anemone dying

[ellarose]

That anemone looks like it is a BTA in very poor shape. In anemone world, BTA is practically almost indestructible in term of ease of care in comparison to other host anemone species. It does not appear to have adequate light or circulation there, but likely that is not make it sick. Anemone just moves if they don't like the current and light. I almost 100% sure that that the problem is in the chemistry.



The OP mention that the tank has been running for 2.5 years. There was no water change in the last 2.5 months. Poor maintained tank has "old tank syndrome" which mean basically "bad water due to accumulation of micro-toxin, and depletion of micronutrients. Turn this around isn't always easy because a lot of the micro-toxin bind into the rock, only release when pH gets low like during the night. Because of this reason, large water changes do not always fix things. This, "old tank syndrome", is a lot more common in tank with sand bed that have been neglected.



LFS alway just test for ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, salinity, perhaps phosphate. Testing at the LFS is hardly extensive. It will not pick up cause for "old tank syndrome".

OP mention "...upping my salt and more RO water..." I just hope this does not mean adding salt crystal to the tank.

Concentrate on get the water condition better, however you can do it, or else get him to a new well-run tank and you may be able to save him. When I am talking about getting water condition better, I do not mean just salinity, nitrates, phosphate, but more than the macro nutrient and waste, I mainly concern with the normally unmeasurable trace nutrients and toxins. You MAY be able to correct this with large volume water change, 50-75% changes repeatedly, or else 100% change but you must match salinity and temperature.

Goodluck

okay will take this info on board i definitely don’t neglect the tank but was told to not do so many water changes and that i should need to do a water change unless something goes wrong, but i clean the tank regularly siphoning the sand cleaning the algae but i run the water through a filter sock when cleaning into a bucket then put the water back in but without all the stuff i just cleaned out. I top the tank up with saltwater not straight salt and i don’t mix it myself i buy the water from the store

 

[Fishy888]

i use other buffers as well i was just using ph as an example i use the ph cause sometimes my ph drops in the tank only does a little bit though, getting full test done today

I would honestly buy either a Salifert or Hanna test kit as was suggested a while ago first. I went the Salifert route as it’s much more affordable and just as accurate as Hanna for ALK. You shouldn’t add what you can’t test for with any chemical but ALK especially.

Alkalinity, or carbonate hardness (Kh) is the PH stabilizer. If you add too much ALK you’ll precipitate all the calcium out and your pH will swing violently. There are better ways to stabilize your pH.

If you have a sump/refugium get a timer for the fuge lights. Set the timer to turn your fuge lights on when the lights go off in the display and vice versa. That’ll keep your pH as high as your display tank (or close to).

 

[Nman]

You would be surprised how many people don’t do water changes and still have success.
But you will have to dose what gets depleted from your water.
On the other hand water changes replenish lot of stuff . The simple way is to find a salt that has everything your looking in it .
I think you said you buy salt water imo buy a rodi mix your own . As said above good reliable test kit salfert or hanna if you can afford it. Anemones BTA are fairly hardy Good lighting is a must really and medium flow imo

 

[twelvefive]

okay will take this info on board i definitely don’t neglect the tank but was told to not do so many water changes and that i should need to do a water change unless something goes wrong, but i clean the tank regularly siphoning the sand cleaning the algae but i run the water through a filter sock when cleaning into a bucket then put the water back in but without all the stuff i just cleaned out. I top the tank up with saltwater not straight salt and i don’t mix it myself i buy the water from the store

What are you using for top off water?

 

[OrionN]

You would be surprised how many people don’t do water changes and still have success.
But you will have to dose what gets depleted from your water.
On the other hand water changes replenish lot of stuff . The simple way is to find a salt that has everything your looking in it .
I think you said you buy salt water imo buy a rodi mix your own . As said above good reliable test kit salfert or hanna if you can afford it. Anemones BTA are fairly hardy Good lighting is a must really and medium flow imo

That is for sure. @FarmerTy is one of the one who ran a beautiful no water change tank. I do believe that he tests and replace depleted elements. I have another friend @Claybird1985, who also has a very beautiful tank. Clayton sends his water test every month and adjust the additive accordingly.
People who run successful no water change tank long term are meticulous about what they put into the tank, including food, and do extensive testing, and adjustment.

 

[Rmckoy]

i use other buffers as well i was just using ph as an example i use the ph cause sometimes my ph drops in the tank only does a little bit though, getting full test done today

I believe if all other parameters are kept stable the need to dose ph buffer would not be needed
Ph is naturally supposed to fluctuate through the day to night
But alkalinity , calcium and other main parameters need to remain stable

 

[Claybird1985]

That is for sure. @FarmerTy is one of the one who ran a beautiful no water change tank. I do believe that he tests and replace depleted elements. I have another friend @Claybird1985, who also has a very beautiful tank. Clayton sends his water test every month and adjust the additive accordingly.
People who run successful no water change tank long term are meticulous about what they put into the tank, including food, and do extensive testing, and adjustment.

OrionN and others are correct about the OP's chemistry for sure. A large water change would be totally beneficial in this case! I'd do 50% now! Match alk/ph, temp, salinity as OrionN mentioned. Wait a week then do another 50%.. and probably even another week and another 50%... you have a BTA struggling then you are likely experiencing problems in other corals if you have them and a WC is your friend, big time.
Your approach to housekeeping is good with the siphoning but I'll bet you're just stirring up & dumping dissolved phosphate all over the place when you do the filter sock thing. Toxic ! I used to siphon religiously but stopped about a year ago and things got better as far as phosphate fluctuations. I do have two crazy diamond gobies constantly moving the sand around so my 2.5-3.5" sand bed gets agitated often and the suspended junk gets skimmed out or eaten.
I would do small portions of siphoning at a time and toss that water down the drain!!


What OrionN says is always accurate! I do not do water changes on my SPS dominant/mixed reef system (300g) .. I use the Reef Moonshiner method-- highly extremely highly recommended, and I do ICP-MS tests on 30 day intervals. I dose ohh 18 individual/isolated elements on top of my alk/cal/mag auto dosing (redsea foundations) and my 8"/6" pri/sec Geo calcium reactor setup. There is no nutrient export other than large skimmer, light usage of Rowaphos (GFO) and a once-a-month bag of carbon dropped in sump for two days to help with some organics.

This method could also be applied to any sized system of course. Like most are saying I'd get some hanna & salifert test kits, make your own RO and SW, and with some effort to reset things you will be successful in no time. Things get easier in time no matter how bad the bad times feel! Just have to invest more time and some $$ to get on track but it is worth it and you seem to be willing & dedicated enough to get on track! Don't give up and take everyone's advice here as it's all extremely useful and consistent advice !

Clayton

 

[ellarose]

Hey everyone, so got my water tested for everything believed to be that my tank water is way to salty i think i must have been only topping up with salt water and not RO but learnt from this mistake going to label my jugs. here is a photo of my results

 

[OrionN]

I would not decrease it all at 1 time. Perhaps every hour or two

 

[ellarose]

I would not decrease it all at 1 time. Perhaps every hour or two

i so far have removed 5 litres and replaced

 

[Bob2bob]

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