Please help with tank crash

[lilfish717]

Everything in my tank is dying. I can't figure out why. I've been running test and I can't find the problem. Ice had several corals die. A condy and a bta die. I have a lot dominant tank. I don't have a way to monitor temp other then a thermometer in the tank. I feel like maybe my tank is getting too hot. Tomorrow I am going to be checking the temp every hour since I don't work tomorrow. Here are my parameters.

Phos.-0ppm
Cal.-480ppm
Nitrates-40ppm
Ph-7.8
Ammonia-0.5
Temp-80°f when last checked.
Sal.-1.029 sg
Nitrite-api resukts-0.5 ppm/hannah checker results-0.05
Alk-13.1 dkh
I feel like my temp is swinging all the time. Can this cause everything to die? FYI I also run a higher nutrient tank with my nitrates and dkh around these levels. Please help me. Everything is dying an do don't know what to do. I'm still new to the hobby with only about 4 months in.

 

[Wolf89]

Alk too high, nitrite too high, salinity too high
Ammonia is too high, but API tests do that
Nitrates on higher side but wont really affect anything

 

[lilfish717]

Alk too high, nitrite too high, salinity too high

My alk and nitrates are always that high. My salt occasionally creeps up and that's what happened and that's why my salinity is that high. I usually keep it at 1.027-1.028

 

[Irishman]

Have you done a WC since the BTA death?

 

[lilfish717]

Have you done a WC since the BTA death?

No, I have not.

 

[Hallowhead]

Temperature swings could be a serious issue.

 

[Irishman]

Definitely do a WC, probably about 20-30%. Is your tank in direct sunlight? you also might want to bump that temp down. Although you set it 80 a temp swing could go up to 85

 

[Greg Gdowski]

Are you dosing? Or are you using high alk salt? How long do you go between water changes?

 

[lilfish717]

Definitely do a WC, probably about 20-30%. Is your tank in direct sunlight? you also might want to bump that temp down. Although you set it 80 a temp swing could go up to 85

My tank is right next to the window. But it has black out curtains. My heater shuts off at 78° if I remember correctly. Why could I do to lower my temp without having to buy a 200$ chiller. The correlations I am having with this crash are... My new died yesterday, my tank started crashing yesterday, and yesterday was the start of a 90° heat wave where I live... Today I came home from work and so much stuff is dead. :/

 

[Irishman]

Also your tank might not be mature enough to keep a BTA. I’ve been told that a minimum of 6 months Is how old the tank should be when getting one, especially if your not an experienced reefer.

 

[lilfish717]

Definitely do a WC, probably about 20-30%. Is your tank in direct sunlight? you also might want to bump that temp down. Although you set it 80 a temp swing could go up to 85

Will do a water change now. Thanks. I don't think anything that died will cme back. It's always something for me. I can't get this stuff right...

 

[lilfish717]

Are you dosing? Or are you using high alk salt? How long do you go between water changes?

Not dosing and I don't do water changes much.

 

[Irishman]

My tank is right next to the window. But it has black out curtains. My heater shuts off at 78° if I remember correctly. Why could I do to lower my temp without having to buy a 200$ chiller. The correlations I am having with this crash are... My new died yesterday, my tank started crashing yesterday, and yesterday was the start of a 90° heat wave where I live... Today I came home from work and so much stuff is dead. :/

Freeze bunch of RO/DI plastic bottles. And throw them in when the temp rises. Although your curtains maybe black out they could still emit some heat to raise the temp.

 

[Irishman]

Will do a water change now. Thanks. I don't think anything that died will cme back. It's always something for me. I can't get this stuff right...

This hobby isn’t supposed to be fast paced. Take your time and read, read, read. If you have questions about anything feel free to ask.

 

[ScottR]

Are you using tap water for water changes? If so, that would explain your parameters being all over the place.

 

[lilfish717]

Are you using tap water for water changes? If so, that would explain your parameters being all over the place.

Yes, I actually just paid for a Rodi from someone on here about an hour ago.

 

[Greg Gdowski]

Don't freeze your tank unless you know its running high! A temp of 80 is tolerable. How high does it get?

There are a number of things that are not adding up.
The alk is high -- yet you say you don't do water changes that much. It should be decreasing over time. What salt are you using?
The phos =0 ppm. With few water changes, that also seems very low. What test kit? Are you using GFO?

Definitely do a water change.
Look for any source of rust in the water (ie exposed magnet, etc.).

What do you mean salt creeps up? Do you mean the salinity has gone up because you are not topping off your evaporated water with RO/DI water?
Lighting and flow can also cause problems if they are off.

 

[lilfish717]

Don't freeze your tank unless you know its running high! A temp of 80 is tolerable. How high does it get?

There are a number of things that are not adding up.
The alk is high -- yet you say you don't do water changes that much. It should be decreasing over time. What salt are you using?
The phos =0 ppm. With few water changes, that also seems very low. What test kit? Are you using GFO?

Definitely do a water change.
Look for any source of rust in the water (ie exposed magnet, etc.).

What do you mean salt creeps up? Do you mean the salinity has gone up because you are not topping off your evaporated water with RO/DI water?
Lighting and flow can also cause problems if they are off.

1-With the alk situation. I have no idea she it's been high. My two runs around 11-12 dkh. Nothing in my tank is taking it in and as you see it just increases. It's at 13.4 dkh right now. None of it makes sense to me either. 2-Since I'm off work tomorrow I will be checking the temp at least every hour to find out.
3-i use instant ocean reef crystals. (I believe that's the name) for cal. ,Nitrite, and alk I have Hannah testers. For the rest it's all api.
4-yes salt creep from evaporation.
5-can lighting and flow cause corals to die? I don't think it would be this do to a bunch dying at once. Can lack of light cause tissue loss? Thanks.

 

[Greg Gdowski]

alk is very odd. That sounds like it is going up for the same reasons the salinity is high. Even so, reef crystals usually puts you around 10-11dkh. Have you tried just testing mixed saltwater? That will at least tell you if your test kits are screwing around with you. I had a magnesium test kit expire -- and it really hosed me over -- after I started adding Mg by mistake.

I would first try to get the salinity in the area of 1.025-26. 1.029 is just too high. That also makes the other parameters higher.

Flow and lights are important -- but not as important as getting the water column with the right chemistry.

Using tap water is also a bit risky. Do you know the TDS of your tap water?

 

[ScottR]

Yes, I actually just paid for a Rodi from someone on here about an hour ago.

Cool. You may continue to lose some tank inhabitants unfortunately. Once you get RODI going and your tank stable, start slowly adding back in.