3 simple (sh) questions

[BeejReef]

Good evening R2R.

Just finished nitrogen cycle. Now have two .75" clowns and a snail.

1) How do I know they're eating enough? Probly feed about a half cube of mysis a day, spread out. Seems like 3-4 mouthfuls and they're done. Is that about right?

2) my ph is pretty high
8.4-8.5. Is that a new tank thing? House is a bit drafty and have good surface agitation . Is that too high? Just starting a fuge w chaeto as well.

3) clowns struggle w flow. I have two 1300 gph heads and 650 gph return on 65g dt. With both heads on, they appear to struggle. Even with just one, they sorta hide in the corner . Will they toughen up?

Ty

 

[K-Philly]

Good evening R2R.

Just finished nitrogen cycle. Now have two .75" clowns and a snail.

1) How do I know they're eating enough? Probly feed about a half cube of mysis a day, spread out. Seems like 3-4 mouthfuls and they're done. Is that about right?

2) my ph is pretty high
8.4-8.5. Is that a new tank thing? House is a bit drafty and have good surface agitation . Is that too high? Just starting a fuge w chaeto as well.

3) clowns struggle w flow. I have two 1300 gph heads and 650 gph return on 65g dt. With both heads on, they appear to struggle. Even with just one, they sorta hide in the corner . Will they toughen up?

Ty

1) There are some different guidelines of feeding that you can google. Some daily, some every other day. I would just find one that fits you best. As far as malnutrition, you can spot this by color changes, sinking of skin inward, symptoms of illness, behavioral changes, etc. Majority of problems tend to be from over feeding however.

2) What are all of your parameters? dKH and calcium are inversely related meaning as calcium decreases, dKH will increase. But dKH and pH are directly related, as in the rise of dKH there will be a rise in pH.

3) Are the clownfish showing physical struggle in the flow? I have noticed odd behavior when first introducing clownfish before. They do things such as swim up and down the class, back and forth across the tank, stay in corners. They eventually settle down and then start their pairing process wish is an entirely new process of strange behavior.

 

[BeejReef]

1) There are some different guidelines of feeding that you can google. Some daily, some every other day. I would just find one that fits you best. As far as malnutrition, you can spot this by color changes, sinking of skin inward, symptoms of illness, behavioral changes, etc. Majority of problems tend to be from over feeding however.

2) What are all of your parameters? dKH and calcium are inversely related meaning as calcium decreases, dKH will increase. But dKH and pH are directly related, as in the rise of dKH there will be a rise in pH.

3) Are the clownfish showing physical struggle in the flow? I have noticed odd behavior when first introducing clownfish before. They do things such as swim up and down the class, back and forth across the tank, stay in corners. They eventually settle down and then start their pairing process wish is an entirely new process of strange behavior.

My dkh is 9.2. No corals yet and alkalinity has been stable for the short time the tank has been up. Haven't tested for calcium or magnesium yet (no corals). No nh3 or n02. Nitrate 40-50, phosphate at least 2.0. Both being wc'd down.. and now fuge

The clowns seem ok, but they do get swept around a bit when flow is set random. They seem to be adjusting slowly. Thinking I will ramp flow incrementally, cuz it's well below what would be preferred for even medium flow corals.

 

[K-Philly]

My dkh is 9.2. No corals yet and alkalinity has been stable for the short time the tank has been up. Haven't tested for calcium or magnesium yet (no corals). No nh3 or n02. Nitrate 40-50, phosphate at least 2.0. Both being wc'd down.. and now fuge

The clowns seem ok, but they do get swept around a bit when flow is set random. They seem to be adjusting slowly. Thinking I will ramp flow incrementally, cuz it's well below what would be preferred for even medium flow corals.

What is your brand of salt?

I agree with your decision on the clowns, and it is very sensible. More than likely it is just an adaption period for them, I'm not very sure as to when you introduced them but I would keep an eye on them for about 2-4 weeks. If behavior hasn't improved, or at least changed we may have another problem.

I would definitely test Calcium though. I am willing to bet it is probably somewhat below the threshold of 350ppm.

 

[BeejReef]

Hw marine mix reefer. That's why I assumed calcium would be good w nothing to consume it. Checking now, just to be sure it's not an oddball batch.

 

[K-Philly]

I am a dingus. I apologize, and truthfully it is all going to depend on who/what your reference. Your pH is still within the range, it's just on the higher end of the average.

Most places recommend:
pH 8.0-8.5
dKH: 8-12

These are plus or minus as well, and the values are run off of standards of the ocean. Most domesticated breeds are suited to adjust.

Clarify your phopshates for me please, is that 2ppm? As in 2.0ppm. I believe these are high if that's the case.

As for calcium, some say 350ppm or 380ppm as the minimum threshold.

They are also different for Fish only systems, I gave you the stats more related to the reef system because I assumed that is your goal anyway.

 

[ccombs]

I recently added a 1k gyre to my tank and it really ramped up my flow in certain areas of the tank. My clownfish sort of struggled and got blown around by it for about a day and a half, but now he doesn't even seem to notice it. Same for the whole tank actually.

 

[BeejReef]

I am a dingus. I apologize, and truthfully it is all going to depend on who/what your reference. Your pH is still within the range, it's just on the higher end of the average.

Most places recommend:
pH 8.0-8.5
dKH: 8-12

These are plus or minus as well, and the values are run off of standards of the ocean. Most domesticated breeds are suited to adjust.

Clarify your phopshates for me please, is that 2ppm? As in 2.0ppm. I believe these are high if that's the case.

As for calcium, some say 350ppm or 380ppm as the minimum threshold.

They are also different for Fish only systems, I gave you the stats more related to the reef system because I assumed that is your goal anyway.

Yes, phosphate is crazy high. I did a 45% wc yesterday to get it to 2.0, and doing about 20% every other day til it's not comically high. Just tested calcium. Seeing 490sh. Both my dkh and calcium showing marginally higher than salt label suggests. I'm also very novice at titrations.

The long term goal is a mixed reef. For this week, the goal is to not kill new fish [emoji2]

 

[K-Philly]

Yes, phosphate is crazy high. I did a 45% wc yesterday to get it to 2.0, and doing about 20% every other day til it's not comically high. Just tested calcium. Seeing 490sh. Both my dkh and calcium showing marginally higher than salt label suggests. I'm also very novice at titrations.

The long term goal is a mixed reef. For this week, the goal is to not kill new fish [emoji2]

How ago did you put this salt in? Did you check your parameters before the cycle? If so, do you remember what they were?

 

[BeejReef]

It's been up maybe 16 days. That's when the salt went in. Mixed in 32g drums.
I never did check calcium or magnesium, but Ph has been 8.4 or so from the beginning. Alkalinity has been a rock at 9.2. Ofc, I was testing mostly for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate during the cycle. 3 fully disintegrated shrimp got my ammonia up to 1.5. Nitrate and Phosphate were/are comically high by that point. 50% wc a few days ago got Nitrate down to 40-50 range and phos down from 4+ to 2.0. As mentioned above, presently calcium and alkalinity are on the high side of the range.

I'm happy with the parameters for the time being. I'm probly a month or two away from adding coral. I'm just interested to see if high PH is common in new tanks and will be dragged down over time by maturing rocks and a heavier bio-load, or if it's something I'll need to actively watch to make sure it doesn't go too high. All in all, seems like a good problem to have.

To anyone struggling with low ph and spending big $ on scrubber media and kalkwasser/CalRX combos... all you have to do is replace your windows with 1930's era wood framed, glass-paned, drafty as fudge relics