What have i done? Need some advise

[Dhelseth]

I recently upgraded to a 150g system from a 60 gallon. Due to vacation coming up, and not being able to have 2 systems running, i cycled for 2 weeks using Dr. Tim's One and Only. I have a little over 150 pounds of live rock in the display and sump and after Ammonia a Nitrite hit 0 i started moving my fish and corals over to the tank.

2 days ago i moved a 2 little fishes phosban reactor with rowaphos over and teed it off a dedicated pump also connected to a bio pellet reactor. The next day everything was closed and hasn't opened up much since.

Stock: 2 clowns, blenny, goby, cardinal, and yellow coris wrasse

Corals are 2 duncans (all closed up) a cristata (all tentacles shriveled and receding) A couple colonies of zoas and palys (open but skirt is projected out forming a cone shape) and some mushrooms that are twisted up, GSP closed up.

Temp is running high 77s to love 80s Ph is 8.14 right now and i dose with kalkwasser in the ATO. Ammonia, and nitrite are 0 nitrate is somewhere in the 5 to 10 range. Phosphate is around .05.

I run 2 AI hydras and after everything closed up i put that into acclimation mode (still not sure if my setting are good for everything)

All fish seem healthy and are eating. I have since turned off circulation to the phosban reactor but don't know if that was the problem. Any ideas?

 

[ajcanale]

Is your reactor recirculating? If so cut it off as much as possible. You probably do not have the nutrient build up yet to support the requirements of the pellet reactor and it is starving the system of nutrients.

This might not be the case but it's what seems most likely with the given info.

 

[Dhelseth]

The Reactor has a dedicated mag drive 2 that goes directly into the protein skimmer. not sure if that is what you mean by recirculating.

 

[SpartaReef]

Why didn't you just move everything into the new tank? I don't understand the need to cycle when you are upgrading... Your existing liverock will seed the new rock and your system doesn't have any additional bioload that the old system was already handling...

 

[Dhelseth]

80 pounds were cured dead rock, and the system went from 60 to 150 gallons. I believed it was necessary. I don't really see how this is relevant to the problem at hand. If it is, please explain what steps could be used to help fix it.

 

[SpartaReef]

Well I don't think it did, but was just curious. Sorry I could help. I don't use reactors so I don't know

 

[ajcanale]

The Reactor has a dedicated mag drive 2 that goes directly into the protein skimmer. not sure if that is what you mean by recirculating.

Recirculating means that it is plumbed with the ability to circulate water -that has just flowed through the media chamber- back through the media chamber. The purpose of this is to maintain high flow through the reactor to keep the media suspended while limiting the actual amount of water that enters/exits the reactor to/from the water column. Valves are used to regulate the regarded flow.

Bio pellet reactors have been known to completely strip the water column of nutrients and even onset tank crashes because of this. The point of recirculating is to prevent this.

It is very simple to plumb most reactors and pumps to recirculate with the use of PVC and Valves.

From the way it sounds you added an established reactor to cycling tank. Willing to bet that nutrients reached "too low" levels and you are seeing the results.

 

[Dhelseth]

The bio pellet reactor was new and added in at the end of the cycle. the Phosban reactor was added in right before the problems happened and was from an established tank. Thanks for the info i'll go do some more research.