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kiran
reef noob
That's a great looking tank!
My parameters are out of wack in my first salt water nano reef (fluval evo 13.5)
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Bombschell
Active Member
Thank you, still a little embarrassed to show the uglies, but it's part of the hobby. Once I threw out the old habits and learned the new ones things started improving. Now I keep some nitrates and phosphate, a couple jars of copepods (another on the way) and dosing phytoplankton have made a huge difference in a few weeks. The first thing I did was stop using a skimmer and start feeding more often because dinos thrive in a starvation environment with low nutrients. We've only lost two live stock a really nice micromussa, and a cleaner shrimp. I blame the shrimp for injuring the coral trying to steal food and giving it some kind of infection I couldn't stop, and I killed the shrimp with a salinity spike I think. Oddly enough though didn't lose any other inverts so who knows?
Bombschell
Active Member
Oh and I added a sock full the little bio media to get my bacteria load up. Might add some more under the foam filter block, or replace that with an aftermarket filter insert I've seen a bunch of people upgrade too.
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kiran
reef noob
Hey guys so I'm having some big issues right now.
My Clownfish and Blenny died today. I think I have an idea why but I'm not sure.
I received my TSA shipment of coral frags yesterday. I think I got around 10 frags. I drip acclimated them for 2 hours then I dipped them and rinsed them afterwards thoroughly before adding them to my tank. I don't know if that's the reason my parameters went out of wack.
Another thing I did was add a new rock to my tank (I didn't have much rock in the tank to begin with and needed somewhere to put my frags). I rinsed it with RODI water and put it in a separate tank overnight with fresh RODI water and let the water circulate with a pump to try to get rid of anything that might leech into the tank.
I bought a RODI system and started mixing my own salt. I checked the parameters of the saltwater after mixing it for a couple hours and everything seemed solid. 34ppt at 8.2ph.
I did about a gallon water change a day to try and slowly get them acclimated to the new parameters but maybe I went too fast?
I attached a picture of my parameters as of right now (haven't done a water change)
Any guidance would be very much appreciated. I'm having crazy anxiety over this and feel like I messed up big time. My ammonia shot up and so did my nitrates.
My pH is finally getting close to where I want it as well as my calc and mag. My dKH has also significantly lowered from last time which is a sigh of relief. I went from 20+dkh down to 14.4 (and it should get lower as I do more water changes hopefully). I want to try and get that around 8 or 9 dkh.
Here's pictures of the actual tank. There's some green/brown algae quickly spreading over the rocks and sand. Is this related to what's happening to my tank?
Sorry about the blurry photos. Took them with my phone. The lights on the tank are still ramping up so not all the corals are full blooming yet and I turned off the lights in my room to get rid of reflections so that contributed to the slow shutter speed and blurriness.
My Clownfish and Blenny died today. I think I have an idea why but I'm not sure.
I received my TSA shipment of coral frags yesterday. I think I got around 10 frags. I drip acclimated them for 2 hours then I dipped them and rinsed them afterwards thoroughly before adding them to my tank. I don't know if that's the reason my parameters went out of wack.
Another thing I did was add a new rock to my tank (I didn't have much rock in the tank to begin with and needed somewhere to put my frags). I rinsed it with RODI water and put it in a separate tank overnight with fresh RODI water and let the water circulate with a pump to try to get rid of anything that might leech into the tank.
I bought a RODI system and started mixing my own salt. I checked the parameters of the saltwater after mixing it for a couple hours and everything seemed solid. 34ppt at 8.2ph.
I did about a gallon water change a day to try and slowly get them acclimated to the new parameters but maybe I went too fast?
I attached a picture of my parameters as of right now (haven't done a water change)
Any guidance would be very much appreciated. I'm having crazy anxiety over this and feel like I messed up big time. My ammonia shot up and so did my nitrates.
My pH is finally getting close to where I want it as well as my calc and mag. My dKH has also significantly lowered from last time which is a sigh of relief. I went from 20+dkh down to 14.4 (and it should get lower as I do more water changes hopefully). I want to try and get that around 8 or 9 dkh.
Here's pictures of the actual tank. There's some green/brown algae quickly spreading over the rocks and sand. Is this related to what's happening to my tank?
Sorry about the blurry photos. Took them with my phone. The lights on the tank are still ramping up so not all the corals are full blooming yet and I turned off the lights in my room to get rid of reflections so that contributed to the slow shutter speed and blurriness.
