Corals struggling in "perfect" nano tank

[ponzlaw]

My corals are suffering (described below) I can't figure why. Tank is a month old was started from established water from Aquarium Store. I've done water changes of 10-15% twice a week or so. Help
30 GAL NANO

TEMP 80

PH 8.4
NITRITES 0
AMMONIA 0.25 PPM
CALCIUM 400
MAG 1300
SALINITY 1.027
NITRATES 0

"¢ LIGHTING LED FULL SPECTRUM AT 30%
"¢ Special Full Spectrum layout is developed by fellow reefers of the international reefing community: Royal Blue 450nm, Blue 470nm, Cool White 10000K, 12000K, Red 520nm, Green 660nm and UV 420nm, creating the natural reefing light to reflect vivid color from the corals and fish. Using 90 degree optics helps penetrate the depth of water.

WATER RO FILTERED

POWER HEAD 1 800 GPH WAVEMAKER

CORALS:
HAMMERHEADS ( NOT OPENING MUCH)
MUSHROOM (SHRIVELING)
ZOOS (NOT BAD)

OPEN BRAIN (BLEACHED OUT)

FISH
1 FLAME ANGEL
2 SMALL CARDINALS
3 SMALL "œNEMOS"

INSTANT OCEAN PROTEIN SKIMMER
SMALL NANO PROTEIN SKIMMER

 

[ziggy2]

I have a 24 gallon nano that is a year old. Mine was also started with live rock from an established tank, live sand, and all. It took about 6 months before i was able to have any luck with coral. Can't explain why, but all a sudden everything was fine.

 

[Bugboy2020]

How big is the aquarium? Flame Angelfish aren't recommended for Nanos (Liveaquaria.com suggests 70 gallons minimum). Also, I suspect your corals are stressed for two reasons. For one, the presence of Ammonia(You should never have this), and also, the Flame Angel is known for nipping on Coral(In fact, there are reports on them nipping on Brain Coral and Hammerhead Coral).
Now, what do I suggest? For starters, buy some Seachem Prime, and keep it around. Adding in the correct dose will Detoxify Ammonia. If you cannot find some today, I would do a 30% water change. Also, I would talk to your LFS about what you can do with the Flame Angel. I don't think he should stay in your aquarium.

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

He said the nano was 30 gal.

 

[Sk8r]

Your water quality is not that great for stony. This is what your list should read:
nitrate: greater than .1 but not that much.
ammonia 0 (more could kill fish, and corals aren't that fond of it)
calcium 420
Alkalinity 8.3
magnesium 1300-1350
salinity: 1.024 to 1.026.
Especially the salinity and calcium readings, the ammonia, and the lack of testing for alkalinity are all problem spots.

 

[thegrun]

Welcome to Reef Central!
There are several things that jump out at me as likely causes of your problems.
1. Using established water from an aquarium store does next to nothing as far as cycling your tank. If you used rock that came from a completely cycled tank that may help shorten or completely eliminate a cycle since the bacteria that processes fish waste (ammonia) lives on hard surfaces like rock, not in the water. If your 0.25 ammonia test result is correct that alone will kill your coral. If you are using an API test kit it is possible this is a false reading, but I suspect your tank has not cycled yet and the ammonia is killing your corals and could kill your fish.
2. The Flame Angel needs a tank at least twice the size of yours (70 gallon minimum) and it will almost certainly get overly aggressive in a 30 gallon tank and start killing other fish. Flame Angels have at least a 50% chance of nipping and/or eating corals and it is a good bet it is to blame for some of your corals demise. I would take it back to your LFS and get a fish appropriate for your sized tank.
3. I would strongly recommend reading through the stickies at the top of this forum entitled "Setting Up...How To". There is a LOT of information there to get through, but I would read it all twice and then ask questions if you have any. I don't think you are getting good information from your local fish store if you have been getting advice from them. Slow down, try to think through everything yo do in your tank before you take any action, it sounds to me like you are rushing things. Best of luck!

 

[Remy LeBeau]

Has the tank even cycled yet? Where did you get the rock from? Like mentioned above you really shouldn't see an Ammonia reading right now, regardless of the "established" water from the LFS.

