I need help with my tank.

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 07:16 PM

I have a 29gal biocube.filtration system has the carbon and bioballs, and my lighting is stock lighting. I have about 20lbs of live rock in there one hepatus tang one yellow tang one gold stripe clown, a six line wrasse, hermits, snails and one camel shrimp. I use distilled water for water changes, i make water changes every week. I was out of the states for 3 months and my wife was taking care of the tank but now most of my corals wont open and some of my snails and hermits died. I also had a cleaner shrimp in there but he died too. Now my questions. What should I test for? what type of test kit should I buy? My temp is 75-78 salinity is normal and alk is aobut 11 I know it should be around 7. dont have a calcium test kit but i will buy one. thanks for the help in advanced.

Shane Hoffman · 01/24/2010, 07:19 PM

I am guessing due to serious overstocking here your nitrates and amonia are off the charts. You have to many fish and fish that are to large for a tank that size. Also corals really need RO water to do as good as they can.

Shane Hoffman · 01/24/2010, 07:21 PM

Test for Nitrates
Phosphates
Amonia
and report back.

Spssteven · 01/24/2010, 07:25 PM

yeah check your phosphate and nitrite nitrate and amonia. use ro water for your water changes. do you feed alot, maybe to much? what size are your fish large? to large for a nano? do you have a skimmer on that tank?

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 07:32 PM

I know that my fish are way too big for the tank. I recently went from a 75 gal to the 29gal biocube. I will get rid of the fish soon. I feed once a day and i dont have a protein skimmer. I did have one on my 75 gal though but not on 29gal.

Shane Hoffman · 01/24/2010, 07:35 PM

A skimmer would help greatly while you are trying to rehome the fish. As much as tangs crap I am not sure you can even keep the nitrates down with them in there. I would do a 10 % water change every 5 or 6 days until then.

lougotzz · 01/24/2010, 07:38 PM

The bioballs in the back are probably not helping you. Not to mention tangs put out a lot of waist. Maroon clowns are really aggresive, maybe stuff got into its territory in the tank? Thinning out the fish, and getting rid of those bioballs will probably be your best bet.

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 07:41 PM

should I replace the bioballs with live rock??? and if so how much??

blennydude · 01/24/2010, 07:44 PM

Bet the wife wasn't keepin up on the water changes either.

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 07:52 PM

no she doesnt know much about the tank so all she did was add water and salt to it when it needed it.

tahoe61 · 01/24/2010, 08:04 PM

Remove the bioballs over the course of a few days. Tangs no matter what size are too big for that tank. You said your SG was alright, what was it.
I suspect new tank syndrome, too many fish not enough nitrifying bacteria to keep up. Sorry for you problems. Teach your wife if she is open to it, how to take care of the tank, she may actually like it.

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 08:30 PM

sorry dont know what SG means. I just posted a picture of my tank if anyone wants to look at it. I will try to buy a test kit tomorrow.

Shane Hoffman · 01/24/2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agarcia892003

sorry dont know what SG means. I just posted a picture of my tank if anyone wants to look at it. I will try to buy a test kit tomorrow.

SG means specific gravity. It is a measurement of your salt level. If your ever stuck on an acronym there is a link for commonly used acronyms in the new to the hobby section.

Phsycodelic81 · 01/24/2010, 09:21 PM

I am wondering if there is an issue with your copper... When water is distilled it is boiled then it condenses on copper pipes. Curious if there may be copper in your tank now. Copper is bad for inverts. Good luck!

agarcia892003 · 01/24/2010, 10:15 PM

im just trying to bring my tank back to normal. i will test for everything tomorrow

Daimyo68 · 01/25/2010, 12:23 AM

Your numbers are going to be high without a doubt.

1 - WC, up to 30%. this will be the biggest impact against the Nitrates, Phos and Ammonia. Your next WC 20%, and so on back to your normal WC %.

