brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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Let’s see where the test kit balances out over the next few days. A big feeding event can cause this, in those conditions.

No ammonia symptoms are seen in the tank animals, that factors

Due to the near certainty of disease outbreak in the works, the fish bioload should be reduced down to a manageable starting load of two fish. Run them a while and calibrate the seneye to a balanced fish bioload setup, it’s what the trim function is used for on the device settings



After the reef runs normally with a small fish load, add in slowly more fish that are matched in behavior and disease preps for the system. Don’t add prime, bottle bacteria or any doser for ammonia control here

The fish need to be reduced to a manageable level, accumulated feed and waste will run high here. The seneye hadn’t been calibrated to a reasonable bioload to know where it seats. Just the other day in the chem forum, a guy had a running reef and his seneye seated at .04 after cycling, so in that context these readings aren’t alert level.

The device is so sensitive there’s a trim setting where you use it with calibration proofs to set the running range of nh3 into the mid .00x range for daily running, then the peaks and troughs don’t look so dangerous.

The calibration proofs are: a reasonably stocked reef tank using the normal degree of live rock anyone would use, well after cycling has been completed and the tank is already stocked and running. When you install a seneye on a tank like that, if it doesn’t read in the thousandths ppm nh3 feel free to trim it to to do so, that’s what the setting is for.

Where this tank doesn’t fit with the calibration proof is with bioload rate, it’s too high for accurate benchmarking. Calibrate the seneye on a reasonable two fish

Then, as you add new fish, the readout determines your levels. Don’t stock above .007 ppm nh3 daily averages. The seneye in this thread hasn’t been benchmarked, with the calibration proofs in place and the stock rate is too high to do that currently.

the fish aren’t showing ammonia poisoning but the disease outbreak and waste loading from the packed system will make it hard to run long term. If a super high bioload is the goal, it’s attained. To lower your fish disease rates you’d reduce the stock levels, the ammonia control isn’t an issue so far. Until the meter is trim set and calibrated on your tank it isn’t as accurate as it could be.


if you calibrated that seneye you could use it to quickly find new reefing material nobody has charted, several things about bacteria nobody knows awaits to be answered and seneye owners with calibrated meters are pretty much the only group who’s going to make the proofs. U gotta benchmark that great gear. You’ll be surprised how many fish that tank can keep at below .007 nh3 and it might even be that current load allows it, if nothing dies. Then it would tip fast.

When you use the trim function to move the meter to, let’s say .002 nh3 on a common nano running two fish, that lines up with thousands of other posts from other seneyes in pattern. Then, on that adjusted baseline in the thousandths you stock up your tank, and don’t exceed .007 ppm nh3, that’s a very high rate. I’ve never seen a calibrated seneye run that even in a high bioload tank so it’s a very forgiving max level.
 
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vienna

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Try turning your lights down / off. This should reduce pH and consequently free ammonia.
Thankyou. Reefled 50 lights I don’t think can be turned off without unplugging them so I’ve lowered to 5 % acclimation
 
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Could be your tank is back in a cycle.
Curious, what are your Mandarins eating?
Ohh & sry frozen brine shrimp & mysis
 

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Copepods & They also eat the fish pellets as well & seem to like them. Ocean Nutrition formula two.
That’s great they took to pellets. Most won’t. At least then, if your ammonia is actually spiking and you lose your pods, they still have food.

Your choice of tank mates could be an issue. Your Hawkfish will make meals out of your shrimp and small gobies when it gets the chance.
 
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That’s great they took to pellets. Most won’t. At least then, if your ammonia is actually spiking and you lose your pods, they still have food.

