rBTA not doing so well ...

Jamie1210

Jamie1210

Active member
First off, here is my setup:

20 gallon tank
150 DE, 14K MH with 2 55W PC lights
1 maxijet1200
Corallife super skimmer
a tiny rio powerhead that was originally on my 12 gallon aquapod
cheap walmart powerhead

There is and has always been tons of flow in the tank

Water paramters:

ammonia: 0 ppm
nitrates: 10 ppm
nitrites: 0
pH: 8.2
Alk: 9.1 dKH/ 3.31 meq/L
calcium: >500 ppm (did a Salifert Ca test reading, and the reading was over 500 ppm)

Temperature: 82-84 degrees


I have had my BTA for a little over a month, and it had been eating like a champ, super sticky, etc. 2 true percs have been hosting in it without a problem. Just 2 days ago, I noticed that the mouth wasn't tightly closed anymore, and then yesterday it's mouth was just open, gaping, and I could even see those curly, noodle-like structures (intestines) protruding from its mouth. So I did a 10% water change, and there has not been any change in its condition. Then, after its mouth closed almost all the way (still a bit loose, and not completely tight), I fed it a small bit of scallop, which, after some difficulty, it did manage to eat. ( I held the food on its tentacles until its mouth closed over it)

The only problem that I could think of was that the day that I noticed the problem, I checked the temperature and it was 87 degrees! I immediately removed my glass cover, and have ordered a chiller. Today it's down to approximately 82 degrees, with a 2 degree fluctuation ...

I know it's sick, but to keep up its strength, I will continue to try to feed it every other day...but in the meantime, what else should I be doing?

All other inhabitants are doing well ....

Jamie
 
Yikes! 87 is incredibly high! Need to get nitrates back down to zero.

How are you adding your top off water? Feed 1/8" sized portions of silversides soaked in selcon.
 
thanks for the reply, redvipe. this morning, it looks more or less normal, but the mouth isn't as tightly closed as it usually is, still a tiny bit open. does this mean its on its way to being normal again? i haven't tried feeding it yet.

to get nitrates back to 0, I'm wondering how to do that ... corallifes super skimmer pulls up gunk all the time. I did have a crazy idea of adding in my extra aqua c remora skimmer too, since it's just lying around--but is that overskimming? or do you think that will help w/the nitrates?

In the meantime, I'm hoping to keep the temperature stable--my chiller arrived yesterday, the JBJ mini arctica, but I realized it doesn't come with a pump or the hose.

As for top off, I rarely top off: I have my PC lights on for the 1st half of the day, and then my MH light on from 5 pm to about 10 pm so that the temperature/evaporation won't go as crazy. I have a piece of glass over the tank, so the evaporation isn't significant. I then do weekly water changes.

Anything I should change?

Thanks!
Jamie
 
overskimming is a myth
Click to expand...

haha ok, then, I guess you mean i should go for it, then, the addition of another skimmer! just that i dont think i've ever heard anyone with a 20 gallon tank with 2 skimmers ... but, ok, sure, why not! i'll give it a try , and hopefully nitrates will go down... thanks for the input!
 
redvipe, before I added the BTA, I would top off because I didn't have that glass top. I would just add RO water, and nothing else. Water changes would be every other week. I didn't like this that much because the Alk and Ca would remain unstable.

Before I added the BTA, i was opting for more stable conditions--ie. less evaporation so I wouldn't need to top off and have crazy alk/ca swings . So I added a glass cover to prevent evaporation. I still do my bi-weekly water changes.

What do you think? Is the addition of hte glass top + less top offs unstable as well?

I checked the salinity right now and it is 1.024. I don't usually do it, but I will start monitoring it every day now.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9444759#post9444759 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jamie1210
haha ok, then, I guess you mean i should go for it, then, the addition of another skimmer! just that i dont think i've ever heard anyone with a 20 gallon tank with 2 skimmers ... but, ok, sure, why not! i'll give it a try , and hopefully nitrates will go down... thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

No don't try it. Too much skimming can strip important elements out of the water such as trace elements. The skimmer you have is fine. Don't try and fix something when its no broken. If you want to get slow down your nitrates, just keep up with your weekly water changes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9451491#post9451491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
glass top lowers oxygen levels so i dont use them
Click to expand...

Yes I would avoid glass tops or any tops for that matter. They trap in heat, reduce light penetration and lower oxygen levels. The only downside to them is that there is slightly more evaporation and fish have a higher chance of jumping out and not landing back in water if you know what I mean. I would banish your glasstops. That's probably a reason why the temperature of your water exceeded acceptable levels.
 
adding an aqua c remora wont be over skimming

a euro reef rs 80 might be overskimming on a 20 but not a CSS and a remora
using it temporarily can help nitrates
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9451646#post9451646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
adding an aqua c remora wont be over skimming

a euro reef rs 80 might be overskimming on a 20 but not a CSS and a remora
using it temporarily can help nitrates
Click to expand...

Adding another skimmer won't do anything. When I first setup my tank, I had two skimmers one being a Red Sea Przm Deluxe and a Coralife Superskimmer. The przm deluxe outdid the superskimmer suprisingly and the superskimmer was ineffective. The second skimmer was a waste of money. Adding a second skimmer imo is a lazy way of trying to reduce nitrates. All you got to do is do a couple of water changes during a week, constantly clean your collection cup and reduce your feedings for a little bit. Then your nitrates will decrease.
 
Ok, this is what I'll do: I'm going to use the remora to skim only whenever I feed frozen foods becasuet he CSS goes insane and the collection cup is a pain to dump because you gotta unplug the unit first (which means crawling under my table!). And then when it gets more mellow, I'll switch to the CSS again (both are in the tank right now--looks *very* equipment heavy right now. Yuck. But I will regularly only use the CSS.

I have a feeling that nitrates are high bc of the way i feed frozen food to the anemone: chunks of shrimp that I rub with my fingers to get it small enough for the fish to eat as well. I should just cut with a knife, huh?

Thanks for everyone's input on the skimmer and the glass.

Question, however, about topoff: when you guys topoff, do you just add RO/DI water, plain? or do you dose it w/Ca? I am planning to just add plain RO/DI water, and then do weekly water changes to replenish the Ca and raise the Alk. Any comments/suggestions on this method would be appreciated. Thanks!

~jamie
 
PS. although the mouth on the rBTA *still* isn't very tight today, the good news is that it's accepting food again :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Ritteri Swollen Mouth
Replies
8
Views
535
Bakeman
B
T
New carpet Anemone
Replies
8
Views
1K
bradleym
bradleym
K
Red Haddon Anemone
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
kokoui
K
Perth_reefer
Temperature fluctuation for SPS
Replies
3
Views
244
Reefing102
Reefing102
Perth_reefer
Temperature fluctuations for SPS
Replies
3
Views
213
Perth_reefer
Perth_reefer
Back
Top