2 - Rehome some of those fish. I know you already said you are going to, but sooner than later is better here. Even if you do the 30% WC, your fighting and uphill batlle with all the fish and the Bio Balls in there.

3 - Slowly start to remove the Bio Balls. You want to do this over a period of a few weeks, and even longer depending on how many are in there. So, as an example, if you have 50 bio balls in there, remove 5-6 a week. Reason: Each time you remove the Bio Balls, you are removing part of the bacteria colony. So now you need to let the bacteria colony regain it's strength in the tank.

You can put LR in it's place, with Filter pad on top of it. .

4 - Any sponges/floss filtration in the back? If so, remove it and get some new in there.

5 - If your handy, you could add a fuge to the back chambers and put some Chaeto in there. that will help get your Nitrates/phos down also.

6 - I would get some Chemipure Elite and drop a pouch of that in the 3rd chamber (as well as replace the filter pad there) instead until you have your tank params under control. Even after you regain control, I would still use the Chemipure or Purigen, since it will help maintain your tanks params, as well as keep the water crystal clear.

7 - If you can add a skimmer, it's for the better. I would definitely make that happen, it does tons to help your tank.

Once you've got everything under control, Follow this thread, and make the needed mods and you'll be much better off: http://www.*********.com/forums/f89/...ies-32931.html

agarcia892003 · 01/25/2010, 09:51 AM

Well today i got rid of my hippo tang and someone is interested on my yellow tang as well. I will go to the fish store and get all those tests done to see where im at. Thanks alot for the help.

agarcia892003 · 01/25/2010, 01:21 PM

well so far I got rid of the Hippo tang. I went to my pet store to buy a test kit and these are the results.

Amonia is between 0 and .25
Nitrate is 160
Nitrite between 0 and .25
High range PH 7.8
Alkalinity 10.9 in dKH
Salinity 1.020
I know my salt is a little low I will add some today when I do a water change. I did not do a phosphate test because I couldnt find a test kit at the store.

At the grocery store they sell water that says it's porduced by reverse osmosis. Can I use that water for the water changes???

agarcia892003 · 01/25/2010, 08:22 PM

will it be ok if I add another fish or shoudl I wait for everything to settle.

costellow · 01/26/2010, 09:10 AM

I wouldn't add any fish or corals until your numbers are steady for a month. Everything is under stress and even when you get your numbers right they will still be stressed for a short while.
IME, your nitrates, nitrites, and amonia are your biggest issues. I hope you don't add salt directly to your tank. You may even want to just get saltwater from a trusted lfs until you get everything else under control.

agarcia892003 · 01/26/2010, 09:35 AM

where should my numbers be?

Sychobunny21 · 01/26/2010, 10:02 AM

Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero. Nitrate should be zero also but a little, 10ppm, is not horrible. pH should be around 8.0 to 8.4. Alkalitity should be between 8 and 11. Salinity with inverts should be between 1.023 and 1.026

agarcia892003 · 01/26/2010, 10:26 AM

what can I do to bring my Ph up and my nitrates down???

01/24/2010, 07:16 PM	#1
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	I need help with my tank. I have a 29gal biocube.filtration system has the carbon and bioballs, and my lighting is stock lighting. I have about 20lbs of live rock in there one hepatus tang one yellow tang one gold stripe clown, a six line wrasse, hermits, snails and one camel shrimp. I use distilled water for water changes, i make water changes every week. I was out of the states for 3 months and my wife was taking care of the tank but now most of my corals wont open and some of my snails and hermits died. I also had a cleaner shrimp in there but he died too. Now my questions. What should I test for? what type of test kit should I buy? My temp is 75-78 salinity is normal and alk is aobut 11 I know it should be around 7. dont have a calcium test kit but i will buy one. thanks for the help in advanced. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/24/2010, 07:19 PM	#2
Shane Hoffman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 45 mins from Chicago Posts: 2,009	I am guessing due to serious overstocking here your nitrates and amonia are off the charts. You have to many fish and fish that are to large for a tank that size. Also corals really need RO water to do as good as they can. __________________ A wise man once said "Never play leap frog with a unicorn" Current Tank Info: 150 gallon glass with 20 gallon sump, 175lbs of coraline covered live rock, EuroReef skimmer rated for 250gal, 25watt Aqua UV sterilizer, Fluval FX5, Hamilton 3x250watt MH, 160 watt Blue actinic....Mixed reef

