Tank is falling apart

Perpetual Novice

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I can attest to the people saying you moved too fast. I bought two tanks about a month apart. One was used and I helped the previous owner take it down. When I got it home it had been drained for only about an hour and I filled it and added back the coral sand and rock that was transported in buckets of old tank water. The other was a DIY build with fresh equipment and tank. After a few weeks I started adding fish... and in 3 months each tank was littered with frags of all kinds and fully stocked with fish. Everything in the used tank thrived and the DIY tank saw half the coral die-off and about 1/4 of fish didn't make it either. Both tanks have asymptomatic populations of ich because I didn't quarantine perfectly. but all fish in the used tank were comfortable and healthy enough to shrug it off while the fish in the DIY tank seemed to succumb more easily due to stress. The established ecosystem I carried over with the used tank, despite being dismantled and rebuilt, seems to have made all the difference in keeping a healthy tank.
 
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Rscott

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it
 

vetteguy53081

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it
Be it known, never thought of it as such. These things happen- Heck, happened to me. To offer suggestions is great- Criticism not welcomed. I see a dino issue, not faults of yourself and a battle that can be overcome.
For your tank, ChemiClean would be ideal but so costly.
 

Billldg

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it
No one is criticizing you, we are here to help you get thru this. Like I said earlier, YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Lets work thru the problem, please don't give up.
 

Jon Fishman

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I would weather the storm and try small changes, couple day blackout etc to manage..... Seems like you’re doing the right things, and if the inhabitants are happy now, let them get stanle even if the tank os a little ugly now. Let it grpw and go for manual removal
 

JoshH

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it

There it is! The WWC way of doing things is absolutely NOT something that a new reefer should be trying to duplicate. WWC has DECADES of combined experience in growing coral and setting up systems, I might have missed it, but I don't see in your description that you have the same level of expertise...?

All the equipment and money in the world can't buy what you truly need as a new reefer and that's patience. Your tank is new, you're new, you've tried going one route and then switched it up to an ULN system half way through (which is really only for very experienced reefers as it requires an incredibly complex balance of chemistry for it to be successful). You really do need to just stop. Skip the Zeovit and go back to basics. There are ways to handle cyno, some have already been outlined above while people were attempting to help you even with your general attitude towards there questions.

You're right, we don't know every aspect of the build, or you. And that's why we ask questions to get a better idea of your situation. If you don't like us asking questions to try and help you or the advice we are giving then posting for help was kindof pointless then wasn't it?

We all WANT you to succeed, even if you're being difficult about it. Your trident doesn't test everything, no machine does yet. We want your numbers so we can get a good baseline of your tank, your cyno is almost 100% caused by your ULN attempts, remember ULN doesn't mean 0 nutrients, just ultra low. Your coral losses were more than likely the result of a new tank, going through its usual swings as its establishing itself. Montipora are certainly not a new tank addition and will struggle even without the pest issues.

If you wish to succeed, listen to what we are all telling you. Answer the questions we are asking (We aren't asking or saying these things to offend you). Take a step back, stop adding/changing things, get some nutrients in there and breathe.
 

Jon Fishman

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There it is! The WWC way of doing things is absolutely NOT something that a new reefer should be trying to duplicate. WWC has DECADES of combined experience in growing coral and setting up systems, I might have missed it, but I don't see in your description that you have the same level of expertise...?

All the equipment and money in the world can't buy what you truly need as a new reefer and that's patience. Your tank is new, you're new, you've tried going one route and then switched it up to an ULN system half way through (which is really only for very experienced reefers as it requires an incredibly complex balance of chemistry for it to be successful). You really do need to just stop. Skip the Zeovit and go back to basics. There are ways to handle cyno, some have already been outlined above while people were attempting to help you even with your general attitude towards there questions.

You're right, we don't know every aspect of the build, or you. And that's why we ask questions to get a better idea of your situation. If you don't like us asking questions to try and help you or the advice we are giving then posting for help was kindof pointless then wasn't it?

We all WANT you to succeed, even if you're being difficult about it. Your trident doesn't test everything, no machine does yet. We want your numbers so we can get a good baseline of your tank, your cyno is almost 100% caused by your ULN attempts, remember ULN doesn't mean 0 nutrients, just ultra low. Your coral losses were more than likely the result of a new tank, going through its usual swings as its establishing itself. Montipora are certainly not a new tank addition and will struggle even without the pest issues.

If you wish to succeed, listen to what we are all telling you. Answer the questions we are asking. Take a step back, stop adding/changing things, get some nutrients in there and breathe.


Ha. I don’t know what an ULN system is, but I also don’t dose or test anything other than salt and temperature.....
 

Nanoreefer4ever

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Recycle the tank without anything in there. Go bare bottom if you have to. Turn power head to max
 

doodledreads

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Oh, also, with zero nitrates, I found that I had to reduce my light intensity. I lost a really expensive blasto because I reduced the nitrates to zero with carbon dosing but didn’t dim the lights. Like others said, its a very delicate balance we are trying to achieve.

