My Tank Needs Help

[jimk60]

Alk swings is stressful. Running high alk with low nutrient is also like playing with fire. You will have people tell you all these amazing tanks that run high alk but there's a reason most reputable LFS runs alk between 6-8. Going from 9-11 over two weeks may have been the breaking point along with the low 0.04 phosphate.

Agreed that your alk is too high at 11but raised over two weeks would not be a problem. Phosphate at .04 is not low

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Agreed that your alk is too high at 11but raised over two weeks would not be a problem. Phosphate at .04 is not low

It's low, but may not be the problem.

 

[bradleym]

Alk swings is stressful. Running high alk with low nutrient is also like playing with fire. You will have people tell you all these amazing tanks that run high alk but there's a reason most reputable LFS runs alk between 6-8. Going from 9-11 over two weeks may have been the breaking point along with the low 0.04 phosphate.

Again, the problem began when the alkalinity was at 9, and had not changed for months. I raised the alkalinity after things started dying in an attempt to stabilize the PH, but it is definitely not the cause of the issue. If we could please move on, I would appreciate any helpful advice on how to resolve the original issue.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So most of your losses seem to be inverts newer to your tank. Could they have already been in distress when you purchased them?

 

[jimk60]

It's low, but may not be the problem.

I believe Randy Holmes Farley recommends phosphate between .02 and .1. I would take his advice over anyone personally

 

[bradleym]

So most of your losses seem to be inverts newer to your tank. Could they have already been in distress when you purchased them?

It is possible, but all except one appeared to be in good health, and stayed healthy in appearance for at least a week or two before starting to decline

I also lost a Ritteri anemone after 6 months. No deflating, just wandering and shrinking until it finally crashed. It seems to me that, if it was sick upon arrival, it would have deflated during the decline. This is the normal response to illness with this species, but it did not occur here. I also am not aware of a sick Riterri lasting six months without any treatment, which is why I keep coming back to it.

Regarding the PH issue (and possibly the original issue as well) I think I've made some progress, so I'll share what I am seeing in just a few minutes, once I figure out how to explain it.

 

[bradleym]

So, regarding the low pH of the tank, I think I made progress. In order to explain, I have to tell some history.

Originally, years ago, my tank had a skimmer, and a plumbed-in frag tank. At some point, I took out the skimmer because I was constantly running low on nutrients. At the time, I watched for any impact on the PH but there was none.

A few months ago, I received a frag with a nuisance turf algae, and it took over my frag tank. I disconnected the frag tank from the main system, and have been trying several methods of trying to kill the algae, all with no success. Ultimately, I've been giving most of my energy to manual removal, and spot treating with hydrogen peroxide.

I didn't notice this issue in the main tank at that time, but I'm now suspecting that the frag tank aeration supplemented what I lost when I removed the skimmer - but all along I've needed at least one of the two. Based on the comments about increasing the gas exchange, I decided to reconnect the frag tank to see if it had in fact played an unexpected role in this situation, and it definitely appears to be making a difference.

You can see the sharp increases on the left from when I was dosing before reaching my alkalinity of 11, and you can see the low average in the middle after the initial dosing effect wore off. Then you can see the gradual increase on the right from 12 hours ago when I reconnected the frag tank. No other changes were made that would impact the PH (no dosing, no water changes, etc.). It appears to be holding steady around 8, and it so far doesn't appear to be swinging as far either, which is a huge improvement.

Any additional thoughts are welcome. For now I'm just going to give it a few days and watch the levels.

P.S. Please don't give me grief on the spikes, the area I dose at is directly next to the probe in my sump.

 

[Pickle_soup]

I am anti dosing person for pH. There is a simple solution that will save you time, money, and aggravation, and will make your tank easier to maintain. Get a refugium and run make sure to run it at night too. It's a simple solution. Even a HOB is a viable choice. Dosing is an unnecessary number chasing. But that's just my 5 cents.

 

[bradleym]

I am anti dosing person for pH. There is a simple solution that will save you time, money, and aggravation, and will make your tank easier to maintain. Get a refugium and run make sure to run it at night too. It's a simple solution. Even a HOB is a viable choice. Dosing is an unnecessary number chasing. But that's just my 5 cents.

I have a 100g sump/refugium full of cheato and caulerpa that runs opposite my main display's light schedule.

 

[Pickle_soup]

I have a 100g sump/refugium full of cheato and caulerpa that runs opposite my main display's light schedule.

And you still have all these pH issues? I am lost. I will just go back to my cave. Sorry.

 

[bradleym]

And you still have all these pH issues? I am lost. I will just go back to my cave. Sorry.

No apologies necessary, I appreciate any suggestions at this point. I just want the tank to thrive again.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So, regarding the low pH of the tank, I think I made progress. In order to explain, I have to tell some history.

Originally, years ago, my tank had a skimmer, and a plumbed-in frag tank. At some point, I took out the skimmer because I was constantly running low on nutrients. At the time, I watched for any impact on the PH but there was none.

A few months ago, I received a frag with a nuisance turf algae, and it took over my frag tank. I disconnected the frag tank from the main system, and have been trying several methods of trying to kill the algae, all with no success. Ultimately, I've been giving most of my energy to manual removal, and spot treating with hydrogen peroxide.

I didn't notice this issue in the main tank at that time, but I'm now suspecting that the frag tank aeration supplemented what I lost when I removed the skimmer - but all along I've needed at least one of the two. Based on the comments about increasing the gas exchange, I decided to reconnect the frag tank to see if it had in fact played an unexpected role in this situation, and it definitely appears to be making a difference.

You can see the sharp increases on the left from when I was dosing before reaching my alkalinity of 11, and you can see the low average in the middle after the initial dosing effect wore off. Then you can see the gradual increase on the right from 12 hours ago when I reconnected the frag tank. No other changes were made that would impact the PH (no dosing, no water changes, etc.). It appears to be holding steady around 8, and it so far doesn't appear to be swinging as far either, which is a huge improvement.

Any additional thoughts are welcome. For now I'm just going to give it a few days and watch the levels.

P.S. Please don't give me grief on the spikes, the area I dose at is directly next to the probe in my sump.

Crossing my fingers that this makes the difference!
(And I won't even point out that this was essentially my suggestion in post #4 )

 

[bradleym]

Crossing my fingers that this makes the difference!
(And I won't even point out that this was essentially my suggestion in post #4 )

Yes, I have been taking ALL the suggestions seriously. Even if the original poster retracts it later.