Obsessive Compulsion + Lack of Sleep = 500$ Worth of Live Stock

[rdnicolas]

Hi I have been working on my first reef tank before I get my larger tank going.

I just learned the most expensive lesson of so far.

I've been having a troublesome time with Bryopsis and hair algae running rampart in my tank until I found a wonderful link with using Tech M to elevate Magnesium levels. The treament went well and I had all kinds of algae dying. One downside is that I had 1 Coral Die from the treament. The coral was probably 30$ so I figured it was a small price to pay for having no algae in the tank.

So Last night around 12am I figured it was time to do a water exchange and get the water parameters back to normal. Everything by the book. All is well....

Until I noticed 95% of my livestock dead the following morning. I couldn't figure out what went wrong until I realized that it was zero oxygenation. So the livestock practically suffocated to death.

I was relying soley on my Deltec M600 skimmer to provide oxygenation. I found for the size of my tank that It was adequate and put away the airstones that I was using with an old Prism skimmer.

One important characteristic of this skimmer is that sometimes when you plug it in the motor won't spin properly and won't pump. Im not an electrical engineer but their manual explains it as something to do with the type of motor they are using.

Well other times I've been careful to check this but last night I missed it. Well the inevitable happened and I had no oxygen in my tank. approx 500$ worth of livestock. Gone. Sucks big time.

The sailfin tang almost single handedly erradiacated my valonia outbreak and I was especially happy for that. Let alone it was my prized fish. I think I'll miss that fish the most.

Moving forward I see algae making a comeback. By the way the only fish that survived were a couple mollies I purchased to help keep the algae levels down. There is also one zebra striped damsel that is alive, at least for now (not looking too good). I think they were the only ones that reacted appropriately by coming up and sucking air at the surface.

Here's the body count from most prized downwards:
Sailfin Tang
Yellow Tang
1 Rabbitfish
2 Oscelaris Clowns
1 lobster
1 Cinimmon Clown
1 lawnmower blenny
1 goby (the white one with pink/orange spots)
1 Yellow tail damsel
2 emerald crabs
3 shrip

I think want to concentrate on buying livestock that will keep the algae down. I'll probably buy another sailfin but later down the road. I'm thinking replacing the blenny and goby should be the first thing to do.

Also considering the results. I might just add a whole bunch of mollies until the large tank is up and running. Any suggestions?

[Joe Reefer]

I suspect your diagnoses is incorrect. How much water did you change?

[michika]

What kind of water did you use ofr your change? What about salt, which brand and what level of salinity did you aim for?

[rdnicolas]

I suspect your diagnoses is incorrect. How much water did you change?

I replaced 30%

[rdnicolas]

What kind of water did you use ofr your change? What about salt, which brand and what level of salinity did you aim for?

I did change from Instant Ocean to Red Sea Coral Pro. I use tap water and aquaclear for declhorination. I used 1.023 b/c I don't have a auto top off and typically top it off myself after I get home from work.

[Jason McK]

According to Delbeck and Sprung Skimmer contribute little to the O2 levels in the tank. Surface tension is where most O2 comes from

J

[Zylumn]

Its very sad about your losses. Reintroduce new livestock slowly. It looks like you are on the right track ensuring the longevity of your next inhabitants.
Kevin

[rdnicolas]

According to Delbeck and Sprung Skimmer contribute little to the O2 levels in the tank. Surface tension is where most O2 comes from

J

Maybe, however I found this not to be the case in my tank. I usually have lots of bubbles mixing into my tank water. The fish also seemed to have calmer breathing than my last setup.

[Joe Reefer]

Did you double check the salinity of both tank and new water?

[rdnicolas]

Did you double check the salinity of both tank and new water?

Yep I have 1.023 in the tank right now.

[rdnicolas]

Its very sad about your losses. Reintroduce new livestock slowly. It looks like you are on the right track ensuring the longevity of your next inhabitants.
Kevin

Yes very sad indeed :( I'll be heading out to find a blenny and goby this afternoon. I might try a pleco but im not sure how effective they will be.

