- Joined
- Feb 15, 2018
- Messages
- 165
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Hi,
I am having a heck of a time with inverts and it's only getting worse.
Tank: 70 gallon mixed reef. Kole tang, 2 anthias, bi-colored blenny, and 2 clowns. Several SPS and LPS (SPS grow well in the tank but LPS is hit and miss) and softies (grow really well).
I lose cleaner shrimp every 4-16 weeks. I'll buy a pair, wake up and one is dead. Then almost guaranteed, the other is dead the next day. I've lost about 8 in the one year I've been running. No fish losses except from the very start when a piece of equipment failed. But above stock list has been with me at least 8 months.
Tried two Sea Hares - died. The first died within a week and then the second died within two days
I also tried my first clam two weeks ago after months of research and looking for a nice specimen. Then I woke up and it was gone within a week.
Acclimation process is the same for inverts - float for about 25 mins, then slowly add water over the course of another 40 mins or so.
Healthy snail population, though every morning I see empty shells. But I seem to have dozens and they do breed on occasion. Very healthy pod population with macro display algae for them to breed as well. Blue tuxedo urchin seems to do fine (been with me for about 3 months) and fighting conch also a few months and seems ok.
Latest water test (I test every week) and do weekly 10% water changes religiously.
Phosphate- 0.25
Calcium - 440
Magnesium - 1320
PH 8.2
Alk 11 (this has been creeping up from 8/9. I drip kalk via ATO)
Nitrate - 5
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite 0.2 (this has never come down since the start so I've been slowly adding more live rock to sump and display every couple of weeks)
Salinity - 1,026
Temp - 27.0 C (I have a heater in sump and a chiller with a heating element. Temp will swing between 26.8 and 27.4 depending on time of day but chiller is set within a sensitivity of .5)
Recent Triton report (post clam death but pre shrimp pair death):
https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/aquarium/auswertung-b/icp-oes/86987/
I'm at the point where I really, really don't want to buy anymore shrimp or clams but A) my son loves the shrimp and B) I like their function in the aquarium. And clams to me are the coolest but I won't dare try again until I can figure out what is going on.
Thoughts?? What should I try and change and improve??
I am having a heck of a time with inverts and it's only getting worse.
Tank: 70 gallon mixed reef. Kole tang, 2 anthias, bi-colored blenny, and 2 clowns. Several SPS and LPS (SPS grow well in the tank but LPS is hit and miss) and softies (grow really well).
I lose cleaner shrimp every 4-16 weeks. I'll buy a pair, wake up and one is dead. Then almost guaranteed, the other is dead the next day. I've lost about 8 in the one year I've been running. No fish losses except from the very start when a piece of equipment failed. But above stock list has been with me at least 8 months.
Tried two Sea Hares - died. The first died within a week and then the second died within two days
I also tried my first clam two weeks ago after months of research and looking for a nice specimen. Then I woke up and it was gone within a week.
Acclimation process is the same for inverts - float for about 25 mins, then slowly add water over the course of another 40 mins or so.
Healthy snail population, though every morning I see empty shells. But I seem to have dozens and they do breed on occasion. Very healthy pod population with macro display algae for them to breed as well. Blue tuxedo urchin seems to do fine (been with me for about 3 months) and fighting conch also a few months and seems ok.
Latest water test (I test every week) and do weekly 10% water changes religiously.
Phosphate- 0.25
Calcium - 440
Magnesium - 1320
PH 8.2
Alk 11 (this has been creeping up from 8/9. I drip kalk via ATO)
Nitrate - 5
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite 0.2 (this has never come down since the start so I've been slowly adding more live rock to sump and display every couple of weeks)
Salinity - 1,026
Temp - 27.0 C (I have a heater in sump and a chiller with a heating element. Temp will swing between 26.8 and 27.4 depending on time of day but chiller is set within a sensitivity of .5)
Recent Triton report (post clam death but pre shrimp pair death):
https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/aquarium/auswertung-b/icp-oes/86987/
I'm at the point where I really, really don't want to buy anymore shrimp or clams but A) my son loves the shrimp and B) I like their function in the aquarium. And clams to me are the coolest but I won't dare try again until I can figure out what is going on.
Thoughts?? What should I try and change and improve??
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