Tank looking crummy please help!

[ccLansman]

So i have been battling a number of issues over the last few weeks and believe i have everything in check and my tank inhabitants look ****ed. My duncans are closed up a lot, some of my zoos are hardly opening, a lot of my sps are RTN'in.. Please help with some ideas of what could be going on. Here is a description of my setup:

Tank: 55gal
Sump:20gal
Bubble Magus NAC7 Skimmer
2xMp40 turned all the way down on anti-sync reef crest
48led + 2 T5 DIY lights

Params:
Alk: 10 per salifert test kit
Calc: 420 per salifert test kit
Salinity: 1.026 per refractometer
Ph 7.9 per salifert test kit
Phos: 0.03 per hanna meter
Nitrate: ~0 per salifert test kit
Temp: 79

Im running a bio pellet reactor and some carbon in a bag in the sump. I change the carbon weekly and have been running the bio pellets for a month.

I have done weekly 15gal water changes and still am battling a ton of hair algae.

I did find a few days ago 37V AC sitting in the tank so i replaced a faulty heater with a new one and installed a ground probe. Tested again 0.02V and no current. It seems like things have looked worse since then. I wonder if things need time to get used to not getting shocked all the time?

Hoping someone on here can chime in.. thanks guys!

[ccLansman]

ttt, no ideas?

[ccLansman]

ttt...any ideas? things are still looking bad!

[strike2867]

Whats your photoperiod like?

A lot of times when I hear everything is having issues, salinity turns out to be the culprit. Could you have your water tested by an LFS, specifically the salinity?

[reefgeezer]

Here's a list to think about...

How about ammonia and nitrite?

Have you calibrated your refractometer?

Is the DI resin depleted or for that matter are you using RO/DI water?

It is interesting that you have hair algae AND detectable phosphates. That may indicate that nutrients in the system are extremely high even though your test kits can report it.

Did you start with too many NP Pellets?

Do you have a DSB that might be anoxic (I think that;'s the right word)? That might explain the relatively low pH considering the carbonate hardness level.

[ccLansman]

I dont have an ammonia test kit, the tank is about 5 months old. I didnt see any nitrates with the salifert test kit. The phos were read with a hanna meter. The DI was just replaced when i made the last water change. The pellets have been running for about a month, how can you over dose them, i though the bacteria use as much as they need at a time? I dont understand why the phos keep going back up i hardly feed.

I do change my granular carbon out every week, is it bad to change it to often? I have been dosing iodine, c, and trace elements daily from brightwell. Can this stuff be overdosed? I did less than the bottle recommended.

I just recalibrate my refractometer so i believe salinity is ok.

[strike2867]

You just seem to be doing so much at the same time on a 55 gallon tank. Can anybody second that? My 55 did best when I left it alone while on vacation.

[jthomas]

I second strike 2867 55 g is not a lot of water what seems like little changes are really big ones. just my opinion

[djkms]

Alkalinity seems high for such a low ph. Couple things come to mind. Do you have a fuge, if so run it on a seperate light cycle and run some fans over your tank. Sounds like a possible co2 buildup.

Also I would stop the dosing, from what everyone says don't dose what you cant, don't test for.

I had hair algae and my po4 tested. 1, I added some gfo and now hair algae is gone and so is the phosphate.

Sent from my drooooooid.

[ccLansman]

Sounds good, i stopped dosing two days ago and things are just starting to look a little better.

Just to be safe im going to pick up some cuprisorb today in case all my trace element dosing has pushed the CU and any other heavy metals over the limit.

I have always had a PH problem and i cannot figure out why, im using an argonite bed, about 2 inches deep.

Should i be buffering my Ph with something like ph+ from brightwell?

[strike2867]

Originally Posted by ccLansman

Sounds good, i stopped dosing two days ago and things are just starting to look a little better.

Just to be safe im going to pick up some cuprisorb today in case all my trace element dosing has pushed the CU and any other heavy metals over the limit.

I have always had a PH problem and i cannot figure out why, im using an argonite bed, about 2 inches deep.

Should i be buffering my Ph with something like ph+ from brightwell?

