Help with a tank going down hill

[Jstn]

This is my lab mates tank here in lab.

So for the last few months the tank was doing so, so, not great. As of recent its has been dropping down and all the coral has been ****ed for the last 2 months (some starting to die), in addition a TON of cyano.

The tank is around 8 months old, so first he started with a used tek fixture with old bulbs, we have replaced all of them to ATI new builbs over a month ago. Nothing changed, so next got new BRS rox carbon, still no improvement. He hasn't been testing parameters so we got an Alk kit (salifer), test 7.0, low but not terrible, so he started dosing and got that to 8.0. I tested Ca and Mg with my test kit at home, 450, 1300 respectively. So the big three are good. Salinity on his swing arm read 35ppt, i tested it with my refractometer and it was 32, a bit low, we since corrected that (he needs to buy a refractometer but money is tight in grad school) So next I though it was the water source, since we get it out of RODI tap in lab, maybe it was bad. I purchased a tds-3, the water in all the taps read between 0-2, so bad water is possibly out. A sixline did die a few weeks back (after the begining of decline), but additional water changes haven't done a thing.

Any other ideas, help is really appreciates, cause we are both getting very frustrated by this.

Tank specs

29 gal, 4x24 tek light, (two blue +, ATi coral plus, and Figi purple)
5-10 gal per week water changes.
Two clowns (small), fed flake (been cutting back ALOT on feeding)

Thanks for your help.


Also he doenst have the highest flow from just an ac70 and k2 powerhead.

using API test, nitrates seemed acceptably yellow .

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Nutrient levels? Nutrient export methods? How long has all that livestock been in there? What sort of flow is there?

How is the RO/DI stored and dispensed?

 

[Jstn]

Levels 5ppm nitrates, phosphates is not detectable (but ATI test), 10gal change per week for the last two months, it was 5 gal previously. The fish have been in there for 6months, nothing has changed in livestock, other than the sixlines death. Flow is a bit low with one k2 powerhead. Rodi is dispensed from a tap (the building has a system), but as of today its at 0-2 tds.

 

[SkiFletch]

Are you SURE your refractometer is calibrated? They can drift as well. Not AS prone as hygrometers, but still prone to it. Have you been vacuuming the cyano off and/or cleaning the sand bed? What salt mix have you been using, and have you considered switching in the strange case that it's a bad batch? Any stray voltage in the tank?

 

[jcw]

Two clowns (small), fed flake (been cutting back ALOT on feeding).

The tank might need to catch up with the previously heavy? feeding. Might want to think about running some gfo for a while.

8 month tank with little bioload but with nitrates is a little confusing. No skimming?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

more info needed

more info needed

but going on what's given I would speculate:
* no skimmer
* S.G. is off

 

[Flanders]

my speculation: low alk, sg and high nutrients.

 

[block head]

Going with gary and others. Tank is FOS. Poop, phos, alk is catching up with you. No skimmer\ weak flow exasperates your tank' s unstable nature. IMO you really got to be careful with input and export. Equipment is really inefficient on nanos. Testing, playing catch up is most likely going to be much harder than a tank reset. You really want to stay ahead things. Bigger or more frequent wc are going to help. Feeding a quality pellet like NLS sparingly. Gfo,carbon, can get used up over night. I like to use very small amounts changed often. Improving water quality and maintenance is what works best for me.

 

[redmanx9]

I agree with a skimmer a hob one will do just fine. Also a magnet scrapper. Looks like he was behind on that too. Nano's are really hard to keep up with if you dont have a very very consistent regimen with dosing and water changes. So making changes to Alk/Calc/Mag in a small tank is less forgiving than in a large tank.

I just concurred a dino problem in my tank. Had to turn off the day lights for a few weeks and keep my alk up with no weekly water changes.

Dont give up. Check your phosphates if you are having any kind of algae issue. Get a skimmer! I think those are very key on a small tank.

