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01/14/2018, 02:09 PM | #1 |
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Tank Crashing
I have a 160 gal tank that has begun to crash. Phosphate are elevated but I don't think this is it. I noticed two days ago my skimmer started over skimming with no adjustments made. Any help?
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/14/2018, 02:13 PM | #2 |
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Bummer! Gonna need your parameters and what is dying?
Cheers! Mark
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2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater |
01/14/2018, 02:31 PM | #3 |
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I just found a broken heater in my sump. I'm wondering if the heater materials that have corroded are causing this crash. Phosphates are .16, I just started up my phosphate reactor. Temp is 77. Hammers, Frog Sporn, Fuzzie mushrooms. The tank is cloudy. The skimmer has been going crazy the last couple days.
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/14/2018, 04:13 PM | #4 |
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Broken Heater in Sump
Hi Everyone, My tank appears to be crashing all my corals are closed up and might be dying. I found one of my sump heaters had broke in half. Don't know when it happened but it was quite corroded. My tank is very cloudy and my skimmer has been going crazy. Any suggestions on what I should do?
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/14/2018, 04:14 PM | #5 |
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Run carbon do big water change
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01/14/2018, 04:16 PM | #6 |
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Run a Polyfilter too..
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01/14/2018, 05:29 PM | #7 |
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A broken heater definitely can kill a lot of animals if the metal parts came in contact with the water. I'd try a few large water changes (maybe 20%) and Amquel or Prime, in case the ammonia level starts to spike. Have you tested for ammonia? If the ammonia level is zero and the animals are doing well, a few smaller changes (10-15%) probably would be enough.
Some fresh carbon and some CupriSorb would help remove toxic metals from the water column.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
01/14/2018, 05:34 PM | #8 |
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I merged two threads together to keep the discussion in one place.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
01/15/2018, 12:51 PM | #9 |
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The heater materials did come in contact with the water. The corals look at a little better now that I have my temp back up. I'm doing 25% WC. I did see a slight increase in ammonia. I'll update later today. Thanks for your help.
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/15/2018, 05:17 PM | #10 |
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You're welcome.
That sounds like a bit of progress! I'd keep watching the ammonia level carefully.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
01/25/2018, 05:29 PM | #11 |
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Update, most of my corals have rebounded. Only lost one fish (blue Throat Trigger). The only coral that still looks bad is my Sinularia. Prior to the heater breakage this coral had 4" round bases attached to my LR. They are now 1" if I'm lucky. No polyp extension at all. Any chance that this will make a come back?
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/25/2018, 06:09 PM | #12 |
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Sorry for your loss. From my limited experience sinularia are hardy and can look bad for an extended period and then rebound. Give it time. Good luck.
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01/25/2018, 06:16 PM | #13 |
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The Sinularia might make a comeback. I think that they can be sensitive to chemical warfare and toxins in the water, based on my experience with a system with mixed soft corals. I'd give it some time. Have you tried some fresh carbon?
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Jonathan Bertoni |
01/26/2018, 12:39 PM | #14 |
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Second the carbon. It will not 'tell' you it's saturated. If things are going wrong and pollution is suspected, fresh carbon.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
01/26/2018, 05:57 PM | #15 |
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That is one of the issues when using activated carbon. We have no practical way to know whether it's saturated.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
01/26/2018, 10:54 PM | #16 |
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What kind of heater were you using?
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01/27/2018, 11:24 AM | #17 |
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I'm running a Ferric Oxide and Carbon reactor. I've also placed a carbon bag in the sump near the return pump intake. The heater was a 300W Aquatop. I replaced with a Titanium heater. Any idea on how long the corals can receed before a possible comeback? Even though the coral is receded, it still has great color.
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Don Current Tank Info: 160g BF Acrylic Custom LED Lighting |
01/27/2018, 07:24 PM | #18 |
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I have no idea how long it'll take for the coral to recover from the recession. You could ask in one of the coral forums.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
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