What is Going In With My Tank?

[Cetus]

Found this on Amazon? Dunno how it'd work like that... Hm...

 

[BostonReefer300]

That's the one

 

[Cetus]

That's the one

Awesome! Already set up an account so hopefully I'll get some results. Thanks for all the help! I hope I can figure out what's going on at least.

 

[T-J]

The top of the aquarium is covered in glass so its laying on top of it and the overflow box. I have a small hole where the overflow doesn't quite fit into and I wanna cover it up so a small fish doesn't jump over.

Ok. With a glass top, any chance the water is getting too warm? Not sure if temp has been verified. Personally, I'd suggest a mesh top.

I'm very hesitant about using live rock because of what might come with it at the same time it does seem like this tank should have algae by now. Maybe add some more dry rock and then dose another bottle of Dr. Tim's?

There are a number of places where you can get live rock where the risk of bad stuff is pretty low. I've purchased some from my LFS and it's just a huge live rock curing vat, no corals or fish.

If you dose more bacteria, make sure you give them a food source if you don't have any fish. You can ghost feed the tank or add ammonia. I'd also suggest a different brand than what you've already used. So, maybe use something from Brightwell or anyone else other than Dr. Tim. Just trying to get some more diversity in the tank.

 

[Cetus]

Ok. With a glass top, any chance the water is getting too warm? Not sure if temp has been verified. Personally, I'd suggest a mesh top.

There are a number of places where you can get live rock where the risk of bad stuff is pretty low. I've purchased some from my LFS and it's just a huge live rock curing vat, no corals or fish.

If you dose more bacteria, make sure you give them a food source if you don't have any fish. You can ghost feed the tank or add ammonia. I'd also suggest a different brand than what you've already used. So, maybe use something from Brightwell or anyone else other than Dr. Tim. Just trying to get some more diversity in the tank.

Temp has been verified and it's with an inkbird controller I might add so I'm fairly certain it's at an optimal level. 77.5 degrees.

I took my Royal Gramma out and put him into a 10 gallon until I can figure out what's going on with the tank. Might drop pieces of food in there once in a while to feed the tank. I purchased one of the TRITON Test Kits on Amazon so I'm waiting for it to come in and see what's going on with my water first. I'm really at a loss for what's causing these fish deaths otherwise. I'll add more rock regardless just I want to get water quality out of the way.

 

[fachatga]

I think that’s a good idea. Something in the water might be getting absorbed into the rocks you already have like some metals. Depending on the test you might be best served replacing the rock already there. One step at a time. You’ll get it going.

 

[Wen]

So glad you’ve got lots of good reefers helping you figure this out. You’ll get there.

My last suggestion would be to dirty up your pristine tank. Add a piece of dirty filter floss from a trusted friend’s tank, invest in a single piece of real aquaculture Liverock from the ocean, add a couple gallons of real ocean water, wade out into the ocean for a scoop of live-sand....


....will your lighting support macroalgae?

 

[Sump Crab]

If it were me I'd ship in a bunch of kp aquatics liverock. But that's just me. Good luck.

 

[Treefer32]

The lethargy of the fish could also be low oxygen. Is there sufficient flow to generate oxygen? if you've got glass covers on most stuff, that could possibly prevent gas exchange? could they be suffocating?

 

[T-J]

I would test for stray voltage! Over 16 weeks I lost 16 fish in my 350. Healthy fish would just fall over dead for no reason. One by one, some days 2 would be dead. 3 days later another 3.. For 3 weeks I bashed my head against wall wondering what's killing everything. Tank was at the mark you're at about the 6-7 month mark. I talked to the LFS and he said have you verified any stray voltage. For me my corals were growing great. So, I was confused. But, he told me that electricity causes calcification of coral skeleton to grow faster and is toxic to fish.

So, I tried a voltage meter. Couldn't figure out how to read it. So, I stuck my hand in the sump and touched something that was grounded in my house in bare feet. And sure enough my hair nearly stood up on end.

I started shutting devices off one by one until I no longer got shocked... It was one of my two heaters that had started leaking electricity from the sump into the display. I pulled the heater and ordered a new one. Since then, two years later. I had 1 fish survive from all that. And he's still alive to this day.

I've got around 26-27 fish now and all are healthy and thriving (and fat). Electricity is one of those mystery killers that's really hard to detect.

I don't recommend using your body as a voltage meter. I'm told that can be very dangerous... Figure out how to use a voltage meter. Mine, the numbers went all over the place, they wouldn't stop on anything. So, I couldn't figure out what settings to use (I tried them all and nothing gave me a solid number.)

Just a thought... Not saying that's the issue.

The lethargy of the fish could also be low oxygen. Is there sufficient flow to generate oxygen? if you've got glass covers on most stuff, that could possibly prevent gas exchange? could they be suffocating?

They already did this.

 

[SWMBO]

This is coming after the death of my flame hawkfish who also degenerated very suddenly one day. With the death of the blenny now, I'm very cautious and wondering what's really going on. The only other fish in the tank is a royal gramma so... Maaaaybe but I'm really not sure because the flame hawkfish died before the gramma was in the tank. I run two Ehaim Jaegers with a temperature controller, fish were eating very well until they suddenly degenerated, and chemicals... I'm doubtful? I bleach my filter sock on occasion but I then throw it into the washing machine, then into tap water and wring it out several times, then into distilled water and wring it out several times.

Apologies if you've already ruled this out, but could there be some issue with detergent residue in your washing machine contaminating your filter sock?

 

[Cetus]

So glad you’ve got lots of good reefers helping you figure this out. You’ll get there.

My last suggestion would be to dirty up your pristine tank. Add a piece of dirty filter floss from a trusted friend’s tank, invest in a single piece of real aquaculture Liverock from the ocean, add a couple gallons of real ocean water, wade out into the ocean for a scoop of live-sand....


