About To Give Up!!!

[Chris5]

Ok Well its been about 6 months since i upgraded from a 30g to 65g and thus have had nothing but frustration, all my corals died off (had to give some to kuya to save) and water quality has progressively deterioted....I have maintained all levels to specification and even upgraded lights but no help...

Only positive note fish are as healthy as ever....My last post was about the algae bloom i found when i came home from vaca...since than i have done 3 water changes (2 minor) did nothing to help the problem and yesterday did an 80% one....I know that was risky but only option besides diatom...everything is ok now but water is still cloudy and has hints of green again....using ro water...
Will wait it out to see if that works but am getting very tired of the work and annoyed with no outcomes....I was really looking forward to having nice softies but doesnt look bright for this tank...honestly looking to downgrade if no luck at all.....

I always say if i didnt upgrade i would have had one bad ass reef....(it was on its way....)

If this doesnt work you may all see this tank up for sale very soon....sorry to say!

 

[nyfireman3097]

sorry to hear about all your problems bro it can be very frustraing I went through a horrific loss of my 125 in august and almost just stayed out of the hobby due to it thousands lost in sps not including my fish and inverts its killed me but i got a=back into and happy i did If you can just work it out im sure you will get things going good again good luck

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Please describe your system. Also, are you using RO water? What brand of salt? What additives? What is your specific gravity (Using a spectrometer)? What fish and corals do you currently have?

-Alfred

 

[ezee]

Chris5,

I wholeheartedly agree with nyfireman, don't throw the towel in.

E

 

[R32Brightliner]

Don't throw the towel in yet.

What's your water parameters? What is your system set-up and how frequent are your water changes???

Did you change anything when you upgraded (salt brand, lighting set-up, sand depth, etc)?

 

[Chris5]

Set up

Well I have Kuyas old 65g tank and 20g sump and overflow....(poly pad and carbon in tray of sump)
I have a Quietone 3000(780gph) running the return.....My water paramters are fine....Salin -1.024, Temp - 79, PH - Kinda fluctuates from 8-.8.2 Alk -ok...
PC lights 4-55w 12Ks and 1-35w acntic.....
Running only FOWLR system due to the unexplained reason why corals only lasted 1 week in my tank......
Aqaurium systems skimmer, and skilter as a back up fitler so help with water flow...
Have 3 power heads running in various positions and

Never changed much used same oceanic salt, have more sand about 2.5-3"sand bed and dont see any life in the bed....my old 30g had pods all over the place to the point you can see them running around....

In my opinion i dont think the sump is helping my tank...in my old 30g i had 2 filters running (1 bio-wheel and one combo polypad carbon set up and in 3 months the tank was ready for corals with the exception i used about 50% water from kuyas tank when he did a water change.....

 

[Doc]

when my water took on a green tint I added a uv sterilizer. took the tint out of the water and helped clear up a huge algea bloom.

Doc

 

[R32Brightliner]

What's your nitrate, ammonia and phosphate levels?

 

[DEEPWATER]

with the exception i used about 50% water from kuyas tank when he did a water change.....

Well im no expert ,But i think this would be one of your problems ,you should of used new salt water and waited for 3 weeks or so.I would never use 50% of someone elses water (no offense Kuya) but i mean no one.Are you using RO/DI water .Uv sterilizer would deff help alot
Where did you get your rock from?
was it fully cured ?
did you cook the rock before putting in your tank?

Dont give it up that qiuck ,I lost a tank full of $$$ fish .What that did ,is only make me want to know what i did worng so it wont happen again ,Dont rush into anything so quick ,Rome was not bulit in one day ,and your reef tank is not going to est it self in one month.Al new tanks go through an algea bloom.Part of your cycle.

 

[ulmo]

Yo Chris,

Just stick it out a little longer! Larger tanks need more time to mature, so don't throw in the towel just yet!

 

[DEEPWATER]

If you dont have RO water ,ask someone in your area to make some up for you ,Im sure there would lots of ppl to help you out.

 

[Chris5]

Well im no expert ,But i think this would be one of your problems ,you should of used new salt water and waited for 3 weeks or so.I would never use 50% of someone elses water (no offense Kuya) but i mean no one.Are you using RO/DI water .Uv sterilizer would deff help alot
Where did you get your rock from?
was it fully cured ?
did you cook the rock before putting in your tank?

Dont give it up that qiuck ,I lost a tank full of $$$ fish .What that did ,is only make me want to know what i did worng so it wont happen again ,Dont rush into anything so quick ,Rome was not bulit in one day ,and your reef tank is not going to est it self in one month.Al new tanks go through an algea bloom.Part of your cycle.

Nah that was from my old 30g thats why it matured so fast ....that tank was wild, here a pic of it when it was at its best ...
And here is a pic of when the new tank (65g) was in its first few weeks with corals...i was so proud...(lack of rock though)....
After this i purchased live rock from David fellow MReefer about 60 or so lbs....fully cured been in his tank for 2 yrs.....