Your choice of tank mates could be an issue. Your Hawkfish will make meals out of your shrimp and small gobies when it gets the chance.
I haven’t seen the new shrimp since adding him & he was ridiculously tiny especially compared to the pink watchman . I hear the YWG shrimp which is safely under the rock with goby. He’s twice the new one’s size. They haven’t paired up yet the new pink watchman . He’s been just sitting on the sand and not trying to burrow or hide at all. Maybe waiting for the shrimp or maybe they were never paired to begin with. Double the price with a paired shrimp here. Very expensive. I hope he hasnt lost him
 
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Ok it spiked up to 0.045 in the red alert and some fish seemed dopey. I removed the pyjama cardinal and the pink watchman goby to the 240L DT and water changed 50% & it’s dropped to 0.013. That spiked quickly tonight I’m hoping I don’t lose any fish
 

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Hi.
I have a new nano a couple of months old. I’ve recently added a few new fish (about 5) all little fish to a stable Cpl mths old brand new Red Sea nano max tank. It’s been roughly 1 week & I today read my seneye to find Ammonia spiked from stable NH3 from 0.001 to today 0.030 & over the last few hours only spiking quickly to 0.030 then 0.038 now 0.045. I’m guessing it’s on its way up & isn’t going to stop. I have live rock, live sand added 1 mth ago to bare bottom in beginning & a small bag of media placed under the skimmer. It looks like I’ve added to many fish in 1 go & im wanting to know if there’s anything I can do now immediately to lower of stop the spike without having to take some fish out temporarily. I now have a black clown, 1 yellow watchman goby, a new pink spotted goby, a new pyjama fish, new clown goby, chocolate goby, new lawnmower sand sifter and a tiny chromis. 2 young mandarin fish and a small cucumber. 2 shrimp with the 2 watchman goby’s. Maybe too much for a nano. I’ve a 4 ft tank as well I could put the pink spotted watchman into but doubt I could find his tiny shrimp.
Help how can I stop this spiking any further!!

image.jpg
A little wisdom for you,your ammonia issue will kill your pod population! Your mandarins primary food source. Not to mention other things getting harmed. Get some water changes done an add pods after so you don't loose those!
 
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Looks like an mis reading of the sen eye. I used my mater test kit & got yellow for ammonia. Not even a tinge of green. Nitrite 0. Nitrate 0.10 standard. Only phosphate high at .023 Tge sen eye maybe more sensitive I’m not sure. But everything seems ok . I’ll be sure to add more pods . Thankyou everyone for the help.
A little wisdom for you,your ammonia issue will kill your pod population! Your mandarins primary food source. Not to mention other things getting harmed. Get some water changes done an add pods after so you don't loose those
 
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Let’s see where the test kit balances out over the next few days. A big feeding event can cause this, in those conditions.

No ammonia symptoms are seen in the tank animals, that factors

Due to the near certainty of disease outbreak in the works, the fish bioload should be reduced down to a manageable starting load of two fish. Run them a while and calibrate the seneye to a balanced fish bioload setup, it’s what the trim function is used for on the device settings



After the reef runs normally with a small fish load, add in slowly more fish that are matched in behavior and disease preps for the system. Don’t add prime, bottle bacteria or any doser for ammonia control here

The fish need to be reduced to a manageable level, accumulated feed and waste will run high here. The seneye hadn’t been calibrated to a reasonable bioload to know where it seats. Just the other day in the chem forum, a guy had a running reef and his seneye seated at .04 after cycling, so in that context these readings aren’t alert level.

The device is so sensitive there’s a trim setting where you use it with calibration proofs to set the running range of nh3 into the mid .00x range for daily running, then the peaks and troughs don’t look so dangerous.

The calibration proofs are: a reasonably stocked reef tank using the normal degree of live rock anyone would use, well after cycling has been completed and the tank is already stocked and running. When you install a seneye on a tank like that, if it doesn’t read in the thousandths ppm nh3 feel free to trim it to to do so, that’s what the setting is for.

