Do you run any carbon Tim?
yea i had a large bag of carbon in the sump for a while, i just took it out last month but the infliction has been there while the carbon was in the tank
How long was the carbon in the tank. IMO carbon may be detremental to the tank if left in for more then 3 weeks. I try to remove it after two weeks of use even if I don’t plan on adding more. I doubt this caused the problem, just commenting.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start running carbon on a regular basis as this would help reduce any chemical warefare. Good though Ian.
Any chance you could take a still video of the Euphyllia and add a little food in the water.
see the market place forum, selling my LPS
Are you sure?
they arent dying and are in great health, but i bought then specificly for their unique shapes and every time i look at the tank, even though i have acro’s and monti’s and favia THRIVING those few corals make me feel like im failing at keeping the reef, its frusterating
Tim, I can’t keep yellow polyps alive to save my life. YELLOW freaking polyps! The things people consider a pest. Both Ken and Ian have been purposely getting rid of them the last couple months while I’ve been trying to find the last polyp I had left.
There are so many untold mysteries with our tanks. I’ll see if I am able to swing by and take a look at your set up in person regardless if you decide to sell the LPS or not. Perhaps a new set of eyes on the tank will help find something we’re missing.
Well I took a look at the tank in person today and still can’t put my finger on it for sure. I did make two observations though that may lead to something if both are investigated.
First of the system is with out a high nutrient system. I can tell this from the microfauna present in the tank. Two of which, hydroids and the, “Caribbean corallimorphâ€ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ, genus Pseudocorynactis could potentially cause problems. The Psudocoryanactis sp. Typically do not produce prolifically in reef tanks unless fed well and never show up in direct light unless really fed well. They have been really fed well in your tank. They likely release toxins like other corallimorphs which could compete with your stony corals. Reducing feeding should slowly decrease the numbers of both animals and the number of worms in your system(which aren’t directly harming them, but constant irritation, like the miny stars on your gps, will bother your corals)
That being said your system is an amazingly balanced system. Between the volume of water, and the grazing animals you have chosen things seem to be in check. You might double check your Nitrates with an LFS or another hobbyists Salifert to see more precisely where they are(I personally don’t trust RedSea), but I wouldn’t be shocked if they cam up 0 due to a well balanced system.
Second factor that I came to while at your apartment was something I should have thought of sooner. Due to how well insolated and closed off the apartments are over there,(great for noise reduction, but has a down side) it is possible that the gasses in the apartment are not being exchanged enough with the outdoors. Especially in the winter time when we run heating systems and close out the chilly winter air it is very possible that too much CO2 is trapped in the room. Just like CO2 globally effecting the pH on natural coral reefs, the CO2 in your apartment could be effecting the pH in your tank. I would toss out the old chemical pH test kit and pick up a digital pH meter. Then carefully monitor your pH for a couple of days at various times of day and night.
I know a lot of this I already said in person, but wanted to get it all written out hear so we don’t forget and so that others might learn from it. I also think you have a great idea of getting a sample of one of your LPS out to someone elses tanks to rule out a mystery diseases of some sort.
That being said I have to say, NICE tank Tim. I am jealous of the rockscape. Very nice work. It looks a lot better in person then any of the pics. The whole set up from the rockscape to the nicely made stand, sump, fuge, ATO all looks really nice. Hopefully we figure this out. Keep us updated. Best of luck.
thanks for stopping by Jon. after thinking about it these corals looked like this through the autumn while i had my windows open all day and night (when not too cold) but i’ll start opening the windows for short periods with a fan to let in some fresh air each day just in case, and yes i will get a digital ph meter, cant hurt to have one.
also im starting a regiment of small water changes untill i’ve turned the entire volume over once. perhaps 5g every day/2 days? too much? 110g is alot to turn over lol
oh, and i popped that 1 freaking bubble algae accidentaly >::: … crap LOL oh well
5g every 2 days would be great. Not to much if you slow down after 3 weeks. For time being I wouldn’t feed anything at all for the corals. Just feed enough for the fish.
I’ve always used the pin point pH meters, but many people prefer milwaukee.
im in a apt and the ph in my tank at highest is 7.8 n i run a fuge lighted 24/7. excess co2 really does affecttanks. i think i said something about it earlier
You guys can drip kalk to keep the pH up, as well.
i put 30 ml of B-ionic 2 part every morning religiously
addicted and Tim. Another method used to stabilize pH in closed off areas is to connect your skimmers air intake line to a long piece of airline that actually runs outside and pulls air in from the outside. Professional aquarium instillation companies usually do this with. Though, unfortunately Tim I just remembered your skimmer functions with out any airline tubing, so this may not be an option for you currently.
Tim I think Ian’s point was that if you switched your additive system to a night time kalk drip it would effect your pH in what might be a positive direction. Unfortunately though I don’t think it is just a night time swing issue in an apartment, but a continuous problem.
you are correct, my skimmer is the aquaC remora and it is a spray injection system so no air like tube. as i said earlier i tend to doubt a co2 problem, still plausable, but i had all my windows open for 2 solid months or more while the outside average tempature was between 75-85 with fans in every window (i love fresh air) and this problem still was present. and im not sure when you lived in this apt complex but they recently changed all the windows and sliders in all the buildings and they are low quality and so drafty that you can feel a breeze near all the windows… it is an on going complaint with everyone in the complex.
question, i was considering the reefkeeper, does anyone have one? can i set my cooling fans over the tank to some kind of thermometer to go on off in the summer?
[quote=“TimH07, post:35, topic:1886”]
question, i was considering the reefkeeper, does anyone have one? can i set my cooling fans over the tank to some kind of thermometer to go on off in the summer?[/quote]
I run a Reefkeeper 2 and yes you can hook fans up to it and set the outlets to come on at a set temp. (most RK come with a temp probe) and off at a set temp. Same for your lights & heater.
Andy also has one I believe. Well he has some sort of reefkeeper. Turns his heaters and his fans on and off. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if you are already considering the cost of a pH meter to go for the reefkeeper. Actually thought of suggesting it, but figured I had typed enough, lol.
thanks again for more ideas, today had windows open as long as possible, and did 10g water change more to follow, i’ll find the culprit!
Yes Andy also runs the RK2. If the PH in your tank is stable then the issue isn’t going to be having the apartment closed up. The only impact of that is increased co2 which lowers your PH, if your PH isn’t low then this probability can be removed from the list.
I still think it’s chemical warfare.
Tim perhaps if you and I both write letters to the North Poll now Santa will still have time to stock his toy ship with Reef Keepers!