Richs2k6
10/21/2012, 08:22 PM
On Thursday I checked my alk and calc and my alk was at 10.1 but I was reading most people liked to keep it between 8 and 9 so I adjusted my dosing pump so I could bring it down a tad.
On Friday morning I woke up and the tank was cloudy. Upon inspection I noticed the wavemaker was off so the only water circulating was that from the sump return. Also, I guess after adjusting the time on the dosing pump I forgot to turn it back on. I turned the wave makers back on and made a few manual doses throughout the day to make up for what didn't dose overnight.
On Friday afternoon when I got home I noticed the Red Planet was ghostly white. It had been struggling lately and on Friday morning it looked very pale but by Friday afternoon it was completely bleached.
I checked my alk and calc again and my alk was at 12.8. I was trying to figure out what could have happened so I thought well maybe when I was refilling the bottles on Thursday night I had accidentally switched them (topped the alk bottle off with calc and vice versa). I decided to empty both of the bottles and run water through the lines and then refill them. I also lowered the dose on the alk to get it back down.
Saturday it wasn't looking any better, actually worse. The alk is coming down but it seems like I am losing more. Everything looks sickly. I decided to check the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and found them to be fine except for the ammonia which was extremely high (3.0-4.0ppm). The last time I checked the ammonia was a little less than a month ago because every time I do it's 0.
Another possible thought is I started feeding Marine Snow. The bottle says 2.5mil per 50 gallons. I probably only have 25-30 gallons of volume but I went with 2.5mil because it was such a small amount. Could this be causing the huge spike? I used to feed Oyster Feast with no issues.
I'm just pulling my hair out. The only other time I had an issue with my tank was when I went on vacation a few weeks ago and the dosing pumps apparently weren't working properly. When I got home the alk was 13.1 and calc was at 250. Even then it didn't do as much damage as now. The only other thing I can think of is the fact that I made the hood out of wood and it's beginning to fall apart. I stained it and sealed it but through moisture it's starting to separate. Could a small piece had fallen in and threw everything off?
I'm going to change 10 gallons tomorrow to see if I can get the ammonia down. Any suggestions on what may have caused it or what I can do to stop the death??
On Friday morning I woke up and the tank was cloudy. Upon inspection I noticed the wavemaker was off so the only water circulating was that from the sump return. Also, I guess after adjusting the time on the dosing pump I forgot to turn it back on. I turned the wave makers back on and made a few manual doses throughout the day to make up for what didn't dose overnight.
On Friday afternoon when I got home I noticed the Red Planet was ghostly white. It had been struggling lately and on Friday morning it looked very pale but by Friday afternoon it was completely bleached.
I checked my alk and calc again and my alk was at 12.8. I was trying to figure out what could have happened so I thought well maybe when I was refilling the bottles on Thursday night I had accidentally switched them (topped the alk bottle off with calc and vice versa). I decided to empty both of the bottles and run water through the lines and then refill them. I also lowered the dose on the alk to get it back down.
Saturday it wasn't looking any better, actually worse. The alk is coming down but it seems like I am losing more. Everything looks sickly. I decided to check the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and found them to be fine except for the ammonia which was extremely high (3.0-4.0ppm). The last time I checked the ammonia was a little less than a month ago because every time I do it's 0.
Another possible thought is I started feeding Marine Snow. The bottle says 2.5mil per 50 gallons. I probably only have 25-30 gallons of volume but I went with 2.5mil because it was such a small amount. Could this be causing the huge spike? I used to feed Oyster Feast with no issues.
I'm just pulling my hair out. The only other time I had an issue with my tank was when I went on vacation a few weeks ago and the dosing pumps apparently weren't working properly. When I got home the alk was 13.1 and calc was at 250. Even then it didn't do as much damage as now. The only other thing I can think of is the fact that I made the hood out of wood and it's beginning to fall apart. I stained it and sealed it but through moisture it's starting to separate. Could a small piece had fallen in and threw everything off?
I'm going to change 10 gallons tomorrow to see if I can get the ammonia down. Any suggestions on what may have caused it or what I can do to stop the death??