handtlkr Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Ok...Started an Aquapod 24G in December...live rock/sand ect. Did the first bloom and added CUC....did everything by the book. My fishes (4) all seem to do fine, yet corals are a purchace, enjoy for a couple of weeks and death. Now, I'm going through a second breakout of red slime even though I only feed everyother day and only enough to leave them wanting. I tried adding an Oceanic nano skimmer today and did a 5G water change Thurs and doing another 5G change tomorrow (dogsitting 6 puppies!!). I'm so frustrated and jealous of all the tanks I see that are fully stocked with all I want and my tank is just acting retarded!!!! Need I add that I've had MULTIPLE X10 water checks and except for the first bloom everything is great??? Link to comment
matty0206 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 What are your water params now? How much are you feeding the four fish? What kind of corals are you trying to keep? Have you done any mods to the tank? What is your lighting? How much rock? How much sand? Info man........we need INFO! Link to comment
cray0la Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 red slime is a pain in the ass to get rid of. something is off wack whats your water source? Link to comment
FateX9 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 how often do you do water changes? Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Stock lighting, I think about 20lbs of sand, no mods, lights on 10hrs, temp 78ish, loads of rock, I have one candy cane and a button polyp still in the game. I've tried mushroom, cabbage, cleaner shrimp (2) and a pulsing type of coral....all died within about 2 weeks or quicker. I feed the fish a flake and mysis shrimp (rotate) about every 2 days or so. They eat it all, no floaters. I do a 5G change weekly and buy water from my LFS. Once I had him test his tank and my params are better than his!?! I tested the water itself and it's perfect. I just did a stick test and params are still good. I don't have time to do the better test as 6 pups are hard to look after. I'll do that tomorrow when they are napping! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I also think it might be some kind of contaminant in your water source, something we might not typically test for. Where do you get your water from? I'm wondering if it's possible that there could some kind of heavy metals, like copper, in there. Copper is used to medicate fish, but would kill corals. What kinda puppies you taking care of? Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hmmm.....so should I do like a 50% change?? I checked the water I get from my LFS and it's good...it's the only water I've used. The only store close to my home other than that one is a place I'll never set foot in again...so it would be a serious hike to go someplace else. Pups are my friend's mixed group...3 are theirs, 1 is here from the same litter but different couple (vacation together) 1 pip is mine and 1 scottie (4ys) is mine too. It's a circus when they are all up and playing! Link to comment
matty0206 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I have a wild thought........Is there some kind of inscence or spray you use in the house? Or maybe some kind of lotion or soap that use regularly that could be in the water from your hands? Where did you get the rock or sand? Was it live or dead and could it have had something on it that is leaching into the water? Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Good thought,but I'm so scared to do anything near the tank and make sure to use long gloves now. Rock and sand were live and coriline algae is growing all over the back of the tank. I am in the process of changing the carbon sack out, rinsing like mad. Also running Posoband or something like that. Been rinsing the sponges weekly, but took them out today and am getting some filter floss tomorrow...could that have been it???? Link to comment
SPerry Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 How long are your lights on each day? Reduce your light schedule, feed every 3rd day, increase water flow and continue weekly water changes. If you can put some chaeto in a soap dish or something that might help also. Link to comment
airangel Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 What kind of fish are you keeping? Got any pics of your set up? Are you using RO to top off or salt? Do you mix your own salt or buy already salted from the LFS? What salinity is your tank at? You said you are using the dip strip tests right, not the liquid in the test tube stuff? Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Here is a thought. Do a couple of major water changes like you already/are doing. Start doing the normal 20% weekly water changes. Feed TINY amounts of food every 2 or 3 days. Now...just wait 2 months. Dont add anymore livestock or corals, no matter what. Whatever lives, lives...whatever dies, dies. Only use filterfloss and change it every 3 or 4 days. Dont dose or add anything! If you keep using carbon, change it evey couple of weeks, no longer. If you will just let it rest/stabilize for these two months, I bet your algae/slime will go away and things will be looking up. Then start again with corals. Mark p.s. be sure your only using distilled or RO water for your top offs. EDIT: What 4 fish do you have and what size are they? Link to comment
Laura6686 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 red slime is a pain in the ass to get rid of.something is off wack whats your water source? Yes, what is your water source and be careful when buying stuff (coral/fish/rock) for you tank. I bought a piece of live rock about 6 years ago with a little on it and it attacked my tank. I cut down on the lighting, the feeding and did water changes every week until I got it all out. If it is on the sand bed I would pull out that part of the sand bed and throw it out. Trust me, you can get rid of it. I am posting the link that helped me get rid of it: I printed it out and followed it faithfully: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/microalgae/a/aa092800_2.htm Hope you do not give up..... Stock lighting, I think about 20lbs of sand, no mods, lights on 10hrs, temp 78ish, loads of rock, I have one candy cane and a button polyp still in the game. I've tried mushroom, cabbage, cleaner shrimp (2) and a pulsing type of coral....all died within about 2 weeks or quicker. I feed the fish a flake and mysis shrimp (rotate) about every 2 days or so. They eat it all, no floaters. I do a 5G change weekly and buy water from my LFS. Once I had him test his tank and my params are better than his!?! I tested the water itself and it's perfect. I just did a stick test and params are still good. I don't have time to do the better test as 6 pups are hard to look after. I'll do that tomorrow when they are napping! lights are on too long. Stop buying water from your lfs as they could be the source. It is better to mix your own salt water for your changes. I remember going to petco once in my area and one tank had the red slime in it. I told the guy that if he does not get that out of there all his other tanks would get it (since they run all the tanks off the same system). He did not do anything and weeks later all his tanks were slimed. I felt bad for the fish. Link to comment
