Help PLease.

[BrianB]

I checked my water before work temp was 79, ph meter said water was at 6.9 and my starfish did not look good at all. There was nothing I can do as I don't get off work till 9pm. Looks like my ph is dropping after the salt is mixed. I use ro/di and used instant ocean salt. Anyone in Gresham that could help or tell me if they use a marine buffer. I need help ASAP. I don't want to lose fish. :( I will have to check all other water parems when I get home tonight.

[Rick]

How long have you had the starfish?

[BrianB]

this is actually my first sw tank. I picked it up saturday from mytshall. So I don't know the age.

[reefnjunkie]

FWIW-Dont chase PH.

I would see if your meter needs to be calibrated, 6.9 does not sound like an acuurate reading.

 

My PH fluctuates from a low of 7.80-7.85 at night to 8.3 during the day, IF my windows are open, otherwise 8.15 is average.

 

My tank mates are VERY happy-I gave up "chasing" PH=

 

Just my experiance.

 

good luck

[reefnjunkie]

Almost forgot, If you do dose for the PH to boost it up-read the fine print, most buffers are going to add to your alkalinty.

 

Brightwell (I think) makes a liquid that wont add alkalinty-just read the label-as I never did and found out the hard way

KH at 16 vs 10-:eek:

[ReeFit]

if this is a new tank, more than likely your meter is off. your ph should not be that low with nice fresh saltwater unless your using some crappy salt mix.

[BrianB]

OK so I tested ph it is in the 7.7 to 8.0 range. Testing other parems now.

[BrianB]

Forgot to add that everything else except that star looks fine. Zoa's are doing great even the 2 that never opened till today. The green mushroom finally looks good and fish seem fine and eating well. Will post other parems as soon as I am done.

[Rick]

What kind of room is the tank in? If it's pretty well sealed up newer construction then that can cause the PH to be a bit low. As others mentioned mine also fluctuates. It's at about 7.9 now but will drop to 7.75 or so overnight and rise to 8.1 or so tomorrow when the lights are on.

 

My next question would be how did you acclimate the starfish? They are extrememly sensitive and therefore need to have long acclimations. I usually acclimate them for a minimum if 2 hours using the drip method. (Or try to anyway as I usually forget about it until 4 hours or so have passed)

[ReeFit]

Forgot to add that everything else except that star looks fine. Zoa's are doing great even the 2 that never opened till today. The green mushroom finally looks good and fish seem fine and eating well. Will post other parems as soon as I am done.

 

Just an FYI, don't make drastic changes to your tank just because your starfish is dieing. starfish are not the hardiest animals. i have lost several over time. It could just be no fault of your own. i would shoot to get your PH back up in the low to mid 8's but even a high 7 isn't going to kill stuff. another key parameter is alk, it can drop fast especially if your lacking calc and mag.

[Rick]

OK so I tested ph it is in the 7.7 to 8.0 range. Testing other parems now.

 

That's a pretty wide range. I would try to get a kit that will give you a closer figure. Or better yet use a PH meter that has been calibrated.

 

If it's around 7.7 then are the lights out right now? And how long have they been off if so? The PH always drops at night so this wouldn't be anything to worry about at night but I would be a little concerned if it was at 7.7 in the middle of the lighting cycle. 7.8 is the suggested low for PH however mine sometimes drops to about 7.6 (In the winter months with the room closed up most of the time) and I've never noticed anything detrimental.

[gdwats]

Instant Ocean is also known to loose alkalinity or buffer capacity as it sits even in a jug. I would try changing salts.

Remember that the most important thing to remember when adding a starfish, or any invertebrate for that matter, is to acclimate them very slowly. They are hypersensitive to changes in salinity. More so than to temperature or pH. Starfish also like a pretty old established tank. The simplest of the life forms are the hardest to keep! (nono)

Greg

 

And BTW, I also agree with the person above, 6.9 is unlikely a true reading. I wouldn't trust a meter, but if you really want to know where your pH is at, you should pick up one of the cheap little titration (drop wise) type test kits. I'm not sure a tank of water full of aragonite can even maintain a reading of 6.9 as the substrate should begin to buffer up from there...weird. (rock2)

[BrianB]

I used about 20 gallons of the tank water from the tank when I got it and the rest was premixed. I didn't really acclimate them since most of the water was what he was already in. But it does look like I have some ammonia about 1.5 mg/l. :(

[ReeFit]

I used about 20 gallons of the tank water from the tank when I got it and the rest was premixed. I didn't really acclimate them since most of the water was what he was already in. But it does look like I have some ammonia about 1.5 mg/l. :(

 

sounds like its going though a cycle. you should dose some niteout, amquel or stability to reduce the ammonia in the tank. its probably whats affecting the starfish.