[rdnicolas]

Its very sad about your losses. Reintroduce new livestock slowly. It looks like you are on the right track ensuring the longevity of your next inhabitants.
Kevin


thanks. Yeah my first instinct is to replace everything but then im alittle gunshy after loosing so much $ and fish. I'm planning to buy a blennnie and goby this afternoon. I'm considering a pleco, but I'm not too sure how effective they will be.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Aren't Plecos freshwater fish?

Sorry for your losses. Restock slowly. As well, before you spend a mint in new livestock, I would invest in an RO/DI unit. That may solve most of your algae issues.

[rdnicolas]

Aren't Plecos freshwater fish?

Sorry for your losses. Restock slowly. As well, before you spend a mint in new livestock, I would invest in an RO/DI unit. That may solve most of your algae issues.

Hmm good point. I'll look into that. how much would a decent set cost?

[WhoPoopWrasse]

http://www.reefsolution.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=87&products_id=393
I've been using this unit for 2 years now, changed the media once and it's still great, plus if you buy a bit more and you get your order to hit $200.00 you get free shipping!:mrgreen:

[rdnicolas]

http://www.reefsolution.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=87&products_id=393
I've been using this unit for 2 years now, changed the media once and it's still great, plus if you buy a bit more and you get your order to hit $200.00 you get free shipping!:mrgreen:

Thanks! I've tried just about everything else but this.

[Myka]

What did you raise your magnesium up to? What is it at now?

[rdnicolas]

What did you raise your magnesium up to? What is it at now?

I actually went for 1600 ( I followed the 100/day as the thread described) and left it like that for about a week. The fish didn't have any ill affects. However I lost a coral and my snails seemed to be affected. The Bryopsis turned pale to white and I pulled out as much as I can during the treatment. The Hair algae didn't seem to be affected but I pulled those as much of that out too.

I"ll have to check what it is now but I assume that it would be much lower. The fish also wern't exhibiting deteriorating charachteristics. It was like they were totally fine one day and a few hours into the next day they were dead :(

[Myka]

I am also skeptical that it was oxygen that caused it, which is why I asked about the magnesium. I'm wondering if you caused a big change in magnesium when you did the 30% waterchange which then may have been the culprit...?

You did say that you just changed salt. Is this the first waterchange you've used it on? Maybe it's a dud pail...

[rdnicolas]

I am also skeptical that it was oxygen that caused it, which is why I asked about the magnesium. I'm wondering if you caused a big change in magnesium when you did the 30% waterchange which then may have been the culprit...?

You did say that you just changed salt. Is this the first waterchange you've used it on? Maybe it's a dud pail...

Yep I switched from Instant Ocean to Red Sea Salt. This is my second time using the salt. I did a 30% water change with the new salt before the Magnesium treatment. I didn't realize that the salt can be bad. I did exactly what I did the other times I've replaced the water. before the Magnesium treatment I was doing 30% water changes every two weeks.
If its not the oxygen levles, then I'm completely stumped, aside from the salt and the skimmer not powering up right there really isn't much different that I normally do.

[michika]

Its not common for fish to die when using elevated magnesium to treat bryopsis. I strongly doubt it was magnesium.

I figure your problem is either in oxygenation, or water chemistry. Can you post your full parameters? Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, Ca, dKH, Mg, etc. please?

[rdnicolas]

Aren't Plecos freshwater fish?

Sorry for your losses. Restock slowly. As well, before you spend a mint in new livestock, I would invest in an RO/DI unit. That may solve most of your algae issues.

I thought plecos are brakish fish I'll have to double check that

[KrazyKuch]

Plecos are freshwater, Also I see in your signature that you are using 3 fluval 404's, what media do you have in them???I have found that canister filters to be Nitrate factories unless you change half the media at least once a week....Also I see that you had a lot of fish in your system which would result in a lot of organic material in your water column and when your skimmer stopped running you could have possibly had to many toxins in the water!!

