Tank wipeout? (hahahahahahahahaha, wipeout......song starts)

[cmdmd]

Hi guys,

My tank is a 28gal HQL.

The parameters:
Salinity - 1.025
pH - 8.4, there have been measured swings to 7.8
Nitrates 0-5, 10 when ready for water change
Nitrite - 0
NH3 - I have measured 0.25 at times, most of the time is 0
Alkalinity - 2.9 -3.6 (cannot pinpoint it with my kit, Red Sea)
PO4 - 0

I had some corals die/bleach and slough off. Then, I noticed an algae bloom, it was eventually diagnosed as a dinoflagellate bloom (snot-looking stuff)

I did a 3-day lights out. Now, another acro is dying and I see the dinos coming back along with some red slime.

Tank has been running for 2.5 months.

Right now, I will not put another coral in, I will just watch the rest finish dying off and will wait for a while (8-10 weeks) before buying any corals.

Fish:

Clown, 2 Chromis, dragonet
Coral banded shrimp
Tidacna Maxima clam
Fan worm, 4 nassarius snails, 5 trochus, 4 blue legged hermits, 5 red hermits, 4 other snails that I cant remember the name


I will open the floor to ideas and/or suggestions.

[dublo8]

buy a 10g from petco. keep it barebottom and move your corals and whatever fish you can over from the main tank. basically setup a QT tank to keep them thriving. Find a friend that can fish sit for a little while. Maybe ask a LFS if they can hold on to your fish while your fighting the battle. The rest is a long tedious process to kill the dino. I would at least hope that you would keep your coral/fish and try to save them vs. letting them die like that.

[CWP]

I'm sorry to hear about your losses, but it sounds like you stocked your tank before it had a chance to become stable. Two or three months is much too early to stock corals such as acroporas; many reefers would say it is too soon to add any corals other than xenia and GSP. Like you, I started putting SPS into my tank before it had matured and had many losses. Because of my losses I have read volumes about reef tanks and the chemistry that takes place, and it is evident that a reef tank takes nearly a year to have the bacterial populations required for SPS to thrive. I am sure there are people on Reef Central that have kept SPS successfully without waiting at least six months, but I suspect most successful caretakers will tell you that rushing things generally results in coral death. I hope you can find help salvaging your coral until you get your tank healthy, and I am sure you will find that time and patience (along with water changes and such) will reward you with a tank that is stable and healthy. Good luck.

[cmdmd]

Thank you for your feedback, it is greatly appreciated.

I didnt notice that there was a double post. I Must have hit refresh

[T Diddy]

is that a straight (total) alkalinity test kit? It probably is not telling you what you need to know. The total alkalinity could be dead on, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Check the carbonate hardness/alkalinity and calcium as well. Also, if you have NH3 "at times" you are probably overfeeding. pH swings don't sound good either. You didn't mention how much livestock you lost, or what type exactly, but I'm sure you realize that you might have moved a little too fast. Small frequent water changes are the best medicine for most of what ails you, but the most important part of all above mentioned factors is consistency.



Hope this helps

[T Diddy]

oh, and what is the temperature of the water? duration/cycle of lighting?

[cmdmd]

Temps is constant 76,

Cycle is 7 hours, I adjusted it to 10

[Sk8r]

I'd advise 3 test kits, one for dkh alk, one for magnesium, one for calcium. My sig carries some decent readings to target in all 3. I've always used the Salifert kits: just watch your kit expiration dates.

When keeping stonies, they like a temp about 80, give or take, and sometimes a new tank has pretty strong phosphate, which can be a problem.

You're using rodi, right?

Sometimes acros have a little initial problem before they settle in.

Type of coral? Did you dip the coral before putting it in? Have you spotted any little crawling things?

[T Diddy]

7 is probably plenty in all honesty. take some water to your LFS. have them check everything from specific gravity to calcium. you might even take some fresh tap water (if that is what you are using) in a glass jar and have them check for TDS. A little algae/ diatoms/ cyano is normal, but if you have a lot that indicates excessive nutrients.

If all checks out ok, you could have a contamination from another source such as furniture polish/ hairspray/ pesticide, etc. Let us know how it turns out.