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you will need to fallow and qt all entrants to prevent that outcome. this outcome is common in today's no prep setups.
your ammonia above is overreported by ten times above, 100% fact. and, since its a non digital reading, double that. this is mentioned so that you wont take focus away from fish disease preps and aim them at cycle preps, for a tank well past cycling and 100% into ammonia control. params didnt kill your fish, no fallow no qt did, this makes it easy to not repeat knowing that. see fish disease forum for backups/proofs etc.
your ammonia issue above is nh4 vs nh3 + not being on seneye, that's specifically why it appears bad, but isn't. the ammonia kit you're using in the instructions has a conversion table that prevents overreporting by 10x.
your ammonia above is overreported by ten times above, 100% fact. and, since its a non digital reading, double that. this is mentioned so that you wont take focus away from fish disease preps and aim them at cycle preps, for a tank well past cycling and 100% into ammonia control. params didnt kill your fish, no fallow no qt did, this makes it easy to not repeat knowing that. see fish disease forum for backups/proofs etc.
your ammonia issue above is nh4 vs nh3 + not being on seneye, that's specifically why it appears bad, but isn't. the ammonia kit you're using in the instructions has a conversion table that prevents overreporting by 10x.
those pics are 100% proof no ammonia issue (surface area + laser clear water + fish happy position vs dying/can't breathe+ known cycle completion already)
very very nice setup, and the bioload is now a perfect fit for the tank. just need fish disease preps next round/perfect reef coming. nice scaping.
very very nice setup, and the bioload is now a perfect fit for the tank. just need fish disease preps next round/perfect reef coming. nice scaping.
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kiran
reef noob
Thank you so much for the reply Brandon! I appreciate it.
Couple questions cause I'm still new to this. What is fallow?
I'm going to go out today and buy a new 10gallon tank to setup as a permanent QT tank.
Also I'm considering purchasing a Hanna Instruments Ammonia checker just so I have something that's easier to use.
Couple questions cause I'm still new to this. What is fallow?
I'm going to go out today and buy a new 10gallon tank to setup as a permanent QT tank.
Also I'm considering purchasing a Hanna Instruments Ammonia checker just so I have something that's easier to use.
clownfish seem to be among the toughest where disease preps don't wipe them out like mixed species tend to show if preps are missed/common in new tank setups.
fallow means fishless running, there's two different ways you'll have to check the disease forum and consider its stickies to see if you want the 45 day or the 90 day version. by having no fish in the tank, no host, most disease components starve out. then when you add back quarantined fish you made or either bought that way, its the lowest disease presentation possible for the system. they recommend over there in the disease forum a dimly lit qt with bricks or terra cotta pots/things that aren't scary hospital bright white/with places to hide and maybe some fake plants or stones to lay about to mimic something semi normal. the common pvc pipe quarantine many feel is too scary to do well, that's my takeaway from the latest quarantine/no quarantine battles going on nowadays
so if you planned on clownfish alone you might could get away with skipping preps but not usually much beyond those alone, it'll be needed. the fish just added likely brought something into the tank, fallow starves it a majority of the time. there are some maladies that fallow can't fix, but it handles the majority of risks as I read it
fallow means fishless running, there's two different ways you'll have to check the disease forum and consider its stickies to see if you want the 45 day or the 90 day version. by having no fish in the tank, no host, most disease components starve out. then when you add back quarantined fish you made or either bought that way, its the lowest disease presentation possible for the system. they recommend over there in the disease forum a dimly lit qt with bricks or terra cotta pots/things that aren't scary hospital bright white/with places to hide and maybe some fake plants or stones to lay about to mimic something semi normal. the common pvc pipe quarantine many feel is too scary to do well, that's my takeaway from the latest quarantine/no quarantine battles going on nowadays
so if you planned on clownfish alone you might could get away with skipping preps but not usually much beyond those alone, it'll be needed. the fish just added likely brought something into the tank, fallow starves it a majority of the time. there are some maladies that fallow can't fix, but it handles the majority of risks as I read it
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kiran
reef noob
Yeah it's just going to be the clownfish going into that tank. I'll read up on the QT for fishless.
I only have some Marco rock left over. Will that be fine?
I got the quarantine semi-setup. Just waiting for some water to mix up and then I'll start the process.
Didn't know that a light wasn't needed so I'll end up returning that.
I only have some Marco rock left over. Will that be fine?
I got the quarantine semi-setup. Just waiting for some water to mix up and then I'll start the process.
Didn't know that a light wasn't needed so I'll end up returning that.
This is what Paul B’s ideal quarantine / observation setup looks like:
our resident author and oldest-reef-on-the-board owner Paul Baldassano has posted below what he uses for quarantine holding and observation before adding fish to the main display. he watches them for disease he does not medicate them, his qt method is for observation and calm smooth holding so the fish aren’t weakened and stressed while residing here a while. Think of your average quarantine- bright. White. Reflective. pvc pipes. bare bottom, all very unnatural
now look at his holding tank setup below, consider these adjustments if you’re taking the observational route and I’ll bet you get lower incidence of fish disease with these tested methods
Brandon, I use bricks in my local New York tanks but some people even use them to build houses out of.
(the black "rocks" in there are asphalt)
Last edited: Nov 22, 2021
our resident author and oldest-reef-on-the-board owner Paul Baldassano has posted below what he uses for quarantine holding and observation before adding fish to the main display. he watches them for disease he does not medicate them, his qt method is for observation and calm smooth holding so the fish aren’t weakened and stressed while residing here a while. Think of your average quarantine- bright. White. Reflective. pvc pipes. bare bottom, all very unnatural
now look at his holding tank setup below, consider these adjustments if you’re taking the observational route and I’ll bet you get lower incidence of fish disease with these tested methods
Brandon, I use bricks in my local New York tanks but some people even use them to build houses out of.
