Help!!!!!!!!!!!

[iluvcheez23]

i am new. i became obsessed when my husband came home with a xenia and a kenya tree coral with his new fish he went off to get.

i have 2 tanks. a 55 i started and it was doing so great everything growing fast i switch over and got a 90. along with the new tank, i got a new wet dry sump, a protein skimmer, a refugium and because i am using real ocean water a phosphate reactor and new t5 6 bulb lights.

the 90 was going so great. mostly soft corals, 2 brain corals and a plate.
5 months went by. slow growth however everything was looking so nice.
the 55 stayed completely empty. my husband was to reclaim his tank, we picked up a few fish and his favorite lion fish.
i picked up some new live rock, little to my knowlege it was completely alive with sponge, corals and algae pulled from the gulf of mexico.
well it all died killed everything in the tank. (fish)
the water parameters so high off the charts we didnt put anything living in there.

anyway this tank has nothinng but a marineland pump and power compact lights. thats it. my tank has been slowly dying. started with the death of a bubble anemone . i thought that the clown had harrassed it so bad it commit suicide. i took it out promptly.
water parameters are perfect. never fluctuate. temp is alway 79-80.8
plently of flow.

i put the brain coral in the other tank that was toxic, it is now doing better than ever! i put a torch over there and saved that. i think i have lost all my zoas and my beautiful anemone that was a perfect friend for so long is always looking sad. my leather corals i moved over today and i am hoping they will come back.

i use ocean water on both tanks.
the 55 now with all the healing corals has a huge algae problem, as well as so much plant life u cant see the rocks,.
the only difference in the tanks water quality is the temp is one degree lower. 77

i am so sad seeing all my beautiful friends die slowly. so frustrating its all i can think about. why is the crappy tank thriving and the 90 with all the equipment on it going down hill after it had been great for so long.

the 55 is very old only ever had fish. the 90 we picked up and started at the beginning of the year.
help me...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
please please. is it the plant life, i just dont get it. '

Priscilla
venice, fl

 

[Reefmack]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

Welcome to Reef Sanctuary Priscilla! Wow - that was a lot to digest and figure out what's going on! I think the first thing that most will want to know is the water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and Calcium, Alkalinity, pH would also be good to know at this point. For both tanks.

There are a lot of people in here with the experience to help, but I'm sure they'll want to know the above first.

 

[Reefmack]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

A summary of what equipment is on each tank would help, if you don't have the test readings. Even a picture of each tank would help to see how much live rock, if any, is in each tank.

I don't have all the answers - trying to get a better picture for everone else of what we're dealing with, so the help can begin.

If you have a digital camera....

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...ay-post-pics-photobucket-nanoreefing4fun.html

 

[tnwillia]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

Welcome to RS!

 

[ricohorton]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

seems to me when you added the live rock any die off drastically changed the parameters of the tanks chemistry. ammonia and nitrates may have shot up but test results would be needed to confirm. algae take over is always a good indicator when high nutrients and nitrate levels exist.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

[BigJay]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

d because i am using real ocean water a

my husband was to reclaim his tank, we picked up a few fish and his favorite lion fish.
i picked up some new live rock, little to my knowlege it was completely alive with sponge, corals and algae pulled from the gulf of mexico.
well it all died killed everything in the tank. (fish)
the water parameters so high off the charts we didnt put anything living in there.

anyway this tank has nothinng but a marineland pump

i use ocean water on both tanks.
the 55 now with all the healing corals has a huge algae problem, as well as so much plant life u cant see the rocks,.

please please. is it the plant life, i just dont get it. '

Priscilla
venice, fl

ok I'll try to piece this together with the info you have

when you say you are using real ocean water , I assume that is you collect it yourself since you live near the ocean. Where are you collecting the water? Are you processing the water at all before adding it to the tank. If you are collecting it beach side you very well could be contaminating your tank.
1. you could be introducing pathogens and disease.
2. Potreleum and other contaminents are often present in shallow coastal waters.
3. Your algae problem could stem from the coastal waters as well since waste water and fresh water empties into these coastal areas that pick up lots of nitrates and phosphates from farming and dead vegetation.

I think you know what killed the tank the first time, with the die off of the live rock. The rock most likley died because of a lot of fish introduced into the system at one time caused very high ammonia which in turn started killing the inhabitants of the live rock which further increased ammonia basically sending a chain reaction down the line that nuked the tank. Read up on tank cycling.

what are you using to top off evaporated water? If your not using RO/DI water your adding organics with every top off that will accumulate, even with water changes reaching a level that cannot support life. Which also leads to another question how often are you doing water changes(also make sure nothing that has been in your tanks gets back to the ocean).

after answering those questions could you please post your test results for PH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and most of all phoshates. I have a feeling your NO4(phophates) is going to be off the charts. If not its only because its being bound up by the algae faster then you can test it. Test your source water in that case and see how high the readings are for NO4. I think your going to be shocked.

 

[iluvcheez23]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

N04=zero
Ph 8.5
Nitrate 0
Nitirite 0
Amonia 0
Temp 80.6.


I guess u didn't get it. The tank with all the algae and plants is doing GREAT!!!
with no filtration. All my corals are coming back in there.

 

[Reddog170]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

Well excess nutients may not be anything you have tested for there, algae feed on a lot of things. I would say your PH is a tad high, not bad thoug and you temp is also a tad high. Also you said you are using ocean water, have you tested for heavy metals? Like copper?
Reef tanks are a wild ride. It is amazing how fast things can happen, the only problem is that everything that happens fast is not good.
You said you have no filtration on the 55. If that is true then you may want to get a HOB skimmer and filter. If you can try to allow the 90 to fully cycle again. With no livestock you can do a couple huge water changes and almost remove all the chemical that has nuked the tank. Best of luck, Shaun
And you got any pics?

 

[iluvcheez23]

Hey thanks! Your reply got ms thinking. Ur absolutely dead on.
Ie been topping off with ocean water not taking into account the build up.
I tested everything last night and ph was down 8.2 and Ca 640

Everything else zero.
The SpGrav 1.028!
And tp or total solids was low.
Soo
I did a 20% water change with r/o water.
Everythings stable.
I can't believe I didn't think straight. But if u didn't help me I wouldn't have. So let's see.
The SpGra after change went to 1.022.
And ph lowered a little.
Thanks and let's hope this helps.

 

[BigJay]

Re: heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllp!

holy smokes! you did a 20% water change with RO water with inhabitants in the tank? A SG of 1.028 is not an issue. You should never change SG at a rate that fast!
I did get what you were saying btw and if you would have read Phosphates can read 0 in a tank that's overloaded with them since algae binds up the phosphate faster then you can test it. Please read the portion of the quote below
If you collecting coastal water for your tank you will most likely constantly encounter problems is it's strongly recommended that you discontinue the practice.

after answering those questions could you please post your test results for PH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and most of all phoshates. I have a feeling your NO4(phophates) is going to be off the charts. If not its only because its being bound up by the algae faster then you can test it. Test your source water in that case and see how high the readings are for NO4. I think your going to be shocked.

 

[BigAl07]

I'm with Jay there. changes need to take place slowly over a period of time so avoid adding stress to the tank. Just stay where you are and monitor for some potential issues. Good luck and Happy Reefing.