BibleSue Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Could you be doing too much of a water change causing a mini cycle? The usual is a 10% WC. If you do 5g every week, that might be your problem. Link to comment
Laura6686 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hmmm.....so should I do like a 50% change?? I checked the water I get from my LFS and it's good...it's the only water I've used. The only store close to my home other than that one is a place I'll never set foot in again...so it would be a serious hike to go someplace else. Pups are my friend's mixed group...3 are theirs, 1 is here from the same litter but different couple (vacation together) 1 pip is mine and 1 scottie (4ys) is mine too. It's a circus when they are all up and playing! 50% water change is good but do not use the LFS. Make your own. For the last 4 years or so I have used Oceanic mixed with distilled water. If you have an extra heater, a bucket and an pump to aerate you are golden. Confess I never aerate my water - shhhh. Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thanks all! I jumped to my place and cut the lights to 8 hours, placed in some filter floss, turkey basted some NASTY crap (including a bristleworm) off as much as I could. I've upgraded the pump....how can I get more flow??? I agree with the wait and not add anything for a while..thanks! 1 clown, 1 firefish, 1 cardinal family (I call it Ugly) and I thought I had a watchman goby but haven't seen it for a while now - all small. I still see 3 hermits, and a couple of snails. Somehow there is sand in my back chamber where the water pump is and it spits out sand every so often....is that bad and how did it get there???? Thanks again all!! Link to comment
airangel Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I replaced the stock pump with a MJ1200 also added a Koralia Nano to the display, debating buying a second for the other side for more flow. I've got the same tank. I have my lites on (timer) from 1 to 9pm, I have 70w MH and have a dual fan to go on/off with the timer since its an open top and gets hot. I've got a false perc and 2 YCG, small cuc. Just redid my tank, whatta pain that was. Don't forget to change the floss every few days/weekly. Oh I don't use any sponge/foam (just floss), no bio balls, no rock rubble, no ceramic rings. The live rock in your display is doing the filtering for you. The other junk just collates nitrates. Link to comment
jsleep Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 The sand was probably kicked up by one of your fish and flowed into the back. Having it come out the pump may harm the pump but shouldn't hurt the livestock if it's minimal. Get a powerhead like a HK for some extra water flow. You don't want any dead spots in the tank. That will help with the slime. A lot of LFS use copper to treat their fish. Get your own RO/DI. Air, Water, and Ice has the Mighty Mite for $100. Then at least you'll know roughly what is going in your tank, and you have the most control. Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 I took out the sponges today but still have the ceramic....I'll take that out tomorrow! What is a Koralia and where/how do you place them??? I'll do a search on my own in the meantime. At least I know I'm not alone in this!! I'll keep trying! Link to comment
airangel Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 koralia nano, powerhead, magnetic, sticks to side or back of your tank. Forgot what the flow rate is for the nano, they have also 1-4 I think. Sometimes the 1 is cheaper than the nano, go figure. I wanted smaller than larger since in the display. I got mine online, either petsolutions.com,drsfostersmith.com,petproductadvisor.com....one of them, Am sure can find locally but you will be paying more for it. Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 IMO...what everyone has said is good. 1) Make you own salt water. Buy distilled water or get an RO unit. I dont like buying RO water (when did they change the filters?) 2) Floss. Changed every few days. 3) Carbon, Chemipure or similar. All are fine...change it once a month at the least. 4) Distilled or RO for top offs 5) 10-20% weekly water changes. 6) When changing water, siphon out sand with slime on it. You only need/want 1 inch of sand (max) 7) 8 hours of lights...for now...increase it later if you want. 8) Almost feel like your starving your fish.... they will be fine. Maybe even better. 9) No new corals/livestock/inverts 10) Wait 2 months SUCCESS! Mark p.s. Keep us updated! Link to comment
revaltion131 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thanks all! I jumped to my place and cut the lights to 8 hours, placed in some filter floss, turkey basted some NASTY crap (including a bristleworm) off as much as I could. I've upgraded the pump....how can I get more flow??? I agree with the wait and not add anything for a while..thanks! 1 clown, 1 firefish, 1 cardinal family (I call it Ugly) and I thought I had a watchman goby but haven't seen it for a while now - all small. I still see 3 hermits, and a couple of snails. Somehow there is sand in my back chamber where the water pump is and it spits out sand every so often....is that bad and how did it get there???? Thanks again all!! Did the goby dissappear before or after you tried corals? It may not be the problem, but if it is dead and decomposing in the tank, it could be killing the corals, but not the other fish, as they're hardier. I definitly wouldn't try to tear down your tank looking for it until someone else with better chemical knowledge chimes in on it. It may not be the problem even if it is dead, anyway. Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 I have to say this is the most positive experience I've had in a chat. Thanks again for all your help! Link to comment
Laura6686 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I have to say this is the most positive experience I've had in a chat. Thanks again for all your help! I know, this forum is great. I wish they were around when I started over 8 years ago in the hobby. I had a great teacher but the nights when I was left to my own I had no internet. Nano-reef.com members rock. Link to comment
handtlkr Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 One last question for the evening...should I throw out corals I think/sure are dead or wait?? Link to comment
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