What is my tank going thru?

Reefingmark · 07/12/2015, 07:38 PM

Ok..... my tank is really ****ing me off! I can seem to get a handle on whats going on. Things were fine and all of a sudden my tank is acting funny. My coraline growth was going great as well as my few sps corals. But all of a sudden everything stopped. Can't say I changed a thing. I bought a few inexpensive frags to see if I could sustain the sps but nothing good is happening. So my question is, what should I do? Slow down? Keep going? Add something? Any tips would be appreciated.

thegrun · 07/12/2015, 07:43 PM

What are your water chemistry numbers? Did you see a sudden drop in any of the big three calcium, alkalinity or magnesium? Has anything else in the tank changed like water temperature, lighting or water flow? Have you checked for stray voltage? Give us more information so we can help.

Reefingmark · 07/12/2015, 07:58 PM

My chemistry seems good. I had a skimmer overflow after a water change a few days ago and the tank responded badly. A lighting change to hqi about 1 month ago.

Mcgeezer · 07/12/2015, 08:00 PM

You say your chemistry is good, but what is good? You need to tell us your parameters.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphate...we need to know them all to help you.

I will say that suddenly switching to metal halide without proper acclimation can have a pretty drastic affect on corals.

How new is your tank? It may not be biologically balanced yet if it's brand new.

hotelbravo · 07/12/2015, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mcgeezer

You say your chemistry is good, but what is good? You need to tell us your parameters.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphate...we need to know them all to help you.

I will say that suddenly switching to metal halide without proper acclimation can have a pretty drastic affect on corals.

How new is your tank? It may not be biologically balanced yet if it's brand new.

+1

"seems good" is nothing notable. whats "good" to you might actually be horrible. giving the parameters is a must

tkeracer619 · 07/12/2015, 11:35 PM

What they said... SG as well.

A skimmer overflowing should have no real effect on the tank unless the water inside the collection cup is heavy in sulfur.

rt67ghy · 07/13/2015, 06:08 AM

I think the skimmer overflow caused the problem. There was a similar thread on this forum not long ago where the OP's skimmer overflowed affecting his corals seriously.

But I agree with everyone that you need to test everything and let us know the results so we can help you better.

Sk8r · 07/13/2015, 09:29 AM

Get tests with numerical results. "It's kinda medium pink" tells us nothing. To save time, I have acceptable reef parameters in my sig line. Shoot for those.

whosurcaddie · 07/13/2015, 10:15 AM

Are you doing anything to stabilize alk. Usually alk swings are the first thing to make SPS unhappy.

Nobody here can help you without parameters though.

07/12/2015, 07:38 PM	#1
Reefingmark Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 72	What is my tank going thru? Ok..... my tank is really ****ing me off! I can seem to get a handle on whats going on. Things were fine and all of a sudden my tank is acting funny. My coraline growth was going great as well as my few sps corals. But all of a sudden everything stopped. Can't say I changed a thing. I bought a few inexpensive frags to see if I could sustain the sps but nothing good is happening. So my question is, what should I do? Slow down? Keep going? Add something? Any tips would be appreciated.

07/12/2015, 11:35 PM	#6
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	What they said... SG as well. A skimmer overflowing should have no real effect on the tank unless the water inside the collection cup is heavy in sulfur. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

07/13/2015, 06:08 AM	#7
rt67ghy Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh Posts: 984	I think the skimmer overflow caused the problem. There was a similar thread on this forum not long ago where the OP's skimmer overflowed affecting his corals seriously. But I agree with everyone that you need to test everything and let us know the results so we can help you better. __________________ 180g mixed reef. 53g sump including 20g fuge. 320lbs LR, 140lbs LS. 1/2 hp chiller. Temp 75-79. Current Tank Info: Fish: 1 yellow tang, 1 mandarin, 1 pair of tomato clowns, 1 maroon clown, 1 skunk clown, 1 banggai cardinal. Anemones: 1 green haddoni carpet, 2 heteractis auroras, 1 LTA.

07/13/2015, 09:29 AM	#8
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Get tests with numerical results. "It's kinda medium pink" tells us nothing. To save time, I have acceptable reef parameters in my sig line. Shoot for those. __________________ 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%.

07/12/2015, 07:43 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	What are your water chemistry numbers? Did you see a sudden drop in any of the big three calcium, alkalinity or magnesium? Has anything else in the tank changed like water temperature, lighting or water flow? Have you checked for stray voltage? Give us more information so we can help.

07/12/2015, 07:58 PM	#3
Reefingmark Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 72	My chemistry seems good. I had a skimmer overflow after a water change a few days ago and the tank responded badly. A lighting change to hqi about 1 month ago.

07/12/2015, 08:00 PM	#4
Mcgeezer Reef gardener Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: DeLand, Florida Posts: 1,205	You say your chemistry is good, but what is good? You need to tell us your parameters. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphate...we need to know them all to help you. I will say that suddenly switching to metal halide without proper acclimation can have a pretty drastic affect on corals. How new is your tank? It may not be biologically balanced yet if it's brand new.

07/13/2015, 10:15 AM	#9
whosurcaddie Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,354	Are you doing anything to stabilize alk. Usually alk swings are the first thing to make SPS unhappy. Nobody here can help you without parameters though.