So my tank hasn't been the happiest for a month now, nothing has died but a lot of corals look ticked off.
Ok so to give the whole story. My tank is 2 years old, almost 3, 47 gallons, has slightly high nitrates of 20ppm and 1ppm of phosphate. It has been running with those levels for a half a year now and everything has looked fine.
I decided to try vinegar dosing because I read that vinegar lowers nitrates and phosphates and converts them into bacteria that corals can eat. So to me that sounded like a win-win.
So I started dosing january 10, I followed the chart for 25 gallons (+2ml every for every week), and tested every 4 days to see if any changes occurred. By the time I was about to complete the fourth week my phosphate dropped down to 0.5 ppm and 15 ppm.
Except 2 weeks into dosing I had noticed that some corals had started to look ticked off.
At first I thought maybe my skimmer wasn't pulling things fast enough so the corals were probably adjusting to new bacteria. So I kept dosing like I said until I had reached the fourth week. I noticed that the corals still looked ticked off so I told myself maybe vinegar dosing isn't right for me so I stopped dosing 2 weeks ago. Except they still look ticked off.
Now, this is where the whole essential oil diffusers come into play.
Last night I cleaned out my skimmer and for whatever reason decided to smell it, when I never do, and it smelled like a mix of evergreens and mint. And that's when it hit me that I had started using an essential oil diffuser, in the room over, around the same time I had started dosing. I then thought that I might be able to see it suspended over the water because of the oils so I looked on top of the tank with the lights on and didn't see anything on the surface but I then turned the light off and used a flashlight to shine into the tank, while the room was pitch black, and I could see small oil films, there wasn't a lot but enough for me to notice. I do have powerheads so in the day they are on a high mode where it breaks the water surface but at night its more relaxed where it only slightly breaks the water.
Now my question are:
Do you think I am over thinking it with the essential oils?
How is a skimmer suppose to smell?
Is it normal to have a few oil films on top of the water at night?
Do you think it was the vinegar and I should just wait a bit longer and it'll resolve itself?
Or did the vinegar and essential oils cause a small perfect storm where it caused most corals to become ticked off?
I will stop using the essential oil diffuser starting today and see if the tank improves from this.
Ok so to give the whole story. My tank is 2 years old, almost 3, 47 gallons, has slightly high nitrates of 20ppm and 1ppm of phosphate. It has been running with those levels for a half a year now and everything has looked fine.
I decided to try vinegar dosing because I read that vinegar lowers nitrates and phosphates and converts them into bacteria that corals can eat. So to me that sounded like a win-win.
So I started dosing january 10, I followed the chart for 25 gallons (+2ml every for every week), and tested every 4 days to see if any changes occurred. By the time I was about to complete the fourth week my phosphate dropped down to 0.5 ppm and 15 ppm.
Except 2 weeks into dosing I had noticed that some corals had started to look ticked off.
At first I thought maybe my skimmer wasn't pulling things fast enough so the corals were probably adjusting to new bacteria. So I kept dosing like I said until I had reached the fourth week. I noticed that the corals still looked ticked off so I told myself maybe vinegar dosing isn't right for me so I stopped dosing 2 weeks ago. Except they still look ticked off.
Now, this is where the whole essential oil diffusers come into play.
Last night I cleaned out my skimmer and for whatever reason decided to smell it, when I never do, and it smelled like a mix of evergreens and mint. And that's when it hit me that I had started using an essential oil diffuser, in the room over, around the same time I had started dosing. I then thought that I might be able to see it suspended over the water because of the oils so I looked on top of the tank with the lights on and didn't see anything on the surface but I then turned the light off and used a flashlight to shine into the tank, while the room was pitch black, and I could see small oil films, there wasn't a lot but enough for me to notice. I do have powerheads so in the day they are on a high mode where it breaks the water surface but at night its more relaxed where it only slightly breaks the water.
Now my question are:
Do you think I am over thinking it with the essential oils?
How is a skimmer suppose to smell?
Is it normal to have a few oil films on top of the water at night?
Do you think it was the vinegar and I should just wait a bit longer and it'll resolve itself?
Or did the vinegar and essential oils cause a small perfect storm where it caused most corals to become ticked off?
I will stop using the essential oil diffuser starting today and see if the tank improves from this.
