Waterbox 50.3 AIO problems and solutions?

[Devan Patel]

Hello everyone, . So basically I’ve had a waterbox 50.3 AIO system since December I had a ton of corals and it was doing great till I was back in school and kinda of neglected it and didn’t check on it as much other then to feed the fish. After awhile I had a big crash and Dino’s came and practically wiped the entire tank except the fish. (One died) and after that crash I completely neglected the tank and could care less about it. It would have tons and tons of gha then I would run treatment and cyano would pop up, then treatment again and it would go back to gha. But recently I finally decided I want to get this tank back under control and start an sps dominant tank. Oh and while there were no corals I had my dosers running and when I finally tested the water a couple days ago it was insane. I will attach results, i then did a 20 gallon water change so practically 45% maybe to lower these parameters. I also was not running a skimmer for quite awhile due to the treatments.

07/25/23: 50.3

PH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 40 ppm

Phosphate: .50 ppm possibly

No skimmer active and loss of flow



I currently just tested alkalinity and it’s at like 13.7-14. Calicum is at 500+ ppm plus I can only see to 500 on my redsea test kit. So I’m just going to assume between 500-600 easily. I guess the tank just racked up all these numbers with the dosers being on and nothing in the tank but fish. But with this high alk that means calcium should be reduced which then means my calcium had to be through the roof at maybe 1000ppm who knows



7/30/23: 50.3

Summary: turned off dosers because there were no corals and parameters were extremely high.

Test Kit Red Sea Foundation Pro:

Alkalinity: 10.6 dkh

Calcium: 500 ppm

Magnesium: 1400 ppm

Test Kit API:

High range PH: 8.0

Ammonia: looking like maybe 0-0.5 maybe, doesn’t look fully yellow(showing zero)

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Phosphate: 0.25 ppm

Nitrate: looks to be 20 ppm



Equipment and what I’m running (7/30/23):

Water box 50.3 AIO

Skimmer

Filter floss

1 fluval Phosphate filter pad absorber (for fun)

A bag of gfo

Couple bags of carbon

Filter mesh

1 Nero on max (2000 GPH)

Waiting for my other one to get replaced

1 jebeo sow-4 max speed

1 jebeao slw-10

2 AI hydra 32hd

2 dosers dosing calcium and alkalinity

3 clowns and one baby wrasse.

So what should I do with my parameters know in order to get ready for sps like acros and stuff. Feeding in the first pic. I attached what it used to look like. And last thing for quite a long time I wasn’t running my lights at all to prevent algae growth but I did get a lot of it under control so I turned my lights on just a little. Thank you for reading this if you make it down here. Please help

 

[Devan Patel]

bump

 

[Devan Patel]

bump

 

[csturgis1989]

Sorry to hear your tank got away from you. I would progressively do water changes to get your alk and calcium down but they are not far off so it won’t take much. Looks like you removed the sand bed, was it because it turned into a rock with all that dosing? What test kits are you using? I would recommend just getting the tank back to a stable point and then start introducing corals again.

 

[Devan Patel]

Sorry to hear your tank got away from you. I would progressively do water changes to get your alk and calcium down but they are not far off so it won’t take much. Looks like you removed the sand bed, was it because it turned into a rock with all that dosing? What test kits are you using? I would recommend just getting the tank back to a stable point and then start introducing corals again.

Hi. I removed the sand bed once the crash happened months ago, and just found it easier like that. Everything was doing fine with all those parameters that high. Now that the parameters have dropped like the alk and calcium my corraline algae I can see is starting to deteriorate and turning white and dying. For alk,calcium,and mag I am using Red Sea foundation pro and for the rest I am using API

 

[Devan Patel]

Hi. I removed the sand bed once the crash happened months ago, and just found it easier like that. Everything was doing fine with all those parameters that high. Now that the parameters have dropped like the alk and calcium my corraline algae I can see is starting to deteriorate and turning white and dying. For alk,calcium,and mag I am using Red Sea foundation pro and for the rest I am using API

bump

 

[csturgis1989]

I would just keep alk calcium and magnesium stable for the next few months. My guess is when you removed the sand your numbers swinged everything when’t out of wack. Your tank needs time to settle back in. I would suggest not using API test kits since they have been known to be off. Salifert, and Hanna are good suggestions in addition to the redsea kits you have been using. No need to test ammonia with a tank that has been up and running.

 

[Devan Patel]

I would just keep alk calcium and magnesium stable for the next few months. My guess is when you removed the sand and your numbers swinged everything when’s out of wack. Your tank needs time to settle back in. I would suggest not using API test kits since they have been known to be off. Salifert, and Hanna are good suggestions in addition to the redsea kits you have been using. No need to test ammonia with a tank that has been up and running.