Where this tank doesn’t fit with the calibration proof is with bioload rate, it’s too high for accurate benchmarking. Calibrate the seneye on a reasonable two fish

Then, as you add new fish, the readout determines your levels. Don’t stock above .007 ppm nh3 daily averages. The seneye in this thread hasn’t been benchmarked, with the calibration proofs in place and the stock rate is too high to do that currently.

the fish aren’t showing ammonia poisoning but the disease outbreak and waste loading from the packed system will make it hard to run long term. If a super high bioload is the goal, it’s attained. To lower your fish disease rates you’d reduce the stock levels, the ammonia control isn’t an issue so far. Until the meter is trim set and calibrated on your tank it isn’t as accurate as it could be.


if you calibrated that seneye you could use it to quickly find new reefing material nobody has charted, several things about bacteria nobody knows awaits to be answered and seneye owners with calibrated meters are pretty much the only group who’s going to make the proofs. U gotta benchmark that great gear. You’ll be surprised how many fish that tank can keep at below .007 nh3 and it might even be that current load allows it, if nothing dies. Then it would tip fast.

When you use the trim function to move the meter to, let’s say .002 nh3 on a common nano running two fish, that lines up with thousands of other posts from other seneyes in pattern. Then, on that adjusted baseline in the thousandths you stock up your tank, and don’t exceed .007 ppm nh3, that’s a very high rate. I’ve never seen a calibrated seneye run that even in a high bioload tank so it’s a very forgiving max level.
This is the NH3 reading over the last month. As you can see from March 5th and every mth before that it was 0.001. It started climbing up around March 14 around the time I’ve added 5 new fish. It’s made a definite change and it is extremely sensitive as the master test kit has 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 0.10 nitrate and Hanna phosphate is 0.23 ppm. So only the seneye is noting the imbalance in parameters. It’s up n down for a week dancing along the red line but not crossing it so that’s a good sign. Fish are all fine. Haven’t lost any .
Image 2 is reading over the last 6 mths. Tank starting 5th Oct shows cycle then the later stage March spike. It’s definitely down to the over stocking the tank to quickly.

image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
 
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brandon429

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whats your take on the extensive detail mentioned about calibrating the seneye

toss that slide you have

soak a new slide for 2 days in a cup of tank water, always do this/see seneye threads about it

then with the pre soaked slide, install the seneye back into this tank with a normal bioload, and set the trim to .007 like discussed

then lets track what the seneye does

you have a very very important thread here btw. seneye misreads are rare, but can happen, and we get to see if your meter / slide prep habits were bad or just trim settings needed. we get to learn about seneye + tank biology in these rare posts.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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until calibration is completed, correct slide soak preps completed and trim is set to what a thousand other posted nano reefs read even with a very high bioload, you aren't getting the real benefit from a seneye


when calibrated as listed, it's the most powerful tool in reefing we can use to discern what ammonia-controlling bacteria are doing in a reef tank.
 
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whats your take on the extensive detail mentioned about calibrating the seneye

toss that slide you have

soak a new slide for 2 days in a cup of tank water, always do this/see seneye threads about it

then with the pre soaked slide, install the seneye back into this tank with a normal bioload, and set the trim to .007 like discussed

then lets track what the seneye does

you have a very very important thread here btw. seneye misreads are rare, but can happen, and we get to see if your meter / slide prep habits were bad or just trim settings needed. we get to learn about seneye + tank biology in these rare posts.
I don’t believe it’s a misread because the slide parameter for NH3 changed at the same time I added the 5 new fish. I also have been over feeding them which isn’t helping the situation. The reading has stopped bouncing & is steady along the red line but not going above it luckily & It’s starting to lower, currently down to 0.024. The lowest it’s been for a while now. It’s back in the blue.
 

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until calibration is completed, correct slide soak preps completed and trim is set to what a thousand other posted nano reefs read even with a very high bioload, you aren't getting the real benefit from a seneye


when calibrated as listed, it's the most powerful tool in reefing we can use to discern what ammonia-controlling bacteria are doing in a reef tank.
I think you've been previously advised that calibrating a seneye slide to an unverified standard is a bad idea. Seneye themselves say a new slide is more accurate than an old one. Even calibrating a new slide to comply with the old one is not a good idea.
 
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