When a new hobbyist SHOULD panic---and when not.

Sk8r · 03/05/2013, 03:05 PM

New to marine tanks? You're off into a whole watery world. Some things in the landscape are serious. Some medium-serious. Some not serious at all.

Things that deserve panic: and what to do.
1. water overfills your sump as you kill the power. ------Plug the pump back in. a stack of towels should reside somewhere near your tank until you get more expert. A leak---that's an emergency, but just hope the crack or leak is fairly high up. Water, obviously, won't leak above the water line. Contact your lfs about a tank if this happens.

2. you dump something bad into your water: ------always have: a quarantine tank, extra salt enough to fill it; a mixing pump (Maxijet 1200 is good at this); a 5 gallon poly bucket.
A) anytime your dt tank water is screwed, get your fish out of it, followed by your corals. Salt water MUST mix until it is crystal clear, or it can burn gills: 4 hours with a strong pump is usually enough IN AN EMERGENCY. 24 is preferred.
B) always have Prime available to remove chlorine: this means in a pinch, you can make seawater.
C) carbon can solve a lot of problems of a biochemical nature. When it's not quite a screaming emergency, just corals in a snit, first test your parameters, and if nothing's outstandingly wrong, run carbon.

3. something's caught in an intake. Turn off the pump. If whatever it is is badly injured, put it in quarantine and cross your fingers. If you've had a nem sliced up, never mind saving it: get your fish and corals to clean water and run carbon in your DT.

4. you spot something you're not sure is safe: nab it and put it in a glass bowl, get a picture and ask on RC. If it's a worm, it's probably beneficial; if it's a crab or sea slug it almost certainly isn't. Note that most things can live useful lives in your sump even if they're not safe in the DT. I really just groan when somebody decides to kill off every lifeform in their tank except ones they bought. Don't do that. Harmful organisms are quite rare. YOu'll often see things that 'bloom' and turn up in hundreds. LEAVE THEM ALONE! If something's 'blooming', that's because it's found that much food: kill them all, and you've just dumped a big biomass AND the food into your system, which is Not Good. In general, don't undertake to kill ANYTHING that's widespread in your tank. Three pests worth pursuing: pest anemones (aiptasia and majanos; and flatworms (look like V's with a V notch in their tail)...but they do NOT consititute any kind of an emergency. The worst thing you can do is do something massive and wrong. Get photos to be sure what you've got (check on RC) and figure how many you've got. There is a preparation called Flatworm Exit, but follow instructions meticulously!! And consult.

5. shock when touching your water. You've probably got a bad heater. Unplug it and see if this cures it. If left, it can kill your fish. Start unplugging devices until you find out which one.

6. salinity problem. When your WATER BALANCE is off, change things slowly. It is safe to lower salinity more rapidly than it is to raise it, but even so, go slowly. Raising it should be done at the rate of .001 every half hour. You can kill your fish by raising it fast. Give their tissues time to adjust. HOWEVER: if you've got a new fish in a bag, its DIFFERENT. Do not leave a new fish in bag water more than 30 minutes, especially if he was shipped. In this situation you SHOULD HAVE adjusted the salinity of a qt tank to what that dealer promised and had it ready for him. After he arrives---is a little late to start putting the qt together, but the clock doesn't run until you open the bag. Remember that. More fish have been killed by a screwed-up acclimation than I like to think about.

7. bouncing parameters. An autotopoff is a good idea. Two autotopoffs is a good idea---one for your qt/hospital tank.

8. Disease. NEVER treat until you are absolutely sure what disease you're dealing with. Go to the fish disease forum and read the stickies, and do it the minute you remotely suspect you're dealing with an illness or injury. The parasitic infestation and the bacterial infect treatments are not compatible with each other and you cannot do both. If you've put one in your water and turn out to need the other ASAP you've got a problem.

Hope these suggestions help.

la1fan · 03/05/2013, 05:03 PM

Words to the wise, and sticky worthy! Thanks Sk8r!

