Automatic water changes causing awc?

[Notsolostfish]

Okay this is weird tank is 3 years old. And i noticed that everytime i fire my automatic water change i get brown jelly on my hammer. I stop and brown jelly stops.

I lost my joker torch, lost couple heads of my hammer. And im at loss.
All my testing shows stable. I use all for reef 120ml a day.I use tropic marin salt. and i store it in brute mixing bin. I only raise alk to match my tank in the brute bin. I dont heat the water leave it room temperature, and i dont have wave maker there is that the issue? Bacteria growing?

Alk:9.3
Phos:0.39p
Nitrate:4.8
Mag:1390

Im sending an icp test. And ima buy another icp test for the mixing bin. I use tropic marin salt based on brs study for the long storage.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Bump @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don’t know much about brown jelly disease, but maybe it, like most organisms, needs the trace elements that water changes bring in.

 

[Notsolostfish]

I don’t know much about brown jelly disease, but maybe it, like most organisms, needs the trace elements that water changes bring in.

Yeah but why would doing the automatic warer changes causes my corals to die?

 

[JGT]

How much do you change out per day?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I cannot see a scenario where water changes were directly bad for corals unless it’s contaminated, or it permits a pathogen to thrive better.

 

[dank.reefer]

I don’t know much about brown jelly disease, but maybe it, like most organisms, needs the trace elements that water changes bring in.

Yeah but why would doing the automatic warer changes causes my corals to die?

If the numbers you reported in your tests are accurate then you are likely experiencing a nutrient imbalance issue. With Po4 as high as you have listed (0.39ppm) No3 between 15-25ppm would probably be more appropriate. The idea being that these nutrients are needed in a proper ratio and water changes alone are driving down No3 while leaving the Po4 behind. Po4 is very difficult to remove via WC because Po4 binds and adsorbs in your substrate in equilibrium, so when you do a WC the substrate just releases a little Po4 and brings the level back up almost instantly. In order to drop the Po4 down you will most certainly need to use some for of chemical filtration like GFO or start dosing Lanthanum Chloride. Stable numbers are good but numbers in the right ratios can be equally important.

This video with may help to explain the nutrient ratio theory a bit better.

 

[BryanM]

Okay this is weird tank is 3 years old. And i noticed that everytime i fire my automatic water change i get brown jelly on my hammer. I stop and brown jelly stops.

I lost my joker torch, lost couple heads of my hammer. And im at loss.
All my testing shows stable. I use all for reef 120ml a day.I use tropic marin salt. and i store it in brute mixing bin. I only raise alk to match my tank in the brute bin. I dont heat the water leave it room temperature, and i dont have wave maker there is that the issue? Bacteria growing?

Alk:9.3
Phos:0.39p
Nitrate:4.8
Mag:1390

Im sending an icp test. And ima buy another icp test for the mixing bin. I use tropic marin salt based on brs study for the long storage.

This appears to be a 4 foot tank, correct?

And you're not running any wavemakers in the display? That's pretty unusual. Can't say it would account for BJD, but I think I'd add a couple to get better flow.

 

[Notsolostfish]

This appears to be a 4 foot tank, correct?

And you're not running any wavemakers in the display? That's pretty unusual. Can't say it would account for BJD, but I think I'd add a couple to get better flow.

4 wave makers in there. The brute mixing bin doesnt have any wave maker in there

 

[Notsolostfish]

I cannot see a scenario where water changes were directly bad for corals unless it’s contaminated, or it permits a pathogen to thrive better.

How do i avoid getting the water being contaminated?

 

[winzig]

This appears to be a 4 foot tank, correct?

And you're not running any wavemakers in the display? That's pretty unusual. Can't say it would account for BJD, but I think I'd add a couple to get better flow.

100%

 

[Notsolostfish]

100%

4 wave makers in there meant the mixing bin have no aeration

 

[Idech]

4 wave makers in there. The brute mixing bin doesnt have any wave maker in there

I set up an automatic water changing system two months ago and my saltwater just stings. There is clearly bacteria growing in there. I cleaned both my rodi and saltwater brute with vinegar but it didn’t work.

My current batch is almost gone so I will clean the brute with a mixture of bleach and water, and also the lines. I’ll let it sit for a few hours and then rinse thoroughly. I’ve had this in my ATO reservoir as well and it’s really a nasty smell. I run carbon in the tank and it gets rid of the smell but as soon as I step downstairs I can smell the saltwater brute.

I don’t know if this could cause problems with time. For me it hasn’t yet but the setup is new. Just a thought.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How do i avoid getting the water being contaminated?

Use good quality salt mix in good quality water in a quality holding container.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I set up an automatic water changing system two months ago and my saltwater just stings. There is clearly bacteria growing in there. I cleaned both my rodi and saltwater brute with vinegar but it didn’t work.

My current batch is almost gone so I will clean the brute with a mixture of bleach and water, and also the lines. I’ll let it sit for a few hours and then rinse thoroughly. I’ve had this in my ATO reservoir as well and it’s really a nasty smell. I run carbon in the tank and it gets rid of the smell but as soon as I step downstairs I can smell the saltwater brute.

I don’t know if this could cause problems with time. For me it hasn’t yet but the setup is new. Just a thought.

What salt mix? I would not use mixes with organics if it sits around before use.

 

[Notsolostfish]

What salt mix? I would not use mixes with organics if it sits around before use.

What do you mean? I use tropic marin, i mix and i store it for awc? 1% a day? I dont use a wave maker in there? Do i have to?

 

[BryanM]

4 wave makers in there meant the mixing bin have no aeration

Ah. I wouldn't store salt water without a powerhead.

No, I cannot say this is the issue, but I wouldnt do thatl

 

[Idech]

What salt mix? I would not use mixes with organics if it sits around before use.

Aquaforest Reef salt. Is it okay ? If not what brands do you recommend ?

 

[Idech]

What do you mean? I use tropic marin, i mix and i store it for awc? 1% a day? I dont use a wave maker in there? Do i have to?

Wave makers are problematic because they have to be on the bottom (or else there won’t be enough water after a few days) and don’t produce enough surface agitation.

I just bought a 10 watts air bubbler that should do the trick once I’ve cleaned everything.

 

[rtparty]

If the numbers you reported in your tests are accurate then you are likely experiencing a nutrient imbalance issue. With Po4 as high as you have listed (0.39ppm) No3 between 15-25ppm would probably be more appropriate. The idea being that these nutrients are needed in a proper ratio and water changes alone are driving down No3 while leaving the Po4 behind. Po4 is very difficult to remove via WC because Po4 binds and adsorbs in your substrate in equilibrium, so when you do a WC the substrate just releases a little Po4 and brings the level back up almost instantly. In order to drop the Po4 down you will most certainly need to use some for of chemical filtration like GFO or start dosing Lanthanum Chloride. Stable numbers are good but numbers in the right ratios can be equally important.

This video with may help to explain the nutrient ratio theory a bit better.

There is no “right ratio”

There is no ratio in the water column in nature or our systems. It doesn’t exist.