 

[Tonyscoots84]

dude def. dont give up its not worth it. well figure out the prob. eventually and well get you to were ya gotta be. just have patience i understand its hard u want that perfect cycling tank as does everyone. give it some time and ull see.

 

[jackson6745]

What's your nitrate, ammonia and phosphate levels?

We must know this if you want to be helped. What brand testkits do you use? Looking at your cloudy water I can tell that your water parameters must be all F%#*@&ked up.
Think of it this way.
1)you have a glass box
2) you put live things in this glass box
3) these live things need to be fed and consequently make waste
4) this waste needs to be removed

so what do you have to remove waste?
1)An amiricle skimmer and a skilter which do nada
2)Water changes, which unless they are very large and frequent will only dilute waste temporarily.
3)polypad and carbon which are supplemental to a greater filtration that is non-existent. Alone these are not enough
Am I helping you to see how your system is flawed?
IMO you have 2 options. 1st and best option get a great skimmer, 2nd a refugium can be added DIY very cheap if money is an issue.

 

[Chris5]

We must know this if you want to be helped. What brand testkits do you use? Looking at your cloudy water I can tell that your water parameters must be all F%#*@&ked up.
Think of it this way.
1)you have a glass box
2) you put live things in this glass box
3) these live things need to be fed and consequently make waste
4) this waste needs to be removed

so what do you have to remove waste?
1)An amiricle skimmer and a skilter which do nada
2)Water changes, which unless they are very large and frequent will only dilute waste temporarily.
3)polypad and carbon which are supplemental to a greater filtration that in non-existent. Alone these are not enough
Am I helping you to see how your system is flawed?
IMO you have 2 options. 1st and best option get a great skimmer, 2nd a refugium can be added DIY very cheap if money is an issue.

Very Very Tru.,..Yea unfortunately money is at fault here due to being a student and i thought my skimmer (aqaurium systems-rated at 120g) was suppose to be decent enough guess not....and i knew my skilter was bad just used it for water flow purposes...but this is where my sump comes into play isnt it? I mean what other filtration am i suppose to have? I have been pricing refug kits like hang on ones you think that would work? I think that may help no? i mean dr fosters has em for like 90 for everything....i appreciate everything and everyones help...and its not about cycling anymore i believe its about the overal quality of the water....test kits am using are aqaurium pharm drops....

 

[jackson6745]

Skimmer rating mean nothing. there are many skimmers that are rated for 200gal tank that cant even skim a moderately stocked 20gal i.e. Seaclone skimmer.

A sump isn't the filtration, it's what you have in it. You could probably mod your sump to be a refugium and save yourself the cash of buying one. Is it one of those Amiracle sumps?

Or you could just use a rubbermaid bin as a sump and mod that to a refugium. It can all be done for less than 20 bux!

 

[House of Laughter]

I agree with Jackson - you need a better skimmer - you can get a cheap one like spykes got, mod it and skim the Shi-ite out of that tank. sterilizer would help, yes, but not the best way to fix the problem.

Also, did you use the old sand from the 30g? If so, this could also be the root of the problem.

Don't stop - you'll eventually get it under control and it will thrive - patients is key.

House

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

A few points/questions:

1. Has any of the rock in your tank been in a freshsaltwater system that had copper in it? I notice one rock with "rust color" that is not typical live rock.

2. Do you mean Instant Ocean salt?

3. You definately have a problem with nutrients, I strongly suggest you get an ASM skimmer (They are very inexpensive) before you try to keep anything else in your tank.

4. You really need to be using RO water for mixing fresh saltwater and to replace evaporated water. You can pick up a 5 stage RO unit for about $177 shipped.

-Alfred

 

[Chris5]

A few points/questions:

1. Has any of the rock in your tank been in a freshsaltwater system that had copper in it? I notice one rock with "rust color" that is not typical live rock.

2. Do you mean Instant Ocean salt?

3. You definately have a problem with nutrients, I strongly suggest you get an ASM skimmer (They are very inexpensive) before you try to keep anything else in your tank.

4. You really need to be using RO water for mixing fresh saltwater and to replace evaporated water. You can pick up a 5 stage RO unit for about $177 shipped.

-Alfred

That rock was just an add in for when i was lacking rock no worries on that one i took it out....and yes i use oceanic salt the blue container ....my skimmer now skims the hell out of the tank believe when i tell ya i get a cup full in about 10 min or so and its not all water either its alot of junk foam and stuff....where can i find a asm skimmer though? and yes i am re using sand maybe thats why, any other suggestions on how i can turn my sump into a refug? i have a regular sump with drip tray very narrow though...here is an old pic before i got a real sump light .....

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

1. I have never heard of Oceanic salt. Use Instant Ocean, unless someone here can comment on Oceanic?

2. Reused the sand from what type of system?

3. Your skimmer should be putting out brown gunk. If it is clear with "foam" it is running very very wet. For an ASM skimmer check: http://championlighting.com, give them a call and speak to Gary, he can help you.

-Alfred