I must be doing something wrong but what?

[MeMyFishandI]

I didnt read the rest of the replies - BUT - I can think of a couple things:

1. The fish were exposed to a disease in the new tank - that hitchhiked on something else - or they were carrying the disease - but had no symptoms (i.e. the cardinal, and the other one) - when they got put in the new tank - the stress caused the disease. (This would seem to be really quick for this)., This could explain why subsequent fish also died?

I would usually agree, however, the YWG seems to be healthy and fine. Unless he has a super-fish immune system.


2. Your cycle was not complete when you transferred the first 2 fish - and the was an ammonia issue.

I tested the water in the 25 g daily, and tracked it on an excel sheet. Once the cycle was over, I tested for an additional week, just to be sure. Then once I moved the fish, I still tested. Yes, I am that nerdy.

3. you have lost a couple fish (or at least the dotty back) that you cant find - could you have had an ammonia spike from that that damaged your corals - started a 'downward cycle' - hurting your leathers - and also when the leather are 'sick' or 'dying' - they can release toxins that can hurt the rest.

I checked the ammonia once I noticed that she hadn't been out for a day. I kept checking everyday for a week or so. There was no change. The stupid mushroom corals have been beyond healthy....want a green hairy mushroom? I got some I need to get rid of (once I know the tank is healthy, don't want to pass this on to anybody else).

It could be 100 things - BUT - when coral and fish are not doing well - its usually IME - a toxin problem of some sort - oxygen, chloramine (that got through your RODI), ammonia - or something else (a metal - but I think that would be rare) - etc etc - The fish and the coral deaths could also be unrelated - i.e. the fish died of disease - and the coral are warring with each other. BTW - your tank looks nice. Hope this helps some - PS - Nitrates can be important - especially with the dead fish - and you have a lot of biomass in your tank - which is kind of new (though I'm not a big believer in the 'wait 6 months to do xxx'

Sarcophyton Leather Corals: Attractive, Toxic, and Tough as Nails | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

When it comes to hardiness, ease of care, and general adaptability, few corals can compare to those of the genus Sarcophyton—the so-called toadstool, or mushroom, leather corals. Despite their lack of…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Chrisfish]

Hi there, I have the IM 25 lagoon and it has been up and running since last February, I had the IM 20 gal. Peninsula prior to that but decided I liked the size and space of the lagoon even though it’s only 5 gals. More. The one issue I have with the tank is as mentioned above I didn’t feel like I had enough Water movement Even with the mighty jet pump, Jaebo wave maker, the IM desktop protein skimmer so I added a Aquatop surface skimmer and it is making a big difference. I don’t run it all the time, mainly after I feed the fish as I feed frozen and live and it leaves a film on the surface of the water. The corals also seem to like the micro bubbles that it causes for a short time in the beginning. It’s obvious that you care about your tank and what’s going on, there are many helpful and knowledgeable people here so you’ve come to the right place. One other thing I changed instead of filter socks I use the media baskets with filter floss, carbon and chaeto in the chambers. And my lighting is the AI hydra 26 HD. Good luck!!!

 

[MeMyFishandI]

Hi there, I am not familiar with your equipment. I am familiar with your issues. i had a 20 gallon tank for 3+ years with 2 clownfish and a Damsel. I used to feed them a cube of Mysis shrimp per day and what it did was...you know those “few bristle worms” you say you have? You probably have hundreds of them, you just haven’t seen them come out at night. When they do, you will be shocked. You may be over feeding and if so, your bristle worms are benefiting from it. Your Nitrates are no doubt too high. IMHO, Nitrates in a tank that size shouldn’t be any higher than 5ppm. a 25 gallon tank is so easy to clean and flip out the water. I don’t mean to sound harsh, I was there not so long ago. I had to trash the entire tank because of the worms. I bought a new, bigger tank. Now, I have different, bigger problems. If I were you, I would clean up the tank (scrub the inside of the glass and the tank walls) and start doing weekly 20% water changes. Clean your socks and protein Skimmer at least twice if not three times per week. Start feeding max 4X per week but only feed less than 1/8 to 1/4 of the cube of Mysis shrimp. Give yourself time to turn off the pumps before you feed and watch what happens. Look at who eats what and where the food goes. If possible, get any uneaten food out of there before your pumps come back on. Do this for awhile until you understand your animals behavior. Do a search on each one of your fishes/animals specifically the known causes for stress and death. Start going through a process of elimination with your tank. What you do, what you don’t do. I think you are making the right start by asking the question. You care and that’s the most important thing of all. Reef aquariums are difficult. Some people make it look so easy, but I have cried and been so frustrated so many times. It takes time, patience and observation. You’ll get there. Best of luck to you and all your little guys ;-) JL

I have cut down the food to 1/8 of a cube. My YWG seems less than impressed by this move. Waiting for a nitrate test to show up. I am thinking I may have to set up a worm trap.

 

[MeMyFishandI]

Quick observations based on a few things that caught my eye.

Not much water agitation. Your water surface looks like it has buildup from not enough water surface movement.

I will add another power head to help.

Alk directly at 7 is not a major issue but it is a fine line and what test kit are you using?

It is an API. I know....

How are you testing pH? Suprised it would be 8 with very little water movement and gas exchange.

With a test.... again, API.

Your lights are from what I have read terrible. On a budget? Get a used AI Prime 16hd or NOOPSYCHE.

Based on the coral growth they are working fine enough for me.

