WhiteCloud
Aquarium Advice Freak
My 40 Gallon Breeder Reef Tank has been up and running since January. I have never had a fish death...and everything has been WONDERFUL with the tank...until this week!!
Tank Parameters:
pH=8 (According to Salifert test....which give too wide a range in my opinion)
Ammonia and Nitrites: 0
Phosphate: 0.5ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm ( a little higher than the 5ppm it has been running)
Ca: 420ppm
Alk: 10.4 dKh
Temp: 81 (with recent heat)
SG: 1.024
Use RO/DI water that test with a TDS Meter at 2ppm.
My Royal Gramma has now started to show some very small whitish/clear bubbles..much smaller than the pictures of Ick I have seen. These dots are mostly on the face and tail. I am guessing perhaps 30-50 little dots on him. He is scratching himself on rocks, and appears distressed...hanging around is different areas than he used to. Eating poorly...and starting to get thin. I have noticed some very small whiteish/clear dots on my Firefish also...but shows no signs of distress. No other fish are showing any signs of problems or distress.
I have not added any fish to the tank in 6 weeks, and had my Gramma since February. I have only added a Ricorda Coral, 2 small Gorgonians, and 2 small orange cucumbers to the tank 4 weeks ago.
All other inhabitants seem to be doing well...except for one of the Gorgonian...the white filter feeders of it have not come out in over a week. Could it be dead?? It seems to look the same except for to no feeding. If is is dead..this could be what is leading to my higher Nitrate readings...perhaps??
Also...2 weeks ago...I changed from Instant Ocean Reef Crystal to Tropic Marin Reef Pro salt for my 10% weekly water changes...problems started about 4-5 days after the first 10% water change. Could it be the salt...I thought Tropic Marin Pro Reef was about the best you could get?
I am willing to try any recommendations!! Thanks for the help!
WC
Tank Parameters:
pH=8 (According to Salifert test....which give too wide a range in my opinion)
Ammonia and Nitrites: 0
Phosphate: 0.5ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm ( a little higher than the 5ppm it has been running)
Ca: 420ppm
Alk: 10.4 dKh
Temp: 81 (with recent heat)
SG: 1.024
Use RO/DI water that test with a TDS Meter at 2ppm.
My Royal Gramma has now started to show some very small whitish/clear bubbles..much smaller than the pictures of Ick I have seen. These dots are mostly on the face and tail. I am guessing perhaps 30-50 little dots on him. He is scratching himself on rocks, and appears distressed...hanging around is different areas than he used to. Eating poorly...and starting to get thin. I have noticed some very small whiteish/clear dots on my Firefish also...but shows no signs of distress. No other fish are showing any signs of problems or distress.
I have not added any fish to the tank in 6 weeks, and had my Gramma since February. I have only added a Ricorda Coral, 2 small Gorgonians, and 2 small orange cucumbers to the tank 4 weeks ago.
All other inhabitants seem to be doing well...except for one of the Gorgonian...the white filter feeders of it have not come out in over a week. Could it be dead?? It seems to look the same except for to no feeding. If is is dead..this could be what is leading to my higher Nitrate readings...perhaps??
Also...2 weeks ago...I changed from Instant Ocean Reef Crystal to Tropic Marin Reef Pro salt for my 10% weekly water changes...problems started about 4-5 days after the first 10% water change. Could it be the salt...I thought Tropic Marin Pro Reef was about the best you could get?
I am willing to try any recommendations!! Thanks for the help!
WC