My tank looks like crap!

[snip84]

Hello,

 

I really need some help. I have a 15g tank, with sps, lps and some softies. 1 clownfish and some hermits and snails. Everyone is doing fine at first look except the corals. I have cleaned everything out, scrubed the rocks, washed them, cleanded the gravel, did a 30% water change and the algae/diatoms keep coming back like you see on the pictures. my zoas arent extending fully or at all, the sps are closed all the time etc.. i changed the bulbs, i dont overfeed. the no3 is under 10mg/l. Did 10% water changes all the time. And my RO/DI reads around 5ppm of TDS.Should this be due unstable alk i had for the last months? im dosing sodium bicarbonate every night to keep it up. I also dosed calcium and mag, but stoped recently due to this problems. Please help!

 

http://imgur.com/idNezDu

 

http://imgur.com/wkFnHZd

 

[ManGups]

RO/DI should be at 0 TDS before u mix salt

 

Also what are ur phosphate levels? Can you put down all parameters

I.e.

Mg

Ca

Ph

Kh

Po4

No3

Specific gravity

Which salt

 

Are u using any media. If phosphates are high u can use chemipure etc but before u start using all that- put down all parameter so someone can best guide u

[Mariaface]

Did you do all that cleaning at once? What does 'washing' the rocks mean?

 

Make a list of your parameters (Salinity, temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, etc).

 

What does your filtration look like? Just live rock and sand? Or are there mechanical and chemical filtration, as well? Skimmer? Reactor?

 

How are you dosing sodium bicarbonate? Remember that you shouldn't be bringing alk up by more than 1dKH per day. And that it's best added gradually, not all at once if it's a significant amount.

 

How often and how much and what do you feed?

 

Fix your RO/DI so that it reads 0 TDS, maybe 1.

 

What lighting are you using?

[snip84]

Mg:1300
Ca;500
Ph:8
Kh:8.5
Po4:dont know right now, have to get a tester first.
No3:under 10mg/l
Specific gravity:1.025
Which salt :reef crystals

lightning:2x24w ati blue + actinic

feeding:1xday dried shrimp, just to feed the clownfish

If you want to have your RO filters to read 0-1 you can buy new ones every month. It wasnt even 0 when they were new. Which is nonsense. I had a very healthy tank for years with +10 TDS. I did run a sump with a DIY overflow for a long time, maybe the material wasnt the best i have used.

 

i dose Sodium bicarbonate with TB at night. 3ml per day to keep the alk and ph up. but i started this 3 days ago. til then i dosed it in the morning which was wrong i guess.

 

 

Washing means, scrubing the Hair algae off and rinse it in the tank water that was changed out. I also dosed macroalgae a few times to feed the corals.

I dont have no mech.filtration.

[snip84]

just checked my tap water. its 223, and 1-2% of it are 5ppm. my ro/di filter is fine. should i buy distiled water, it reads 0-1 tds.

[Red_Blenny]

If you want to have your RO filters to read 0-1 you can buy new ones every month. It wasnt even 0 when they were new. Which is nonsense. I had a very healthy tank for years with +10 TDS. I did run a sump with a DIY overflow for a long time, maybe the material wasnt the best i have used.

 

i dose Sodium bicarbonate with TB at night. 3ml per day to keep the alk and ph up. but i started this 3 days ago. til then i dosed it in the morning which was wrong i guess.

If you change your RODI filters every month just to keep it at 0-1, I think something is wrong with your RODI. I have to change my RO filters every 6-8 months (I also use it for drinking water) and my DI filters every 10-12 months.

 

And I'm confused on how much baking soda you're adding. You say you add baking soda in "TB" but you add it in 3ml. Are you adding 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a container with water, then add 3mL of it or am I misinterpreting it?

 

 

just checked my tap water. its 223, and 1-2% of it are 5ppm. my ro/di filter is fine. should i buy distiled water, it reads 0-1 tds.

 

5ppm coming out of your RODI is not acceptable. Maybe 5ppm before the DI stage is fine but after the DI stage, its not. And IMO, buying distilled water might be a better choice for you right now.

[Mariaface]

It's very possible to keep a tank healthy with higher TDS, but that's because the tank is able to get rid of contaminants on its own. My tap water tests out at nearly 300, and after the filter my TDS are at 1. I've already purchased the replacement cartridges and DI resin to replace everything when it hits 2.

 

Did all the rock scrubbing and sand disturbing happen at once? Because it can shock your bacterial populations for a bit, it can bring up decomposing organics, etc etc.