01/24/2010, 07:21 PM	#3
Shane Hoffman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 45 mins from Chicago Posts: 2,009	Test for Nitrates Phosphates Amonia and report back. __________________ A wise man once said "Never play leap frog with a unicorn" Current Tank Info: 150 gallon glass with 20 gallon sump, 175lbs of coraline covered live rock, EuroReef skimmer rated for 250gal, 25watt Aqua UV sterilizer, Fluval FX5, Hamilton 3x250watt MH, 160 watt Blue actinic....Mixed reef

01/24/2010, 07:25 PM	#4
Spssteven SCRK member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Huntington beach ca Posts: 3,071	yeah check your phosphate and nitrite nitrate and amonia. use ro water for your water changes. do you feed alot, maybe to much? what size are your fish large? to large for a nano? do you have a skimmer on that tank? __________________ SCRK member 2x2x1 rimless diamond edge starfire prop tank 24 tall 24 deep 32 long Wanting to get my new tank and new LEDs going

01/24/2010, 07:32 PM	#5
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	I know that my fish are way too big for the tank. I recently went from a 75 gal to the 29gal biocube. I will get rid of the fish soon. I feed once a day and i dont have a protein skimmer. I did have one on my 75 gal though but not on 29gal. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/24/2010, 07:35 PM	#6
Shane Hoffman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 45 mins from Chicago Posts: 2,009	A skimmer would help greatly while you are trying to rehome the fish. As much as tangs crap I am not sure you can even keep the nitrates down with them in there. I would do a 10 % water change every 5 or 6 days until then. __________________ A wise man once said "Never play leap frog with a unicorn" Current Tank Info: 150 gallon glass with 20 gallon sump, 175lbs of coraline covered live rock, EuroReef skimmer rated for 250gal, 25watt Aqua UV sterilizer, Fluval FX5, Hamilton 3x250watt MH, 160 watt Blue actinic....Mixed reef

01/24/2010, 07:38 PM	#7
lougotzz Moved On Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: PA Posts: 1,524	The bioballs in the back are probably not helping you. Not to mention tangs put out a lot of waist. Maroon clowns are really aggresive, maybe stuff got into its territory in the tank? Thinning out the fish, and getting rid of those bioballs will probably be your best bet.

01/24/2010, 07:41 PM	#8
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	should I replace the bioballs with live rock??? and if so how much?? __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/24/2010, 07:52 PM	#10
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	no she doesnt know much about the tank so all she did was add water and salt to it when it needed it. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/24/2010, 08:04 PM	#11
tahoe61 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: On the state line Posts: 730	29 gal Remove the bioballs over the course of a few days. Tangs no matter what size are too big for that tank. You said your SG was alright, what was it. I suspect new tank syndrome, too many fish not enough nitrifying bacteria to keep up. Sorry for you problems. Teach your wife if she is open to it, how to take care of the tank, she may actually like it.

