reef165 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 That could just be your salinity issues now. But I must say that corals can be a bit finicky, That frogspawn I got from you, it took 2 weeks before it started opening and its only been about 2 weeks since it has started fully opening. They have been through a trauma, get the salinity thing straitened out then give it some time. You should take your refracto with you to Upscales and see if they have 78 deg. RO/DI water to O it out with then test there salted water to confirm accuracy. then test your tank with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 That was part of the plan. I am taking water, my refracto, water jugs and cash with me to try and get this resolved. I do know that it wont be an immediate turn around. But I would like to see some postive signs in the next couple days. Normally my Duncan's show improvement within 24 hours of changes with previous issues in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Good luck! Let us know what ya find out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I will.....but this is seriously affecting my interest in keeping this [language filter] tank. I have considered more than once in the last week or so of just getting out of the hobby all together after fighting with my tank for 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 just like "Reefing is where nothing good happens fast." Its also "patience is a virtue" Don't be put off by a little setback, every setback has a learning curve. I've learned from the past to make small changes in my tank so if something dose go wrong ya aren't as baffled as to what it might be. I've been in your shoes a couple times before I learned that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Eric, are you still using city water and no ro/di filter? What is your magnesium level? Are you dosing kalk or anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Not dosing anything. I have used Tap for some of these changes....I do believe that the Upscales dude checked my Mag as well. There were 2 readings that I couldn't memorize but I do remember him saying alk and I believe Mag were fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilmca Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Sorry to hear your battling with your tank. Can't imagine that changing the bulb has much to do with it. When i was over to deliver the canopy the duncans weren't opening as much as I'd seen them open in the past. Be patient and keep working on it. I know it's very frustrating when some corals are thriving and others are not. Right now i've got hammers that are doing great and frogspawns that are just doing ok. Stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am also nervous about pulling out water from my tank now. The tank makes popping sounds when I pull out over 10 gallons. I have a feeling I am going to bust the seals on tomorrow's water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Good part about that is I can drop all my corals and such into my 10g's and sell it all....then I don't have to worry about this anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 What do you dose? Iodine, Strontium, Iron, a mixed solution of additives? have you changed anything other than the bulb lately? Also, get a volt meter and see if you have any stray voltage in the tank. I also would take a sample to someone who has a photometer to test your phosphate. When the sps die, do they melt from the bottom up or the top down? Is it fast when it happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 When they died they died immediatly pretty much so I couldn't tell if from top of bottom. I do not dose at all. Never have. I did hear someone say something about stray voltage and am considering adding a grounding probe to my order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am also nervous about pulling out water from my tank now. The tank makes popping sounds when I pull out over 10 gallons. I have a feeling I am going to bust the seals on tomorrow's water change. That is very strange. Does it pop when the tank is full of water? Or is it just when you drain it down some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 That is very strange. Does it pop when the tank is full of water? Or is it just when you drain it down some? No just when draining then again when refilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Your on the second floor, just turn off your return pump and siphon out your sump ether out your front door or out your back slider. ya shouldn't need to take water out of your tank. Plus why do ya think your tanks going to split? I seen ya have a makeshift center brace, is that what your worried about? have ya looked into having a piece of glass cut for a center brace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Is your tank level on the bottom? Are there any gaps around the bottom of the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 haven't looked into the glass center brace and dont' really know how to do it. My sump only holds about 10 gallons of water so it doesn't make much of an impact when I only do from the sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Is your tank level on the bottom? Are there any gaps around the bottom of the tank? no gaps and appears to be level. I will toss the level on the stand when I get home to check and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Very strange indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Very strange indeed Keeps it interesting you know....I must admit....I am really regretting upgrading tanks. I am not sure what the future of this tank is anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 As I said before, with all that we talked about, I'm tending to lean towards stray voltage or something in the water. If Reef165 is right and you are on bull run, then you were directly effected by the bacteria contaminated water. I would turn the return off and let as much water as possible drain into the sump, then pull all of it out of there. Then pull the remaining out of the tank until you have 20g. Get a spare pump or the one off your UV to pump it out of the sump. I think I would leave the bulb in since that could just be another change the corals have to try to adapt to. May want to do another water change soon too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am doing another one tomorrow. Is there anyway to test for Bacteria? As I told you I will be getting pre-mixed saltwater from Upscales for the change. I used the mixing pump last time to pump out of sump....drained sump as low as I could go and only got 5 gallons....the other 15 has to come from tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Any other input would be appreciated. I will update when I get results from tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Is there anything else I could get to assist in reducing Nitrates? Outside of water changes that is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kshack Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Nitrate reduction...you could look into vodka, sugar, VSV, Probitio, Zeovit, Brightwell, Bio-pellets, etc, etc, or some combination of any of the above mentioned techniques to reduce nitrates and phosphate. "... 1.020 so I added salt and my refracto was reading 1.025. So I took water to Franks one night and he tested it at 1.020 also. I went home and set my refracto to read my water at 1.020 then did a water change with some potently mixed 5 gallons. A day later I tested my water and it read 1.025 I asked Vanz to come over with his refracto and it also read 1.025 so I assumed my water was good salt wise. However today I tested it again and it is reading 1.018.." I think you need to look no further than here for your problems. Things need to be stable, and alk, calcium, etc goes up and down with salinity. You went form 1.020 to 1.025 in a day (at least it sounds like it was rapidly), then went up another .005 in a short time, and now it looks like it is way back down to 1.018. Even if the current reading is due to a malfunctioning refractometer, you did add salt twice to go up .010 in salinity. That means you must have been at 1.015 to start? Or you are really high now? Also, the best way to raise salinity is to replace top off water with properly made up (1.025, or whatever your target) water. When you put "potently mixed" water in your tank, I am sure it was a shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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