Time to tear down the tank!

M

Montanareefer

Has been struck by the ban stick
Hi All!

Well I think my tank is going down hill. I just recently started to test my water as I could not keep sps frags or zoanthids in my tank.

I did a couple 15 gallon water changes in my 3 year old reef tank in the last couple of week and have a DSB of 4-6".

jks!(John) send me a Hagen Master kit and I tested my water just a few minutes ago and my PH was 9.0 and my ALK was 150mgl. My SG is 1.023.

Presently I have two clams, one moon coral, one candy cane coral and they are doing fine. I recently lost two clams(under 2" which I can understand).

I run a Remora Pro Hang-on Skimmer and have 2-250ww MH 10,000k and 2-96ww PC's actinic 03 for lighting.

I also have one copperband butterfly, one tomato clown, one lawnmover blenny and one chiseltooth wrasse for fish. Fish are all fine and healthy and normal behavior.

I also have three cowries and several astrea, nassarius snails and one very small hermit in my tank for inverts. Also several mini-stars in my tank.

I have 5 PH in my tank(one hooked to a spray bar along the back bottom of the tank) for water circulation.

I also noticed just now the temperature strip on the side of my tank is on 86 degrees! Maybe I will have to raise my hood up higher than what it is now. Lights are about 7-8" from the surface and I run an open top on the tank with a 12" glass brace in the center. I have two 4" fans in the hood.

So not sure where to go from here. Do I tear down the tank and start over or find another interesting hobby! I do like lizards and snakes and could set up an amazon display.

I just feel that after three years I am not really happy with the results at this point. So I have a big decision to make very soon. I really love this hobby but will not sacrifice the loss of any more critters in my tank if I am to be a responsible reef keeper.

Is it time to move on? Could be! Frustrated at this point? Yes I would say so! Do I really have the ability to maintain a reef system? I would say NO at this point or is it lack of confidence! I would say Yes!

Just thought I would share if there are others who may be where I am now! I will accept any suggestions and in the end I know the decision will be mine and mine alone! Thanks for reading!:)
 
mojoreef

mojoreef

Just a reefer
Ah Magoo your just out of wack, Time to do an overhaul my friend, thas all. I have known you to long, if you tear it down you will be pissed at yourself for doing it. Lizards????... oh yea until pat finds one in your bed, lol. I will call you this weekend and we can put a plan of attack on this puppy, no problemooooo



Mike
 
Curtswearing

Curtswearing

Active Member
All of these problems are solveable Johnny. Don't quit now.

Please do me a favor, find an in-tank thermometer. I don't trust those strip ones at all. The alkalinity and pH are just mere chemistry issues.

Don't throw in the towel.

We'll get you there bud. I gotta run though. I'm going to the LFS to support my habit. :)
 
NaH2O

NaH2O

Contributing Member
Johnny - DON'T QUIT! We'll get you straightened out. As Curt said, pH and ALK are mere chemistry issues.
 
SunnyX

SunnyX

Member
I was at this point before. I was ready to tear by tank town twice!! Once with the massive Green hair algae attack and one form the DIno Explosion that wiped out most of my fish and corals. But I stuck with it because I loved this hobby. I refocused and refined my practice. I know feel that I am finnally in control of my tank. I started dripping Kalk every nite and did water changes weekly. I went out and purchased a Pinpoint Ph moniter and Much more powerheads. Look at my pics below to see how bad I had it in my tank.
 
SunnyX

SunnyX

Member
If I can do it so can you!!:yup:
Dont give up just yet!!
As you can see from my pics there is always a way to turn things around.

Hang in there buddy!!!!
 
Curtswearing

Curtswearing

Active Member
SunnyX,

I'm glad you hung in there because that is one awesome tank!!!

Johnny,

What they said!!!

Well really I'm about to become a royal pain in the neck. I want to know everything about your tank and your husbandry practices.

Size of tank.
Size of sump, if any.
Type of lighting.
How long is your photoperiod?
Do you have algae problems?
How often do you do waterchanges?
How do you maintain Calcium and Alkalinity? (Kalk, waterchanges, calcium reactor, etc.)

Are you getting my drift? I think that everyone needs to know all of this info because there are so many smart people on this board with skills in different areas. Between all of us, I believe we can figure out what is going on, and then determine the best course of action to solve the problem.

Keep your chin up bud!!!
 
Gina

Gina

Moderator
RS STAFF
:( Johnny!
We're just getting to know one another! Don't leave now!!
I do understand that sometimes things go wrong and you try and try and don't feel like your getting anywhere. I wanted to throw the towel in last year only after 3 months! But, we hung in there changed a few of the things and as of right now have a fairly good system. Some of these people here are so smart with the chemistry aspect of reefing I am sure you'll get things turned around!

Please, hang in there!
 
M

Montanareefer

Has been struck by the ban stick
Ok thanks everyone for your input and support!

I would like to start by saying I probably have been pretty lazy with my tank maintenance and self denial about certain aspects of my tank.

Part is due to my physical health and my wife's as well. It has been hell the last three to four years. But I dealt with that and moved on and still dealing with my health at this point.