GrantH · 03/05/2013, 06:44 PM

Wonderful advice - thanks for posting it. the stack of towels is a very useful tip I stumbled upon a while ago but never seems to be mentioned. I also like the sensible, relaxed style each point is covered.

Sk8r · 03/06/2013, 10:19 AM

Thanks.
I'd add one that I thought of: use two thermometers, one stick-on, one digital. They've been known to malfunction.
If your tank should overheat (83 is a signal to fix it and 85 is dangerous, can-bleach territory)---turn the lights off. Heat is bad, but heat coupled with light is worse: your coralline and corals can start bleaching dead white.
If you are having issues, get all covers off your tank (submerged pumps can build up fierce heat) and you can float ice in ziplock bags: blowing a fan at your water-infall area or across the surface can also lower temperature amazingly.
We're headed for summer: tanks set for extreme winters may need a look-see.

Note too: the sun moves. Don't let window sunlight shoot a beam into your tank: the next thing you'll find is that the cyanobacteria that just go with tanks start blooming as a red blush, then a red sheet, often with bubbles in it, and causing you worry. Actually the stuff is harmless, and the bubbles are pure oxygen, but it looks bad and can prevent your corals from getting the light they need to produce food. Adjust your blinds and avoid this problem. If you get it, the simple cure is lights out for 3 days and have the blinds closed: a 4th day of actinic-only if you have corals, to let them wake up gently. This replicates a storm on the reef. And cyano dies out: your skimmer scoops up the dieoff. A bad case often needs this repeated once a month for 3-4 months to stop it recurring, but it's at no time life-threatening, just looks like heck.

whodeydan76 · 03/06/2013, 11:28 AM

This definitely needs to be stickied... this is a very informative post.

Sk8r · 03/06/2013, 02:19 PM

And if you haven't read it, there's something beyond your ammonia-nitrate test. More tests BECOME important, and there's some wiggle room but not a lot.

Thing is, though fish can SURVIVE water off from this, this is water in which they're pretty happy. Mother Ocean doesn't say, "Oooh! A fish! Let me adjust all the chemistry in this 10 square feet!" No. The ocean has mores and lesses in certain areas, or after a rain, etc--but fish go to where they're comfy. One of their favorite spots is --- a reef.

These params are good for an lps reef in which corals live and fish come and go. If you can hit these (realistically your nitrate may vary a bit, but your ammonia should be 0!) whether you're coral or fish or both, you'll have a good stable tank and pretty healthy fish. If anything goes wrong---first thing is to check the temperature, check the salinity, check the alkalinity; and if those three are good, just start down the list of parameters.

Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale, not meq/l; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp abt 80, nitrate/ammonia 0.
Alk and cal will not rise if mg is low. Alk reading far-far-FAR more imp't than PH. Ph swings during the day. Alk is what it is.
No filters for an lps or softie tank. Filter sock for sps corals. And frequently-washed filters for a fish-only.

Note: if you find your alk is off, test your magnesium (mg) and calcium---and if mg is under 1300, get it up first. THEN add your buffer, and THEN (important) get your calcium to 420. You'll find far less trouble, far less disease (bad water hurts fishy slime coats, and a weak slime coat attracts infection like a cut does on us) and far less aggression among your fish: itchy, sore fish can be cranky.

In order to keep water this perfect, you need 2 things you may not have yet: 1, an autotopoff (steadies salinity AND can supply kalk) 2. a system to supplement calcium, if you have stony corals: Kalk can do this. If you don't, you're probably going to be perfectly fine just hand dosing, provided you test weekly.

FOr more information read the sticky^ ^ ^ : Dirt-simple chemistry.

If you do decide to use kalk see my blog for instructions.

gsiegel · 03/06/2013, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whodeydan76

this definitely needs to be stickied... This is a very informative post.