When you pulled the dead fish out of the water where their mouths wide open, cause thats a sign that they died from not enough oxygen!

[Myka]

Its not common for fish to die when using elevated magnesium to treat bryopsis. I strongly doubt it was magnesium.

No it's not, but it is common for fish to die when the magnesium level has a big sudden swing.

[bv_reefer]

sorry for you're losses, but what are you're water parameters corrently? such as nitrate,nitrite, ammonia? also if you were dealing with that magnitude of a microalgae outbreak, I'd imagine you're dissolved oxygen level to be quite low, from all the activity of the microalgae.

[untamed]

I did change from Instant Ocean to Red Sea Coral Pro. I use tap water and aquaclear for declhorination. I used 1.023 b/c I don't have a auto top off and typically top it off myself after I get home from work.

To me, this story sounds a lot similar to the demise of Steve Weast's Tank in Oregon. In his case, his skimmer pumped out too much water. No problem...but he needed to replace a lot of water in a hurry. Because he couldn't make that much RODI water, he decided to replace water using some dechlorinator that he had kicking around...and we've all heard the result.

My conclusion...Either the dechlorinater didn't work...or became a killer in of itself. I think that is your culprit...Chlorine or bad dechlorinator. Don't forget, Chlorine is absolutely deadly...that is why they put it in there.

[bv_reefer]

the first thing that caught my eye aside from the microalgae was using aquaplus, isn't that aloe based? could've been a crappy dechlorinator like untame mentioned, just my 2 cents tho

[rdnicolas]

Plecos are freshwater, Also I see in your signature that you are using 3 fluval 404's, what media do you have in them???I have found that canister filters to be Nitrate factories unless you change half the media at least once a week....Also I see that you had a lot of fish in your system which would result in a lot of organic material in your water column and when your skimmer stopped running you could have possibly had to many toxins in the water!!

When you pulled the dead fish out of the water where their mouths wide open, cause thats a sign that they died from not enough oxygen!

I have 3 fluval 404's with the sponges and those cylindical filter media, other than that I have a phosphate media bag in one 404 and carbon in the other The third one has the fine mesh polishing filter.

Interesting point of the bioload and toxins. when my coral died, I left it inthere four a couple days to see if it would recover. I wonder if that may have caused it but then again I only lost them after the water change which would be odd. Good point of the fish well the sail fin had its mouth wide open but I didn't notice it on the other fishes. Maybe I was still in shock about the sailfin tang. I'm going to check the water parameters again to see whats going on.

[rdnicolas]

To me, this story sounds a lot similar to the demise of Steve Weast's Tank in Oregon. In his case, his skimmer pumped out too much water. No problem...but he needed to replace a lot of water in a hurry. Because he couldn't make that much RODI water, he decided to replace water using some dechlorinator that he had kicking around...and we've all heard the result.

My conclusion...Either the dechlorinater didn't work...or became a killer in of itself. I think that is your culprit...Chlorine or bad dechlorinator. Don't forget, Chlorine is absolutely deadly...that is why they put it in there.


Wow interesting insight I think we might have something here. I usually make my water reaplacement the day before but when I changed it last night I made the batch of water and put it in right away. I think I was pretty careful though b/c I mixed the water for a good 5 minutes and started out with slightly warmer water (to catalize the mixing) before cooling it down to 78 and into the tank. I've never checked if the aquaplus has to be refrigerated. Maybe it went bad!?!?

[rdnicolas]

sorry for you're losses, but what are you're water parameters corrently? such as nitrate,nitrite, ammonia? also if you were dealing with that magnitude of a microalgae outbreak, I'd imagine you're dissolved oxygen level to be quite low, from all the activity of the microalgae.

Ok just finshed the tests. My Calcium level seems really high for some reason.
If I remember correctly it is a side affect of the magnesium treatment.
I've obviously missed something else rotting the tank. Probably the one shrimp that I couldn't find and assumed dead. Should I do another water change? Man this is all too discouraging at this point in time :(

Salinity 1.024
PH 8.4
Nitrite 0.1 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
Ammonia 0.3 ppm
Phosphate 0
Calcium 680 ppm ??
KH 250 ppm

[michika]

Exactly how old is this tank?

