Tank is out of whack and I don't know why.... hmmm

[Frogspawn]

Some zoos have been closed up for a couple of weeks. Others are doing great. One of my SPS began bleaching from the bottom up so I fragged off all I could that was still colored to try and save some of it. Monti cap looks like it has a whitish film on it and is unhealthy. Leathers are showing signs of coming back again. Kenya is usually happy. SRBTA is incredibly happy. Fish are pigs...!

Up until about two or three weeks ago the tank was at its finest. Then all of a sudden everything took a sudden downturn. I checked all the parm's and they're all great. I'll post them anyway. I can't check ORP.

My 10k Pc's are 9 months old. My MH bulbs are 7 months old.
I used to scrape off coraline growth from the glass almost daily. Now there's none of that going on. However I get plenty of the film algea on the glass. I was hoping the fuge' would help with that. I don't get it.

Also, my cheato' in the fuge' doesn't seem to be growing although it looks healthy. The cheato fuge with DSB has been going for 6 weeks with a 5.5k bulb 24hrs.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,


temp 80-81
PH 8.05 to 8.22
sal' 1.025
calc 520
KH 10.6
MG 1250 added sup'
no 0
na 0
am 0
phos 0

 

[DaveJ]

honestly that calcium reading looks odd to me.... 520?? Are you sure about your test kits?

First thing I would check would be your salinity. Then take a large sample of water to a LFS and get an independent test of alk, ph especially.

 

[ToddLaCo]

520 calcium could be due to Oceanic salt if that happens to be the brand your using. I bought a bunch of buckets at 26.00 ea from That Fish Place when I lived in Pa and they all measured over 500 for calcium.

 

[Frogspawn]

I forgot to post salinity. It's at .025 as tested with a refrac'.

I use kalk in my topoff and may have pushed the envelope a bit on that 520. But from everything that I've found here that seems to be acceptable although admittedly a bit high. That was not intentional. I'll recheck it today. It's not the easiest test to translate.

Using salifert test kits for mg and kh. Nutrifin tests for Ca. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals for the others. Probe for the PH.


Thanks,

 

[ToddLaCo]

Sorry this doesn't answer your original questions, but I would recommend the Salifert Calcium test also. It is a fairly simple test and easy to read. It works exactly like the Mag kit you are already using except you add the powder first, then the drops, then titrate.

 

[Ashlar]

Hrmm.. maybe some chemical warfare? Were things really growing fast but now slowing down? Might be allelopathy. Do you run any carbon?

 

[DaveJ]

@Ashlar wrote:

That was next on my list... if the readings are accurate. With softies in there, you never know.

 

[dvups1]

Did you add anything from an outside source (LFS or member) that some sort of hitchiking thing got into you system?

Also, are your tank parameters stable. How much do the fluctuate in a 24hr period?

 

[bimmerzs]

Hi,

Have you verified the calibration of your refractometer lately??? I would also suggest running carbon.

Cheers,

 

[Rick]

Do some water changes, run carbon, put in a polyfilter, check for any stray voltage. What kind of metal halide bulbs do you use?

 

[Frogspawn]

Wow. lots of response. Thanks.

Yes things were growing rapidly. So Chem war may be possible.
Refrac' is calibrated recently.
Parms' seem to be stable.
I haven't run carbon. I really don't have a way to do that now.
I have a devils hand leather who is looking better today and a fiji leather. The fiji is suffering but surviving.

Polyfilter???

MH is 2 10k at 250w HQ. 6hrs per day.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your input. I'll take a pic or two and add it to this soon.

 

[Frogspawn]

Here are some pics.

 

[DaveJ]

@Frogspawn wrote:

Bite the bullet and order a two little fishies reactor from Marine depot and get some carbon running. Frank or Dane may have one in their store as well. It may be looking better but you want to nip it in the future as well and if it was warfare, that is the only way to do it.

 

[Frogspawn]

More

The two zoo pics are the same colony. First pic they are beginning to close and then the last pic they are all but gone I think.

 

[Frogspawn]

One more. Armour of God Zoos unhappy also.

Your talking carbon reactor? Sorry I'm still a bit new at this. One year anniversary in this hobby.

Thanks

 

[melev]

He's talking about a Phosban Reactor, but you fill it up with Carbon. A small powerhead (Maxijet 600 is plenty) is all you need to push water through the carbon. You can hang it inside your sump, and let it pour out into the return section.

Get your LFS to check the salinity, just in case.

 

[Rick]

@Frogspawn wrote:

What type of salt do you use?
What is the brand of bulbs?
Polyfilter-http://www.aqualifesupport.com/getArticle.php?ArtID=203

 

[DaveJ]

On the first set of zoos, that is a fungus on them right now, the brownish stuff. Two ways (steps) to save as many as you can, first is to soak in furan-II and tank water for 20 mins per day for 3 days, then every other day for a week. Dose amount is either 1 pack per half gallon or so of water, or 1 or 2 capsules. Second step, light brush or massage the brownish gunk off while dipping. I think you have a little chance to save them, but don't be surprised if they all do die off even after treatment.

The second zoo.... that looks like irratation... the AOG's. For that colony, take a bowl of RO/DI water that is the same temp. Adjust the ph and alk to match your tank using two-part or something like that and dip for no longer than 5 mins while shaking (twisting/swishing/turning) the colony inside the fresh water. See if anything falls out. My guess is you have a predator in there someplace, check for sundial snails (small striped black and white), nuidbranchs and or large pods.

 

[Frogspawn]

I'm using red sea pro salt.
I honestly do not remember the brand of bulb I bought. That was when I was still overwhelmed a bit and I'm sure I didn't save that information.

I know for sure that I have some large pods. I have freakin' pods all over the place. I thought that was a good thing. I wanted to get them established for a mandarin someday.

I'm not THAT attached to a bunch of zoos, although I'd hate to see them go. Sounds like maybe I should just get them out so nothing else gets whatever that is. They went like that almost overnight from an incredible array of green and purple. What a shame. I may do it after all. Where do I get the furan-II?

I'll check into the reactor. I know I need to do that at some point anyway. Sounds like nows the time.
The leathers actually look better today as seen in the pics. Best they've looked in awhile.

I'm afraid those guys are on a huge unmovable rock with lots of stuff on it. I guess they're on their own.

Thanks all for the input.

 

[DaveJ]

Furan II you can get at most LFS, its an anti-fungal. I know Frank carries it, but call around. Its only contagious to other palys and zoos that are in close to them or possibly down stream of them.

Large pods... 'usually' are a good thing. However, there is some pretty decent documented experience with them irritating and ultimately eating zoos and palys. It seems to be limited to the larger pods, commonly called tiger pods. Not all pods will do it, but it does happen and you may have the variation that has a taste for them.

Some of us end up getting 'watch dogs' for our paly/zoa collections in the form of wrasses, pipefish and mandarins. Keep in mind the Mandarins will not eat the larger ones, but wrasses love em.