Help with nano reef

[Jenny_RS]

My nano reef has been set up since last september. Twice now after doing a water change, the following day in the morning when i wake up the water is cloudy and i find things dead in the tank. the last time was my sexy shrimp and all three of my astrea snails. this time it is my peppermint shrimp and my brain and muhsroom frags look extremely stressed. i tested the water and i do have some nitrates but everything else is in check. i also found i have a bristle worm inhabiting one of the base rocks. does anyone have any idea whats happening? I dont want to lose my corals or my snails. i just got the peppermint shrimp yesterday so im worried.

 

[morpheas]

It would be extremely helpful for troubleshooting purposes to post the actual numbers of your tests (ca, alk, mag, no3, po4, sg etc). Also, if you have done a test on your clean water (to eliminate the possibility of fouled salt).

 

[Jenny_RS]

calcium 420ppm, nitrite 3.0 ppm ammonia 0 ppm nitrate 40 ppm (this was at 20 last night, i changed the filter media and cleaned the sponge) ph 8.3, i do not have a test yet to test mag and my alk test i need to get a new one. also my nitrite was zero last night when i tested after the water change. salinity is 1.024 as checked with my refractometer. and i'll admit i used tap water for this change as i ran out of ro/di.

 

[cloak]

It was probably something in the tap water that caused this. (copper?) Did you use tap water the first time this happened as well? With such a small tank you don't really want to rock the boat too much so to say. Using the tap water combined with replacing the filter media and cleaning the sponge was probably just too much. In the future if your going to do this space them out a little. Replace the filter media this week & then clean the sponge the next. You might also want to think about removing the filter media altogether. Just rely on the rocks to be your primary biological filter and when you do a water change then incorporate the sponge to polish the water for you. KISS, GL.

 

[Jenny_RS]

It was probably something in the tap water that caused this. (copper?) Did you use tap water the first time this happened as well?

I believe I did, but I don't remember if I also changed the filter media as well. Would there be a point to doing another water change? I don't have the ro/di yet.

 

[cloak]

I wouldn't recommend doing a water change until you get that RO/DI water. Until that time comes though the best thing to do IMO is to just let nature take it's course and let things balance themselves out again. GL

 

[Jenny_RS]

Okay thanks. I'll have to stop at my LFS to get some and do the change before I head to work. Didn't know one tap water change could cause this much damage.

 

[Mike Ashton]

HI what percentage of the aquarium water are you changing? too much could be your answer

 

[Jenny_RS]

HI what percentage of the aquarium water are you changing? too much could be your answer

Around 25%

 

[morpheas]

Stupid question but did you use a de-chlorinator?

 

[Jenny_RS]

Stupid question but did you use a de-chlorinator?

I did but only a little... is that what the problem is? I swear I'm never using tap again smh

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[morpheas]

No at this point, at least in my mind, it's not clear what could have caused it but it's quite behooving to look at the water introduced since that's what triggered the change you mention.

With making water for a water change (especially tap water) you want to prepare it and let it mix for a few hours (to aerate and mix the salt well). A lot of people suggest overnight but my experience (with ro/di as a base) has been that 3-4 hours is more than enough. For tap water i'd probably let it overnight though since the de-chlorinator is good but letting it mix and do some extra gas exchange would make me feel more comfortable. Also, the cloudiness you're mentioning might be bacterial bloom triggered by elements in the water used...

I'm just raking my brain to throw out possibilities that might help...

 

[Jenny_RS]

No at this point, at least in my mind, it's not clear what could have caused it but it's quite behooving to look at the water introduced since that's what triggered the change you mention.

With making water for a water change (especially tap water) you want to prepare it and let it mix for a few hours (to aerate and mix the salt well). A lot of people suggest overnight but my experience (with ro/di as a base) has been that 3-4 hours is more than enough. For tap water i'd probably let it overnight though since the de-chlorinator is good but letting it mix and do some extra gas exchange would make me feel more comfortable. Also, the cloudiness you're mentioning might be bacterial bloom triggered by elements in the water used...

I'm just raking my brain to throw out possibilities that might help...

Thanks I appreciate the help. I did not allow the water to mix for a few hours so that may as well be a factor combined with the filter being changed and the tap water.

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[Psychomantix]

Depending on where you live, spring is usually the time when tap water is at it's worse. I live in Canada and this is the time when everything melts and thaws out, filling the water supply with nutrients and crud that accumulated over the winter months. This is also the time of year where we get tons of algal bloom in the water, and not surprisingly the time of year where we get the most chlorine in the water. If you are using a de-chlorinator, I highly suggest you use the full dose on the bottle.

 

[Jenny_RS]

I also live in Canada, and that would make a lot of sense, I never realized that. Well, I just got home from work and the tank is still cloudy. Mushrooms and brain still look a little stressed but not nearly as bad although I'm almost afraid to go to sleep for fear of waking up to more horror. Here's how the tank looks. Will test params tomorrow as well as get that ro/di so i can save my tank. :headwalls:

 

[PirateLove]

It was probably something in the tap water that caused this. (copper?) Did you use tap water the first time this happened as well? With such a small tank you don't really want to rock the boat too much so to say. Using the tap water combined with replacing the filter media and cleaning the sponge was probably just too much. In the future if your going to do this space them out a little. Replace the filter media this week & then clean the sponge the next. You might also want to think about removing the filter media altogether. Just rely on the rocks to be your primary biological filter and when you do a water change then incorporate the sponge to polish the water for you. KISS, GL.

Wouldn't hit tank inhabitants be dying because his tank is not fully cycled. He said he still has Nitites.

 

[Jenny_RS]

Wouldn't hit tank inhabitants be dying because his tank is not fully cycled. He said he still has Nitites.

I cycled my tank when I started it back in September of last year. Then I slowly started adding a cuc and then the coral frags. My tanks nitrite has been zero since the day I cycled it. And I'm a She, not a he, thanks

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[cloak]

Wouldn't hit tank inhabitants be dying because his tank is not fully cycled. He said he still has Nitites.

At almost 7 months of age I'm pretty sure the tank cycled. The nitrites might just be a result of the deaths he experienced along with replacing the filter media and rinsing that sponge. The tank just couldn't keep up.

 

[Jenny_RS]

At almost 7 months of age I'm pretty sure the tank cycled. The nitrites might just be a result of the deaths he experienced along with replacing the filter media and rinsing that sponge. The tank just couldn't keep up.

That's how it's looking right now. Tank has cleared up quite a bit over night, tested the water and my nitrates are still at 40 ppm but nitrites have come down to .1 ppm so I will do the water change when I get home from school.

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[morpheas]

Might i suggest something. Although the cloudiness looks like a bacterial bloom of some sort because of the elements introduced by the tap water, they could be also of particulate matter (same introduction through tap water). So in your shoes I'd dose some seachem clarity which had worked wonders for me in the past for particulate cloudiness. You can't harm anything and you have nothing to lose. Do you have a way to mechanically filter (socks, floss etc)?