Here We Go Again!

[Melanie]

I bought a 72 gallon bowfront four and a half years ago. It was already established and I made the mistake of just adding whatever fish looked "cute". Thousands of dollars later I was left with one damsel.

When that little fellow finally died about a month ago I decided to start over...and with more thought and planning.

I'm happy with any advice and tips you may provide.

Equipment:
72 gallon bowfront
wet/dry filter
protein skimmer

My tank has:
Fiji live rock
2 Percula clowns
Scarlet reef hermit crab
2 margarita snails
2 Mexican Turbo Snails
Serpent sea star
Emerald Crab
Red sea star

Test Results 6/22/07:

• NO2 0.2
• NO3 0
• Alk High
• Ph 8.4
• Salinity 1.020
• Amonia 0.25
• Temp 78 degrees

Test Results 6/27/07:

• NO2 0.2
• NO3 2.5
• Alk High
• Ph 8.4
• Salinity 1.021
• Amonia 0.25
• Temp 78 degrees

Note: My clowns appear to have developed a fungal infection. I started treatment with PimaFix.

[kyle1284]

salinity is down to far.... boost it up to 1.024 but make sure u do it gradually! Turttles pace wins the race!

[lcstorc]

Also what kind of protein skimmer do you have? Ultimately I would skip the wet dry but right now your amonia readings are the most concern. What kind of water change schedule are you on? Whatever it is I would increase it until the amonia is gone ant them remove the bio-balls a bit at a time. They are great at reducing amonia to nitrate but leave it there and corals cannot stand nitrates. How much LR do you have in the tank? The general recommendatuin is 1-2 lbs per gallon. You may need some more LR as well.
Happy reefing.

[vdituri]

The ammonia "may" be coming from uncleaned filter media.
Anything that dies, decays and when it decays it produces ammonia.
You will definitely need a large group of cleaners, snails, maybe hermit crabs (depending on your current affilations)

Salinity does need to go up, but you HAVE to it slowly.

[Snelly40]

i agree with outing the wet/dry and slowly boosting ur salinity!!!

[sasquatch]

Hi Melanie, good advice above and good questions, I would take a water sample to your lfs and get a full reading from them, ammonia test kits can be hard to read, more importantly try and describe some of the fish deaths to us as you may have a predator your not aware of. Steve

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

Hi Melanie, good advice above and good questions, I would take a water sample to your lfs and get a full reading from them, ammonia test kits can be hard to read, more importantly try and describe some of the fish deaths to us as you may have a predator your not aware of. Steve

Yes, I had a predator. A lionfish that grew larger than a softball. He was only about 2 - 3 inches long when I got him as a present. He ate everything.

Question: My fungal medicine says to use it for a week and then do a 25 percent water change. I'm worried about the ammonia and nitrate reading and thought I might do a water change DURING treatment. What do you guys think?

Question 2: What is the best way to increase the salinity slowly?

[lcstorc]

I wouldn't do the water change during the treatment. It will dilute the chemicals and make them less effective.
As to increasing your salinity, the easiest way for me to do it slowly is during top-off or waterchanges. Either top-off with salt water instead of fresh for a while or make your water change water a bit salty to bring up the rest of the tank.
HTH

[Melanie]

I can't believe I have so much to report in just over 24 hours.

This morning my very large Mexican Turbo Snail ate my medium-sized Mexican Turbo Snail. Although very interesting to watch...it was an expensive meal.

My emerald crab (the size of a nickel) attacked a margarita snail, but I moved that snail to the secured pump area that was full of algae anyway. Safe for now.

I found my serpent sea star, which I was afraid had been eaten too.

One of my clowns died. I had my mom take him to the fish store for an autopsy. Ok, well it was just a quick look and a quicker disposal.

The fungus is already half cleared on my other clown. He seems happy and eats well.

The LFS said that my water was "good" but a little low in Ph. Sold my mom some buffer and told her to have me do a 25 gal. water change.

I did a 20 gal. water change and added the buffer as well. I put more of the PimaFix in and I guess I'll just start the 7-day treatment over again today.

One LFS said they will trade my carniverous mexican turbo for something more docile if I want. I really want to trade the mean emerald crab. Especially before I get the beautiful feather duster I'm dreaming of.


My tank NOW has:
Fiji live rock
1 Percula clown
Scarlet reef hermit crab
2 margarita snails
1 Mexican Turbo Snail
Serpent sea star
Emerald Crab
Red sea star

Test Results 6/29/07 AFTER Water Change:

• NO2 0.2
• NO3 5.0
• Alk High
• Ph 8.6
• Salinity 1.020
• Amonia 0.25
• Temp 80 degrees

Note: I'm so glad I only got a few specimens to start re-establishing this tank.

[lcstorc]

Looks like the tank is still cycling. Sit back and wait a while before adding anything else. You want amonia and nitrites to be 0 before adding livestock.

[DrHank]

I agree. Keep an eye on the clown fish. After all parameters are 0 if your fish looks healthy, start running carbon to pull the medication from the water. Monitor your salinity and replace evaporation loss (top off) with salt water. That will gradually increase it to the proper level.

Mexican turbo snails are more temperate than tropical. Some will aclimate to the higher temperatures of a reef tank, most won't and die over time. Trocas snails are a better choice.

Listen to Lynn and don't add any more livestock until all parameters are correct. Good luck!

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by DrHank

I agree. Keep an eye on the clown fish. After all parameters are 0 if your fish looks healthy, start running carbon to pull the medication from the water. Monitor your salinity and replace evaporation loss (top off) with salt water. That will gradually increase it to the proper level.

Mexican turbo snails are more temperate than tropical. Some will aclimate to the higher temperatures of a reef tank, most won't and die over time. Trocas snails are a better choice.

Listen to Lynn and don't add any more livestock until all parameters are correct. Good luck!

Do hermit crabs and snails count as livestock?

[Melanie]

The fungus is nearly gone on my clown. That PimaFix is miraculous. I've discovered that this clown doesn't really like the frozen mysis cube food. He prefers flake food.

I am doing pretty well resisting the urge to buy every fish I want right now. Very difficult considering my LFS has the most amazing supply of livestock.

I've been running my light (just a one-bulb, flourescent fixture) most of the day and I noticed that my Fiji rock is getting beautiful. I jokingly called it "dead rock" instead of live rock because it was the color of mud. The beautiful purple color is coming back on some of the pieces.

I started my protein skimmer again. I didn't realize why it wasn't working until I read the thread about cleaning the cup thoroughly. Working like a charm now. I don't like that it makes tiny bubbles in my tank though. It makes it "cloudy." I might mess around with it to see if I can stop that.

I topped off with about half a gallon of 1.020 salinity water today. Hopefully with time it will raise my tank's reading.

Test Results 6/30/07:

• NO2 0.2
• NO3 5.0
• Alk High
• Ph 8.4
• Salinity 1.020
• Amonia 0
• Temp 79 degrees

Note: Nothing died last night!

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

Also what kind of protein skimmer do you have?

I'm not sure what you call this....
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...Picture001.jpg

[lcstorc]

Hmm I'm not either. It should not be making bubbles in the tank when it is properly adjusted.
Yes cleanong crew is livestock. Often the first livestock we put in our tanks.
I see that amonia is now 0 and that is good. Nitrites are fairly low so it shouldn't be long before you can get a cleanup crew. Start deciding on what you want.