HELP! -Tank is going downhill fast

[BStreetReefers]

Hi There.

I am hoping to get some immediate help. The last few days my tank has started to go downhill fast.

My current stats are:
Ph 8.2
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Calcium 460
KH 214.8
Phosphate 2.0

A little background. We had a terrible case of ich. We had the fish in a qt, but we still took the filters out and were dosing with PolypLab Medic. In total the filters were out for 45 days. We did water changes every 4 days to keep up with the levels, and we were anle to keep everything within our tank range. After we put the ChemiPures back in we gave it a day or two and put the fish back in (they all look really healthy now). A few days after that we noticed and alge bloom (as you can see we are still fighting it). I purchased a UV light. While we were waiting for that to come in we dosed the tank with Reef-Fresh and Waste Away. *side note i think thats why my phosphates are so high, because thats all breaking down.

Another thing we noticed is we were having weird temp swings in the tank (it was going from 79f - 81f over the course of the day which never happened before). I rigged up a system to keep the lid open a crack to allow for better airflow while the white light was on. That seemed to help regulate, we seem to be holding steady with 78.4 in the morning to 79.2 in the evening.

So is it the swing in temp? The alge? A bacteria issue?

In the meantime, in the last few days we went from having beautiful tank with full and vibrant softies... to this.

Im devastated to think i am going to lose my tank. We are dipping the corals now, and doing a 10 gallon water change today, and cleaning the glass. .

Please tell me its not too late and there is still a chance to revive them!

 

[brandon429]

Yes they can be saved, read this whole thread:

Nuked Tank

I got great answers the first time. I did something (I think) wrong to my tank and literally wiped out several corals virtually overnight. Causes... A) Filter Socks that were washed with bleach and detergent, although rinsed twice. Could be the problem. B) Stirred up over 50% of my DSB working...

www.reef2reef.com

be quickly willing, key

before reading decrease your white light intensity it burns distressed corals. The first crash arrest move when its unrelated to ammonia, yours is unrelated to api ammonia or nitrite measures, is to drop white light intensity it’s specifically a bleacher.

even if after reading you take till thursday to decide a plan of action, have your light intensity dropped during coral stress events.

 

[brandon429]

It’s time to take the tank apart and clean out accumulations that we can see, and that shift critical physical and chemical states in your reef. The fix for your tank is certain, and not in doubt. Isnt that better than three pages of waffling about you can just fix this reef today, if you want.

 

[brandon429]

We found a time where patience is not key it's detrimental


that's interesting because that's been a hard fast rule in reefing for 30 years

 

[BStreetReefers]

It’s time to take the tank apart and clean out accumulations that we can see, and that shift critical physical and chemical states in your reef. The fix for your tank is certain, and not in doubt. Isnt that better than three pages of waffling about you can just fix this reef today, if you want.

ok, we turned the white light down to give everyone a rest. We are making new water now and before we do the water change we will take the big rocks out and give them a scrub, as well as take care of all the other green. I really appreciate the quick response on this. The other thread you posted was really helpful too so thank you.

 

[BStreetReefers]

We found a time where patience is not key it's detrimental


that's interesting because that's been a hard fast rule in reefing for 30 years

We couldnt agree more, and found that out the hard way back in the beginning. The last thing I want to do is over chemical as a bandaid, so understanding the problem is my goal. Thank you.

 

[brandon429]

how big is that tank/looks rather large vol?

asking because: de clouding and light drop and feed/water change reinstatement is the literal rehab action to save it, the CPR. but water makeup is what makes large tankers have the biggest headaches, securing 75 gallons of heated/ready water etc.


water purity isn't the critical action for crash / coral tissue loss arrest, that's long term tuning so if in the end you need to drain off this clearish water, do the total cleaning run, and put back mostly current water (on top of totally cleared surfaces) then that is 2nd place and can work.


we want to eliminate time delay due to securing all new water, if that's an issue.

 

[brandon429]

**there was a sand cleaning detail in our work links, total aquarium cleaning top to bottom, no more films or scums left in place. anything shy of that thorough is a risk of amplifying problems vs fixing because the reassembled tank will be cloudy, vs 100% cloud free.


cloud free= skip cycle, cloud = cycle loss

whereas complete disassembly cleaning shown in the work links in that thread are the saving action, fine line, no in between.

given that tank's size, will it be hard to be that through? all rocks can be swished in saltwater after cleaning, and no casting comes off?

fish held in buckets alone, not with rocks

sand is never removed or cleaned while in tank....so many critical details to align n verify before we begin.

