Why Do They Keep Dying

[philosophile]

30g is also a pretty small volume of water... So evaporation and top-off might be issues as well. Is you water Reverse osmosis?

 

[RA]

you need more tests...calcium, phosphate, oxygen, strontium, magnesium, ph..my experience is you need all these levels right..or within reason..your correct mushrooms and zoas are hardy and if they died, somethings wrong, after 6 wks you finished your cycle..and you said you did water changes so thats good..if all your levels are good then its a problem with your system..your pump needs to circulate the water 7 times an hour , it may have been your lighting, i saw you ordered new lights sooo problem solved..i def recomend getting a fish. damzels suck bc theyre not very friendly...but theyre only $4 ..so if they die...thats not good but its not the same as losing a $50 fish..

ohh...dont add too much iodine..i just had a problem with that ...i was adding all the norms..mag, cal, trace, potas, and....iodine...and my mushrooms were looking huge and then one day they shriveled up and looked terrible..i read a bunch of posts and read that adding iodine wil nuke your tank...so i did a cpl water changes, stopped the iodine and theyre starting to look good again..

good luck

I think you are making this much more difficult than it needs to be. Test for oxygen & strontium. Really? Your local fish store must love you. Also Iodine is now believed that it does more harm than good and most experts suggest that you don't dose it. With all the tests you listed you make no mention of testing for Alk, which is very important. As others have mentioned a refractometer is very good to have. I would get a couple of inexpensive fish and make sure that they survive for a couple of weeks before adding more coral. Just remember that nothing good happens fast in a reef tank. Good Luck.

 

[Dapg8gt]

^^ totally agree I was gonna say something but didn't ... If I were you I would def read up on a proper cycle.. Did you add anything to start the cycle? It's good that you had the patience to wait it out so your on the right track..

As for the hydrometer I totally agree they can be off on te number displayed but it will consistently be off the same IF that makes sense.. So go to the LFS and Test some of the water the have in the system and make a mark (sharpie) on your hydrometer where 1.026/35% is if thats what their coral tanks are at.. So that way you can shoot for that and know where you are without guessing. Or just get a Refractometer and be sure to either get calibration fluid or like I do you can make your own with a ratio of table salt and RODI..

My only advice is go to the new to the hobby forum and read all the stickies and whatever else catches your attention. You are doing things right so far mainly by posting this and trying to figure it out. And as stated patience is key in reefing. Doing too much too fast or soon or unecessary things as reccomended earlier in this thread will lead to problems and wasted life and money.. Again good luck.


Oh and if you can return that marineland light do it asap..in short they are crap.. Read the reviews on them they will have issues and they aren't very reef capable.. I had a friend who got suckered into getting one for a frag tank and it was seriously underpowered and couldn't even keep softies alive. Burned out diodes and finally started to smell like burnt plastic and he threw it away a few months after he got it in frustration..You should look into what the light is you have and see if it's better to just change the bulbs if you say he paid good money for it depending on what it is..But seriously look into that light and return it. If its a money thing look into a reef breeders/evergrow value fixture. It will literally grow any coral you want for cheap. Or anything other than that light LOL.

 

[Overgrown]

you need more tests...calcium, phosphate, oxygen, strontium, magnesium, ph..my experience is you need all these levels right..or within reason..your correct mushrooms and zoas are hardy and if they died, somethings wrong, after 6 wks you finished your cycle..and you said you did water changes so thats good..if all your levels are good then its a problem with your system..your pump needs to circulate the water 7 times an hour , it may have been your lighting, i saw you ordered new lights sooo problem solved..i def recomend getting a fish. damzels suck bc theyre not very friendly...but theyre only $4 ..so if they die...thats not good but its not the same as losing a $50 fish..

ohh...dont add too much iodine..i just had a problem with that ...i was adding all the norms..mag, cal, trace, potas, and....iodine...and my mushrooms were looking huge and then one day they shriveled up and looked terrible..i read a bunch of posts and read that adding iodine wil nuke your tank...so i did a cpl water changes, stopped the iodine and theyre starting to look good again..

good luck

You don't need all of these tests.Get a good Alk, Ca, and Mg test , use them often, and keep up on your weekly water changes.