(the black "rocks" in there are asphalt)
Last edited: Nov 22, 2021
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kiran
reef noob
I just double checked and you're right. It seems they make those checkers for freshwater only.
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kiran
reef noob
I have the QT tank cycling with some 24h turbo start. Got everything setup as far as the tank goes. Got the water properly mixed, got rid of the light, and I also blacked out the back, bottom, and left side glass so when my lights are on in my room it'll keep the tank nice and dim.
Going to be acclimating the clownfish tonight to the QT tank and get him setup in there.
I need to go out and buy some of those terracotta pots today as well so he has something to hide in.
Bummer. Why do you think they died?
Are the fish you gave away to your friend still alive?
Diatoms most likely. How long has your tank been going?
What clown fish? I thought he died? Did you buy a new one?
Reefing is not a race it’s a journey. Take good notes on what your doing and learning. Ask questions, do lots of research and reading. Pick a method and stick with it.
This will help in keeping the animals we care for alive and thriving!
Nice! Now that you have a tank of living animals( coral) what’s your plan to keep your water parameters stable?
Curious why you didn’t wait to get your water parameters in line Before adding all that life?
Did you pick up the test kits we recommended?
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kiran
reef noob
I ended up going with a Red Sea test kit.
My LFS kept telling me my parameters were fine. I only had an API test kit at the time and was told they're unreliable so I'd have my water checked by my LFS until I received my Red Sea kit on Friday. I posted my new params above and from what brandon said my parameters are fine? The only thing is that my new lightning maroon I brought home was diseased and killed off my other 2 fish before I had a chance to get him into quarantine.
I just called and asked my friend about the cardinals and he said they're alive and has them in a QT
The last couple weeks I've only had the Wyoming White and the Blenny. I didn't know much about fish disease or QT at this point. They both died within a couple days but the new clownfish I bought was still alive. Yesterday I noticed white spots on him and I got him into QT but it was too late.
As far as keeping things stable I do regular testing and do water changes once (sometimes twice if things look like they need it).
As of right now I don't plan on getting any more fish for the next few months. Gonna stick to taking care of my corals.
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Sorry you lost your fish. Hard to say exact cause as a lot has happened.
What did you use for coral dip? You added a lot of frags to a small tank which is okay except you want to really rinse then throughly after a dip as a small small tank doesn’t have much room for error. Too much left over Bayer or coral rx or such can be a problem.
Next time I would not rush to add so much life to a tank you are still fixing.
You are making the right moves though by going with only 2-3 small fish and RODI.
The brown on your rocks is normal. It is diatoms and your tank will go through some ugly stages. The tank won’t really be mature for a year or so and you may have some ups and downs until then.
What did you use for coral dip? You added a lot of frags to a small tank which is okay except you want to really rinse then throughly after a dip as a small small tank doesn’t have much room for error. Too much left over Bayer or coral rx or such can be a problem.
Next time I would not rush to add so much life to a tank you are still fixing.
You are making the right moves though by going with only 2-3 small fish and RODI.
The brown on your rocks is normal. It is diatoms and your tank will go through some ugly stages. The tank won’t really be mature for a year or so and you may have some ups and downs until then.
I thought it was pretty cool you were willing to implement the changes made in the original build usually folks will just ignore. a disease wipe from the pet store mix seems common nowadays and happens in 5 year old setups we can see in the disease forum, truly a management challenge that sets marine keeping well above the usual go
even the clean up crews you add matter in terms of disease prep and clearance, buy from fallowed sources
your next round coming up will be better I bet. your cycled stayed in place, you can clean the rocks off externally in saltwater and set back clean and have a touched up tank before fallowing it 90 days. feed the corals, do water changes, keep rocks clean, add only qt fish/very easy redo.
even the clean up crews you add matter in terms of disease prep and clearance, buy from fallowed sources
your next round coming up will be better I bet. your cycled stayed in place, you can clean the rocks off externally in saltwater and set back clean and have a touched up tank before fallowing it 90 days. feed the corals, do water changes, keep rocks clean, add only qt fish/very easy redo.
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kiran
reef noob
I used Seachem's Reef Dip.
I've heard the horror story's of not rinsing your corals properly after dipping so I was extra diligent in making sure they were rinsed by putting them through 2 separate containers of clean saltwater and turkey basted them through both stages to try and get off everything. I spent at least an hour just making sure the rinsing part was thorough. I think I spent maybe like 3-5 minutes max doing the actual dipping process from start to finish before rinsing them. Should I have dipped them longer? I was worried about hurting the corals by dipping them for more then a few minutes
I admit I was kind of quick with my coral stocking but it was really hard to resist during the TSA sale. But from what I was told earlier by brandon my parameters were fine the day I posted them (I added the coral to my tank the day before that so I'm assuming it was fine then too).
I've been keeping an eye on my coral and inverts and they all seem fine.
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