 

[kevin_e]

That alk at 218 ppm is very high. Has it always been or is that a recent change? Those temperatures variations are more than acceptable. Mine fluctuates numerous times a day.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You sure that is the correct alk reading?
I would personally verify your readings by taking a large WATER SAMPLE TO A TRUSTED LFS and have them test water for you to verify and to compare with your readings.
What test kit(s) are you using?
What is your salinity ?
Tank temperature?

 

[BStreetReefers]

That alk at 218 ppm is very high. Has it always been or is that a recent change? Those temperatures variations are more than acceptable. Mine fluctuates numerous times a day.

Yes our alk has always been a little on the high side. We actually just changed salt to see if we can get that number down a bit. We are starting a journal to see if we can identify and trends.

 

[kevin_e]

Yes our alk has always been a little on the high side. We actually just changed salt to see if we can get that number down a bit. We are starting a journal to see if we can identify and trends.

I did the same. Using red sea non-pro. Alk. mixes at about 7.9 dKH, on this current batch. Having said that, I also bought this product to drop alk. in my salt mix to like 4-5 dKH to expedite as Randy told me it would take ~30 water changes to get from ~10 dKH to ~7.5 dKH.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I gotta say, in this case a drastic change is necessary. Something went askew and sometimes we cannot know what exactly it is. I would follow brandon249 for a full clean out. Basically, remove the rocks into a separate saltwater bin, move all corals and animals to a holding tank of some sort.
Remove the water and clean the tank thoroughly. Just use tap water to clean the tanks and other equipment. Clean all the sump stuff, be it pumps, powerheads filters, protein skimmer, etc.
Fill tank up with fresh saltwater (that has been siting for at least 24 hours or so. Depends on your salt mix.
Scrub the rocks well with metal brush or similar and then rinse in the saltwater really well. Place back into tank when cleaned.
Make sure rocks not causing any fogginess or too much debris.
Add animals back in. Maybe some bacteria added for the heck of it.

I have done this with my 40g and 20g often enough. My 6g traveling I do it every time I go to new outreach program to have nice clean tank. My 210g was a modified version of this due to no holding areas of animals. Still moved out all rock and animals I could.

Good luck!

 

[Dom]

@kevin_e

Wow.... that ALK isn't on the high side, but in orbit! I'm with Vettguy; take a sample to a LFS to get the number confirmed. My ALK sits in the 8-8.5 range.

It can be difficult to resist making quick changes to correct chemistry. But remember; the shock of drastic changes can be even more devastating than the elevated ALK itself.

Where are you located? If you are close by, I'd be happy to check your ALK reading.

Also please resist running to the LFS and spending money for a bottled solution. If your ALK is really that high and not a mistake in testing, you have a bigger issue that needs to be identified/corrected.

Which test kit do you use?

 

[flabryth]

Hi There.

I am hoping to get some immediate help. The last few days my tank has started to go downhill fast.

My current stats are:
Ph 8.2
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Calcium 460
KH 214.8
Phosphate 2.0

A little background. We had a terrible case of ich. We had the fish in a qt, but we still took the filters out and were dosing with PolypLab Medic. In total the filters were out for 45 days. We did water changes every 4 days to keep up with the levels, and we were anle to keep everything within our tank range. After we put the ChemiPures back in we gave it a day or two and put the fish back in (they all look really healthy now). A few days after that we noticed and alge bloom (as you can see we are still fighting it). I purchased a UV light. While we were waiting for that to come in we dosed the tank with Reef-Fresh and Waste Away. *side note i think thats why my phosphates are so high, because thats all breaking down.

Another thing we noticed is we were having weird temp swings in the tank (it was going from 79f - 81f over the course of the day which never happened before). I rigged up a system to keep the lid open a crack to allow for better airflow while the white light was on. That seemed to help regulate, we seem to be holding steady with 78.4 in the morning to 79.2 in the evening.

So is it the swing in temp? The alge? A bacteria issue?

In the meantime, in the last few days we went from having beautiful tank with full and vibrant softies... to this.

Im devastated to think i am going to lose my tank. We are dipping the corals now, and doing a 10 gallon water change today, and cleaning the glass. .

Please tell me its not too late and there is still a chance to revive them!

your tank should go fishless for an minimum of 76 days to eliminate ich.
while that is going on I would take the rock out clean it off and dip the corals and put them into a QT system. Finally I would vacuum the sand, then rescape. YES, this is basically a restart but this what is best in a situation like this.

you need to use a reduced lighting period for your tank and slowly add corals and increase the lighting this will allow your tank to grow the good things and gain the capability absorb the nutrients that will be left over from feeding the corals. slow and steady my friend