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itafx

Aquarium Advice Freak
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Feb 19, 2007
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Virginia
I started a saltwater tank when we went to the beach for a week. For plants, I used 4 kinds of seaweed that washed up in the tide. For a week and a half it was wonderful. Then I noticed that one of the kinds of seaweed is dieing and rotting at the tips and water is being pickled a brownish color. The animals in there are doing fine. I'm not too worried about the tank because it was virtually no cost. But I would like to keep things alive if I can. Maybe there are certain kinds of seaweed that don't do well in tanks. Does anyone have experience with these issues?
 
Can you give us some info on the tank? Size, filtration, age, cycling method, temp, Ph, NH3, NO2, NO3, SG, type of macro or seaweed, etc. Far too little info to offer any useful advice right now.
 
Here is a pic. The temp is 74 degrees. No fish. Only a couple sand crabs and a few sand bugs. Ph is 7.8, but I wouldn't think that would be the problem because the water and sand are from the place where I got the plants. Another symptom is that the plants used to stand straight up, but now they are weeping over in a pile.
 

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What type of filtration do you have? It's possible the pH was higher before and is decreasing due to lack of O2 exchange.

Do you have a heater in there to keep a constant temperature?

Did you cycle the tank? or just put all of it in there?

Can you test for NH3, NO2, NO3 ?
 
I don't have much light, but I don't think the plants have had time to react to the light one way or the other. It's a 20 gallon tank and I have 13 watts on it. I could easily change that around and increase the light.

I'm not using a heater since it's summer and one is not needed. The temp is 74 degrees.

Did you cycle the tank? No.

Can you test for NH3, NO2, NO3. Not readily, but I would be surprised if it was very high since I just recently put the stuff in there.
 
For a 20 gallon I think the minimum you would want for lighting would be 40 watts, I keep corals in mine with 130 watts and I would like more light on it.

No matter what time of year it is you want a heater in there just to keep it stable. It may never come on during the day, but when night comes and the temperature drops the tank tank will most likely drop and you want no more than a 2 degree sway from day to night.

The tank could be cycling.

I wouldn't be surprised if your NH3 was high. From your description of the seaweed it sounds like it is dying or dead and rotting in the water. Also the sand and water right on the beach is full of polutants, less so if you go away from populated beaches but still poluted. When they collect ls and natural seawater it's off shore to make sure no polutants.
 
To actively sustain life in the tank, you will need to cycle it properly first. The addition of any organic matter to the tank can cause rapid spikes in NH3 and NO2. I suggest you test for them.

Using sand and water from the beach is not really a great idea. They can contain pollution that is not good for your tank.

Not sure what type of macro you have, but I am betting it will need much more light then you currently have. A higher-penetrating light such as CF or VHO will also be needed.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but it looks like things are not really off to a great start.
 
1. I got a kit and tested NH3/NH4+. It as only 0.25, so not a problem.
2. I removed the dieing seaweed. It was slimy.
3. I changed the light to a 17W light. Not what folks recommended, but a 30% increase anyway.
4. I intend to plug the heaters back in before the nights get too cool. I had an issue with a Stealth heater where it almost burst from heat when I did a water change because the automatic shut off didn't work right, so I'm a little shy about that right now.
5. I can see beach sand and water being a problem on a dirty beach. But I don't think so where I was right out on the Atlantic coast. It sure seemed pristine when I got it.


Questions: This summer, I've had heat issues with my FW tanks and a lot of watts contributes. With 130+ watts on a 20 gallon how do you keep the heat down? Are you using a chiller? What's a macro? I'm using an Emperor 280 for the filter. Any recommendations on the adequacy of that?
 
I don't have any problems with heat with 130watts. The tank is completely open top and the temp stays around 80 degrees. There is also a ceiling fan in the room that I turn on when it's hot, so that does a lot, especially when it's 115 outside with the heat index.

Macroalgae are algaes like caulerpa, chaeto, etc.

I also have a Emperor 280 on my 20 gallon... with two Aquaclear 20's (one on each side of the tank) and a Rena XP1 cannister filter. The flow on the Emperor alone isn't really enough IMO.
 
even though they may look like weeds..seagrasses are a fairly delicate plant. Most require careful planting of individual plantlets. A nice hole dug, deep sand substrate, alot of lighting and moderate current. To be honest, it doesnt look like you are providing for ANY of the plants needs.
 
Here is a new picture with 17 Watts on it. I can only do so much with what I have on hand. Maybe I'll purchase a lighting and/or filtration upgrade.
 
I got a kit and tested NH3/NH4+. It as only 0.25, so not a problem.
Remember that NH3 at ANY level is toxic to livestock. 0.25 is a problem. The only acceptable level is zero.
 
What about doing a water change to get rid of it?
that is a good method to get levels down, but in the uncycled tank they will accumulate very quickly again. A series of water changes will be needed to keep levels at appropriate levels. This will help but will also significantly increase your cycle time.

My suggestion...decided if you would like to keep a SW tank long-term. if so, research and start over from scratch and do things the right way. I promise you will save yourself a lot ot time, trouble, money and heart ache.
 
Make sure you topoff the water from your last picture it looks like at least an inch of water has evaporated. Topoff with fresh water dont use sw to topoff, it will just increase the salinity.
 
Hara said:
This article by Anthony Calfo may help you where to go next with this.

That was helpful. Thanks!

I did an 11 gal water change, took out as much detritis as I could, changed the filter pad again (50 micron), added Diamond Blend media to the filter cartridge to remove remaining ammonia. This was a mistake since the label says "fresh water only". How serious is that? What are you supposed to use instead? Btw, can SW filters be used later for FW if I choose or is there some design thing that makes them good for SW only?

Here are some pics of how it looks now. I added a Fiji Blue Devil. Another mistake. Found out later that it's aggressive and not a good tank mate for other fish. Ok for now since it's the only fish. He's kind of reclusive, but is getting used to the tank and comes out now. He attaks his food like he's a lion or something.
 

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