Unsure what I'm doing wrong

[Reef_Frank]

Hi all,

I've had my saltwater aquarium (red sea reefer 425) for a couple of months now, currently housing a pair of clowns, two GSP's and a Kenya tree coral. However, there have been a number of problems. A fairy wrasse and two gobies have died after a week or so of owning them, and both GSP's have mostly closed up after a week of looking healthy. I believe all my water parameters are fine, which is annoying as a have no clue what the problem could be. I'll add all the parameters below - if anyone could tell me any potential problems / causes for the fish and coral dying I would be grateful!

Temperature: 25.5 degrees celsius (78 F) Calcium : 460ppm
Salinity : 1.025 Magnesium: 1340ppm
Ammonia : 0.1ppm Alkalinity : 8dKH
Nitrite : 0.1ppm pH : 8.3

We have red sea lighting on one of the preset settings and a powerhead at either side for suitable flow.

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[SPR1968]

You dont mention the phosphate level which might be a problem for corals if very high, although GSP is fairly tolerant. A good target for various reasons is less than 0.03

Assuming the tank has fully cycled, you shouldn’t really have ammonia at 0.1, so I would get that checked out because that could be the issue with the fish dying.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I suspect possible false readings
What test kits are you using?
Also, how are you acclimating the fish to the tank?

 

[beehive124]

I agree with the false readings. I assume you are using RO/DI water, but if you're using tap water that could be an issue. The ammonia thing is also weird because there shouldn't really be ammonia in a tank that is a couple months old.

 

[Reef_Frank]

You dont mention the phosphate level which might be a problem for corals if very high, although GSP is fairly tolerant. A good target for various reasons is less than 0.03

Assuming the tank has fully cycled, you shouldn’t really have ammonia at 0.1, so I would get that checked out because that could be the issue with the fish dying.

phosphate levels are 0, forgot to add that. The ammonia level reads lower than the lowest reading of 0.2 on my test (red sea tests) so was hesitant to say 0 ammonia, although it is likely lower than 0.1. I will still check this with a different test to make sure!

 

[Jekyl]

Could you post a full tank photo? Wondering if algae is skewing your numbers. As for the fish it was most likely not related to your tank. However disease could have now transferred.

 

[Reef_Frank]

I suspect possible false readings
What test kits are you using?
Also, how are you acclimating the fish to the tank?

using red sea reefer tests but will order some more to account for any potential false readings.
We get fish from a local store (half an hour drive away). There we were advised to acclimate by putting the fish in a bucket and slowly adding water and then taking some out until the salinity matches that of our tank - process takes about half an hour.

 

[SPR1968]

phosphate levels are 0, forgot to add that. The ammonia level reads lower than the lowest reading of 0.2 on my test (red sea tests) so was hesitant to say 0 ammonia, although it is likely lower than 0.1. I will still check this with a different test to make sure!

Yes just get it double checked and then you will know because if it’s correct that could be the issue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

using red sea reefer tests but will order some more to account for any potential false readings.
We get fish from a local store (half an hour drive away). There we were advised to acclimate by putting the fish in a bucket and slowly adding water and then taking some out until the salinity matches that of our tank - process takes about half an hour.

You want to acclimate at least an hour adding a cup of water to bucket every 15 minutes and equalizing the salinity to the tank

 

[Reef_Frank]

Could you post a full tank photo? Wondering if algae is skewing your numbers. As for the fish it was most likely not related to your tank. However disease could have now transferred.

I can shortly yes - not able to right now! The only visible problem has been two cyanobacteria outbreaks (currently been in the second one for 3 days or so)

 

[Gtinnel]

When my tank was relatively new I had an issue keeping corals alive because my nitrate level was always 0. If your phosphate or nitrate levels are actually 0 then that can be hard on the corals.
Assuming the lfs that you bought the fish from keep the salinity of their tanks low (which most do) then going from the low salinity to your 1.025 in 30 minutes seems quick. Before using a qt tank I would spend a few hours acclimating fish to my salinity.

 

[Reef_Frank]

When my tank was relatively new I had an issue keeping corals alive because my nitrate level was always 0. If your phosphate or nitrate levels are actually 0 then that can be hard on the corals.
Assuming the lfs that you bought the fish from keep the salinity of their tanks low (which most do) then going from the low salinity to your 1.025 in 30 minutes seems quick. Before using a qt tank I would spend a few hours acclimating fish to my salinity.

Thank you for this - seems likely that I am not acclimating fish slow enough. How do you make sure the temperature does not drop too low while acclimating for a few hours?

 

[Jekyl]

I wouldn't be so dead set on this being an acclimation issue.

 

[Gtinnel]

With it being a week after buying then maybe not an acclimation issue but acclimating the fish slower is still easier on the fish. I have seen countless threads where Jay reccomends raising salinity much, much slower than most people do.

When I used to acclimate fish immediately to my display I had a "basket" that I made out of a light diffuser panels so that I could set the bag the fish was in inside the tank to keep from having a temp change. If the bag was too big I would use a bucket outside of the tank with a heater that was set to the same temp as my display. I would also use an airstone in the bag to keep the water oxygenated. If I could positively confirm that there was no copper in the water I would also add some Prime to negate any possible ammonia issues, but from a lfs that's probably not necessary. Most of the fish I buy I get from out of state and it takes me hours to drive home so I'd use prime just as a precaution.

 

[brandon429]

SPR1968


there is a need to identify test misreads and also inquire about use of Prime and other conditioners before assessing cycles. with all that bioload, if this was an uncycled tank it would be reported as a crash, there are no partial cycled tanks


there are only misreads and misreports

this is fish disease from skipping fallow and qt, and the cycle nh3 is at .002-.009 because thats what seneye shows on all post cycle reef tanks, which this one is since all the animals are alive after days of feeding, post tank pics for proof not the ammonia reading.


the data stated above= not seneye.

Ammonia Still Up on Day 5 Using Dr. Tim's One and Only

I started off ghost feeding my 10 gallon QT and using Microbacter 7. After some feedback, I siphoned out the food and stopped adding Microbacter 7, and went with Dr. Tim's One and Only. I'm currently on day 5 of cycling my tank using Dr. Tim's One and Only process. On Day 2, the ammonia went...

www.reef2reef.com

that shows how non digital test kits vary, greatly there are no stuck reef tank cycles they’re all misreads

if that poster only had the red sea to assess his cycle, and reported 3ppm we'd all say he was greatly stalled

but what does the badge say on the same water sample=pass

massive disparity in non digital test kits mar every reported param from the readings. A benefit of relaying updated cycling science rules it it focuses on fish disease as the primary concern in every cycle, not ammonia and certainly not nitrite.

conversely, old cycling accepts all stated params as accurate without confounds factored and old cycling science never mentions fish disease preps at any time, much less as the primary concern in all cycles even above ammonia control (it's a given, they're all dosing powerful bottle bac)