PDA

View Full Version : My corals hate the addition of the new sump/refugium!


aleok
01/14/2014, 12:20 AM
1.5 year established 90g display tank
2" sand bed
~3000-3500 gph powerhead turnover
Temp: 80-81F
Amm:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0-5
PH:0
Mg:1280
Alk:2.6/7.3
Ca: 420
Salinity: 1.025-6

3 days ago I added a sump (~35g) and refugium (~20g), two separate tanks, flowing into one return chamber. Using a Eshopps HOB overflow, Reef Octopus Diablo xs200 skimmer, jebao dc 6000 return pump (on the lowest setting as of now), and the best pacific ocean water from my smash dab of the middle of the pacific ocean aquarium.

Since day 1 my corals have been noticeably in misery, frogspawn, Hammers, acans, and gonipora have shrunken. My already dying birds-nest is dying twice as fast. So far i can't tell anything wrong with my acros, brain, plates, or GSP. But most noticeably my duncans have barely come out at all. My clown fish loves (or hates) them though, so maybe with the addition of the HOB overflow, she is scared and feels like betting the crap out of it 24/7??

I know my chemistry numbers aren't perfect but, they haven't changed since the addition, so I don't know whats going on. Maybe I'm just being paranoid..

Asbury030
01/14/2014, 12:57 AM
Did you custom build the tanks yourself? If so what type of silicone did you use? I made this mistake and bought some GE silicone that didn't say anything about having mildew resistant properties so I just assumed it didn't but later I found out all GE silicone is going to mildew resistant if it says it or not. Long story short lost my angler and about half my coral.

aleok
01/14/2014, 04:13 AM
Oh no that's terrible! I used GE 100% Silicone 1 and Momentive RTV103, both of which as far as I've read are reef safe...

rich850
01/14/2014, 04:36 AM
Try spot feeding some of the lps you mentioned it's possible you are exporting more nutrients that they need but just a thought also do you usually keep your alk around 7?

Asbury030
01/14/2014, 09:29 AM
Oh no that's terrible! I used GE 100% Silicone 1 and Momentive RTV103, both of which as far as I've read are reef safe...

Okay looks like you did the right thing! haha I ended up tearing the refuge down and using momentive. Great stuff! and smells like no other.

GroktheCube
01/14/2014, 10:03 AM
Oh no that's terrible! I used GE 100% Silicone 1 and Momentive RTV103, both of which as far as I've read are reef safe...

They are both acetoxy cure (smell like vinegar), right?

How long did you let them cure?

ken6217
01/14/2014, 10:11 AM
1.5 year established 90g display tank
2" sand bed
~3000-3500 gph powerhead turnover
Temp: 80-81F
Amm:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0-5
PH:0
Mg:1280
Alk:2.6/7.3
Ca: 420
Salinity: 1.025-6

3 days ago I added a sump (~35g) and refugium (~20g), two separate tanks, flowing into one return chamber. Using a Eshopps HOB overflow, Reef Octopus Diablo xs200 skimmer, jebao dc 6000 return pump (on the lowest setting as of now), and the best pacific ocean water from my smash dab of the middle of the pacific ocean aquarium.

Since day 1 my corals have been noticeably in misery, frogspawn, Hammers, acans, and gonipora have shrunken. My already dying birds-nest is dying twice as fast. So far i can't tell anything wrong with my acros, brain, plates, or GSP. But most noticeably my duncans have barely come out at all. My clown fish loves (or hates) them though, so maybe with the addition of the HOB overflow, she is scared and feels like betting the crap out of it 24/7??

I know my chemistry numbers aren't perfect but, they haven't changed since the addition, so I don't know whats going on. Maybe I'm just being paranoid..

Maybe it could be that you added another 55 gallons of water to your system? Maybe it was too much of a change in your parameters and they need time to adjust?
Ken

aleok
01/14/2014, 01:55 PM
Try spot feeding some of the lps you mentioned it's possible you are exporting more nutrients that they need but just a thought also do you usually keep your alk around 7?

Yes, normally, but I'd like to raise it

aleok
01/14/2014, 02:00 PM
They are both acetoxy cure (smell like vinegar), right?

How long did you let them cure?