We are all here to help. So help us help you!
 

reefwiser

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Have been there with several tanks thru the years. One thing I learned is to do thing slowly. Corals are use to a stable environment they react badly to quick changes in the aquarium.
When you see WWC do the fast start up of a tank you are not seeing the whole picture.
They have a large cycled sump that hasbeen running for a long time before this tank was ever set up. Any time people follow companies they don’t see the whole picture. They have several thousand gallons of salt water on hand and are constantly watching their systems. You are by yourself.
If you have a LFS in your area or a saltwater club reach out an ask for help. You can turn this around but it will take time to correct.
 

Jeff Jarry reef

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it
I moved fast and had no problems what so ever the thing I do know is the stability from the start and keep it. Saying that I believe you can have a successful reef tank moving fast is the best thing to do maybe not
But it has worked for me.
 

Jeff Jarry reef

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6 months after two weeks cycle. I have added a few more corals since this picture too.
IMG_20190916_212119347_HDR.jpg
 

Bob Escher

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Phosphates were arou

phosphates we’re around .3 and nitrates at 25 when I was having corals brown out

Now running consistently no3 at 0-3 and .05 po4

no microscope sadly
Brother your tank is only five months old. As others have sai.
your tank is very new in saltwater aquarium world.
to mature it takes at least a year. Give it chance
the word in this hobby is Patience.
everyone here is trying to help
don’t give up and don’t get mad at anyone
 

Rich Klein

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Hang in there. I was reading your post to my wife, who said that I could have written it for sure. My tank is now almost 3 years old and is going great, but I went through exactly what you are describing. It just took patience and time for my tank to mature (and me to let it). Knowing what I know now I would not have even added any corals for the 1st year - just clean-up crew, fish and other critters for bio-diversity. But fore sure I would not have fought the uglies and tried so hard to combat them. It just caused bouts of dino and other stuff that I would rather forget.
 

Stigigemla

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When dinos pop up in my fish tanks I know it is the last stage of the osmosis that need new media.
I change that and in a few weeks they are gone.
I would change the media in the DI stage.
If You want to know when it is time to change media buy a very sensitive conductivity meter like Hanna Dist5. It shall show zero on new RO/DI water. Ordinary ppm meters are not sensitive enough.
 

tony'stank

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Five months is very new for a reef tank. If you started with dry rock I wouldn’t expect to have good coralline algae growth. It is probably cyano. I think you are trying to do things too fast and testing too much. Establishing a healthy reef system requires patience. Testing the water too much can lead to “chasing numbers “ and overreacting.
 

IslandLifeReef

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it


@Rscott Sorry that you feel this way. I think that the reason people say you moved to fast is based on your other threads. I know that I stated that you need to slow down in the past.

Things happen in this hobby. The successful people aren't always chasing issues, they sit back and make small changes based on what they are seeing.

If you just switched to the zevot system, it will take time for your tank to stabilize. Just be patient and try to not over react to small issues. Over reacting usually causes small issues to become big issues.

As far as WWC stuffing a tank with SPS after four months goes, they make sure that their tanks are stable before they add anything. They have a process that they have used many times and have a lot of experience that helps them be successful. I have seen those videos, and I wouldn't consider the tanks stuffed, but I would say that the presence of Coraline algae shows that their tanks are stable and mature enough to handle SPS.

I would suggest that you continue running the zevot program for 4-5 months, or what ever method you want, and watch the tank. Only make small changes if any are needed. When a change is made, wait a couple of weeks to see how that change effects your tank.

Time and patience are your best friend in this hobby, not money.

P.S. I agree that this looks like cyano.
 

jlts21

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I am really tired of people saying I moved to fast
You know nothing of what is even in the tank

there are 5 frags in a 120 gallon tank that is 5 months old

WWC builds a tank and stuffs it with sps after 4 months
They have many videos on it

I have 5 frags in a 120 after 5 months and all Anykne can say is I “moved to fast “
Please tell me out of the info provided what says I moved to fast

everyone!!!!On here has coral after 5 months
But all anyone ever wants to do is criticize me

forget it
okay first, lets pump the brakes. I know it is frustrating to spend thousands of dollars and it not do good. However, people are asking questions to find the root cause of issues at hand and you are snapping at them. Everybody here is trying and WANTS to help, but people generally don't feel real compelled to help someone that is snapping at every question asked. Now to the "moving to fast" comment, I think you did move too fast (and not in the form of livestock and corals). You changed to zeovit and expect there not to be a change in the system? Everything is this hobby needs to be done SLOWLY and allowed to STABILIZE. Like it has already been said patience in this hobby is what makes it successful, not money. Small changes over a longer period of time. Now I don't know how fast you dropped our phos, but dropping your phos from 0.3 to 0.05 in the matter of a day is going to cause issues. Again, small changes and allow the system stabilize.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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