help somehting wrgon

[fishinsouthga]

ok all my coraline alge is slowing going away and my clam is now showing signs of stress the water seems like its perfect can dectect anything out of the ordinary same tank nothing new been up for over 2 years..... can't figure it out..... my ent quadri is huge my xenia are huge and growing fish seem extreamly happy just can't figure this one out calcium and stuff is normal water changes 2 times a month nothing new on ro/di system filters are a few months old seems test the same... any ideas?

 

[npaden]

When is the last time you changed your light bulbs?

What test kits are you using to test CA and ALK and how old are they?

That should help get things started.

Nathan

 

[Len]

What is your alk and calcium levels testing at. It would seem to me it's issues with one of those two parameters. Have you done a large water change to see if that resolves the problem?

 

[fishinsouthga]

i use sea chem products calcuim is at 410 as of right now alk is normal too i does b ionic once a week based on test, and my lights? well i think they are about 8 months maybe 10 months old? on for 10 hours a day? my quadri color is just now starting to move. i can't figre it out.

did water change every sunday so last sunday i did 9 gallons on a 80 gallon total system.. (fuge tank sump)

think perhaps charcoal?

 

[keethrax]

ok all my coraline alge is slowing going away and my clam is now showing signs of stress the water seems like its perfect can dectect anything out of the ordinary same tank nothing new been up for over 2 years..... can't figure it out..... my ent quadri is huge my xenia are huge and growing fish seem extreamly happy just can't figure this one out calcium and stuff is normal water changes 2 times a month nothing new on ro/di system filters are a few months old seems test the same... any ideas?

since it seems to be affecting the corraline and the clam, I'd double check ca/alk (with new test kits if necessary).

Lights are another good point, what type/how old are the bulbs? have you changed the light routine recently?

It could alwasy be two seperate problems too that are just happening to coincide (that always can mess with diagnosis). Does there seem to be an unusal boost in other algae growth? Is something picking at the clam?

What are the other water parameters? Skimmer need cleaning? How's the temperature looking and how stable is it? Same with pH? these are just more general questions, not aimed at a particular possibility, just information gathering.

 

[npaden]

originally posted by npaden
What test kits are you using to test CA and ALK and how old are they?

The brand of test kit you are using makes a BIG difference in the accuracy of your test results. Also many kits have an expiration date and should not be used past that date if you expect your results to be accurate at all.

Also to get water parameters on back on track (if something is out of whack) you need to do more than 10% water changes. At least 25% changes and if things are way out of whack you might even do a 50% water change.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[keethrax]

think perhaps charcoal?

If it's somethign charcoal will fix, a larger water change could help as well (sicne it woudl dilute whateever the carbon would be removing. It would also potentially help several other possibilities.

It's amazing how many mystery problems can be postponed or even solved by a bigger water change, sicne if whatever it is taht went wrong has been fixed and you're just facing the afteraffects, bigger changes will get you past it faster. (though for general maintenance, I really like your apparent schedule).

As now your quadricolor is starting to move as well, alk/ca+ seem less likely.