[Rick]

I used about 20 gallons of the tank water from the tank when I got it and the rest was premixed. I didn't really acclimate them since most of the water was what he was already in. But it does look like I have some ammonia about 1.5 mg/l. :(

 

How did you go about setting the system up? (Day one to present)

[BrianB]

I bought the tank as a whole. Mike helped take the tank apart and we left the tank half full. Another 10 or so gallons in buckets with the livestock and fish. Got home set the tank up and arranged the rock, livestock and filled with about 5 or so gallons of pre mixed water. It was a take down setup type thing the tank was already up and running when I got it.

[ReeFit]

I bought the tank as a whole. Mike helped take the tank apart and we left the tank half full. Another 10 or so gallons in buckets with the livestock and fish. Got home set the tank up and arranged the rock' date=' livestock and filled with about 5 or so gallons of pre mixed water. It was a take down setup type thing the tank was already up and running when I got it.[/quote']

 

did you disturb the sand? that can cause ammonia or toxins to be released into the water.

[Rick]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the ammonia at this point then. Keep watching it and make sure it doesn't keep climbing. Keep in mind that any change to the system will cause a new cycle no matter how much the previous system was established. I can either stir the sand up in mine or even just move around some rocks to cause it to start a new cycle.

[BrianB]

Yeah I am sure some got disturbed on the drive home. Yeah the ph meter needs to be calibrated I am gonna order some solution, I checked it against a ph test kit. I guess there is not much I can do now. but let it go through the mini cycle. pretty bummed about losing livestock tho. :(

[BrianB]

gdwats, if instant ocean loses buffering capacity what salt is recommended? What do others use?

[Rick]

Yeah I am sure some got disturbed on the drive home. Yeah the ph meter needs to be calibrated I am gonna order some solution' date=' I checked it against a ph test kit. I guess there is not much I can do now. but let it go through the mini cycle. pretty bummed about losing livestock tho. :([/quote']

 

SWF normally has the calibration fluid. As I recall it was reasonably priced too. Enough that I grabbed a couple of extras.

[Rick]

gdwats' date=' if instant ocean loses buffering capacity what salt is recommended? What do others use?[/quote']

 

Bad question. Out of 10 people your going to get at least 5 different answers. Chances are there are even a few people who would argue that they have never had an issue with it. I personally use Ocean Pure myself primarily because it keeps the calcium levels up. The tradeoff though is that the mag tends to be a bit low with it so I use epson salts every once in awhile to make corrections for it.

[ReeFit]

Bad question. Out of 10 people your going to get at least 5 different answers. Chances are there are even a few people who would argue that they have never had an issue with it. I personally use Ocean Pure myself primarily because it keeps the calcium levels up. The tradeoff though is that the mag tends to be a bit low with it so I use epson salts every once in awhile to make corrections for it.

 

what? you mean theres not one superior salt out there? i recommend using pure kirkland sea salt from the Mediterranean sea. you can get it in bulk from costco. (nutty)

 

salt is not salt when it comes to reef tanks. you definitely should be using a salt that is designed for reefs. its parameters are going to be setup for it and should hold true longer. you won't have to dose trace elements and essentials as much with a higher quality salt. You will however pay more for better quality salt. I tend to like H2 Ocean pro plus, but its very expensive.

[gdwats]

gdwats' date=' if instant ocean loses buffering capacity what salt is recommended? What do others use?[/quote']

 

Actually, I think the majority do use IO, but when alkalinity problems arise that is always my first question. I use a salt called mei myself, not sure if you know it. But there are a lot of good polls on this subject and you can see that coral-life, Inst Ocean(reef crystals usually), Red Sea and Kent marine crystals are usually in the mix along with others. I didn't mean to bash IO or anything, I just wouldn't recommend it for long term exclusive use in most cases. All cases are different though as you no doubt have/will discover. With instant ocean I would also get some kind of 2-part buffer system, there a a few good ones out there. I would say avoid the KM Super dKH buffer though, it is not really very effective.

[Rick]

.... i recommend using pure kirkland sea salt from the Mediterranean sea. you can get it in bulk from costco. (nutty)

 

You should have been around here when we were talking about the sea salt from Winco. (laugh)