+1

Reef_Wonder · 03/07/2013, 12:42 PM

Please help.....At this point I am unsure what to do. I have a 75 gallon saltwater tank with a 20 gallon sump. I also have a protein skimmer on the side of my tank. I see inside my sump a have a very large amount of flatworms. I have a design I want to create for custom refugium/sump for my tank however, I won't be able to do it for a month or so. Also inside my tank I have spots of red bubble algae popping up everywhere. I am going frantic and unsure what I should for the bubble algae. If I let it go, it will eventually over take the tank. I take out the pieces of live rock or frags and clean in quarantine area but grows back inside the tank. Emerald crab is not eating it. What should I do? Please help.

From Sk8r: If you are sure they're flatworms, there is a product called Flatworm Exit. I'd suggest you examine the product, be SURE you have flatworms (check out pix online: google marine flatworms and look at pix: they come in many, many shapes) and then follow the instructions absolutely meticulously. A small protein skimmer for a 70 is underpowered to deal with the dieoff, and if you're thinking about a new skimmer, now is the time, before you undertake the flatworm problem. Get a skimmer rated for a 140. If you can't swing that, and you proceed against the flatworms, I'd suggest babysitting the skimmer you have and keep it going and emptying it as often as it takes, fingers crossed. Re the flatworms: Siphon out all you can. Don't worry about the algae yet. The flatworms pose a problem in the dieoff biomass. Bring your water quality in line with mine: see my sig line. And read the sticky on Dirt-simple chemistry... Once all that's fixed, the algae may be less problem.

Down · 03/07/2013, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whodeydan76

This definitely needs to be stickied... this is a very informative post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsiegel

+1

+2 Definitely helpful to this newb.

disc1 · 03/11/2013, 08:57 PM

I'll add one to the list.

The Snowstorm

Maybe the kalk pumped in too fast or maybe it was an overdose of two part. Either way most of us will see a snowstorm one day. In reality it isn't snow, but little flakes of calcium carbonate as the calcium and alkalinity get together and precipitate out of the water.

First thing is, don't panic. A big dump of kalk can really skyrocket the pH, but the process of precipitating calcium carbonate brings it back down. So in that case the snowstorm may actually be saving you.

Usually you will find out after the fact when you see everything in the tank covered in a coating of fine white particles. By that time the damage is already done. Things aren't getting any worse any more. All you need to do is clean up.

The alkalinity and calcium numbers will fall. you're going to have to bring them back up with either water changes or by dosing. But you can't trust your water tests until the water clears up. Those little particles will redissolve in the test kit and cause deceptively high results. So you may need to give it a little while before you start planning remediation.

The pH may be very high. If you have a probe it will be OK to read, but color change kits may be unreliable. If the pH is above 8.8 or so, then seltzer water is a good idea to bring it down. Go easy, a few milliliters per gallon will drop the pH by up to half a pH unit. It also adds a lot of CO2 to the water which can be worse for your animals than the high pH. If you can get it down to 8.5 or 8.6 I would stop there and try to wait it out.

You will need to look at all of your pumps. The impellers can become encrusted with calcium carbonate. If any are in bad shape, a quick vinegar bath will fix them right up.

There are a few things that increase the likelihood of a precipitation event like this. Chief among them are pH and temperature. Higher pH and higher temperatures both favor precipitation. Lower pH and lower temps make it less likely that you will see snow.

Higher magnesium levels help to prevent precipitation. Really low magnesium levels will allow for precipitation even at NSW levels. This is a common cause of the tank requiring an abnormally large dose of 2-part and still not being able to maintain calcium and alkalinity. All that extra 2-part can usually be found in the pumps impellers and on the heaters as a white solid not unlike concrete.

young_reefer · 03/11/2013, 10:44 PM

Wow! This is one of the most informative, to the point and packed with tips post I've thus far. Thank you for this.

