Father of 9 (soon to be 10) with 320 gallon system

[Imrahilwjz]

I posted previously as having a 90 gallon tank, with plans to move into a 180 gallon tank. 2 years ago there was an ice storm here in Oregon and my 90 gallon tank crashed.
I now have a 180 gallon tank with a 50 gallon (ish) sump, and a 90 gallon (my old tank) refugium.
I have 4 chromis and 4 firefish in the 180 who are doing fine. I tried to add some snails, hermit crabs, and emerald crabs. They all died. The crabs lasted a little longer than the snails, but everything died pretty quickly. The LFS owner I got them from talked about the possibility of heavy metals in the water. What's the best way to check for that? If that is the case, the only possible sources I can think of are a chunk of concrete in the water or the pump I use to transport water to the system from my salt water mixing system, which dies have rust on the bleeder plug. Should I eliminate one or both things right away, or test first? My best guess is the fish will be okay for now, and that every crustacean in my rock is already dead. Testing shows no ammonia, no nitrates, and 10 ppm of nitrate. I do have brown algae starting. I thought I knew what I was doing, since I was following the pattern that worked very well when starting my 90 gallon tank, but I guess still have much to learn.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Welcome!!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I posted previously as having a 90 gallon tank, with plans to move into a 180 gallon tank. 2 years ago there was an ice storm here in Oregon and my 90 gallon tank crashed.
I now have a 180 gallon tank with a 50 gallon (ish) sump, and a 90 gallon (my old tank) refugium.
I have 4 chromis and 4 firefish in the 180 who are doing fine. I tried to add some snails, hermit crabs, and emerald crabs. They all died. The crabs lasted a little longer than the snails, but everything died pretty quickly. The LFS owner I got them from talked about the possibility of heavy metals in the water. What's the best way to check for that? If that is the case, the only possible sources I can think of are a chunk of concrete in the water or the pump I use to transport water to the system from my salt water mixing system, which dies have rust on the bleeder plug. Should I eliminate one or both things right away, or test first? My best guess is the fish will be okay for now, and that every crustacean in my rock is already dead. Testing shows no ammonia, no nitrates, and 10 ppm of nitrate. I do have brown algae starting. I thought I knew what I was doing, since I was following the pattern that worked very well when starting my 90 gallon tank, but I guess still have much to learn.

How many ? I hope you get sleep- Kudos to you for sharing love with so many !!

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!

When you say concrete in the tank is it just man made reef stone? Or is there some pieces concrete that were not designed to be used in a fish tank.

The easiest way I know of to test for heavy metals is to use an icp test kit. They will test a sample of your water for around 40 different things including common metal contaminants. You could also skip the testing and use a specialized media to remove any metals or other contaminants like Brightwells Purit or Chemipure Elite.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

It's a chunk of concrete that was not intended for reef use. It is the remnant from cutting a hole in a slab. I read online in what I thought was a trustworthy source that aged concrete was okay in a tank. I think I may have misunderstood the post though

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!!

 

[Jedi1199]

It's a chunk of concrete that was not intended for reef use. It is the remnant from cutting a hole in a slab. I read online in what I thought was a trustworthy source that aged concrete was okay in a tank. I think I may have misunderstood the post though

Concrete MAY be used in a tank, provided some strict protocols are followed. @tbrown3589 can help you with that.

Are you using RODI water for your source, or something else?

 

[RedReefer]

Welcome to R2R!!! Glad you joined!

 

[Sean Clark]

Welcome to the party.

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Concrete MAY be used in a tank, provided some strict protocols are followed. @tbrown3589 can help you with that.

Are you using RODI water for your source, or something else?

Yes, RODI. I have a 2 200 gallon water tanks. The RODI water fills the first tank automaticaly via a float. I transfer that water manually to the second using a utility pump and then mix saltwater in the 2nd tank using an aquarium pump and hoses in the tank. I can then change which valves are open/closed and pump saltwater through another hose to my sump

 

[dcsorrell]

 

[Jedi1199]

Yes, RODI. I have a 2 200 gallon water tanks. The RODI water fills the first tank automaticaly via a float. I transfer that water manually to the second using a utility pump and then mix saltwater in the 2nd tank using an aquarium pump and hoses in the tank. I can then change which valves are open/closed and pump saltwater through another hose to my sump

So, we can eliminate one variable.

The concrete is a question however. If you ask my opinion, I would get the concrete piece/s out of the system asap. Do a 5 or 6 large water changes before adding any more inverts of any kind. Then start with some snails and see if they survive. You could pop for the cost of an ICP test (I dont know what it costs to be honest) but you are going to need to get whatever contaminate out of the system anyway, so why not start with water changes and a test snail?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

As others have asked, you're using RODI right? I would definitely get rid of the concrete, just seems like such a risky variable that I wouldn't want. Then just do some water changes and try again.

You can also do an ICP test to check for sure (I think they include metals, right?)

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello and welcome to the channel.

 

[tbrown]

Yes, RODI. I have a 2 200 gallon water tanks. The RODI water fills the first tank automaticaly via a float. I transfer that water manually to the second using a utility pump and then mix saltwater in the 2nd tank using an aquarium pump and hoses in the tank. I can then change which valves are open/closed and pump saltwater through another hose to my sump

Concrete is not recommended because it has silica sand. Usually Portland Cement is used but you have to really cure it good or your pH will skyrocket and can kill pretty much anything and everything in the tank. I just made some cement rocks for my tank. It took close to 3 months to freshwater cure to leach the lime out then another couple weeks of a saltwater soak/cure just to make sure anything that started growing on it in t freshwater soak isn't going to die and ammonia spike my tank. If you have a chunk of concrete in the tank check your pH? I was reading a pH over 11 while my concrete was curing.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

So, we can eliminate one variable.

The concrete is a question however. If you ask my opinion, I would get the concrete piece/s out of the system asap. Do a 5 or 6 large water changes before adding any more inverts of any kind. Then start with some snails and see if they survive. You could pop for the cost of an ICP test (I dont know what it costs to be honest) but you are going to need to get whatever contaminate out of the system anyway, so why not start with water changes and a test snail?

Okay. I was trying to find a saw to cut the epoxy anchoring the concrete to the reef and thought I would ask here first to see if more experienced refers agreed. I'll remove it soonest.