Reef Safe Cleaning Supplies

[malx]

So I've been struggling with STN from my tank for years. It's almost 3 years old. I'll put some SPS in, it will grow good for a month or two and then randomly start STNing. Burnt tips, necrosis at the base, brown outs, white outs, you name it I've delt with it.

Countless ICP tests always show up with some parameter slightly off, maybe Ca is 50 too high, maybe Alk went to 9, maybe Potassium levels are off. Maybe a heavy metal in small amounts. After correcting and correcting and correcting it just seems like stuff still does not grow. None of my off parameters should have caused a mass STNing event, but I've had them...

My friend suggested that maybe my maid is using cleaning supplies that's getting in the tank. Maybe some bleach in the air is finding its way in, causing a small ammonia spike that's not affecting anything but SPS. My maid knows not to spray anything around the tank and she's never lead me to believe she has, but I did notice that she does use some pretty harsh chemicals so what I decided to do is change out all of my cleaning supplies so I can rule it out.

So with that said, what do you all suggest some reef safe cleaning supplies are? I have granite counter tops, marble showers, wood floors, and stainless steel appliances. I want to buy a bunch online and have them ready for when the maid comes, she uses what I've selected and not her own.

Cheers,
Joey

 

[jlmawp]

Vinegar is pretty great for non-wood type surfaces. It will strip wood finish over time (or quickly if you let it sit on there), but for counters and cheaper furniture, it's pretty great. Not to mention cheap.

What do you use to clean the inside glass?

 

[Uncle99]

It’s interesting you don’t mention N & P level so I trust N is 2-5ppm and P is 0.02 - 0.05

 

[LIreefguy]

Sps like very stable water and lots of flow. Think this is stating the obvious though.
Some of the most successful people I ever saw keeping sps all had one thing in common (by the way I am not on the list). They kept it simple. They didn't dose 7 different chemicals, didn't try to fix this or that
They all dose all, calcium, mag. Wether it was 2 part, calcium reactor , etc.
they also all did weekly water changes

It doesn't matter what you keep your alk at 8, 9, 10. Or calcium at 400,450,500. What matters is that you keep it the same
And most test there alk often A few even daily. They all agree even a daily swing of .5 alk a day is enough to eventually kill most acros.
You didn't state how often you test and how your dosing

Also try not to keep nutrients at zero this will starve most sps




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[malx]

Vinegar is pretty great for non-wood type surfaces. It will strip wood finish over time (or quickly if you let it sit on there), but for counters and cheaper furniture, it's pretty great. Not to mention cheap.

What do you use to clean the inside glass?

What do you mean by inside glass? Like my windows?

 

[jlmawp]

Sps like very stable water and lots of flow. Think this is stating the obvious though.
Some of the most successful people I ever saw keeping sps all had one thing in common (by the way I am not on the list). They kept it simple. They didn't dose 7 different chemicals, didn't try to fix this or that
They all dose all, calcium, mag. Wether it was 2 part, calcium reactor , etc.
they also all did weekly water changes

It doesn't matter what you keep your alk at 8, 9, 10. Or calcium at 400,450,500. What matters is that you keep it the same
And most test there alk often A few even daily. They all agree even a daily swing of .5 alk a day is enough to eventually kill most acros.
You didn't state how often you test and how your dosing

Also try not to keep nutrients at zero this will starve most sps




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I'm thinking maybe you should re-read the OP

 

[jlmawp]

What do you mean by inside glass? Like my windows?

Sorry, the glass on the inside of the tank. Scraper, sponge, etc?

 

[LIreefguy]

I'm thinking maybe you should re-read the OP

Honestly don't think it's the maid

I see his levels seem to be jumping. He seems to be icp testing. Fixing that fixing that.
Maybe he is doing too much. Reef sage cleaning chemicals
Vinegar that's about it

If that's his questions it's a simple one


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[malx]

It's interesting you don't mention N & P level so I trust N is 2-5ppm and P is 0.02 - 0.05

Po4 is 0.04 and N is 5ppm. I dose NO BETA by Triton.

 

[hkgar]

What is No BETA for?

Search STN in the reef disease forum.

 

[hkgar]

It doesn't matter what you keep your alk at 8, 9, 10. Or calcium at 400,450,500. What matters is that you keep it the same
And most test there alk often A few even daily. They all agree even a daily swing of .5 alk a day is enough to eventually kill most acros.
You didn't state how often you test and how your dosing

Also try not to keep nutrients at zero this will starve most sps




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Variance of Alk of more than .5 is more likely to cause RTN than STN, at least that has been my experience.

 

[LIreefguy]

Variance of Alk of more than .5 is more likely to cause RTN than STN, at least that has been my experience.

Yes alk imo is the most important thing when keeping sps. If your new or haven't had long term success with acro I would test everyday until alk was stable. Stable means .1 maybe .2 a day




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[RioReefr]

So with that said, what do you all suggest some reef safe cleaning supplies are? I have granite counter tops, marble showers, wood floors, and stainless steel appliances. I want to buy a bunch online and have them ready for when the maid comes, she uses what I've selected and not her own.

I can be empathetic to your "maid situation" as I have had to terminate every single maid since getting my aquarium -- unplugging things they shouldn't, turning off all the A/C and fans when it was 100F, spraying Windex on the aquarium glass, on and on.

Wood: Get yourself dog-safe floor cleaners. They don't have any toxins in them and are effective without the perfumes. Use natural bee's wax to bring out the shine and polish.

Glass: 50/50 Water/Distilled White Vinegar. You can even use it on the outside of your glass aquarium.

Stainless Steel/Granite/Marble: 3% H202. There is an under-rated cleaner in general. You ever why hospitals don't smell like bleach?? ...it is because bleach releases chlorine gas (a toxin) and they don't use it! Make sure it is 3%. Stronger versions can become an oxidizing agent and burn skin.

Do not mix vinegar and H202 together, they will counter-act each other.

 

[Nrdau]

I use the shower cleaning scrubbers from Walmart to clean the glass on my deep tanks