I wouldn't add anything to your tank until you get your water chemistry in line.
You should be showing 0ppm for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Your rock should provide enough natural filtration to bring those levels down. You can also do water changes to speed the process along.

Your calcium is quite high, are you dosing anything for Calcium? You may want to consider stopping. Your dKH or alktalinity is also high, 250ppm translates to 14 dKH which is quite up there. You might want to check out this article (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php) for more info on chemistry and the relation between Calcium and Alkalinity.

[aussiefishy]

just wondering if you have check your pH, or alkalinity.

first, i do not think the reason for your losses came from change of salt, skimmer not running or air pump not running.

the most probable cause would be poison, such as from excess use of impure chemicals, like dechorinator, or the elavated Mg might kills invertibraes or other micro-organisms that created a NH3 spike.

Can you give us a brief description of the fishes that were dead? like signs of physical trauma, or certain notable conditions?

you mentioned O2 depletion, did you check this with a reliable test kit?


recommended improvement might be regular testing of water parameters, keep log of these data and create a record of different happenings for your tank. From my experience, i did solved a lot of my tank's problems by checking these valuable logs that i kept over the years.

hope it helps.

[michika]

FYI: KH or dKH = alkalinity

[aussiefishy]

Ok just finshed the tests. My Calcium level seems really high for some reason.
If I remember correctly it is a side affect of the magnesium treatment.
I've obviously missed something else rotting the tank. Probably the one shrimp that I couldn't find and assumed dead. Should I do another water change? Man this is all too discouraging at this point in time :(

Salinity 1.024
PH 8.4
Nitrite 0.1 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
Ammonia 0.3 ppm
Phosphate 0
Calcium 680 ppm ??
KH 250 ppm

KH=250/18.9 = 13.22dKh

1 other question, do you dose any other kind of chemicals regularly? you seem to have such high levels of Ca and dKh at the same time, it is very abnormal, ususally when you hava an elevated level in either Ca or dKh, the other will be greatly depressed.

also, as mentioned by others before, you have NH3 in your tank, that is not abnormal give the fact the most of your livestock were dead after you do testing.

How much pH flutuations do you have between lights on/off?

[untamed]

Wow interesting insight I think we might have something here. I usually make my water reaplacement the day before but when I changed it last night I made the batch of water and put it in right away. I think I was pretty careful though b/c I mixed the water for a good 5 minutes and started out with slightly warmer water (to catalize the mixing) before cooling it down to 78 and into the tank. I've never checked if the aquaplus has to be refrigerated. Maybe it went bad!?!?

I think you have your answer right there. If you have been mixing new SW the day before, that gives the water time to "breath off" the Chlorine. You might check to see if your area uses Chloramine, which is even stronger and more toxic (I think).

Anyway...the Chlorine remover you've been using may not have been working as you think for some time. Or, it might have been removing some CL and 24hrs was doing the rest for you. When you didn't provide that time to vent the Chlorine in the new SW, that poisoned the tank.

Of course, we all know that if you kill enough things quickly, you cause a chain reaction of death.

[rdnicolas]

I think you have your answer right there. If you have been mixing new SW the day before, that gives the water time to "breath off" the Chlorine. You might check to see if your area uses Chloramine, which is even stronger and more toxic (I think).

Anyway...the Chlorine remover you've been using may not have been working as you think for some time. Or, it might have been removing some CL and 24hrs was doing the rest for you. When you didn't provide that time to vent the Chlorine in the new SW, that poisoned the tank.

Of course, we all know that if you kill enough things quickly, you cause a chain reaction of death.

I think this is what happened then. Probably combination of chlorine and lack of oxygen. Ill probably do another water change but I'll wait until tomorrow for the water to settle in this time.

[rdnicolas]

Exactly how old is this tank?