Sk8r · 03/12/2013, 02:08 PM

I've found in the case of a massive kalk overdose about 1 tbs of Schweppe's Bar Soda per 50 gallons done *once* can help moderate the ph a bit and perhaps help out the situation. Do not do it twice~! As Disk One says very eloquently, this is a problem that fixes itself pretty fast. I've had this happen more than once---in a coral reef---and never lost a single specimen. Kalk is one of the safest additives out there.

reefgoddess808 · 04/04/2013, 04:19 PM

I have a 56 gal 40 lbs sand, 10-15 lbs live rock, ocellaris clown, coral beauty, toby puffer. two mexican turbos and a hermit crab. My tank has been running for 8 months. I added a protein skimmer about two weeks ago and tested my water just now. My ammonia was about 1.0 ppm and nitrites were about .75 ppm. Nitrates were at 10-20 ppm and pH is 8.2. Salinity is 32 ppm / 1.023.
I have carbon running in both my filter and my skimmer. Its a HOB skimmer with uv filter and carbon filter. I have mesh bags of ceramic media in both skimmer and filter.
The fish are eating and look normal, my water is clear.
I wont be able to do a water change for at least a day since my lfs is closed now and I dont have ro water to make my own mix.
Should I be concerned or will this just pass on its own?

Sk8r · 04/04/2013, 05:17 PM

Have you got a bottle of Amquel? Prime? Any sort of chlorine-remover so you could go with conditioned tapwater? Or does a supermarket near you have a water kiosk? At this pass, even distilled might be preferable. Keep at it with the carbon. But start looking for bottled water that has no chlorine. Make up new salt water with that, not for the dt, but for a smaller quarantine tank?

reefgoddess808 · 04/04/2013, 06:00 PM

I have instant ocean marine conditioner but no salt

I noticed a left over piece of uneaten krill and i removed it. I also tossed the floss as it was gross. I dont know what could have caused this

reefgoddess808 · 04/04/2013, 08:00 PM

Thankfully Petsmart is open till 9! Unfortunately they didnt have any purified natural seawater so I got instant ocean reef crystals and did a water change. Ill wait a bit and test my water again

knight2255 · 04/05/2013, 10:59 AM

Great info, I've think I've started fairly well due to the info in the other stickies, and this thread will help to maintain my levels into the future

Sk8r · 04/05/2013, 05:32 PM

'gross floss' definitely can contribute to a problem.

KayakArmada · 04/12/2013, 12:24 PM

I change my floss every few days. It's so cheap theres really no excuse.

jonnyeatworld · 04/12/2013, 04:47 PM

Great Post. Hopefully i won't have to reference it too often. I will be starting a tank soon. Thanks!

reefgoddess808 · 04/13/2013, 09:44 AM

As iot turns out my test kit has gone bad...so not sure if there was an issue or not. The only thing that tipped me off in the first place was my botton polyps closed up and looked a bit shriveled and now they are fine as well. I added a small clean up crew which is in fact a bit too small so I have a few more snails on the way. Everything is running pretty great at the moment so fingers crossed that it stays like this.
Thanks for all the great advice!

Sk8r · 04/13/2013, 10:04 AM

Look for the expiration date on all test kits and write it large in Magic Marker. Same goes for lights. They're rated for 6-8 months of use for MH, I forget on T-5's---more like 8.

reefgoddess808 · 04/23/2013, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Look for the expiration date on all test kits and write it large in Magic Marker. Same goes for lights. They're rated for 6-8 months of use for MH, I forget on T-5's---more like 8.

The date says 2017...but when I used the other two kits I have the results were normal. No idea. When I bought the kit one of the bottles was damaged and I had the LFS replace it, so its possible that the whole kit was just bad from the start. Water is clear, fish are fat and happy and my bonus buttons are doing great. I just really needed a reason to panic! LOL

G2theRam · 06/19/2013, 02:23 AM

Thanks

Desisto941 · 07/06/2013, 07:50 PM

image.jpg
image.jpg

About a week ago I was setting up my lights on my tank and a plugged in extension cord fell into my water. Before the water was shocked my nitrates and nitrites were low and nearly gone. But now they are both off the charts. I have no fish because I am currently cycling my tank. All I have are rocks and sand. I think that these are the correct pictures to show what happened to my sand. Does anyone know what the brown stuff is on top of it? Also are there any remedies for this type of situation?

