It begins... 345-gallon Starphire in-wall system

[melev]

That is very odd. I would expect the calcium reactor's effluent to be going pretty strong along with a higher alk reading to get that high a pH. Do you dose or top off with kalkwasser?

You can lower pH with white vinegar. A little goes a long way. If you add a few teaspoons, you'll see the numbers come down. Don't rush this process. Put one in, and wait. Watch the reading on your digital meter.

Btw, if you have a temp and ORP probe in the system, lift them out of the water and see what the pH reads. That's just a hunch, but my ORP probe is bad and it gives me a higher pH reading.

 

[mrcrab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9454058#post9454058 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
That is very odd. I would expect the calcium reactor's effluent to be going pretty strong along with a higher alk reading to get that high a pH. Do you dose or top off with kalkwasser?

You can lower pH with white vinegar. A little goes a long way. If you add a few teaspoons, you'll see the numbers come down. Don't rush this process. Put one in, and wait. Watch the reading on your digital meter.

Btw, if you have a temp and ORP probe in the system, lift them out of the water and see what the pH reads. That's just a hunch, but my ORP probe is bad and it gives me a higher pH reading.

Thanks Marc,

No, no Kalk. I've never seen my ph that high. I haven't hooked up the probe yet checked it with a test kit. I'll hook up and calibrate the meter in the am and do the vinegar thing. Only temp prob is on the Ranco controller.

 

[melev]

I never trust pH test kits. How many times did you test? I wouldn't use vinegar if you can't watch the numbers on a meter or controller.

 

[mrcrab]

Just tested once. As I said I'll hook up and calibrate the meter in the morning and do the vinegar then if needed.

Thanks again

 

[mrcrab]

Marc are you still using the probidio products?

 

[melev]

No, I stopped many months ago. I just didn't get any kind of positive results.

 

[jnarowe]

Wow...sorry to hear that! What else will spike pH? Doesn't seem like a realistic number, but obviously something is going on. Make sure the test is fresh too. Think like a scientist!

Remember probes can interfere with each other so the conductivity probe, if you have one, should be electrically isolated from the others.

You did not post the system temp. either. Was/is it OK?

Those are fairly sensitive fish too. Not as hardy as some others. I can't imagine the nitrates being the cause of the fish dying, but it sure is playing a role in the algal outbreak. Could it all be from Ich? Did she freeze the fish for you to examine?

Any stress for the corals?

 

[mrcrab]

Temp was good 80. No conductivity probe. I don't think it's ich either now. Seems to start off as bumps under the skin. She took some pics and saved the bodies. I need help with this. The bumps then seem to go almost like pimples, again raised off the skin much bigger than ich, then the skin starts to sluff off. Here's some pics hopefully someone can identify it and it's treatable. The PBT had lesions on it's skin like ulcers when I checked the body. Definitely some sort of disease or pathogen.

This is the CBB in it's last throws. It didn't have the bumps but she said it looked dirty.

Powder Blue with the skin sluffing off

In this picture, not very good, the yellow tang has the raised white bumps and the Naso's skin is mottled but smooth without bumps.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been running all day and am still on west coast time. Jet lag's a b*tch. I'm going to do another water change tonight and calibrate the ph probe and retest the parameters.

 

[melev]

I think you need to post those pictures in the fish disease forum to get a definitive answer. The "doctors" hang out in there.

 

[mrcrab]

Thanks Marc,

If I couldn't get an answer on RC there's a vet in town a couple of minutes away that's listed as an aqautic vet. I was going to give him a call and see if he makes tank calls.

 

[jnarowe]

Wow Barry. That really bites. Never seen anything like that myself.

BTW, did ALL the fish get it, or just some? I wonder if something didn't get into the tank like a chemical?

 

[dhnguyen]

Can't be certain from the photo of the tangs but that looked like a severe case of marine velvet to me

 

[mrcrab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9461481#post9461481 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Wow Barry. That really bites. Never seen anything like that myself.

BTW, did ALL the fish get it, or just some? I wonder if something didn't get into the tank like a chemical?

Not all, so I don't think it's chemical.

Terry responded on the disease forum and said he thought it was an advanced case of ich. I would have agreed until I saw what's going on with the yellow tangs at the moment. they have raised bumps under the skin which I've never seen with ich. the Naso has just a mottled skin coloration. The wife said it had black spote befor that, so maybe black ich?

All I know is that I'm really bummed at the moment and i don't think the fish are much happier either.

 

[mrcrab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9461656#post9461656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dhnguyen
Can't be certain from the photo of the tangs but that looked like a severe case of marine velvet to me

Hi Don,

Sorry we couldn't catch up while I was in town. Not sure about velvet either as it wasn't a coating. It could just be the worst case of ich I've ever seen.

 

[aquamariner]

I lost an entire tank with a Powder Brown, Yellow Angel, Gramma's etc, to what you have now. It's definitely an ICH explosion you've got. Get a UV sterilizer quick. Do freshwater dips with the water in the dip bucket being the same temp, salinity, etc. Provide air in the dip bucket , and do it for about 3 minutes at a time. This will be a very hard thing to get rid of unfortunately. But getting a UV sterilizer will go a long way to slowing the process down. My sympathies go out to you as I nursed my dying Powder Brown named Ovaltine to it's final breath.

 

[mrcrab]

Ich seems to be the concensus at this point. I'll head over to my LFS to see if he has a setup I can borrow or rent for a couple of months that will accomodate everyone and do the hypo dance!!!

 

[jnarowe]

Wow. not fun. Sorry to hear that Barry!

 

[dhnguyen]

Why not head to Wally World and pick up a large tupperware container for a temp. hospital tank?


D.

 

[mrcrab]

My LFS lent me a 55 which should do for the 60 days I plan on pulling all the fish out of the system for to make sure I've completely broken the cycle. I'll use the hyposalinity method that has worked well in QT before for me.

Just stupidity and impatients on my part. :mad2:

 

[jnarowe]

We have all been there many more times than we wish to admit! Nice LFS BTW!! You must be a "Good Customer". :lol: