nano-cube starting to go downhill

[Puttz]

I just took my water to the LFS and I don't see anything so which would cause the problems I am having.

 

Blasto = shrivled up and doesn't get even half as large as it used to.

 

Candy Cane Coral also shrivled up and much smaller

 

the GSP doesn't hopen as fully as it used to a few weeks ago

 

Mushrooom also got much smaller and kind of slumped over

 

Clover polyps like the GSP kind don't open as fully and are kind of slumped over

 

Yellow Star Polyps are opend but they look all stringy and not as plump as they used to be.

 

I also recently had a cleaner shrimp which has been in the take like 6 months die

 

PH = 8.0

AM = 0.0

NI = 0.0

NA = 5.0

Iodine = .02

Alkalinity = 3.5

Salt = 1.025

Phosphate = 0

Calcium = 390

 

 

I know the PH needs to come up abit

The iodine also needs to come up some (I put a drop of lugols in each day!)

 

 

What can you more experienced reefers tell me.

[lgreen]

Hi,

 

Water changes can just about fix anything.

 

Rx: Water change, and quit messing with the tank.

 

No iodine. Just water changes.

[frag]

You know iodine is very deadly if is overdosed. I might stop dripping and see what happens. Maybe the test kits gone south.

[tinyreef]

Iodine = .02

[...]

The iodine also needs to come up some (I put a drop of lugols in each day!)

bingo.

 

i believe iodine is normally more like 0.0002? ppb, not ppm.

 

if you dose lugols (in that tank size, NC12?) it should be more on the scale of one drop per week or every other week. not every day.

 

do a 50% waterchange (25% + 25%) for the next couple of days and stop dosing the lugols for a while. make sure your water's good too (RO at least, RO/DI or distilled preferred). good luck!

[Puttz]

Everything I've read says Iodine is supposed to be at like .06 which was the LFS also said.

 

A few months back I had 0 iodine and I noticed a significant difference when I started dosing. Everythign started looking much better.

 

I guess a drop a day is not quite accurate... I put in a drop every day or two, and it's low because I've only put in a couple of drops in the last week.

 

I did a 20% water change a week ago, and another this past sunday. Im using premade water from the LFS I think they use reef crystals.

 

I did use some PH buffer to bring it up from 7.3 to 8.

 

I'm really not sure what's going on, water changes have not been fixing it, my corals have looked kind of "sick" for lack of a better term for like a month now.

 

I even replaced the PC bulb because I thoguht maybe they were getting mad that there was not enough light (6 month old bulb)

 

When everything is running as it should I do 1 gallon a week water change.

 

 

Ohh and I just rememberd within the last 3 weeks I also started using a little baggie of phosban, and replaced my bag of purigen that was about 3 months old.

 

Also wanted to add that my xenia really makes a difference in iodine levels... when the xenia is big (if I havn't trimmed it back in a couple of months) tank levels will stay near .06 much easier than when the xenia is huge

[Billa]

Just a quick note and i dont think anyone else has mentioned it but your alkalinity is dangerously low, you need it at about 10dkh.

[lgreen]

what has changed since things started looking bad?

 

figure out what you have done different in the last month, and stop doing it.

[NanoBound]

I have to agree, stop dosing and do a 40% water change and maybe even another 40% a few days later, then stick with your regular water change.

Your alk and calcium seem to be out of balance, to low! The water changes will correct this.

This should make a big difference.

 

It also sounds like ph shock may have occured to.

[tinyreef]

Everything I've read says Iodine is supposed to be at like .06 which was the LFS also said.

my bad, you're right. it is naturally occuring around 0.05~0.06 ppm. i don't know why i've had that (0.02 ppb) rolling around in my head all this time then.

 

but regardless, 1-drop of lugol's even every couple of days for a small tank is too much (unless you're growing red/brown algae by the fistful).

 

I did use some PH buffer to bring it up from 7.3 to 8.

that's an enormous swing. (7.7 to 8.0 is a big change) what caused that?

[lgreen]

that's an enormous swing. (7.7 to 8.0 is a big change) what caused that?

 

I did use some PH buffer to bring it up from 7.3 to 8.

[tinyreef]

i meant what caused the initial pH depression to 7.3 that required the buffer? i mean, that's almost acidic at that point.

[Puttz]

I don't know what made my PH drop so low, and I could be remembering that incorrectly, I have it recorded somewheres at home I'll look for it tonight.

 

I will do some 30% water changes using store bought pre made reef crystal water...

 

I have, since day 1 had low iodine issues, for whatever reason with my current occupants .06 is reallly hard for me to keep.

 

When it was the hardest to keep up I had a huge neon green harry mushroom 8" maybe 10" fully expanded, and a gigantic clump of xenia.

 

I have since removed the mushroom becuase he was just too big, and cut down the xenia a great deal. So I don't dose quite as much iodine.

 

But even dosing as I am the level is only .02 which is .04 lower than natual sea water... so what gives?!

 

I have also always had a hard time keeping the PH at 8.2 it seems to level out at 8.0 or 7.9 usually... this is why I bought the buffer in the first place.

 

Until recently (last 3-4 water changes) I have been mixing my own water from grocery store RO water, and Oceanic sea salt.