03/05/2013, 03:05 PM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	When a new hobbyist SHOULD panic---and when not. New to marine tanks? You're off into a whole watery world. Some things in the landscape are serious. Some medium-serious. Some not serious at all. Things that deserve panic: and what to do. 1. water overfills your sump as you kill the power. ------Plug the pump back in. a stack of towels should reside somewhere near your tank until you get more expert. A leak---that's an emergency, but just hope the crack or leak is fairly high up. Water, obviously, won't leak above the water line. Contact your lfs about a tank if this happens. 2. you dump something bad into your water: ------always have: a quarantine tank, extra salt enough to fill it; a mixing pump (Maxijet 1200 is good at this); a 5 gallon poly bucket. A) anytime your dt tank water is screwed, get your fish out of it, followed by your corals. Salt water MUST mix until it is crystal clear, or it can burn gills: 4 hours with a strong pump is usually enough IN AN EMERGENCY. 24 is preferred. B) always have Prime available to remove chlorine: this means in a pinch, you can make seawater. C) carbon can solve a lot of problems of a biochemical nature. When it's not quite a screaming emergency, just corals in a snit, first test your parameters, and if nothing's outstandingly wrong, run carbon. 3. something's caught in an intake. Turn off the pump. If whatever it is is badly injured, put it in quarantine and cross your fingers. If you've had a nem sliced up, never mind saving it: get your fish and corals to clean water and run carbon in your DT. 4. you spot something you're not sure is safe: nab it and put it in a glass bowl, get a picture and ask on RC. If it's a worm, it's probably beneficial; if it's a crab or sea slug it almost certainly isn't. Note that most things can live useful lives in your sump even if they're not safe in the DT. I really just groan when somebody decides to kill off every lifeform in their tank except ones they bought. Don't do that. Harmful organisms are quite rare. YOu'll often see things that 'bloom' and turn up in hundreds. LEAVE THEM ALONE! If something's 'blooming', that's because it's found that much food: kill them all, and you've just dumped a big biomass AND the food into your system, which is Not Good. In general, don't undertake to kill ANYTHING that's widespread in your tank. Three pests worth pursuing: pest anemones (aiptasia and majanos; and flatworms (look like V's with a V notch in their tail)...but they do NOT consititute any kind of an emergency. The worst thing you can do is do something massive and wrong. Get photos to be sure what you've got (check on RC) and figure how many you've got. There is a preparation called Flatworm Exit, but follow instructions meticulously!! And consult. 5. shock when touching your water. You've probably got a bad heater. Unplug it and see if this cures it. If left, it can kill your fish. Start unplugging devices until you find out which one. 6. salinity problem. When your WATER BALANCE is off, change things slowly. It is safe to lower salinity more rapidly than it is to raise it, but even so, go slowly. Raising it should be done at the rate of .001 every half hour. You can kill your fish by raising it fast. Give their tissues time to adjust. HOWEVER: if you've got a new fish in a bag, its DIFFERENT. Do not leave a new fish in bag water more than 30 minutes, especially if he was shipped. In this situation you SHOULD HAVE adjusted the salinity of a qt tank to what that dealer promised and had it ready for him. After he arrives---is a little late to start putting the qt together, but the clock doesn't run until you open the bag. Remember that. More fish have been killed by a screwed-up acclimation than I like to think about. 7. bouncing parameters. An autotopoff is a good idea. Two autotopoffs is a good idea---one for your qt/hospital tank. 8. Disease. NEVER treat until you are absolutely sure what disease you're dealing with. Go to the fish disease forum and read the stickies, and do it the minute you remotely suspect you're dealing with an illness or injury. The parasitic infestation and the bacterial infect treatments are not compatible with each other and you cannot do both. If you've put one in your water and turn out to need the other ASAP you've got a problem. Hope these suggestions help. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. Last edited by Sk8r; 03/06/2013 at 04:17 PM.

