lost two crabs this morning...

[timrandlerv10]

i lost a sally lightfoot and a porcelain crab last night. came in this morning, and they were both dead.

2 maroons, 1 rbta, 3 chromis, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 procelain, 6 hermits (blue and red), 1 decorator, ~8 snails, various zoos, frogspawn.

44G corner, 175w MH 20k, overflow feeding rubbermaid w/octopus 110, mag 5 return, phoszorb bag (added in sump on wednesday), 1 rotating powerhead for extra flow (anemone moved to the center of powerhead coverage area).

78 degrees, 1.027, 0 ammonia, 0 n-ites, 10 n-ates, 8.2 ph (lights are off today because we have an alveopora floating--temp acclimating, but not adding any water to bag right now...). testing for calc, alk and phos in a few minutes.

everyone else looks happy, but less movement than normal (which is usually the case when i turn out the lights!)

most recent changes:
added phosorb
stopped emperor hob filter since skimmer was working well

both were ~wednesday i think.

everybody showed up at feeeding time yesterday (cyclopeeze, frozen mysis, 1/2 silverside)

help?
any ideas?

can i acclimate the alveopora?


thanks

 

[aujay]

The first thing I think of with inverts is swings in salinity, pH, and nitrates. As long as you don't have a predator thats killing them.

 

[Mariner]

Well, the first thing I think of when I hear of crabs dying is... are you sure it's not just a molt????

Personally, I don't think I'd stop the HOB filter because the skimmer is working well, since they're doing two different things -- the skimmer's removing dissolved organics and aerating while the HOB filter provides mechanical and chemical (carbon) filtration and water flow. Unless you have another means of adding poly/carbon when needed, I'd keep the HOB running, just keep the media changed or use it only when necessary, JMO

PhosZorb is an aluminum based phosphate remover. There have been reports of some inverts/corals reacting negatively to the aluminum. IMO, GFO's like Phosban are a little safer way to go if you need to remove phosphates, along with a good operational fuge with lots of macro algae.

Hope this helps,
Mariner

 

[Mariner]

Oh, and on the alveopora... you need to acclimate it or give it to someone who can keep it. It'll be a death sentence if you leave it in the bag much longer.
Mariner

 

[timrandlerv10]

The alveopora went in after three hours acclimation. they didnt come out yet, but I intentionally left the lights off today, so only the anemone was open, and even then, only because she MADE him be open. Thats so great to watch!

TURNS OUT...the sally was a molt--I saw meat, which made me think it was the crab itself, but I found her after I turned over all the rocks. She was missing a few legs/claws, but she's still alive. The porcelain is still MIA, and since I flushed him, I cant go look again.

BTW...I went to the 'LFS' and asked if this was 'GFO' because that's what had been recommended for me. 'Yeah, same thing' was the response...

I was planning on building a 'rack' for carbon, filter and whatever else at the outlet of the downspout before the skimmer. Will that be sufficient, or do I still need the HOB?

 

[Mariner]

I was planning on building a 'rack' for carbon, filter and whatever else at the outlet of the downspout before the skimmer. Will that be sufficient, or do I still need the HOB?

That should work fine. But if it was me, I'd run the HOB till I got the rack built.

BTW...I went to the 'LFS' and asked if this was 'GFO' because that's what had been recommended for me. 'Yeah, same thing' was the response...

Oh brother. I'm afraid to ask which LFS it was... no, don't tell me, I don't want to know

BTW, not sure why you left the lights off all day, but IMO it's best to stick to a very consistent lighting schedule. The exception would be if you are acclimating a coral that has been in much lower light. Even so, a little light seems to help most corals acclimate more quickly, IMO.
Mariner

 

[timrandlerv10]

I dunno. I always just leave the lights off the day somebody/thing new arrives.

RACK:

I am building my sump tomorrow...I have a 10G tank that I need to baffle...what do I use for baffles?

 

[Iconz]

I would sugguest 1/4" acrylic put in place by Silicone 1 or another 100% silicone. Acrylic is cheaper than glass, and less likely to break / cut you!

A lot of people will say that acrylic won't work (because silicone doesn't stick to it as good as it does to glass. But trust me, IT WILL. I just built a sump in a 20high with acrylic baffles and I can pick the sump up by them. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but I say go with acrylic.

 

[timrandlerv10]

did you cut the rim off the inside of the black edging around the top of the tank? how did you get a good fit?

 

[buzzbait00]

Yea go 1/4 acrylic. There are a few pix of my baffel's going in here:baffel pix

You don't want them too snug.Place them in the tank sideways and then move them in place,use some scrap pvc to hold em in place.Like in my thread.

 

[Iconz]

yup, i used a dremell tool with a drill bit attachment. Just take the bit and push it against the plastic edging where you want to remove it until you fell some resistance (glass) then move it parallel with the glass and back out where you want.

Note: I only had to do this for where i wasputting in the middle baffle of a bubble trap. Because, I put it in last like a dummy.

The rest of the pieces went in simply by putting them in sideways and turning them in place. If they don't fit that way, just trim of a bit off of one side with a mouse sander or hand sand w/ 60grit paper or a file and try again...

 

[Big Goose]

44G corner, 175w MH 20k,

44G corner, 175w MH 20k,

I don't turn the lights off for new coral but I do shade them from the MH unless they came from a MH tank.

I lost a tank to high Alk. It killed the crabs and starfish (they melted) first.

I sometimes go weeks without seeing my crabs. My Coral Band is MIA but I assume he/she is molting.

Good Luck