 

I keep some filter floss in chamer 3 to catch the bigger chucnks as they flow through. ( I change this each sunday unless I'm lazy and then it might wait as much as 10-12 days) I am considering getting rid of the floss and going with some rock rubble but I'm afraid that if I pack a bunch of uncured LR rubble from the LFS in the back of my tank I'll kick off a cycle and I don't want to do that.

 

-----------

 

Thinking backward to sometime in the first half of April, I added a clown goby. Which I was hoping the clown fish would allow to hang out with him. He didn't and I'm pretty sure the poor little guy was stressed to death, and eaten by the crabs since I never found the body.

 

About 3 weeks after goby disapeared my shrimp decided to give up on life as well.

 

At this point I kind figured something has GOT to be wrong since I've had two creatures die in less than a month. I took some water to the LFS and thats when I found out my alkalinity and PH were way out of wack.... even with the ph and alkalinity levels (I have them at home) the LFS guy said was pretty sure they wouldnt have killed my shrimp, and to just do a couple of water changes. He seemed to think my shrimp dying was unrelated to any water conditions.

 

I did some 20% water changes AND

 

To cure the phosphate problem I figured maybe the grocery store RO water I'm buying sucks, I'll just buy premade water from this other LFS. I also added a little baggie of phosban, and while I was at it replaced my purigen.

 

BTW here is a picture of my late departed goby, hanging out in my now sickly looking GSP http://www.blakespace.com/albums/nano-cube/goby_and_gsp2.jpg this pick was taken 4-16

[gouldaz]

Large temperature swings can cause a large PH swing. Check the difference in temp in the morning and when you photoperiod is just ended. I would also stop the dosing/chemicals altogether for awhile. I really never dose anything in mine. I just run carbon and do weekly 10%. The weekly 10% should take the place of any dosing you may be doing.

 

Possible too that the corals may be cramped. Many corals (Even zoos and shrooms) will wage chemical warfare when placed close to one another. Most of the time this will not kill the other coral, but stress them open to where they may not open, etc.

[Puttz]

I guess they could be mad because they are cramped... but I've never heard of candy cane and blasto going to war.... and they across the tank from each other

 

I will trim up my candy cane coral it's doubled in size in the last 6 months. Anyone in chicagoland want some?

 

Strangely enough the zoa's are one of the few things left in the tank that are doing wonderful. They are fully extended, nice and plump, and look great.

 

Also... for my own peace of mind, is kent lugols the same as regular lugols? Perhaps kent dilutes it, which would explain why I have to put so much in to maintain .06

 

 

Also... temp might be a factor, maybe I should get a chiller to work with my heater? I live in Chicago and the last month or two things have REALLY warmed up. Do they even make a chiller that wouldnt be like super duper over kill for a 6gal?

[ACBlinky]

Just a quick note and i dont think anyone else has mentioned it but your alkalinity is dangerously low, you need it at about 10dkh.

I have a feeling the given value of 3.5 isn't in dKH, rather it's meq/L. If so, it means alk is ~175dKH and just fine.

 

I agree with the suggestion to quit dosing and do a water change (or several in succession). Tiny tanks get out of balance very quickly; recently my 5.5g nearly crashed - alk skyrocketed, Ca bottomed out, the pH was nearly off the chart (between 8.7-8.8). The stonies had apparantly sucked up nearly all of the Ca in under a week! (Growth rate on a few of them is phenomenal). A huge water change fixed things right up, I was lucky enough not to lose anything but now I watch the tank more closely.

[tinyreef]

I have also always had a hard time keeping the PH at 8.2 it seems to level out at 8.0 or 7.9 usually... this is why I bought the buffer in the first place.

 

Until recently (last 3-4 water changes) I have been mixing my own water from grocery store RO water, and Oceanic sea salt..

what's the timeline of the pH problem in regards to the water switch? what's the timeline/relationship between the water switch and overall tank health? has it improved or deteriorated?

 

btw, i thought iodine test kits were not very accurate (except for the really expensive lab-grade stuff).

 

To cure the phosphate problem I figured maybe the grocery store RO water I'm buying sucks, I'll just buy premade water from this other LFS. I also added a little baggie of phosban, and while I was at it replaced my purigen.

what phosphate problem? did you mention that before? i didn't see that.

 

that (PO4) could be bothering the stonys though.

 

 

edit: i just saw you noted the gsp's decline within the past few weeks. that seems to coincide with the water switch.

 

but you also note that the yellow polyps seem off but elsewhere say they're fine. are you talking about different zoos?

[masterbuilder]

Forget the iodine, forget dosing all together. Just do water changes.

IMHO...just test for nitrates and NOTHING else (maybe PO4). The temptation to tinker with the water chemistry is too great. Dosing is ONLY for large tanks that can’t do the massive water changes we nano'ers are fortunate enjoy. Read the replies you have gotten....CHANGE WATER ONLY. Stop testing, Stop dosing.

[Puttz]

I changed out about 30% last night, maybe a bit more.

 

Hopefully when I come home from work today things are a bit happier.

[bdare]

Just a quick note and i dont think anyone else has mentioned it but your alkalinity is dangerously low, you need it at about 10dkh.

Why does alk need to be at 10? Natural seawater is at 8. I try to target around 9. 10 just seems a bit high to me.

 

Granted I'm a bit of a noob. Just looking for the reasoning behind this.