I wouldn't add anything to your tank until you get your water chemistry in line.
You should be showing 0ppm for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Your rock should provide enough natural filtration to bring those levels down. You can also do water changes to speed the process along.

Your calcium is quite high, are you dosing anything for Calcium? You may want to consider stopping. Your dKH or alktalinity is also high, 250ppm translates to 14 dKH which is quite up there. You might want to check out this article (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php) for more info on chemistry and the relation between Calcium and Alkalinity.
Thanks for the link!
At this point I'm cosidering tearing the tank down and cooking the live rock. before I tried the Tech M cure, I tried using a method a LFS suggested. They sold me a bottle of aragonite and they told me to dump it all in the water to make the water ultra murky. the aragonite was supposed to cover the algae and reduce photosynthysis. I was to reduce the light levels at the same time. After trying that and it didn't work I did a water change and then slowly started to dose Tech M. I won't tell the store that told me to do that but I'm now boycotting them b/c they cost me a couple cheap bt anemones AI sold me for under 20 bucks I think. I'm actually more ****ed of at myself for listening to them :(

[rdnicolas]

KH=250/18.9 = 13.22dKh

1 other question, do you dose any other kind of chemicals regularly? you seem to have such high levels of Ca and dKh at the same time, it is very abnormal, ususally when you hava an elevated level in either Ca or dKh, the other will be greatly depressed.

also, as mentioned by others before, you have NH3 in your tank, that is not abnormal give the fact the most of your livestock were dead after you do testing.

How much pH flutuations do you have between lights on/off?

I've never actually tested my ph in that way before. It normally sits around 8.3 to 8.4 and I
I use Kent ph buffer up twice a week (usually drops to 8.1) when I check the ph and its low, I normally use one squirt of cycle every week thats about it. now I'm wondering if dying bryopsis caused an ammonia spike.... but then again the fish still died after the water change...

[untamed]

You seem to add a lot of "stuff" to the tank. I would recommend that you back off and simplify your approach when you restart.

[rdnicolas]

You seem to add a lot of "stuff" to the tank. I would recommend that you back off and simplify your approach when you restart.

Yep finally decided I'm going to "cook" the existing rocks and maybe buy a new batch of new liverock for the meantime. I'll need help from fellow reefers to temporaily take my remaining livestock until I get reset. Any one willing to lend a hand? I figure I'll need a surrogate home for at least 4-6 weeks. If anyone is able to come tonight that will be preferred. Please PM me.

Thanks

Reggie

[brizzo]

Is "cooking" the rock really going to help your algae problem?

If I had to guess, your algae (and other problems) is coming from the bad habit of using tap water. I think everyone would agree with killing the culprit from the start.

I would suggest leaving all as is, get your water chemistry back to where it needs to be with several large water changes (using RO/DI water) and leave your lights off for a week or more as you go through a new cycle from the die off; and see if that gets everything back in line before "cooking" the bacteria out of your rock.

[rdnicolas]

Is "cooking" the rock really going to help your algae problem?

If I had to guess, your algae (and other problems) is coming from the bad habit of using tap water. I think everyone would agree with killing the culprit from the start.

I would suggest leaving all as is, get your water chemistry back to where it needs to be with several large water changes (using RO/DI water) and leave your lights off for a week or more as you go through a new cycle from the die off; and see if that gets everything back in line before "cooking" the bacteria out of your rock.

Thanks for the advice. The thing that confuses me is that there are allot of people expecially at some LFS that state that Edmonton water is pretty darn good the way it is (and they would even swear by it).

I wasn't actually going to boil the rock I was just going to put it in a dark container with a heater and change the water every couple days. I'm assuming leaving my tank lights off for a week would not make the few corals I have happy. With that said, I've ordered an RO-DI Filter at JLaquatics and plan to start using it once it comes in.

[KrazyKuch]

If your gonna take your rock out to cook it I wouldn't suggest buying more cause chances are they might have more bryopsis on it and you would be starting all over again....I think if you take out half and cook it then put it back in your tank, then take out the other half and cook it and you should be good to go!!..