Either a get good test kits and test daily for a week and report back. Test SG with a refractometer and ensure its calibrated.

That is a lot of cash you're asking me to spend.

How often are you doing water changes?

Every other week.

I dont suspect TDS above zero just yet but should be coming up soon. Usually 6 months or sooner if you have high IN TDS.

Even if the system has only made >100g?

Like the guy above mentioned, get one of those cheap ammonia badges. Main random fish killer if no other apparent signs of diseases/parasites.

 

[evoIX_njreefer]

Recommendations are just that. Without a TDS meter, you will not know when you actually need to change out. TDS meter from amazon is like 30$~ bucks.

Stability and knowledge is key.

Otherwise you are just guessing.

Noone can make proper diagnosis and help with bad information from API test kits.

Thats like asking a doc for advice with information provided by a friend of a friend.

No, you want him to get accurate tests from a lab and give a good diagnosis.

That applies here.

There are hobby grade test kits known to give as an insight into your tank then there is ICP tests to give you the numbers if you need to go even further details how your tank is doing.

As for the lights, you may get growth but color is probably to be desired. Not a resolution to the questioned issue but just saw that as a weak point.

Now, if I told you that I use hanna checkers, salifert or nyos for certain tests, a refractometer tested and calibrated.

You would get more definitive answers.

Even more when someone can provide ICP test data.

You can only get as much as you put in.

Some people can get away with water changes only but thats very few and far in between.

Success or success rate increases by taking good proven advice and applying it. What's unique about this hobby? It changes constantly and what may work well for one person will not always work for the next person.

So take each recommendation with a grain of salt. But as you see a pattern, hope it makes more sense.

Good luck finding the cause. I would start with the water agitation as it's pretty apparent.

Does fish go to the surface and create bubbles gasping for air? Does your overflow create some gas exchange or is it just flush with water line in display? Does your powerheads disturb the water surface? are you getting an "oil" slick on your water surface?

I had these issues on an AIO 20L so thats how I spotted the water surface issues in your pictures pretty quick.

 

[SMSREEF]

Does your overflow create some gas exchange or is it just flush with water line in display? Does your powerheads disturb the water surface? are you getting an "oil" slick on your water surface?

I had these issues on an AIO 20L so thats how I spotted the water surface issues in your pictures pretty quick.

These are good questions, good observations. And it’s an easy fix.

In my 10 gallon IM AIO, I upgraded to a better pump for more flow through the filter socks.
Never had any issues with surface film when I got enough flow going into overflows.

 

[MidlifeCrifish]

All day, everyday.

Ive heard with skimmers there could run the problem of not having enough nutrients in the system and killing off corals as a result so people will run their skimmers 3-4 days/week or even periodically remove their macro algae to let it build up again.

 

[MeMyFishandI]

Hi there, I have the IM 25 lagoon and it has been up and running since last February, I had the IM 20 gal. Peninsula prior to that but decided I liked the size and space of the lagoon even though it’s only 5 gals. More. The one issue I have with the tank is as mentioned above I didn’t feel like I had enough Water movement Even with the mighty jet pump, Jaebo wave maker, the IM desktop protein skimmer so I added a Aquatop surface skimmer and it is making a big difference. I don’t run it all the time, mainly after I feed the fish as I feed frozen and live and it leaves a film on the surface of the water. The corals also seem to like the micro bubbles that it causes for a short time in the beginning. It’s obvious that you care about your tank and what’s going on, there are many helpful and knowledgeable people here so you’ve come to the right place. One other thing I changed instead of filter socks I use the media baskets with filter floss, carbon and chaeto in the chambers. And my lighting is the AI hydra 26 HD. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the input. I was toying with getting a surface skimmer but I wasn't sure about it. I think I will add an addition power head to start with since I have a spare. The caddy's are pretty expensive so I think I will wait on that, or see if one comes up used online.

 

[Chrisfish]

Thanks for the input. I was toying with getting a surface skimmer but I wasn't sure about it. I think I will add an addition power head to start with since I have a spare. The caddy's are pretty expensive so I think I will wait on that, or see if one comes up used online.

An additional power head will help as well, I also think there are DIY caddy’s that people have made out of egg crates and zip ties, lots of stuff on you tube and google. My Caddy actually came with the lagoon and the peninsula so I used them both instead of the filter socks. Good Luck!!

 

[KrisReef]

I just checked the RO/DI water and it was 0 and for fun, I checked the regular tap water and it was also 0.

Interesting. Can you double-check your TDS meter? Two zeros are not as helpful as a zero and maybe a one. GL.

 

[tankstudy]

I would double check your magnesium. If it is off the charts it must be greater than 1600 ppm.

At 1600 ppm magnesium some corals and inverts do very poorly. They won't drop dead on you instantly but they will start to slowly deteriorate.

If it's that high, your going to need to do a massive water change. A 20% will not be enough to bring that down or if you can switch to a salt with lower magnesium.

 

[MnFish1]

I would double check your magnesium. If it is off the charts it must be greater than 1600 ppm.

At 1600 ppm magnesium some corals and inverts do very poorly. They won't drop dead on you instantly but they will start to slowly deteriorate.

If it's that high, your going to need to do a massive water change. A 20% will not be enough to bring that down or if you can switch to a salt with lower magnesium.

I kind of disagree - if the mG - that high it must mean other things are that high..... In other words how did it get that high... Either way - if real it sees like its not good - but -nits not caution the problem