Something is off here...

sereneabe · 04/14/2016, 02:58 PM

Tank is 2 months old.
live rock from LFS
live sand aragonite oolite
caribsea life rock

ph: 8.3
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate: 0 or close to zero

tank has been relatively healthy and generally happy with few exceptions.
around month one a diatom outbreak started, and last week i noticed a patch of green hair algae on the life rock branch

most recent change: my 27 watt par38 bulb got moved closer to the tank because of the arrival of my gooseneck (last week). previously i had used a desk lamp propped up on a box, but the gooseneck is only one foot, and it doesnt allow enough distance between the water and light.

also, 3 days ago, my water was noticeably warmer, and i noticed my neotherm somehow got bumped to 82. i moved it back down to 78.

i dont have alkalinity or calcium test kit, but ive been dosing a teaspoon of kalk in a gallon of RO/DI everyday, and a sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate mixture every other day. the kalk is not my top off, i use regular RO/Di wtaer for that.

Now for the real problem:

yesterday and today i have come home to an unhappy stylophora and trumpet (see images attached). my margarita snails seem to keep falling and landing on their backs, with all their insides still out, but unmoving. my hermit crabs are responsive to touch, but are on their backs too. my feather duster was 1/2 out of his tube. i turned off the flow and he pulled himself back in. my damsel is still okay, unsurprisingly. idk if i could kill him if i tried.

any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

sereneabe · 04/14/2016, 03:03 PM

also, i am running biocube skimmer, carbon, zeolite, and biomedia in a filter bag. my flow is rated at 132 gph in my 3.7 gallon cube.

oldbones · 04/14/2016, 03:12 PM

Please tell me I read that wrong and you're not dosing 1 tsp Kalk per day into a 3.7g tank.

Salinity? How measured?

Any signs of Dino's?

sereneabe · 04/14/2016, 03:15 PM

oh god no. i put 1 tsp kalk in a gallon of rodi. at the end of the day, after i turn of the lights, i give a good splash into the skimmer area.

salinity is at 1.027

hmm... didnt think about the dinos.... the snails were introduced from my 20 gallon which definitely has a dino problem.

sereneabe · 04/14/2016, 03:16 PM

hydrometer, sadly

Cliving1 · 04/14/2016, 03:40 PM

If your hydrometer is spot on... your salt is too high. 1.024-1.026

lpsouth1978 · 04/14/2016, 04:21 PM

I personally would NOT be dosing alk into any tank without a test kit, especially a 3.7 gallon with VERY little SPS. In a tank that size you could simply change a couple cups of water everyday and call it good. Also, stability in a tank that size will be next to impossible. I used to have a 3g pico with 2.5g sump and ATO and was still not able to keep it stable enough for SPS.

I would recommend lowering the salinity to 1.025 and stop dosing Alk until you can test for it and know that it is needed. Those two things and making sure that everything is stable may make a big difference.

sixpackgarage · 04/14/2016, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sereneabe

i dont have alkalinity or calcium test kit, but ive been dosing a teaspoon of kalk in a gallon of RO/DI everyday, and a sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate mixture every other day. the kalk is not my top off, i use regular RO/Di wtaer for that.

.

IMHO there is your problem. With a tank that small, I would be testing alk, ca, mg daily.

You can't blindly dose alk and expect coral health. You have to test.

sereneabe · 04/14/2016, 04:40 PM

thank you.

04/14/2016, 04:21 PM	#7
lpsouth1978 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 915	I personally would NOT be dosing alk into any tank without a test kit, especially a 3.7 gallon with VERY little SPS. In a tank that size you could simply change a couple cups of water everyday and call it good. Also, stability in a tank that size will be next to impossible. I used to have a 3g pico with 2.5g sump and ATO and was still not able to keep it stable enough for SPS. I would recommend lowering the salinity to 1.025 and stop dosing Alk until you can test for it and know that it is needed. Those two things and making sure that everything is stable may make a big difference. __________________ Current tank: 40B work in progress w/20L sump

04/14/2016, 03:03 PM	#2
sereneabe Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 25	also, i am running biocube skimmer, carbon, zeolite, and biomedia in a filter bag. my flow is rated at 132 gph in my 3.7 gallon cube.

04/14/2016, 03:12 PM	#3
oldbones Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 940	Please tell me I read that wrong and you're not dosing 1 tsp Kalk per day into a 3.7g tank. Salinity? How measured? Any signs of Dino's?

04/14/2016, 03:15 PM	#4
sereneabe Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 25	oh god no. i put 1 tsp kalk in a gallon of rodi. at the end of the day, after i turn of the lights, i give a good splash into the skimmer area. salinity is at 1.027 hmm... didnt think about the dinos.... the snails were introduced from my 20 gallon which definitely has a dino problem.

04/14/2016, 03:16 PM	#5
sereneabe Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 25	hydrometer, sadly

04/14/2016, 03:40 PM	#6
Cliving1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 1,923	If your hydrometer is spot on... your salt is too high. 1.024-1.026

04/14/2016, 04:40 PM	#9
sereneabe Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 25	thank you.