Also You should stop using Kent PH Buffer up, you PH should be at 8.1/8.2 not 8.2/8.4....you will find that if you stop using this product your ph will balance itself at 8.2

[aussiefishy]

i suggest as Untamed did, do not add any more chemicals and correct water parameters by using RODI water and high quality salts.

It is a very very rare occurance that your tank will be O2 depleted. again, i suspect NH3 spike (tank organics immaturity) - from abnormal water conditions.

i have never add ANY dechlorinator or cycle products to my tanks, and it is just fine.

My opinion is go slow, do NOT add any fish or inverts until you are SURE that water chemistry/organics are optimal. your LR CAN build up proper N cycles on their own.

The hair algae CAN be control by using Tangs/Rabbitfish/Physical removal/chemical control (PO4 resins). i don't suggest you boil you rock as this casue more damage to your tank ecosystem longer term.

[Brighteyes_13]

i know im putting in my input pretty late in the thread but i see a couple of culprits in the killing.

1) you said you use warmer water to aid in the disolving of the salt for the changes. warm tapwater is lower in oxygenation than cold tapwater. warmer water has less of an ability to hold onto oxygen. By allowing the water to cool overnight as in previous times you allowed the water to reoxygenate. so i dont believe the skimmer was the issue at all.

2) You added the salt and allowed the water to cool. exactly how long was the salt mixing in the water before being added. partially disolved salt is very harsh on the gills of the fish (i believe its quite accidic?)

3)dechlorination possibly bad. the overnight mixing method would definately have given more of a chance to offgas chlorine, whereas this change was possibly quite chlorinated, even if the dechlorination product you used removed part of it.

all of these things kinda lead to the same conclusion though. The waterchange was probably at fault in some way or another. one of those items alone would definately stress your fish out and cause bad things, but the combination of 2 or more of them could have caused such widespread casualties.

as for your algae problem, i definately agree with your decision to go RO/DI, silicates in the water cause all sorts of nasty algae blooms. thats part of the reason we chlorinate, to kill biological matter in the water.

anyways.. just my point of view.


and dont give up, i just lost everything too, maybe not as much, but an empty tank for a few weeks is better than no tank at all.

[rdnicolas]

i know im putting in my input pretty late in the thread but i see a couple of culprits in the killing.

1) you said you use warmer water to aid in the disolving of the salt for the changes. warm tapwater is lower in oxygenation than cold tapwater. warmer water has less of an ability to hold onto oxygen. By allowing the water to cool overnight as in previous times you allowed the water to reoxygenate. so i dont believe the skimmer was the issue at all.

2) You added the salt and allowed the water to cool. exactly how long was the salt mixing in the water before being added. partially disolved salt is very harsh on the gills of the fish (i believe its quite accidic?)

3)dechlorination possibly bad. the overnight mixing method would definately have given more of a chance to offgas chlorine, whereas this change was possibly quite chlorinated, even if the dechlorination product you used removed part of it.

all of these things kinda lead to the same conclusion though. The waterchange was probably at fault in some way or another. one of those items alone would definately stress your fish out and cause bad things, but the combination of 2 or more of them could have caused such widespread casualties.

as for your algae problem, i definately agree with your decision to go RO/DI, silicates in the water cause all sorts of nasty algae blooms. thats part of the reason we chlorinate, to kill biological matter in the water.

anyways.. just my point of view.


and dont give up, i just lost everything too, maybe not as much, but an empty tank for a few weeks is better than no tank at all.

Hi Thanks for the advice. Highly appreciated. Thats where my God forsaken obsessive compulsive thing came into play. I couldn't feel that I could go to sleep until I had done the water change .:redface: If I had waited one extra day I might not even be posting this thread.

Well I checked my ammonia levels today and they are down to 0.1! didn't realize that it can change that drastically in such a short time. I'll have to check my nitrates and nitrites in the next little while. I'm going to take half of the problem rocks out tonight and cook them.

With people using RODI do you temper your water before you put it through the filter?