03/06/2013, 10:19 AM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Thanks. I'd add one that I thought of: use two thermometers, one stick-on, one digital. They've been known to malfunction. If your tank should overheat (83 is a signal to fix it and 85 is dangerous, can-bleach territory)---turn the lights off. Heat is bad, but heat coupled with light is worse: your coralline and corals can start bleaching dead white. If you are having issues, get all covers off your tank (submerged pumps can build up fierce heat) and you can float ice in ziplock bags: blowing a fan at your water-infall area or across the surface can also lower temperature amazingly. We're headed for summer: tanks set for extreme winters may need a look-see. Note too: the sun moves. Don't let window sunlight shoot a beam into your tank: the next thing you'll find is that the cyanobacteria that just go with tanks start blooming as a red blush, then a red sheet, often with bubbles in it, and causing you worry. Actually the stuff is harmless, and the bubbles are pure oxygen, but it looks bad and can prevent your corals from getting the light they need to produce food. Adjust your blinds and avoid this problem. If you get it, the simple cure is lights out for 3 days and have the blinds closed: a 4th day of actinic-only if you have corals, to let them wake up gently. This replicates a storm on the reef. And cyano dies out: your skimmer scoops up the dieoff. A bad case often needs this repeated once a month for 3-4 months to stop it recurring, but it's at no time life-threatening, just looks like heck. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. Last edited by Sk8r; 03/06/2013 at 04:15 PM.

03/06/2013, 11:28 AM	#5
whodeydan76 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Lima, Ohio Posts: 364	This definitely needs to be stickied... this is a very informative post. __________________ "Don't sweat the petty things, don't pet the sweaty things" ~bazooka joe~ \,,/ REEF ON \,,/ Who Dey!?!? Go Bengals, Reds, Celtics, and most of all my boys midget team the Shawnee Quilnas! Current Tank Info: 75 gallon factory drilled set up. Oak stand and canopy.

03/06/2013, 02:19 PM	#6
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	And if you haven't read it, there's something beyond your ammonia-nitrate test. More tests BECOME important, and there's some wiggle room but not a lot. Thing is, though fish can SURVIVE water off from this, this is water in which they're pretty happy. Mother Ocean doesn't say, "Oooh! A fish! Let me adjust all the chemistry in this 10 square feet!" No. The ocean has mores and lesses in certain areas, or after a rain, etc--but fish go to where they're comfy. One of their favorite spots is --- a reef. These params are good for an lps reef in which corals live and fish come and go. If you can hit these (realistically your nitrate may vary a bit, but your ammonia should be 0!) whether you're coral or fish or both, you'll have a good stable tank and pretty healthy fish. If anything goes wrong---first thing is to check the temperature, check the salinity, check the alkalinity; and if those three are good, just start down the list of parameters. Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale, not meq/l; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp abt 80, nitrate/ammonia 0. Alk and cal will not rise if mg is low. Alk reading far-far-FAR more imp't than PH. Ph swings during the day. Alk is what it is. No filters for an lps or softie tank. Filter sock for sps corals. And frequently-washed filters for a fish-only. Note: if you find your alk is off, test your magnesium (mg) and calcium---and if mg is under 1300, get it up first. THEN add your buffer, and THEN (important) get your calcium to 420. You'll find far less trouble, far less disease (bad water hurts fishy slime coats, and a weak slime coat attracts infection like a cut does on us) and far less aggression among your fish: itchy, sore fish can be cranky. In order to keep water this perfect, you need 2 things you may not have yet: 1, an autotopoff (steadies salinity AND can supply kalk) 2. a system to supplement calcium, if you have stony corals: Kalk can do this. If you don't, you're probably going to be perfectly fine just hand dosing, provided you test weekly. FOr more information read the sticky^ ^ ^ : Dirt-simple chemistry. If you do decide to use kalk see my blog for instructions. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. Last edited by Sk8r; 03/06/2013 at 04:13 PM.

