Oops - typo in the title. Apologies.
I am reasonably new to reef aquariums - I have had the Fluval Evo 13.5G nano tank up and running since February. Attractive purple coralline algae has grown over most of my rock, but about 6 weeks ago on one particular rock it all bleached completely white in the space of 4-5 days and at the same time my damsel fish died. My local store said my alkalinity was way too low (it was 5.5 and I hadnt been testing it); also my temp was too high (it had occasionally spiked at 83 deg) and finally I realized my pump was clogged and the water flow was low. So I put it down to those 3 things, and fixed them all - I am now dosing Seachem every day (despite almost dosing the max amount I am barely able to keep alkalinity stable at around 6.8, and dont seem able to get it higher - this seems odd to me); I installed a chiller and keep it at 78 deg; cleaned the pump (duh); and removed the rock with the dead algae on it. Since then it seemed to be going OK, so I risked adding another couple of fish - a pipe fish and a Royal Gramma.
Now, in the last 3 days, a large-ish patch of algae seems to be bleaching white again and the the pipe fish died overnight (it was in the tank for just 2 weeks). So this seems like more than coincidence. It's almost like something bad is happening which simultaneously causes patches of the algae to die, while killing a fish (I also have a clown fish and a yellow wrasse that seem to be doing fine; a skunk shrimp also fine; and a Royal Gramma that may or may not be fine, as it has dissapeared this morning (which isnt too unusual))
The only thing that changed before this happened the first time, was the addition of a couple of small green candy cane corals.
The levels I can measure are all OK I think - Ph of 7.9, zero ammonia, zero nitrate, zero nitrite. Temp of 78 deg; salinity 1.026-1.027; alkalinity 6.5 - 6.9 ish (but requiring daily dosing of Seachem 1 and 2). Weekly 20% water changes with store-bought salt water. No change in lighting.
Any thoughts? And help! And thanks in advance!
I am reasonably new to reef aquariums - I have had the Fluval Evo 13.5G nano tank up and running since February. Attractive purple coralline algae has grown over most of my rock, but about 6 weeks ago on one particular rock it all bleached completely white in the space of 4-5 days and at the same time my damsel fish died. My local store said my alkalinity was way too low (it was 5.5 and I hadnt been testing it); also my temp was too high (it had occasionally spiked at 83 deg) and finally I realized my pump was clogged and the water flow was low. So I put it down to those 3 things, and fixed them all - I am now dosing Seachem every day (despite almost dosing the max amount I am barely able to keep alkalinity stable at around 6.8, and dont seem able to get it higher - this seems odd to me); I installed a chiller and keep it at 78 deg; cleaned the pump (duh); and removed the rock with the dead algae on it. Since then it seemed to be going OK, so I risked adding another couple of fish - a pipe fish and a Royal Gramma.
Now, in the last 3 days, a large-ish patch of algae seems to be bleaching white again and the the pipe fish died overnight (it was in the tank for just 2 weeks). So this seems like more than coincidence. It's almost like something bad is happening which simultaneously causes patches of the algae to die, while killing a fish (I also have a clown fish and a yellow wrasse that seem to be doing fine; a skunk shrimp also fine; and a Royal Gramma that may or may not be fine, as it has dissapeared this morning (which isnt too unusual))
The only thing that changed before this happened the first time, was the addition of a couple of small green candy cane corals.
The levels I can measure are all OK I think - Ph of 7.9, zero ammonia, zero nitrate, zero nitrite. Temp of 78 deg; salinity 1.026-1.027; alkalinity 6.5 - 6.9 ish (but requiring daily dosing of Seachem 1 and 2). Weekly 20% water changes with store-bought salt water. No change in lighting.
Any thoughts? And help! And thanks in advance!
Last edited: