Corals closed

[NanoPerson67]

my corals have been kind of not the same ever since i topped of with r/o water and added my powerhead back into my fish tank... my temperature i didnt realize till now have skyrocketed to 84... i turned my fan and ac on just now... what could it be??? could it be that taking the powerhead out and then adding it back in causing stress? i buffered the r/o water a few days ago... my leather however seems to have gotten bigger.. maybe too much r/o water for top off caused it to lower the sg?? what do u think i should do?? the corals are not like bleached or anything...i tested the ph and is was 7.8 yesterday.. a few dys ago it was around 8.2 i used something called kent dkh to buffer the r/o water.. the water i mixed with the powerhead that i was going to use for a water change had ammonia iin it... so i just took out the power head and out it back in.. maybe the water from the bucket was still in the powerhead and contaminated the tank??

 

[beerfish]

:banghead:

 

[NanoPerson67]

:banghead:

No i didnt get my book yet...........

 

[beerfish]

Ok... how about this...

Let's start with a list of everything you have and your exact parameters. Your threads are scattered around all over the place with various questions everywhere. A comprehensive list of everything would be a good place to start.

List all of your equipment.
List all of your livestock.
List all of your parameters (temp, sg, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH)

This way we can look at the big picture and try to see what the potential flaws in your setup are and what you should be doing. Only bad things happen quickly in a reef tank, so you can't keep making changes and expect things to do well.

 

[NanoPerson67]

Ok... how about this...

Let's start with a list of everything you have and your exact parameters. Your threads are scattered around all over the place with various questions everywhere. A comprehensive list of everything would be a good place to start.

List all of your equipment.
List all of your livestock.
List all of your parameters (temp, sg, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH)

This way we can look at the big picture and try to see what the potential flaws in your setup are and what you should be doing. Only bad things happen quickly in a reef tank, so you can't keep making changes and expect things to do well.

ok here i go

equipment
.aqueaon filter
.petco 20 gallon powerhead (just turned it off due to overheating)
.tetra heater
.nova extreme usa current2 18w t5 lights
.theremometer
.bucekt of r/o water buffered (used kent dkh) lady at my lfs told me to dip my finer in the r.o water dip in buffer and dip back into water
.red sea hydrometer
.aire line tubing
.coralife sea salt mix

livestock
.6 pnds live rock
.10 lbs live sand
.1 leather coral
. zoanthids
.a mushroom coral frag

parameters
.temp (dropping because i tuned off powerhead due to overheating. i might not use ut anymore)
.ph is 7.8 ( checked yesterday)
.ammonia 0
.nitrite 0
.nitrates 0
sg last time i check with refractometer was 1.025 but i did a top off and i think i added too much r/o water

note: 2 days ago i removed the powerhead to mix some saltwater. I tested the mixed water which had a slight ammonia reading so i did not add the water for a water change. instead i put my powehead back in and i saw some of the dirty water go in. the ph of that water was also 7.8...it is really hard to tell because of the color... at times it looks like 7.8 when overed over the white.. at times it looks like 8.2 when placed on the white area of the testing card... keep in mind i topped of my water yesterday and i might have added to much lowering the sg which might have also caused stress... the water in my powerhead got in and maybe the water that got in had a different sg.. my hydrometer is inaccurate.. i am pretty sure my tank is cycled. my leather coral on the other hand seems to be getting bigger. my mushroom is open but not to a full circle. my zoanthids are open but look scrawny, some are closed and some are open, the little tenticles areound the polyps are looking weak. keep in mind the colors on my corals have not changed.. their still pretty bright.. i hope you can help me find a solution. my temp is pretty high around 83 and im trying to drop it... unplugged to powerhead to lower the temp.. ill just have to wait and see. o and my ph might have gotten up because the lights are on and it;s day time...

also i dont really keep track when and when i turn my lights on and off... the first day i kept the lights on all night long because the corals were in the bag with no lighting so long...the lights run to atound 7 to 10 hrs i guess... should i start keeping count of the hours??

a few days ago my corals looked amazing.. now the mushroom almost semms like it curling up a little then opening.. i saw some of the soanthid polyps close with my own eyes and open back up for no apparent reason...

ill post some pics

 

[NanoPerson67]

i forgot to mention. theres also this snail in my tank which goes under the sang..i dont know the name... it has like a really really long atenna..

here r the pics... keep in mind they looked bigger a day ago before i was doing the top off and removing powerheads and just testing the water...
how do u think they look?

 

[NanoPerson67]

it might be because i keep my lights on too long

 

[125reefer]

first thing you really need to throw that filter away and get yourself a sump.a tank that small your parameters are going to go out of control using a filter.secondly what test kits are you using.you have a glass heater if so toss it and get a titanium heater with a controller.via aqua is what i use.do you have a skimmer.very important piece of equipment.put some ro/di in a bottle and freeze it,put it in the tank to bring temp down.the size of your tank im sure that the powerhead your using(which i never heard of)is small so i dont believe its causing any damage to the tank.what time of the day are you checking ph.my ph drops and raises different parts of the day.DONT add anything including buffers to the tank.you need to solve your problem naturally.get yourself some timers to control your lights as well

 

[NanoPerson67]

first thing you really need to throw that filter away and get yourself a sump.a tank that small your parameters are going to go out of control using a filter.secondly what test kits are you using.you have a glass heater if so toss it and get a titanium heater with a controller.via aqua is what i use.do you have a skimmer.very important piece of equipment.put some ro/di in a bottle and freeze it,put it in the tank to bring temp down.the size of your tank im sure that the powerhead your using(which i never heard of)is small so i dont believe its causing any damage to the tank.what time of the day are you checking ph.my ph drops and raises different parts of the day.DONT add anything including buffers to the tank.you need to solve your problem naturally.get yourself some timers to control your lights as well

thanks.. im using api tests.. the liquid tube kindd.. u then match the colors.. i tested the ph around 5ish..but i believe i turned the lights off and on a few times due to cheking sg and taking out water for testing..i have no skimmer.. i won't add anymore buffers...i didnt add buffer to the tank... i added it seperetely just for the r/o water because the r/o ph is 6... so when i top it off i didnt want to have an unbalance of ph... but i read somewhere the ph wouldnt even matter and that the saltwater ph would dominate the freshwater and nothing would even happen...how do u think my corals are looking?

 

[beerfish]

Ok... don't have too much time right now, but here's what I see right away.

1. Get another powerhead to mix saltwater. You don't want to pull the one in your tank out every time you need to do a water change.

2. Get a fan that can blow across the top of the tank. Until you have some way of controlling the temp, let the fan blow constantly to cool the water. You generally want the temp somewhere around 80, but stability is important so you don't want huge swings.

3. Get the hydrometer out of the tank. If you can't get a refractometer right away, get a hydrometer that you fill each time you want to take a reading. The ones in the tank can easily get screwed up by almost anything.

4. Top off frequently. Once again, you need to avoid swings. You want your salinity around 1.025-1.026 at all times. Adding a fan will cause more evaporation, so be prepared to top off at least twice a day. Even if it's only a few ounces of water, it will keep the tank more stable.

5. Get a $10 timer at Home Depot and put your lights on it. Again you want a regular schedule. For now you may want to keep your lights on for 6-7 hours, but make sure that they go on and off the same time every day.

 

[NanoPerson67]

first thing you really need to throw that filter away and get yourself a sump.a tank that small your parameters are going to go out of control using a filter.secondly what test kits are you using.you have a glass heater if so toss it and get a titanium heater with a controller.via aqua is what i use.do you have a skimmer.very important piece of equipment.put some ro/di in a bottle and freeze it,put it in the tank to bring temp down.the size of your tank im sure that the powerhead your using(which i never heard of)is small so i dont believe its causing any damage to the tank.what time of the day are you checking ph.my ph drops and raises different parts of the day.DONT add anything including buffers to the tank.you need to solve your problem naturally.get yourself some timers to control your lights as well

also.. how is it that my leather coral is getting bigger and my zoanthids are looking scrawny???

 

[NanoPerson67]

Ok... don't have too much time right now, but here's what I see right away.

1. Get another powerhead to mix saltwater. You don't want to pull the one in your tank out every time you need to do a water change.

2. Get a fan that can blow across the top of the tank. Until you have some way of controlling the temp, let the fan blow constantly to cool the water. You generally want the temp somewhere around 80, but stability is important so you don't want huge swings.

3. Get the hydrometer out of the tank. If you can't get a refractometer right away, get a hydrometer that you fill each time you want to take a reading. The ones in the tank can easily get screwed up by almost anything.

4. Top off frequently. Once again, you need to avoid swings. You want your salinity around 1.025-1.026 at all times. Adding a fan will cause more evaporation, so be prepared to top off at least twice a day. Even if it's only a few ounces of water, it will keep the tank more stable.

5. Get a $10 timer at Home Depot and put your lights on it. Again you want a regular schedule. For now you may want to keep your lights on for 6-7 hours, but make sure that they go on and off the same time every day.

thanks alot =)