03/07/2013, 12:42 PM	#8
Reef_Wonder Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Bartlesville, OK Posts: 4	Please help.....At this point I am unsure what to do. I have a 75 gallon saltwater tank with a 20 gallon sump. I also have a protein skimmer on the side of my tank. I see inside my sump a have a very large amount of flatworms. I have a design I want to create for custom refugium/sump for my tank however, I won't be able to do it for a month or so. Also inside my tank I have spots of red bubble algae popping up everywhere. I am going frantic and unsure what I should for the bubble algae. If I let it go, it will eventually over take the tank. I take out the pieces of live rock or frags and clean in quarantine area but grows back inside the tank. Emerald crab is not eating it. What should I do? Please help. From Sk8r: If you are sure they're flatworms, there is a product called Flatworm Exit. I'd suggest you examine the product, be SURE you have flatworms (check out pix online: google marine flatworms and look at pix: they come in many, many shapes) and then follow the instructions absolutely meticulously. A small protein skimmer for a 70 is underpowered to deal with the dieoff, and if you're thinking about a new skimmer, now is the time, before you undertake the flatworm problem. Get a skimmer rated for a 140. If you can't swing that, and you proceed against the flatworms, I'd suggest babysitting the skimmer you have and keep it going and emptying it as often as it takes, fingers crossed. Re the flatworms: Siphon out all you can. Don't worry about the algae yet. The flatworms pose a problem in the dieoff biomass. Bring your water quality in line with mine: see my sig line. And read the sticky on Dirt-simple chemistry... Once all that's fixed, the algae may be less problem. Last edited by Sk8r; 03/08/2013 at 11:14 AM. Reason: Inserting help:

03/05/2013, 05:03 PM	#2
la1fan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Alamogordo, NM Posts: 170	Words to the wise, and sticky worthy! Thanks Sk8r!

03/05/2013, 06:44 PM	#3
GrantH Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Posts: 26	Wonderful advice - thanks for posting it. the stack of towels is a very useful tip I stumbled upon a while ago but never seems to be mentioned. I also like the sensible, relaxed style each point is covered.

03/11/2013, 08:57 PM	#10
disc1 -RT * ln(k) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Little Rock Posts: 9,705	I'll add one to the list. The Snowstorm Maybe the kalk pumped in too fast or maybe it was an overdose of two part. Either way most of us will see a snowstorm one day. In reality it isn't snow, but little flakes of calcium carbonate as the calcium and alkalinity get together and precipitate out of the water. First thing is, don't panic. A big dump of kalk can really skyrocket the pH, but the process of precipitating calcium carbonate brings it back down. So in that case the snowstorm may actually be saving you. Usually you will find out after the fact when you see everything in the tank covered in a coating of fine white particles. By that time the damage is already done. Things aren't getting any worse any more. All you need to do is clean up. The alkalinity and calcium numbers will fall. you're going to have to bring them back up with either water changes or by dosing. But you can't trust your water tests until the water clears up. Those little particles will redissolve in the test kit and cause deceptively high results. So you may need to give it a little while before you start planning remediation. The pH may be very high. If you have a probe it will be OK to read, but color change kits may be unreliable. If the pH is above 8.8 or so, then seltzer water is a good idea to bring it down. Go easy, a few milliliters per gallon will drop the pH by up to half a pH unit. It also adds a lot of CO2 to the water which can be worse for your animals than the high pH. If you can get it down to 8.5 or 8.6 I would stop there and try to wait it out. You will need to look at all of your pumps. The impellers can become encrusted with calcium carbonate. If any are in bad shape, a quick vinegar bath will fix them right up. There are a few things that increase the likelihood of a precipitation event like this. Chief among them are pH and temperature. Higher pH and higher temperatures both favor precipitation. Lower pH and lower temps make it less likely that you will see snow. Higher magnesium levels help to prevent precipitation. Really low magnesium levels will allow for precipitation even at NSW levels. This is a common cause of the tank requiring an abnormally large dose of 2-part and still not being able to maintain calcium and alkalinity. All that extra 2-part can usually be found in the pumps impellers and on the heaters as a white solid not unlike concrete. __________________ David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction...

03/11/2013, 10:44 PM	#11
young_reefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Doral, FL Posts: 319	Wow! This is one of the most informative, to the point and packed with tips post I've thus far. Thank you for this.

