Added Chemipure and my zoas are dying!!!

[glb]

Hi everyone. I had a very stable nano until about a month ago. I gradually removed the bioballs. Then I removed the old carbon and ceramic rings, which were absolutely filthy. I replaced all of this with Chemipure. I already had purigen and denitrate in the sump. My numbers remained consistent throughout and within normal limits. The problem is my zoas started receding and dying off. I already lost one colony and another one is starting to recede. I dipped in coral Rx and lugols with no luck. The carbon I took out of the tank was three years old. I'd forgotten it was even there. Could the new carbon be causing problems? It's the only different thing. Here's my latest numbers, which are consistent with past ones:

Nitrates: 5-10
Mg: 1200 (I dosed after this reading)
Ca: 400
Ph: 8.0 (because of co2)
Alk: 8 kh
Temp: 78
Sg: 1.025 (had been creeping up, brought down to this number)

I use purified seawater and ro for topoff. I change 10% every week.

Any help in figuring this out would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[retin78]

phosphate is way too high!!!!. And try to bring down nitrates a little more.

 

[glb]

Oh ph isn't phosphate. It's the ph of the water. I didn't test for phosphate because it's always been zero in my tank.

 

[reefpeeper]

What carbon did u use

 

[oigimsar]

How high was your salinity? If my salinity creeps up my zoas close up.

 

[glb]

What carbon did u use

The original carbon I used came with the Nanocube. I'm ashamed to say for three years it was never changed because I forgot it was there. When I replaced it I bought chemipure

 

[glb]

How high was your salinity? If my salinity creeps up my zoas close up.

It crept up to 1.0265 from 1.024 over a few month period. I've begun to bring it down. I now have it at 1.025 and am doing topoffs 2-3 times/day to keep it there.

 

[kes]

it may not just be chemipure, could be a combination of other things. do a large water change several times

 

[glb]

Thanks! By large what percentage?

 

[jeff2516]

People always mention how carbon gets covered in bacteria after some time in a tank. Could it be you removed a large amount of the bacteria in the tank when you removed the rings and old carbon. Since all your levels have stayed the same it has to be something to do with the removal of all that old media.

 

[glb]

People always mention how carbon gets covered in bacteria after some time in a tank. Could it be you removed a large amount of the bacteria in the tank when you removed the rings and old carbon. Since all your levels have stayed the same it has to be something to do with the removal of all that old media.

You're probably right. But if the bio filter stayed intact (I have live rock), what else could cause it? A different change in water chemistry? I never had any ammonia or nitrites at all. I really appreciate everyone's help.

 

[glb]

In retrospect it was foolish, but I thought that getting all that filthy stuff out of the tank would make things better. I want to remove the sponges as well, but I hesitate to tinker with it anymore. I thought the only risk would be a mini-cycle which didn't happen, but my formerly stable corals aren't anymore.

 

[glb]

Here's the before and after pics.

 

[650-IS350]

You've probably rapidly depleted the execess nutrients in your tank, therefor ******* off the Z's. My tank does this when I run new carbon and hook up my phos reactor. I don't know the size and the specifics of your tank and how much Carbon and chemipure your using in conjuction to your tank size.

 

[glb]

I have a 12g nano and the chemipure packet is the small one rated up to 30g I think. Should I remove it?

 

[glb]

I also have purigen and denitrate in the sump. The chemipure is the only carbon I have in there.

 

[TriggerThis]

yank it

I was running alot of carbon on my tank, and my tangs started getting mhlle and the corals all started shrinking

Pulled it all out a week later when I realized what had changed to cause it.
All the corals got larger in an hour back to where they were and three days later the mhlle on the tangs cleared up.

From now on I'm only going to run small amounts of gfo and carbon and only put the carbon in every two weeks or so, not full time.
I'm going to try the chemipure since its said to be the best and just in small amounts for a few days at a time since my tank reacted so negatively to it

 

[TriggerThis]

Also I wouldn't trust the denitrate for a second, and I don't think it's reef safe.
Most of those "quick fix" chemicals are for fish only tanks and aren't safe for invertebrates either.
I would take that out too if I were you.

You really need to look at how your tank is set up and the equipment that you are using.
You are obviously under skimming your tank (my skimmer is an ASM G-3 rated for 250gal. on my 100gal tank)
and overstocked on fish or over-feeding them
Those are what help nitrates build.
Also if all your rock is piled against the back glass it could be trapping fish waste and food causing a never ending nitrate factory back in there as the waste and food breaks down.

Hope that helps. Also do water changes to keep the levels down until you get what you need, not those crazy chemicals like ammonia-x, or nitrate-x, nitrogen remover, etc. No one else that has a reef tank uses those for a reason.

Only carbon (and alot don't) and Phosphate remover

 

[glb]

Also I wouldn't trust the denitrate for a second, and I don't think it's reef safe.
Most of those "quick fix" chemicals are for fish only tanks and aren't safe for invertebrates either.
I would take that out too if I were you.

You really need to look at how your tank is set up and the equipment that you are using.
You are obviously under skimming your tank (my skimmer is an ASM G-3 rated for 250gal. on my 100gal tank)
and overstocked on fish or over-feeding them
Those are what help nitrates build.
Also if all your rock is piled against the back glass it could be trapping fish waste and food causing a never ending nitrate factory back in there as the waste and food breaks down.

Hope that helps. Also do water changes to keep the levels down until you get what you need, not those crazy chemicals like ammonia-x, or nitrate-x, nitrogen remover, etc. No one else that has a reef tank uses those for a reason.

Only carbon (and alot don't) and Phosphate remover

Denitrate is rocks, not an additive. It's an adsorbtive medium. I don't do quick fixes on my tank and I don't add chemicals. The equipment has been the same all along and the corals are thriving. I'm not over feeding and there's plenty of room between the rocks. I appreciate advice but you might want to think about your tone.

 

[glb]

I meant when the corals were thriving.