Trouble with water...

[barclayrl]

just to clarify, i quit using carbon and GFO after the crash, not before...... They were not the cause.

 

[evsalty]

Looks like we can rule out the sandbed removal as the cause.

Something did though cause you to have the algae issues.

Did you ever test for phosphates?

How old are the bulbs?

Was your nitrate reading of <10 taken while you had the nussaince algae all over the tank? I ask this because large amounts of nussaince and good macro algae will usually give you a 0 reading even though the algae itself is holding high amounts of nitrate.

 

[barclayrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15292921#post15292921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by evsalty
Looks like we can rule out the sandbed removal as the cause.

Something did though cause you to have the algae issues.

Did you ever test for phosphates?

How old are the bulbs?

Was your nitrate reading of <10 taken while you had the nussaince algae all over the tank? I ask this because large amounts of nussaince and good macro algae will usually give you a 0 reading even though the algae itself is holding high amounts of nitrate.

Bulbs are like 6 months old, T5's..

Tested for phosphates, but nothing registered. tested for nitrates and they were low but one of these items is definatly present, and i dont think it is phosphate.. i ran GFO for a long time and nothing changed, as a matter of fact, i think the tank got worse when the GFO was added.... (About a week after i saw the corals getting lighter)

 

[evsalty]

I have never used GFO so I did a little research on it as you said your corals started loosing color (bleaching) upon the introduction of the GFO.


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php

This is a quote off of the link.

Quite a large proportion of aquarists using GFO in reef aquaria have reported undesirable effects on corals. These reported effects include tissue recession and bleaching. Many advanced aquarists have associated these effects with the first addition, or with a later change, of the GFO.

But you also say that you used it for years so hmmm. How often did you change it? Did you just change it right before all this started? How long had it been since the last change?

 

[barclayrl]

I did just change it before it started, it was about 6 months old before it was changed, used bulk reef supply's product. Going to see if anything recovers soon, going to do a water change today and move my corals back to the display now the the live rock has been moved back upstairs.

I have heard that GFO can cause coral problems but never put 2+2 together. Also i think in the past i was using much less GFO than my tank needed, this time i used the correct amount...

Maybe all my problems are GFO? what abou the fish dying? something unrelated? I know i have a sand star disapear. Maybe he fouled the tank for a while?

 

[cabrego]

I think everything has been covered excpet for your actually water source,

I assume you are using RO/DI,

When was the last time you checked TDS?

have you tested for copper?

 

[wrott]

It's odd that the fish died before you removed the sand.
This would suggest something very out of wack, like sand bed crashed or some other contamination.
Did the sand look black anywhere, hydrogen sulfide?
And the huge algae, diatom bloom also suggests a large amount of nutrients were added somehow.
So you have only 2 fish remaining now, it is baffling. I hope the problem can be answered, as it is a devastating event that I know you want to avoid in the future.

 

[barclayrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15293245#post15293245 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cabrego
I think everything has been covered excpet for your actually water source,

I assume you are using RO/DI,

When was the last time you checked TDS?

have you tested for copper?

TDS is 0 = tested with 3 different TDS meters..

Never checked for copper...

How could that get into my system?? If i have a TDS of 0.. Is it worth buying the test?

 

[barclayrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15293246#post15293246 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wrott
It's odd that the fish died before you removed the sand.
This would suggest something very out of wack, like sand bed crashed or some other contamination.
Did the sand look black anywhere, hydrogen sulfide?
And the huge algae, diatom bloom also suggests a large amount of nutrients were added somehow.
So you have only 2 fish remaining now, it is baffling. I hope the problem can be answered, as it is a devastating event that I know you want to avoid in the future.

Honestly i think the sanbed did crash, there was several black spots on the top... stunk like sulfer when i removed it.. rotten egg smell.. weird it was less than a year old.....

 

[Shablin]

DSB's are anaerobic and anaerobes smell rotten thats to be expected. Some people think that the sulfuric acid that can be generated can be an issue; I haven't had a problem with mine (i even used a plenum before without trouble - it did STINK when I broke it down).

I got a little lost on how you used GFO; I do know that if you use a lot initially and drop phos levels fast you can injure the inhabitants and cause bleaching; the organisms need to adjust. There must have been some phos in your tank if you had an algal bloom. Might want to check your test kit...