03/12/2013, 02:08 PM	#12
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I've found in the case of a massive kalk overdose about 1 tbs of Schweppe's Bar Soda per 50 gallons done once can help moderate the ph a bit and perhaps help out the situation. Do not do it twice~! As Disk One says very eloquently, this is a problem that fixes itself pretty fast. I've had this happen more than once---in a coral reef---and never lost a single specimen. Kalk is one of the safest additives out there. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. Last edited by Sk8r; 03/12/2013 at 02:13 PM.

04/04/2013, 04:19 PM	#13
reefgoddess808 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Eastern North Carolina Posts: 382	Sudden spike in ammonia and nitrite! I have a 56 gal 40 lbs sand, 10-15 lbs live rock, ocellaris clown, coral beauty, toby puffer. two mexican turbos and a hermit crab. My tank has been running for 8 months. I added a protein skimmer about two weeks ago and tested my water just now. My ammonia was about 1.0 ppm and nitrites were about .75 ppm. Nitrates were at 10-20 ppm and pH is 8.2. Salinity is 32 ppm / 1.023. I have carbon running in both my filter and my skimmer. Its a HOB skimmer with uv filter and carbon filter. I have mesh bags of ceramic media in both skimmer and filter. The fish are eating and look normal, my water is clear. I wont be able to do a water change for at least a day since my lfs is closed now and I dont have ro water to make my own mix. Should I be concerned or will this just pass on its own?

04/04/2013, 05:17 PM	#14
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Have you got a bottle of Amquel? Prime? Any sort of chlorine-remover so you could go with conditioned tapwater? Or does a supermarket near you have a water kiosk? At this pass, even distilled might be preferable. Keep at it with the carbon. But start looking for bottled water that has no chlorine. Make up new salt water with that, not for the dt, but for a smaller quarantine tank? __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

04/04/2013, 06:00 PM	#15
reefgoddess808 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Eastern North Carolina Posts: 382	I have instant ocean marine conditioner but no salt I noticed a left over piece of uneaten krill and i removed it. I also tossed the floss as it was gross. I dont know what could have caused this

04/04/2013, 08:00 PM	#16
reefgoddess808 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Eastern North Carolina Posts: 382	Thankfully Petsmart is open till 9! Unfortunately they didnt have any purified natural seawater so I got instant ocean reef crystals and did a water change. Ill wait a bit and test my water again

04/05/2013, 10:59 AM	#17
knight2255 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 313	Great info, I've think I've started fairly well due to the info in the other stickies, and this thread will help to maintain my levels into the future

04/05/2013, 05:32 PM	#18
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	'gross floss' definitely can contribute to a problem. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

04/12/2013, 12:24 PM	#19
KayakArmada Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 7	I change my floss every few days. It's so cheap theres really no excuse.

04/12/2013, 04:47 PM	#20
jonnyeatworld Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 144	Great Post. Hopefully i won't have to reference it too often. I will be starting a tank soon. Thanks!

04/13/2013, 09:44 AM	#21
reefgoddess808 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Eastern North Carolina Posts: 382	As iot turns out my test kit has gone bad...so not sure if there was an issue or not. The only thing that tipped me off in the first place was my botton polyps closed up and looked a bit shriveled and now they are fine as well. I added a small clean up crew which is in fact a bit too small so I have a few more snails on the way. Everything is running pretty great at the moment so fingers crossed that it stays like this. Thanks for all the great advice!

04/13/2013, 10:04 AM	#22
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Look for the expiration date on all test kits and write it large in Magic Marker. Same goes for lights. They're rated for 6-8 months of use for MH, I forget on T-5's---more like 8. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2013, 02:23 AM	#24
G2theRam Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Beaverton OR Posts: 56	Thanks

07/06/2013, 07:50 PM	#25
Desisto941 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Fort Pierce Posts: 70	image.jpg image.jpg About a week ago I was setting up my lights on my tank and a plugged in extension cord fell into my water. Before the water was shocked my nitrates and nitrites were low and nearly gone. But now they are both off the charts. I have no fish because I am currently cycling my tank. All I have are rocks and sand. I think that these are the correct pictures to show what happened to my sand. Does anyone know what the brown stuff is on top of it? Also are there any remedies for this type of situation?