What exact parameters do I need to get in check and stable for an sps tank? I took the sand bed out after my tank crashed. And these honestly I’m pretty much drained off money as of right now. I’m still in high school haha

 

[csturgis1989]

You will want to monitor salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate, and temperature . It sounds like a broken record but the key is stability. Also if you want to keep sps you will probably need to upgrade your Nero 3 for a tank that size.

 

[Devan Patel]

You will want to monitor salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate, and temperature . It sounds like a broken record but the key is stability. Also if you want to keep sps you will probably need to upgrade your Nero 3 for a tank that size.

Well I have two Nero 3, the other one is getting repaired. And then I have to other wavemakers that I can always add in. What are good parameters to chase? Like what numbers should I try to aim for

 

[Devan Patel]

Bunp

 

[MnFish1]

Hello everyone, . So basically I’ve had a waterbox 50.3 AIO system since December I had a ton of corals and it was doing great till I was back in school and kinda of neglected it and didn’t check on it as much other then to feed the fish. After awhile I had a big crash and Dino’s came and practically wiped the entire tank except the fish. (One died) and after that crash I completely neglected the tank and could care less about it. It would have tons and tons of gha then I would run treatment and cyano would pop up, then treatment again and it would go back to gha. But recently I finally decided I want to get this tank back under control and start an sps dominant tank. Oh and while there were no corals I had my dosers running and when I finally tested the water a couple days ago it was insane. I will attach results, i then did a 20 gallon water change so practically 45% maybe to lower these parameters. I also was not running a skimmer for quite awhile due to the treatments.

07/25/23: 50.3

PH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 40 ppm

Phosphate: .50 ppm possibly

No skimmer active and loss of flow



I currently just tested alkalinity and it’s at like 13.7-14. Calicum is at 500+ ppm plus I can only see to 500 on my redsea test kit. So I’m just going to assume between 500-600 easily. I guess the tank just racked up all these numbers with the dosers being on and nothing in the tank but fish. But with this high alk that means calcium should be reduced which then means my calcium had to be through the roof at maybe 1000ppm who knows



7/30/23: 50.3

Summary: turned off dosers because there were no corals and parameters were extremely high.

Test Kit Red Sea Foundation Pro:

Alkalinity: 10.6 dkh

Calcium: 500 ppm

Magnesium: 1400 ppm

Test Kit API:

High range PH: 8.0

Ammonia: looking like maybe 0-0.5 maybe, doesn’t look fully yellow(showing zero)

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Phosphate: 0.25 ppm

Nitrate: looks to be 20 ppm



Equipment and what I’m running (7/30/23):

Water box 50.3 AIO

Skimmer

Filter floss

1 fluval Phosphate filter pad absorber (for fun)

A bag of gfo

Couple bags of carbon

Filter mesh

1 Nero on max (2000 GPH)

Waiting for my other one to get replaced

1 jebeo sow-4 max speed

1 jebeao slw-10

2 AI hydra 32hd

2 dosers dosing calcium and alkalinity

3 clowns and one baby wrasse.

So what should I do with my parameters know in order to get ready for sps like acros and stuff. Feeding in the first pic. I attached what it used to look like. And last thing for quite a long time I wasn’t running my lights at all to prevent algae growth but I did get a lot of it under control so I turned my lights on just a little. Thank you for reading this if you make it down here. Please help

First - your ammonia is 0. If you read the directions on the API test kit - it's 0 - it doesn't have to be completely yellow - only more yellow than the 0.25 reading. There is no reason to be testing ammonia at this point. Second - IMHO - you don't need months of waiting. You can do water changes to give yourself the correct parameters in a week. Third to me the problem is 'what caused the crash' - if it was you just got tired of the tank - I would make sure that before you do anything else - that you are sure you want to keep it up. You should not be using products for 'fun' - use them if you need them.

 

[Devan Patel]

First - your ammonia is 0. If you read the directions on the API test kit - it's 0 - it doesn't have to be completely yellow - only more yellow than the 0.25 reading. There is no reason to be testing ammonia at this point. Second - IMHO - you don't need months of waiting. You can do water changes to give yourself the correct parameters in a week. Third to me the problem is 'what caused the crash' - if it was you just got tired of the tank - I would make sure that before you do anything else - that you are sure you want to keep it up. You should not be using products for 'fun' - use them if you need them.

I got tired after the crash, just cause I built and put some much work into it, then lack of knowledge led to the Dino’s completely taking over. What parameters/numbers should I aim for? I have acros available to test as soon as it’s stable but I’m not really sure how 100% work and what type of parameters they appreciate

 

[Devan Patel]

Bump