Thanks

Reggie

[rdnicolas]

i suggest as Untamed did, do not add any more chemicals and correct water parameters by using RODI water and high quality salts.

It is a very very rare occurance that your tank will be O2 depleted. again, i suspect NH3 spike (tank organics immaturity) - from abnormal water conditions.

i have never add ANY dechlorinator or cycle products to my tanks, and it is just fine.

My opinion is go slow, do NOT add any fish or inverts until you are SURE that water chemistry/organics are optimal. your LR CAN build up proper N cycles on their own.

The hair algae CAN be control by using Tangs/Rabbitfish/Physical removal/chemical control (PO4 resins). i don't suggest you boil you rock as this casue more damage to your tank ecosystem longer term.

Yeah, I have to admit I buy just about anything the LFS reccomends to use. The Cycle dosing weekly was carried over from when we had freshwater in the tank.

[Myka]

I'm going to take half of the problem rocks out tonight and cook them.

Be aware that there is absolutely NO point in cooking your rocks unless you're testing for phosphates. Do weekly 100% waterchanges with RO/DI water (of 0 tds) making sure to swish the rocks in fresh saltwater to clean them off during the waterchange. You should have a good test kit by Salifert or Elos to test for phosphate. Once those those test kits read 0, then you should use a high sensitivity phosphate kit like the MERC one (these are about $80). Once this test kit also reads 0, then you can add the rock back to your tank. This process can take 12 weeks or sometimes much more. If you're not willing to do this, then you may as well leave your rock in your tank because a partial cooking will be a moot point.

[brizzo]

One more thing Reggie,

Don't give up man!!! :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Being a keeper of marine life can be a tough job, and a learning experience; but never forget your love for the hobby! It has its ups and downs at times!

[Myka]

^ Good advice!!! :D

[Reefhawk1]

When making large water changes make sure you match the temperature of your aquarium water. Saltwater fish will stress and die quickly if drastic changes in temperature occur in the aquarium.

Also remember to make slow changes to your water parameters. Quick changes will cause problems as well.

[Thelonious]

Edmonton uses chloramine to treat their water. Running a dechlorinator or RO unit in Edmonton is a gamble due to the ammonia bond.


I doubt it had much of anything to do with the dead fish, but I agree that a RO/DI would be a good investment, and probably solve your algae problems as well. Edmonton's water tests really nice on a TDS meter, but the chloramine makes a proper RO/DI necessary in my opinion. You can get a decent three stage RO/DI on ebay for around 170$.

[vazgor]

i have been useing tap warter for a year now in edmonton with no real isues.
but a friend of mine had a beautiful reef going for over a year and suddenly everything just started dieing corals fish evrything and it turned out his refactomeeter was wonky and he was reading 1.023 but in accuality it was 1.001 now i dont know if had you perameters checked at the lfs but maby it something as simpel as a bad salinity tester.
most stores will test your water for you just my two cents :) oh and if that is the case dont do what he did and changed his water to proper lvls over night and killed off the rest of his live stock :(

[rdnicolas]

i have been useing tap warter for a year now in edmonton with no real isues.
but a friend of mine had a beautiful reef going for over a year and suddenly everything just started dieing corals fish evrything and it turned out his refactomeeter was wonky and he was reading 1.023 but in accuality it was 1.001 now i dont know if had you perameters checked at the lfs but maby it something as simpel as a bad salinity tester.
most stores will test your water for you just my two cents :) oh and if that is the case dont do what he did and changed his water to proper lvls over night and killed off the rest of his live stock :(


Holy crap never thought about this. I'm using the 15 dollar tester from the LFS. If a 100$ tester can go bad, I can only imagine how far off my salinity really is.

[animalcrossing]

check your ph as well .Out here the tap water was at 3.5 probably cause its spring somewhere lol

[lorenz0]

judging by your tag below each post those fluval 404's make me cringe. How often do you clean them? ever thought about getting rid of them

[Chaloupa]

This post is from a year ago guys...