 

[block head]

Skimmer is going to come with its own set of issues. Unless this tank has a sump, your limited to sm power head style or air stone driven skimmer. Nether will make a significant difference. Power head style will add heat. Air stone are fugly, but work if maintained. I'd skip it if money is tight. $ 40 buys a lot of 3 gallon wc

 

[MD Ocean Girl]

If he doesn't have a skimmer, I'd recommend getting one. Yes, HOB's can be ugly, but they do work well if you get a decent one. I run a cpr bakpak HOB skimmer on my 10 gallon (granted, it's in my 5 gallon sump), and it made a world of difference in my water quality. And I have the older style with the old, less efficient pump on it. After being set up for 6 months or so, my tank was slowly going down hill, even with water changes twice a week, without the skimmer.

Now, with regular water changes (maybe 2-3 gallons a week??, sometimes let it go 2 weeks, and if I've been really busy with school, it's gone 3 weeks between water changes), and the skimmer, I have excellent water quality, happy fish and corals, and no nuisance algae issues.

 

[Jstn]

No skimmer, water changes are religious,my refractometer is on according to the solution and just read 35.5 ppt, just a hair high.

I think the flow is a big issue and skimming (not to mention the aeration the skimmer addes). I think we are going ot try a large water change next and see, been using reef crystals since day one.

 

[Jstn]

I agree with a skimmer a hob one will do just fine. Also a magnet scrapper. Looks like he was behind on that too. Nano's are really hard to keep up with if you dont have a very very consistent regimen with dosing and water changes. So making changes to Alk/Calc/Mag in a small tank is less forgiving than in a large tank.

I just concurred a dino problem in my tank. Had to turn off the day lights for a few weeks and keep my alk up with no weekly water changes.

Dont give up. Check your phosphates if you are having any kind of algae issue. Get a skimmer! I think those are very key on a small tank.

We stopped scrapping to help absorb any nutrients that are feeding the decline. Since the coral look bad, i figured scraping the glass would just increase bioload.

Also this was proposed on another forum, I think its a good idea worth trying

Test your nitrate and phosphate levels. I'm thinking a 29 gallon water change might be best.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with tank water and put the livestock in there. Maybe another 5 gallon bucket for the live rock. Then one more 5 gallon bucket to wash your sand with.

Then, I'd stir the sand up as much as you can (you won't believe the crud the will be released. Siphon out all of the fouled water. Add some clean tank water, mix, and siphon (repeat if the water is still dirty, but cloudy is alright).

Fill the tank half full with NEW saltwater, add the rock (after blowing off all the cyano with a turkey baster or powerhead), then add the rest of the NEW saltwater. Let the filters and heater run a bit and let the tank clear a bit. If you can see the back of the tank, that's clear enough.

When the temp matches the temp in the livestock bucket, you can move the livestock back.

 

[tmz]

Siphon out the cyanobacteria; it produces toxins. Maunualy remove the other nuisance algae. Get after the phosphate. Water changes are very good too.

 

[SkiFletch]

Definitely have to keep getting the cyano out. That's your only means of nutrient export right now and like Tom says, toxins/bad stuff abounds with cyano.

 

[block head]

damage is done, not that big a deal in my opinion. sand is going to be funky,rock is funky. you can clean your house with a dust buster. its just going to take a while. i'd clean house, and keep it clean. no right or wrong answer, more of a week vs months type deal. everything can be done in a bucket, ahead of time.

 

[jcw]

No skimmer, water changes are religious,my refractometer is on according to the solution and just read 35.5 ppt, just a hair high.

I think the flow is a big issue and skimming (not to mention the aeration the skimmer addes). I think we are going ot try a large water change next and see, been using reef crystals since day one.

I'm far from being an expert, BUT...

reef crystals uses "organics" in their salt mix. From my reading and experience with dosing, organics can increase cyano.

consider switching to instant ocean.

 

[alanbates12]

High Nutrient levels... Your not able to see them because the algae is using it up

 

[zt444a]

I vote for low flow, and also how old are the bulbs?

 

[pascal32]

A large water change is likely a good thing. Be careful though - reef crystals has a KH of 11-12 which is going to swing the tank pretty hard. you can lower it using muriatic acid, or just get instant ocean for the large water change. make sure you aerate and mix the new mix for at least a few hours, preferably 24.