01/24/2010, 08:30 PM	#12
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	sorry dont know what SG means. I just posted a picture of my tank if anyone wants to look at it. I will try to buy a test kit tomorrow. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/24/2010, 09:21 PM	#14
Phsycodelic81 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 62	I am wondering if there is an issue with your copper... When water is distilled it is boiled then it condenses on copper pipes. Curious if there may be copper in your tank now. Copper is bad for inverts. Good luck! __________________ Jeff 100 g reef Current Tank Info: 100 gallon drilled 2 x 250w

01/24/2010, 10:15 PM	#15
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	im just trying to bring my tank back to normal. i will test for everything tomorrow __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/25/2010, 12:23 AM	#16
Daimyo68 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: North Palm Beach, FL Posts: 2,270	Your numbers are going to be high without a doubt. 1 - WC, up to 30%. this will be the biggest impact against the Nitrates, Phos and Ammonia. Your next WC 20%, and so on back to your normal WC %. 2 - Rehome some of those fish. I know you already said you are going to, but sooner than later is better here. Even if you do the 30% WC, your fighting and uphill batlle with all the fish and the Bio Balls in there. 3 - Slowly start to remove the Bio Balls. You want to do this over a period of a few weeks, and even longer depending on how many are in there. So, as an example, if you have 50 bio balls in there, remove 5-6 a week. Reason: Each time you remove the Bio Balls, you are removing part of the bacteria colony. So now you need to let the bacteria colony regain it's strength in the tank. You can put LR in it's place, with Filter pad on top of it. . 4 - Any sponges/floss filtration in the back? If so, remove it and get some new in there. 5 - If your handy, you could add a fuge to the back chambers and put some Chaeto in there. that will help get your Nitrates/phos down also. 6 - I would get some Chemipure Elite and drop a pouch of that in the 3rd chamber (as well as replace the filter pad there) instead until you have your tank params under control. Even after you regain control, I would still use the Chemipure or Purigen, since it will help maintain your tanks params, as well as keep the water crystal clear. 7 - If you can add a skimmer, it's for the better. I would definitely make that happen, it does tons to help your tank. Once you've got everything under control, Follow this thread, and make the needed mods and you'll be much better off: http://www.*********.com/forums/f89/...ies-32931.html __________________ 120g, 50g Sump, SRO XP2000i, MP40W x2, DIY Hybrid LED/T5 Fixture, Apex PBMAS VP 2010-11 PBMAS 2017 President

01/25/2010, 09:51 AM	#17
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	Well today i got rid of my hippo tang and someone is interested on my yellow tang as well. I will go to the fish store and get all those tests done to see where im at. Thanks alot for the help. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/25/2010, 01:21 PM	#18
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	well so far I got rid of the Hippo tang. I went to my pet store to buy a test kit and these are the results. Amonia is between 0 and .25 Nitrate is 160 Nitrite between 0 and .25 High range PH 7.8 Alkalinity 10.9 in dKH Salinity 1.020 I know my salt is a little low I will add some today when I do a water change. I did not do a phosphate test because I couldnt find a test kit at the store. At the grocery store they sell water that says it's porduced by reverse osmosis. Can I use that water for the water changes??? __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/25/2010, 08:22 PM	#19
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	will it be ok if I add another fish or shoudl I wait for everything to settle. __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/26/2010, 09:10 AM	#20
costellow Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 231	I wouldn't add any fish or corals until your numbers are steady for a month. Everything is under stress and even when you get your numbers right they will still be stressed for a short while. IME, your nitrates, nitrites, and amonia are your biggest issues. I hope you don't add salt directly to your tank. You may even want to just get saltwater from a trusted lfs until you get everything else under control.

01/26/2010, 09:35 AM	#21
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	where should my numbers be? __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..

01/26/2010, 10:02 AM	#22
Sychobunny21 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Homestead, FL Posts: 77	Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero. Nitrate should be zero also but a little, 10ppm, is not horrible. pH should be around 8.0 to 8.4. Alkalitity should be between 8 and 11. Salinity with inverts should be between 1.023 and 1.026

01/26/2010, 10:26 AM	#23
agarcia892003 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 131	what can I do to bring my Ph up and my nitrates down??? __________________ rookie. any advises will be taken into consideration. Current Tank Info: 29gal biocube with 150w HQI, live rock , soft corals, , 6 line wrasse, yellow goby, FIRE SHRIMP, snails, crabs..