meq/L?

[n00by]

Sorry to jump in, alk dkh? What does this translate to in meq/L?

[SharkLover1981]

how much coral do you have absorbing calcium? are u accounting for the drop in PH because of this activity and using a kalk drive on your top off? or using baking soda to raise the PH. Sounds like your water parameters while they may look fine are simply fluxing too much for your ornament invert.

[romsoccer12]

i rareley use flake food, only for my blenny and i see him it eat all and if any falls to the sandbed i take it out. i have 1050 gph for my 29gallon wich is more than enough. i dont rinse the food i dont really know what that means. i target feed some of my corals with either krill/mysis but some dont eat anything. pretty sure i have 45-50lbs of liverock. sharklove, im confused on what your asking

[murfman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15326715#post15326715 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by n00by
Sorry to jump in, alk dkh? What does this translate to in meq/L?

http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php

[blazing]

if ur corals dont look so good it could be ur phosphate. my tank was acting up too and i already know my phosphate was off the charts. but another guy ask what i was using to measure my SG and i told him a hydrometer. he said they are not very accurate and i should get a refractometer so i did. i mix my salt with this cup (about 2-3 cups) that i have and i fill it up all the way and add an additional cup to a 5 gal bucket. after it mixes i test it with the hydrometer and it read about 1.025-1.026. after i got my refractometer i took half a cup out of what i normally put and tested it with the refractometer and it reads 1.025-1.026. its obvious that my hydrometer was off. so this could be the problem. just my 2 cents. and anyone know how i can my alk down?

[romsoccer12]

those are the same readings?

[drummereef]

How solid is the temp staying? Are you able to measure it at different times throughout the day? Large temp swings during the day can cause things to be not so happy.

[Macimage]

What is the TDS on your RO water?

90-95% filtered water can be a huge problem.

Joyce

[romsoccer12]

i cant find it on the dispensor so idk. Most RO water is 90-95% filtered. It beats tap water though

[Macimage]

Originally posted by romsoccer12
Most RO water is 90-95% filtered. It beats tap water though

It can still kill your livestock.

Good luck with your tank.

[Talis]

You wouldn't have any psuedochromis or dottybacks in the tank would you?

Mine loved to eat shrimp, they would last anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks before they became a meal for him...

Any other possible predators in there?

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15328202#post15328202 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by romsoccer12
i cant find it on the dispensor so idk. Most RO water is 90-95% filtered. It beats tap water though

Depends on the RO membrane being used. Could be lower then 90%, could be 90% or with a Dow FlimTec 75 GPD membrane 96-98%. But, the thing is, you have no idea what the remaining % contains.

[romsoccer12]

no dottybacks or pseudos. ive seen every one of my shrimp die. they act very wierd for a week than they start actually swimming around and i can just tell theyre gonna die. 2/3 of them just froze in mid swim and just floated to the bottom. the other dissapeared but i think the same thing happened to him. i think my skunk cleaner died because he couldnt molt.

[stingythingy45]

Just curious,but what do you use for a salt mix?

[Macimage]

I guess you are going to ignore the fact that contaminants in the unfiltered portion of your water are probably killing your livestock....

[romsoccer12]

i did think that through and im trying to figure out what the TDS meter is and all that. i use ocean marine.

[Macimage]

Here is a link to a handheld tds meter for $20. It will test how many contaimiments are in your water. The reading should be 0, or 1-2 at most:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/PH/ORP/TDS-Monitors-&-Controller-HM-Digital-TDS-,-ORP-and-PH/c66_104/p594/TDS-3-Handheld-Meter-With-Carrying-Case/product_info.html

Joyce