I let the Momentive cure for about 2.5-3 weeks, which was majority if the tank builds. However, there was some small "patch work" where I used the GE1 and I only let it cure for 3 days (never had issued with 2-3 days cure time in the past).

aleok
01/14/2014, 02:01 PM
Maybe it could be that you added another 55 gallons of water to your system? Maybe it was too much of a change in your parameters and they need time to adjust?
Ken

Thats what I'm hoping for, thanks

rrasco
01/14/2014, 02:19 PM
They are both acetoxy cure (smell like vinegar), right?

How long did you let them cure?

This. I don't buy the mildew inhibitors hype. More often than not, the problem with silicone adversely effecting tanks is people don't wait long enough for it to cure.

aleok
01/14/2014, 04:36 PM
This. I don't buy the mildew inhibitors hype. More often than not, the problem with silicone adversely effecting tanks is people don't wait long enough for it to cure.

What are my options?

I was just about to add new carbon to the system, the carbon I have now is about 2 months old. Will that help?

I think I could take just the skimmer tank offline by capping the drain that goes there, and run with just the refugium, as the skimmer tank, I think, is the only tank that had the fresher silicone.

I'd rather not break it down and wait two weeks and then shock everything again when I hook it all back up..

vitz
01/14/2014, 05:36 PM
the 1st thing i'd do is a 100% water change using properly mixed/aged parametered water. that would certainly remove anything that might be present in the water column that's irritating/poisoning your corals. if there's something that's being leached presently, carbon should definitely help, and perhaps adding a 'polyfilter' pad would, too.

age of carbon (2 months) isn't an issue, as long as it was stored in an airtight container. i'd also do a phosphate test on the carbon by adding po4 reagent to a sample tube of water, and then adding some carbon grains to see if they leave a blue trail. i certainly wouldn't stop the skimmer, as it helps to maximize the dissolved O2 level, at the least.

rrasco
01/14/2014, 06:01 PM
What are my options?

I was just about to add new carbon to the system, the carbon I have now is about 2 months old. Will that help?

I think I could take just the skimmer tank offline by capping the drain that goes there, and run with just the refugium, as the skimmer tank, I think, is the only tank that had the fresher silicone.

I'd rather not break it down and wait two weeks and then shock everything again when I hook it all back up..

Not really sure. I'm not even saying that improperly cured silicone is your problem. I barely know what's going on with my tank most of the time when I don't have a contamination. :fun4: I was just making a statement that I think the silicone gets the blame most of the time when in fact it is more likely user error when it does cause problems (as with most things in life).

Dozer1one
01/14/2014, 06:40 PM
Maybe it could be that you added another 55 gallons of water to your system? Maybe it was too much of a change in your parameters and they need time to adjust?
Ken

I can't believe he's the only one that touched on the obvious lol give it some time I'm sure it'll be fine, ps you can only use type 1, 100% silicone for aquarium use anything with mildew resistant on its label would be type 2, you can wait an hour or a month it's gonna kill your livestock

aleok
01/14/2014, 08:55 PM
Should I not do a water change I just picked up a whole bunch of water

ken6217
01/15/2014, 08:52 AM
Should I not do a water change I just picked up a whole bunch of water

Well if the reason is as I mentioned earlier (too much new/fresh saltwater) from the addition of the refugium etc, don't you think changing more water would make it even worse?

It seems that the silicone you used is OK. So if this is the case, the additional water seems to be the culprit. You should just sit tight and see what happens.

You could make water of you want and keep it at the ready in case you need it.

Btw, how are things today?
Ken

mayjong
01/15/2014, 10:19 AM
carbon and time....

aleok
01/15/2014, 11:11 PM
Well if the reason is as I mentioned earlier (too much new/fresh saltwater) from the addition of the refugium etc, don't you think changing more water would make it even worse?

It seems that the silicone you used is OK. So if this is the case, the additional water seems to be the culprit. You should just sit tight and see what happens.

You could make water of you want and keep it at the ready in case you need it.

Btw, how are things today?
Ken

Thanks for everyones help. I ended up doing a 75-80% water change and today everything seems normal. LPS seem happier, but i do have a SPS thats releasing white stuff, but i think that's from accidentally knocking it with my hand. I'm going to wait a while before i do anything again. Adding new carbon tomorrow.