Ph of 7.9 isn't that bad. Could you open a window or something next to the tank? Remove the CO2 from the house. Some others put lines into the Skimmer running from the outside. Hold off on the buffer. Can anybody second that he should just let in fluctuate and remove the CO2 from the house? At least temporarily. I can't see how it could hurt.

[djkms]

Originally Posted by strike2867

Ph of 7.9 isn't that bad. Could you open a window or something next to the tank? Remove the CO2 from the house. Some others put lines into the Skimmer running from the outside. Hold off on the buffer. Can anybody second that he should just let in fluctuate and remove the CO2 from the house? At least temporarily. I can't see how it could hurt.

I agree with this. Like I said previously it sounds like a CO2 buildup. Surface agitation and fans will help. Crack a window and leave the doors to your stand open also. Adding the buffer will increase your dKH even more with little benefit to your PH if it is in fact a CO2 buildup.

[ccLansman]

Its not a CO2 build up, i already removed a cup of water and aerated it outside for an hour and test the ph again and it was exactly the same as the water just removed from the tank. + we keep windows open all the time.

[Shaqinwi 65]

How long has it been since you calibrated your refractometer. Just a thought. Been there done that, things kept getting worse so I did more water changes which made it worse.

[ccLansman]

i have the calibration fluid and calibrated it about a month ago and then double checked it a few days ago and it was still right on the money.

[reefgeezer]

A Polyfilter would be a good temporary addition if you suspect contamination. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but at 10 dKh and no CO2 excess, shouldn't the peak pH be in the 8.3 range? Maybe there is some organic decay somewhere that is depressing pH. That might also explain the elevated phosphate levels. I'd really be interested in ammonia and nitrite levels also.

If it were my tank, I would do a few large water changes (40-50%) and vacuum everything in the process just to be safe. I agree you should stop dosing.

[djkms]

My KH is around 9-10 and PH in the morning is about 8.2 and peaks at 8.29 at nighttime.

[ccLansman]

I have had depressed ph since i started monitoring it about a month after the tank was setup. Ill go ahead and get a some poly filter or purigen, i was thinking of going back to chemi-pure elite, i used to have a bag of that in my nano tank and it seemed to work well.

[Perched Urchin]

I saw a thread one time mentioning a problem with a guy's rock leaching PO4. Can't find the thread now, unfortunately. Sounds crazy, but any chance you some rock in your system that came from a very sick system? Someone that sold their rock because they just gave up on the tank after having similar problems? Might be a clue that there is a problem there.
Just trying to think out of the box.

[ccLansman]

If that were the case what would be the correct course of action?

[Perched Urchin]

Removing/replacing rock.
If it were PO4 from filth build up, then a good cooking, like what you would do with dead rock that had been previously live rock might work.
But it would still mean removing all the rock and basically starting over.

I am no expert. Obviously not suggesting that on my advice alone you rip apart your tank - just a possibility to think about. It sounds like the "usual suspects" have already been ruled out.

[ccLansman]

Hmm.. bummer, really dont want to rip all the rock out and boil it. Im going to go ahead and look for some less invasive alternatives for the time being. Thanks for the heads up.

[upster]

By "cooking" I think he means removing the rock and placing it in darkness for a few months (with a skimmer) to get the rock back to a clean state.

Give it a search, there are a few good threads.

Good luck

[joemelo]

how long has this been going on
2 weeks?
less.
just about enough time for the bio pellets to start working since you've been using them for a month.
most biopellets say that you should stop using your gfo for a bit because that absorbs the phosphates. if you're still running gfo the biopellets could have nothing to consume and start consuming good nutrients starving your corals?

just an idea

also your low ph might be a result from the biopellets reducing oxygen.

[ccLansman]

i stopped gfo about three weeks ago. I do not believe its oxygen as i did the fresh air test, i took a cup of tank water and ran a air stone in it outside for an hour or so and tested again and the ph was the same.

Could you please elaborate on consuming good nutrients? Bio pellets are nothing more then bacteria which eat N P C so what good nutrients are they eating?

thanks