 

Do you have chemical filtration? When corals are stressed they start up a nice game of chemical warfare that water changes sometimes can't keep up with. Carbon would help you with that, just make sure that you're using small amounts and changing that out more frequently. It's possible to clean the water too much, too quickly (nutrients are removed, light penetration goes through the roof, corals bleach and become more stressed, etc, and then you have to consider that bacteria will cover the carbon and render it useless after three to four weeks). Carbon will also help adsorb dissolved organics in the water before they turn into ammonia and whatnot. Phosguard or GFO will adsorb phosphate to ward against algae growth, but again too much of it will strip the water column too far and phosphate is still needed in trace amounts.

 

Without mechanical filtration, you're going to have to get rid of detritus and other particles on your own. Unless, of course, you're purposely allowing that stuff to break down? Anyway, detritus can smother pores in your live rock and it'll go about its business of decomposing, which means additional ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as all the other fun stuff that comes with that (phosphate and whatnot). Hair algae will happily feast on this stuff, and if your rocks are leaching phosphate to begin with then it'll have a field day.

[snip84]

If you change your RODI filters every month just to keep it at 0-1, I think something is wrong with your RODI. I have to change my RO filters every 6-8 months (I also use it for drinking water) and my DI filters every 10-12 months.

I dont change the filters every month. Its pointless. I bought a brand new RODI and the water came out 2-3TDS after the DI, just like the RODI before did, when it was new. Now it is at 5. Maybe the TDS meter is broken to. But it reads distiled water 0-2ppm. its imposible to filter EVERYTHING out of the water. Even distilation doesnt produce pure water and i know lot of guys over here with long years of experience and large tanks, that say everything under 10tds is ok. Then you have people who use TAP water for reef tanks. You cant have that much problems because a few TDS leftovers in the water. thats just nonsense imo. try measure your water with a quality microSiemens meter and you will see how much stuff is left in there.

 

And I'm confused on how much baking soda you're adding. You say you add baking soda in "TB" but you add it in 3ml. Are you adding 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a container with water, then add 3mL of it or am I misinterpreting it?

TB means turkey baster. im adding 1,5gram dissolved in aprox. 3ml of rodi every night. I guess the problem lies in the quality of the soda. Because its table sodium bicarbonate and might not be pure enough.

 

5ppm coming out of your RODI is not acceptable. Maybe 5ppm before the DI stage is fine but after the DI stage, its not. And IMO, buying distilled water might be a better choice for you right now.

 

It's very possible to keep a tank healthy with higher TDS, but that's because the tank is able to get rid of contaminants on its own. My tap water tests out at nearly 300, and after the filter my TDS are at 1. I've already purchased the replacement cartridges and DI resin to replace everything when it hits 2.

 

Did all the rock scrubbing and sand disturbing happen at once? Because it can shock your bacterial populations for a bit, it can bring up decomposing organics, etc etc.

It did happend all at once. And there was no decopost left over because i removed the sand fully, washed it so it became clear, and put it back in. maybe the tank is running another cycle right now. but the corals should open.

Do you have chemical filtration? When corals are stressed they start up a nice game of chemical warfare that water changes sometimes can't keep up with. Carbon would help you with that, just make sure that you're using small amounts and changing that out more frequently. It's possible to clean the water too much, too quickly (nutrients are removed, light penetration goes through the roof, corals bleach and become more stressed, etc, and then you have to consider that bacteria will cover the carbon and render it useless after three to four weeks). Carbon will also help adsorb dissolved organics in the water before they turn into ammonia and whatnot. Phosguard or GFO will adsorb phosphate to ward against algae growth, but again too much of it will strip the water column too far and phosphate is still needed in trace amounts.

 

Without mechanical filtration, you're going to have to get rid of detritus and other particles on your own. Unless, of course, you're purposely allowing that stuff to break down? Anyway, detritus can smother pores in your live rock and it'll go about its business of decomposing, which means additional ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as all the other fun stuff that comes with that (phosphate and whatnot). Hair algae will happily feast on this stuff, and if your rocks are leaching phosphate to begin with then it'll have a field day.

no, i do 10% wc every week and remove most of the detrious in the sand with a siphon. my nitrates are around 5mgl. so that isnt to much i guess. maybe i try carbon.

[Mariaface]

It's entirely possible that you cleaned the tank way too much. The corals require nutrients to be in the water column. SPS enjoy super clean water, but LPS and softies can stand for there to be a bit of detritus around. My corals freak out when I add new Purigen to the water; I need to do it very slowly, because it strips the water column of nutrients way too quickly. When the sandbed isn't disturbed for a while, a sudden vacuuming does more harm than good. Next time, try vacuuming out smaller portions of the sandbed with each water change, in a sort of rotation. It might even release toxic compounds into the water, depending on the depth and flow in the tank. Definitely look into carbon. Maybe something easy to rinse and place in a cheap media bag, like Matrix Carbon? If you don't have a place to run it through, just letting it sit in the water near the powerhead (or where the powerhead pushes the water) so it can run passively should be fine for cleaning the water slowly.

