jimandjess3096 said:
From what I've read, the pH and calcium seem to be a little low, and the salinity and water hardness seem to be a little high. It seems like the ammonia and nitrite levels are good, though.
A salinity of 32
ppt is actually not high at all and niether would 1.024
SG. An ideal level would be closer to 35
ppt but if you do not have a refractometer, I would stick closer to 1.024
SG if using a hydrometer and depending on tank temp. Your chem is definately off but the ammonia and nitrite are fine. How about the nitrate?? That will be a large contributor if this is indeed bacterial in nature.
The pH is a tad low but that would depend on what time of day tested. If early AM just before or after the lights come on, it would not be alarming. If midday or later, I would definately be looking for causes. Most likely from either a glass cover on the tank or poor
GPH (water rotation) within the tank. If the alkalinity is measuring @ 14-15 DKH, this would indicate an enviromental situation supressing the pH and not chemical. The low
Ca will not supress the pH.
What corals and such are in the tank that would require daily additions of a two part additive? Sounds like there is not enough of a
CaCO3 consuming load to match the additions. If you are trying to fix a deficiencey in the salt mix (low
Ca,high
alk), then I would simpley get a
CaCl liquid or dry bead to augment the saltmix. The two part will not help much in that regard. Try to post some additional info about the tank and chem to figure out the
alk/
Ca and pH issues.
As far as the food, the local fish store I went to told me that it was ok to feed twice a day, pellets/flakes in the morning and a frozen/fresh food at night and to alternate like that so that the fish would have a better variety. So I guess 3x's a day plus the seaweed strip is a bit much. The tang is pretty small. I'd say he's only about 2.5 - 3 inches from mouth to tail, if that. And the clowns might be about the same in length. The damsels are a little smaller. Is there a better frozen or fresh food that you know of that is better for the fish than the brine or bloodworms? Or do I need to feed them any at all?
No fish
"needs" to be fed any more than twice a day except for grazing foods for fish like tangs and some other species. A good variety is always a great choice though. You really only need feed once a day at most. Anything more and it just contributes to water quality issues. As I said flake a pellet are fine depending on what they are but meats need to be higher in protein like mysis or better still your own >>
blender mush<< which can be fortified properly. Most types of prefab meaty foods you get at the
LFS offer very little for marine fish as a rule (not all though).
I'm mostly just concerned with this tang though. He was fine a couple of days ago and was finally getting less nervous and starting to come out from hiding all the time. And out of nowhere the red line appeared on both sides and now it's spreading to red blotches on his fins and lower body with the small spots around his eyes. Thanks.
Start with the water changes as soon as you can. Be sure you let the newly mixed
SW aerate with a powerhead and heater for 12-24 hrs prior to use and test the pH as well. If possible, post the chem of the salt after it's ready for use.
Depending on where the issues lies, large water changes will help most of your chem issues as well as any bacterial issues with the tang.
The Biozyme is a waste of money and based on your
NH3 and
NO2 results unnecessary. The dechlorinator should be used when mixing new
SW or tap water before it's needed for the tank. If your doing that already, there's no need to add it directly to the tank. You should also check into if your tap water contains any flourides as the dechlorinator has no effect on these and is a poisonous substance to marine animals. Might need to look into
RO water if so.
Cheers
Steve