Ok my tank is an 80 gallon reef tank that is 48" x 23" x 18". It has been running for approximately three years.

This is how my substrate is layed down. Don't ask me why I did it this way because I have no answer. I have about an inch of crushed coral and then a screen over that and then 4-5" of aragonite, aragamax and flamingo pink sand mixed. This could be a big source to my problem.

I have a custom made hood with 2- 250 MH 10,000k and 2-96ww PC's actinic blues. I got this hood from AquaticCo. out of Georgia who is a sponsor on TRT. (Mike you know who I am talking about). The lights came from Hamilton Technology. I believe there is a problem with the PC lights as they are a pink color. I have the PC ballast on a separate line and the bulbs are still pink with one having a blue color toward the end. That can be a problem.

The lights run approximately 12 hours a day with a half hour difference in when the blues come on and go off from the whites.

I run a Remora Pro Hang-on Skimmer and have no sump.

Circulation: I have 5 PH's in the tank with one attached to a spray bar on the back bottom of the tank.

I do water changes about every two to three months and it is usually 10-15 gallons each time.

I use IO salt.

I have an RO unit that attaches to the kitchen faucet and I fill a large plastic tub and let the water sit over night before doing the water change. Also used for top off water. At times I don't change the cartridge when it should be changed due to lack of money at times.

I just recently started to drip kalk with a large IV bag but stopped this as I was not sure what my readings were.

I just recently purchased a new sump/refugium that is 23" x 18" x 16" and have a cal reactor donated by Stoneyreef! I do not have the plumbing or co2 tank or regulator, etc to set up the sump and cal reactor because of how little work I have had lately. Also need an overflow since my tank is not drilled.

It was suggested I drain the water down about 5" and have holes drilled but did not care for that idea.

Another problem is I am not a DIY'er like alot of people and there is a very good reason for this.

I also battle an algae problem constantly but it comes and goes but there is always new stuff popping up. My lawnmover blenny is helping alot and is quite fat.

I see red cyano algae on the back glass and sides that appear frequently and there is always algae present to a degree although not like SunnyX has had to deal with.

Yeah my husbandry practices are not good up to this point and man enought to say so and no excuses here on my part for that!

My problems over rides my expectations of what I wanted for a beautiful reef tank which would consist of sps dominated and a few clams. I look at Luis and Rob and others tank and I feel like I am a million miles away from that dream.

I do what I can with what I have and like I said my husbandry practices are something to not be proud of but yes I would love a beautiful reef tank because I can't think of where I would have been if I did not have a reef tank when my wife went through her cancer period and me being diagnosed with diabetes. It saved me big time and also forums like this and I have met so many great people on these boards and RS is the latest in line to attest to this! Well if ya need more let me know. This is where I am at present with my tank. :)
 
T

tankgirl

Active Member
Hi Johnny! I love your honesty! I think you can have a tank that will work. Maybe, instead of trying for a tank like Robs or Luis', simplifying would be better? If I got to a situation where I couldn't handle the maintainance on my tank - truthfully, I'd be happy with a couple pieces of LR, one fish and a few shrooms (or whatever). I know Mike can help you achieve a tank that you can succeed with! Hope you decide to let Mike help!
Hugs from tg
 
reefshadow

reefshadow

Member
Hi, Johnny!

Don't give up, first of all!

I can see a few things from your posts that would be first to address in my book.

You temp is definately high if that is correct. If the fans aren't cutting it a temporary solution would be to buy a more powerful fan and point it directly at the water if possible. Some stores have those smaller fans that actually can be screwed to the wall and angled into position (not sure if you could find one in the winter?). Also check your heater- it could be stuck or the thermostat burned out? How is your temp reading during the night? I also hate those stick on therms. I would buy a floating one to get a more acurate reading.

After you have your temp questions addressed it would be a good idea to adjust your sg. up to 1.025, 1.023 is a bit low. Make sure you do this after you figure out the temp thing.

I would step up the water changes. This could go a long way toward solving whatever funky chemistry problems are going on, especially if you don't have all the necessary test kits. I would not mess around with alk or ca. unless you have the kits for these. They have a relationship that necessitates knowing what both values are before tweaking with them.

I'm not sure about your substrate. If this was my tank I would consider doing a total tear down involving removing this and going with a much shallower bed or none at all, removing corals, fish and inverts and scrubbing the lr and replacing most of the water. It's a big job but it could solve your problems, or at least rule out alot of causes.

Good luck!!!!!

-Becca:)
 
jks1

jks1

Member
Johnny- hang in there man! I know things have not been going the greatest for you for a while but everythng will come around. I know how much you love that tank and how miserable you would be without it.

I had some problems with balancing PH and ALK too. I switched from 2 part to Kalk and all fell into order in a few days. I would suggest to dose the Kalk for all your make-up for a week, then re-test- Im sure your levels will stabalize.

What do you need to get that Ca reactor up and running. With all the junk we all accumulate over time Im sure we can come up with what you need.

Talk to Mike this weekend and let us know how it goes- I know well all do what we can to help ya! Chin-up buddy!
 
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