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sebnuage

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I'm in a corner right now...
Just got out of a high KH due to a bad test kit , lowered kh over 2 weeks from 15+ dkh to 8.5 dkh wichbis the original salt dkh I buy...
Now STN and whats I think Is FTN is kicking in.
Lost all my shrimps due to high dkh ,
Some fishes and I just found a dead emerald crab as well.
I dont know what to do, should I put a UV light? I think my aquariums bacteria load is off chart... help please
 

Pistondog

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I'm in a corner right now...
Just got out of a high KH due to a bad test kit , lowered kh over 2 weeks from 15+ dkh to 8.5 dkh wichbis the original salt dkh I buy...
Now STN and whats I think Is FTN is kicking in.
Lost all my shrimps due to high dkh ,
Some fishes and I just found a dead emerald crab as well.
I dont know what to do, should I put a UV light? I think my aquariums bacteria load is off chart... help please
Post other water params
 

T-J

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High alkalinity and bacteria really aren't connected.
Not sure what FTN is. Perhaps you meant RTN?
I have a feeling something else is going on here and agree with @Pistondog that we need your other parameters.
I wouldn't put a UV on since you don't know what you're dealing with.
In addition to the parameters, I'd like to see a FTS.
 

JCM

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High alkalinity and bacteria really aren't connected.
Not sure what FTN is. Perhaps you meant RTN?
I have a feeling something else is going on here and agree with @Pistondog that we need your other parameters.
I wouldn't put a UV on since you don't know what you're dealing with.
In addition to the parameters, I'd like to see a FTS.

Yeah 15+ dkh is way up there but it should effect bacteria. Things are probably dying from the wild swing, not much you can do about that but try to keep things stable moving forward.
 
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sebnuage

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Mg 1500 (and going down) was at 1600 for 3 months, kept it high to make sure bryopsis would not come back after a treatment.
Ca 480 (and going down) rised up a bit when corals stopped absorbing the Ca... i stopped doser a bit late
Nitrates and p04 none as of 3 days ago...
I stopped the skimmer + started feeding more and daily monitoring.
P04 0.1mg/l right now
No3 3-4 mg/l right now
Kh at 8.5 dkh right now
Iodide at 0.03 right now

Salt 1.025 as always
Temp 25.3 C (night) 25.5 C day.

Did I forget anything?

On a side note, when the KH was over 15 dkh, the fishes were breathing like they were on a marathon. Only the smaller fishes died.
 

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sebnuage

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I wonder if you have enough O2 in the tank with the skimmer off? Do you have really good surface movement?
Also, have you tested for ammonia lately?
I can't say I did an ammonia test ... I threw it away for being outdated.
But an Amonia spike could the very least be the reason the fishes would be breathing fast.
Maybe from the dead shrimps?

I started the skimmer back on saturday (2 days after turning it off)
Right after starting to see some nitrates and po4 values
 
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sebnuage

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Besides I think you wanted to know if I have good water movement.
I do , I have a sump wich is below the aquarium.
Water gets oxygen while falling in the sump, then there is a waterfall inside the sump.
The water once back in the aquarium is pushed down till the bottom of the tank
 

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I second what @T-J said. Do you have good surface movement? How is your flow? I see one powerhead. How about your return? What does the surface agitation look like?
 

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Also, I don’t see a bacterial bloom so I wouldn’t blame bacteria off the bat.
 
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sebnuage

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I thinks its ok, though I do not have a test for 02
 

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hhaase

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I hate to say it, but need more tests before doing anything. That's way too short of a time period to swing your kh that far. I wouldn't make any drastic changes right now to avoid additional stress.

Did you do that via heavy water changes? It's probably too late to catch an ammonia spike via a test, but going from 0 nitrates to 3-4ppm (1 ppm same as 1mg/L) in that short a time period may be the shadow of an ammonia spike.

Also critical right now would be ph, as shutting the skimmer off could cause that to swing. Particularly if you're in a small apartment or basement where ambient CO2 levels may be higher. This will be a good indicator of dissolved CO2. Just don't forget ph swings between the day and night cycles in the tank.

I assume you chased the kh lower via water changes, correct? Have you checked your salinity?
 
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sebnuage

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Correct, I did chase it down with water changes.
I also checked salinity wich is 1.025 with a refractometer.
My wife do work beside the Aquarium and I suspect CO2 to rise a bit during day.
I do however have lights in the sump to help keeping the ph up at night (from swinging)
The skimmer hose take air from outside the furniture where the sump is.

Here are the steps I used to lower the KH.

I did water changes until it was 12dkh (about 50%)
then I did 10% water change every 2 days. until it was around 9.5 dkh (took about a week with 8.5 dkh water).
I just didnt dose any KH for a couple of days until the KH dropped to 8.5.
Then it stayed there for 4-5 days as I redid water changes every 2 days with the salt mixed with water at 8.5dkh.
Yesterday I started back dosing so it doesnt fall below 8.5 .
 

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How are your corals reacting? You mentioned STN. I'm only reading about your inverts dying. Not to go against what anyone has mentioned but ime Alk swings are a major coral killer, especially with sps, which i didn't see much for sps in your pictures. Just curious... remember nothing good happens fast. Be patient. The loss of your inverts is unfortunate, however I'm curious if you're having any coral loss from this Alk swing.
I 2nd what hhaase mentioned. I wouldn't make any drastic changes so not to create any more stress. hope my 2 cents helps. Happy reefing!
 
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sebnuage

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How are your corals reacting? You mentioned STN. I'm only reading about your inverts dying. Not to go against what anyone has mentioned but ime Alk swings are a major coral killer, especially with sps, which i didn't see much for sps in your pictures. Just curious... remember nothing good happens fast. Be patient. The loss of your inverts is unfortunate, however I'm curious if you're having any coral loss from this Alk swing.
I 2nd what hhaase mentioned. I wouldn't make any drastic changes so not to create any more stress. hope my 2 cents helps. Happy reefing!
 

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Panama Brown

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IMO that loss of coral flesh is from that Alk swing. If you don't have the nutrients to coincide with a high Alk reading you're gonna burn your sps real quick. Best you can do is wait it out and see what happens.

Im not saying you can't keep Alk at high levels, but IME and many others it's just safer keeping your Alk somewhere between 8 and 9 dkh. Stability is key. From here I would just keep monitoring your system. Stay up on maintenance, etc. STAY PATIENT. You can't change the past but you can learn from it and try not to repeat your mistakes twice. Take this as a lesson and improve / sharpen your skills. You got this!
 

Panama Brown

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BTW one quick thought on your Salinity reading.... When was the last time you cleaned your refractometer off and made sure it was properly calibrated? You'd be surprised, over time, how that screw / dial will slowly turn over time / use and cause your refractometer to show improper values? Going back through these posts you had mentioned inverts dying off and it just instantly makes me think of improper salinity, which will also cause a high DKH reading as well as kills verts.... This high salinity coupled with high Alk, over time, is most certainly a killer....
 
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sebnuage

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BTW one quick thought on your Salinity reading.... When was the last time you cleaned your refractometer off and made sure it was properly calibrated? You'd be surprised, over time, how that screw / dial will slowly turn over time / use and cause your refractometer to show improper values? Going back through these posts you had mentioned inverts dying off and it just instantly makes me think of improper salinity, which will also cause a high DKH reading as well as kills verts.... This high salinity coupled with high Alk, over time, is most certainly a killer....
I have the calibration water right over at home waiting for me. I'm so looking for it thanks a lot!
 

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