 

[Sk8r]

Good grief, yes, if this is a new tank, not cycled, you're about 4 weeks away from being able to support life.

 

[abIngenui]

Cycled aquarium store water does not do much for making the tank ready for marine life. If you had cycled live rock and sand then maybe it would be different.

Any ammonia is bad ammonia

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

Yeah I agree you should cycle first before putting stuff in. Amonia is baaaaaaaaaaaaad

 

[ravenr108]

your not cycled

 

[Fish Everywhere]

Oh dear...

This tank is far from perfect as of now... you need to cycle your tank, your fish are only alive because of your water changes keeping ammonia in check! ...Instead of stating the problems though, since it is too late to do research prior to making a decision, here is a solution:

Take out your fish, coral, everything. Give them to someone for a little bit to keep (about 4-6 weeks preferred, but in this case, 1 week would suffice). Find a bottle of Dr. Tims one and only, seachem stability, or Instant Ocean Bio-Spira. Pour the whole bottle into your tank, drop a little fish food in, and wait a few days. Measure your parameters, when NH4 and NO2 are at 0 and NO3 is less than 10, you can add things back OVER A WEEK, SLOWLY. This should solve your issue. Good luck, and please do proper research in the future...

 

[Timfish]

Did you do the ammonia test before or after a water change? If you are using just RO and not RO/DI you will be adding ammonia as it's not removed by just an RO filter* To get a better grasp of how your system is processing ammonia I would suggest testing new saltwater before adding it you your system, the system before you do a water change again shortly after doing a water change and then about a day later. Ammonia is an important source of nitrogen for corals(1) and I wouldn't worry about small amounts, I don't. One of the things that surprised me back when I started my business in the 90's was seeing the corals that come on live rock looking happy and with tenticles fully expanded with ammonia levels at 1, 2 mg/l or higher.

To help establish a ecosystem quicker I would get quality live maricultured or wild live rock that has been quarantined** or if that's not available some sand and water and if possible some rubble from a healthy reef system. I also use water from an established system to get a new system going but I'll use a gravel siphon to get some grunge from the sand. Pulling clear water from the middle or top of a tank won't get nearly as much bacteria.

I do think you need to wait a month or so before adding anything and if possible get some PAR or lux readings of your tank and find out what what levels your corals were grown under.



*The carbon filter will break the chlorine/ammonia bond and remove the chlorine but it will not remove ammonia and the ammonia molecule is to small to be filtered out by the RO membrane.

**For whatever reason many people call quarantining liverock "cooking" which should not be confused with actually heating it up and you should never heat up anything as you can aerosolize toxins like palytoxin.

(1) http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/1979/00000029/00000004/art00011

 

[Ron Reefman]

ponzlaw, I kind of feel bad for you. Your first post at Reef Central and you kind of get dumped on. But then as a first time poster, calling your nano tank 'perfect' was probably not a good idea!

Take all this with a grain of salt. Everybody is trying to help. But based on some of your water parameters and comments, it's certainly looks like you have some aquarium education ahead of you. Don't go away because of the negative feed back. As you get a little more involved, the advise here will get better.

My only comment to you is please look at the stickies about starting up a new tank and go to a few articles about getting started and getting through the ammonia/nitrate cycle. It will serve you well as you struggle to get started.

Good luck.

 

[BigEZ77]

The flame shouldn't be in there...might also be nipping at your corals. Probably best to remove one of the clowns as well. What is your alk? Here's a few things that I run which seem to work well...

-Hand dosing Seachem Reef Plus and Reef Trace as per manufacturers instructions.
-Chemipure blue bag in sump. (replace monthly)
-Purigen bag in sump. (replace monthly)
-Seachem Matrix rubble in sump. (rinse monthly)
-Reactor with Phosguard and a little carbon on top. (replace monthly)
-Feed LRS Reef Frenzy Nano.
-Feed corals once a week. Some get Reefroids and others get Fauna Marin LPS Grow and Color.

Likely overkill and yes I rely heavily on products (more costly), but everything seems to be growing well.

 

[oldpaddy]

Your tank hasn't cycled. If your Nh4 stays above 0, then pretty soon nothing is going to look good.

 

[tattoosandfrags]

Flame angel in a 30 gallon? He needs to come out asap