....will your lighting support macroalgae?

LifeRock Dry Live Rock

LifeRock is infused with spored bacteria to aid in biological performance, along with millions of micro and macro passage ways CaribSea's LifeRock Dry Rock is perfect for the environmentally friendly aquarist. Creates a mature looking reef instantly 100% safe for all marine animals Unique...

www.marinedepot.com

Wondering if something like this is good. My main worry with liverock was introducing something I didn't want but this seems to be spored with bacteria? Would this be an effective, risk-free way of seeding?

I have some red graciliara that seems to be doing just fine. It used to look a bit white but then the white parts died and it's just red now.

 

[Cetus]

The lethargy of the fish could also be low oxygen. Is there sufficient flow to generate oxygen? if you've got glass covers on most stuff, that could possibly prevent gas exchange? could they be suffocating?

Perhaps. I may need to replace with a mesh top in that case. Though I thought pH was an indicator of oxygen and I was getting around 8.2 or am I mistaken?

 

[BostonReefer300]

LifeRock Dry Live Rock

LifeRock is infused with spored bacteria to aid in biological performance, along with millions of micro and macro passage ways CaribSea's LifeRock Dry Rock is perfect for the environmentally friendly aquarist. Creates a mature looking reef instantly 100% safe for all marine animals Unique...

www.marinedepot.com

Wondering if something like this is good. My main worry with liverock was introducing something I didn't want but this seems to be spored with bacteria? Would this be an effective, risk-free way of seeding?

I have some red graciliara that seems to be doing just fine. It used to look a bit white but then the white parts died and it's just red now.

That Life Rock stuff is an expensive gimmick. You'd get better performance for a cheaper price by using porous dry rock and then using bottled bacteria products. I share your concern about adding potentially dangerous things to my tank. That's why I've avoided doing things like adding mud from the ocean or using similar bio-diversity tactics in recent years. That being said, my first reef tank used a gorgeous piece of live rock that was probably harvested by some reef pirate blowing up precious reefs with dynamite. That was the healthiest reef tank I ever had.

 

[BostonReefer300]

Perhaps. I may need to replace with a mesh top in that case. Though I thought pH was an indicator of oxygen and I was getting around 8.2 or am I mistaken?

Mesh top is almost always better than a solid top both for gas exchange and for better light penetration. As far as I can tell, only benefit of a solid top would be if you have trouble keeping a high enough temperature in your tank---which very few do. And yes, pH is an OK indicator of oxygenation. If you're pH meter/probe is calibrated correctly (and that's a big IF---nothing personal, just saying), then 8.2 is pretty darn good and I'd guess oxygenation isn't your problem. You have a skimmer going right? A properly sized skimmer will oxygenate a tank very well (assuming there's not an overabundance of CO2 in the ambient air).

 

[Cetus]

That Life Rock stuff is an expensive gimmick. You'd get better performance for a cheaper price by using porous dry rock and then using bottled bacteria products. I share your concern about adding potentially dangerous things to my tank. That's why I've avoided doing things like adding mud from the ocean or using similar bio-diversity tactics in recent years. That being said, my first reef tank used a gorgeous piece of live rock that was probably harvested by some reef pirate blowing up precious reefs with dynamite. That was the healthiest reef tank I ever had.

i do know of a place which has liverock in its own sort of tank without fish or inverts. a bit worried about aiptasia coming in with it but might be a good alternative for seeding.

 

[Cetus]

Mesh top is almost always better than a solid top both for gas exchange and for better light penetration. As far as I can tell, only benefit of a solid top would be if you have trouble keeping a high enough temperature in your tank---which very few do. And yes, pH is an OK indicator of oxygenation. If you're pH meter/probe is calibrated correctly (and that's a big IF---nothing personal, just saying), then 8.2 is pretty darn good and I'd guess oxygenation isn't your problem. You have a skimmer going right? A properly sized skimmer will oxygenate a tank very well (assuming there's not an overabundance of CO2 in the ambient air).

the glass tops came with it so they'll be easy to remove. i use a red sea reefer test kit for pH so its probably not super accurate in that case. with that being said i dont have a skimmer no. not yet anyways.

 

[BostonReefer300]

i do know of a place which has liverock in its own sort of tank without fish or inverts. a bit worried about aiptasia coming in with it but might be a good alternative for seeding.

Could be good and safe IF the water in that tank isn't shared with a fish tank. My LFS has several big vats of rocks, but they share water with a bunch of fish tanks. You wouldn't know that unless you inspected the plumbing carefully or asked them though.

 

[BostonReefer300]

the glass tops came with it so they'll be easy to remove. i use a red sea reefer test kit for pH so its probably not super accurate in that case. with that being said i dont have a skimmer no. not yet anyways.

For your size setup, you really need to put a skimmer in your sump---and a lot more rock as already discussed. I'd concentrate on / invest in those two things for now. Get those right and you'll be on your way to a very stable system

 

[Cetus]

Could be good and safe IF the water in that tank isn't shared with a fish tank. My LFS has several big vats of rocks, but they share water with a bunch of fish tanks. You wouldn't know that unless you inspected the plumbing carefully or asked them though.

For your size setup, you really need to put a skimmer in your sump---and a lot more rock as already discussed. I'd concentrate on / invest in those two things for now. Get those right and you'll be on your way to a very stable system

Hm okay. Are there any trusted sites online with safe liverock you'd recommend in case the liverock at the LFS is contaminated?

And I will certainly look into a protein skimmer now. I wasn't sure if it was necessary at this early of a time because I'd have so few fish in it anyways.

Thinking this?

Something like this seem good for my size tank?