[Red_Blenny]

I dont change the filters every month. Its pointless. I bought a brand new RODI and the water came out 2-3TDS after the DI, just like the RODI before did, when it was new. Now it is at 5. Maybe the TDS meter is broken to. But it reads distiled water 0-2ppm. its imposible to filter EVERYTHING out of the water. Even distilation doesnt produce pure water and i know lot of guys over here with long years of experience and large tanks, that say everything under 10tds is ok. Then you have people who use TAP water for reef tanks. You cant have that much problems because a few TDS leftovers in the water. thats just nonsense imo. try measure your water with a quality microSiemens meter and you will see how much stuff is left in there.

 

Interesting how your TDS meter reads distilled water around 0-1. I recalibrate mines every 6 months to ensure that it reads properly.

 

And where do you live? I live in a populated city so the water is treated with chloramine/chlroine (which gets converted into ammonia when added to a reef tank) so a RO/DI is essential. I've heard people can use tap water for their reef tanks because their water source does not have any chloramine in their water

 

 

TB means turkey baster. im adding 1,5gram dissolved in aprox. 3ml of rodi every night. I guess the problem lies in the quality of the soda. Because its table sodium bicarbonate and might not be pure enough.

 

What kind of baking soda are you using? I use Arm and Hammer baking soda and it works fine. Though, 1.5g might be a too much (I only add about 0.6g for a 12gal tank just to raise my dKh by 0.5) so you might be facing with huge alkalinity swings.

 

 

It did happend all at once. And there was no decopost left over because i removed the sand fully, washed it so it became clear, and put it back in. maybe the tank is running another cycle right now. but the corals should open.

 

If you scrubbed everything at once and especially since you took out all the sand, cleaned it thoroughly, and then put it back into your tank, your tank is going though a mini-cycle all over again.

[Bingo1213]

What has your temperature been? If that climbs too high it can cause unhappy corals!

[snip84]

temp is steady 25C. I live in central Europe. im using italian soda bicarbonate. But i look into buying fauna marin's for reef tanks. And i will do a few test's on my RODI water for ammonia/phosphate.

[snip84]

Checked my ro membrane today. flushed everything first. it says 8TDS and after DI it says 5-6. i guess my tds and membrane are dead.

[snip84]

Changed my DI filter and my TDS readings are 0 now. I did a couple of WC's and hopeing for the best. May the cyano/HA go away slowly? or do i have to remove it? I have also setup my sump again and put some LR in there. And a DIY skimmer which suprisingly does preety well.

 

<a href='http://postimg.org/image/dcqm336rt/' target='_blank'><img src='http://s28.postimg.org/dcqm336rt/IMAG0003_1.jpg' border='0' alt="IMAG0003[1]" /></a>

[farkwar]

Weird posts.

 

Arm and Hammer is not pure enough, hmmm,,,, kookey.

 

Personally I want 0ppm water.

 

On the other hand, I have a hypothesis that those last few TDSs are calcium carbonate anyway (considering the whiteness of my glass shower doors). If so, they dont matter.

 

I dont think that Arizona's suggestion to get a whole house water softener is a viable solution to the last 1-3 TDSs of calcium carbonate in my RODI water..

 

Ps, your first imgur image doesnt load. Why not use something like Photobucket where you can post the image in the post.

[hey]

My bet is chemical warfare to a degree, some of the softies look fine while others look quite pissed, How often do you change your carbon?

[snip84]

i didnt had any till 1 week ago. it seems getting better. how often am i supossed to change?

[Mariaface]

Ps, your first imgur image doesnt load. Why not use something like Photobucket where you can post the image in the post.

 

Imgur does let you do that; it actually opens up a list of ways to link the image (direct, gallery, forum code, different sizes, etc). I guess the OP just chose not to use the forum code?

 

i didnt had any till 1 week ago. it seems getting better. how often am i supossed to change?

 

At first, due to all the stuff in the water the carbon needs to change out, it may exhaust itself really quickly. As in, in a matter of days instead of a couple of weeks. And if there's a particularly large amount of dissolved organics in the water, maybe even just hours. Keep an eye on your corals to see. I'd say when they stall in getting better, replace the carbon. But don't just switch carbon out too quickly, because it can strip enough nutrients out of the water to upset the corals instead.

[snip84]

The diy bottle skimmer does pull out some nasty stuff. Im going to buy some more LR tomorrow and rearange the rockwork or even change 1 or 2 stones out. because i bet they are leaking something. they did live trough all the mistakes i have done as an rookie.