Tank Update, help, ID, and with pics.

[zacdl]

First off, the ID.
What is this thing? Its pretty small.

Next... I did a PWC, changed the filter on the Whisper (it keeps getting muck in it, slows the flow. I am thinking this is algea clogging it)

And managed to spill a few cups of IO salt on the floor too.


Tested PO4 in original water (Water before added to tank) its the same level as the water IN the tank, this means PO4 is not a problem, correct?


Picking up Chemi Clean today. Have the GAC out when I changed the filter.

At the end of this post there are pics of my corals (And what is left of the mushroom, have no clue what happened to it) and tank. I think the tank is looking a little bit better, but it STINKS. Why does it stink?


Now a problem.... One of my snails is on the bottom of the tank back up. Although its still alive, and it seemed to try to get out of its shell (it came out quite a ways, but jumped back in when it knew I was there. Can snails not flip themselves over or what?


Readings are normal, no changes. SG somewhere about 1.024. PH 8.2 or so. 0-0-15 for am/nitrite/nitrate. Nitrates 15-20 about. Going to have LFS test the water when I get the Chemi Clean.

 

[zacdl]

Got the Chemi-Clean. Added 3 spoons (30 gallon mix).

No carbon running.

Has plenty of water movement, so plenty of oxygen and gas exchange.

Wait 48 hours I guess (Friday) and see what happens!

Says im supposed to do a 20% PWC after the 48 hours.

 

[Fluff]

Turbos are notorius for falling on thier backs and no, they cannot right themselves and will perish without assistance from you. The ID is a small feather duster.

 

[zacdl]

When I went back and checked the snail it was right side up and attached to the glass. I guess they can after all????

Small featherduster? Where would it have come from?

 

[Fluff]

It come from your live rock, or it may have hitched a ride on your corals. They are pretty common. As for the snail, he's pretty lucky. I wouldn't count on it though to always right itself.

 

[revhtree]

Fluff is correct as usual about the snail....Lucky Little Bugger! (This Time)

 

[zacdl]

Why wasnt it there before? I have had my tank awhile and never seen it there.

 

[revhtree]

Feather dusters can and will move.....

Trust me they will pop up anywhere and anytime.

 

[Hara]

you tested p04 and said it was the same level....any level is too much. It would also be much more helpful if you would give EXACT numbers and not generalities.
To be honest, I am getting tired of beating my head against a wall with you. You are not doing anything that has been suggested as I see slime all over the place in the tank so you are not siphoning. You are not doing water changes often enough to take care of the nitrites and nitrates. You are not cleaning the filter out daily to take care of the muck..nothing zac. If you tank smells bad, there are dead things in it, look for them. And as for what is happening with your corals, they are tired of living. It is too much work for them.

I think maybe you are not ready for the hard work involved in a saltwater tank as you are constantly looking for the easy solutions. I am sorry if this sounds harsh, but alot of people, myself included, have given you alot of our time and advice and you do not listen. I give up. Good luck to you.

 

[revhtree]

Saltwater=Work

No Work=Tank Crash

Come on Zac get busy boy!!

 

[zacdl]

I seem to recall being told it is not good to change your filters all the time. That is why I have not been cleaning it until it needs it.


As I said PO4 is not even at the first level, I have said that many times now.

And exact numbers on the other stuff.... As I have said nitrate looks all the same color once you get past 15 or so, and I have seen charts from other test kits and they all look pretty tough to read.

I am doing water changes daily.

Hara, why are you acting all nasty?

"You dont do this"
"You dont do this"
"You dont do this"

How do you know that I am not or am doing those things? You told me daily water changes I should do, so I have been doing them. Now you say that I am not?

As far as the smell, there are no dead things in there. Thats what I looked for when I smelt it it smelled like something dead in there, but there is nothing dead.

Everything is peachy and fine exept for this cyano it seems like. It seems once I got this cyano everything is starting to go downhill (and cyano wasnt too long after the anemonae, I am thinking that might have contributed).

 

[malkore]

First of all Zacdl, I agree with everything Hara just said.
Second of all, I don't think she's being nasty. Frustrated...absolutely.

If an advisor (or any member) asks what your phosphates are, they want raw numbers, not a generalized "PO4 is not even at the first level". Level of what!?
High phosphates in a SW tank are low for a FW planted tank...we need numbers, otherwise its just more of our time wasted.

If your test kit doesn't give numbers, throw it away and buy a decent test kit. SeaChem's phosphate test kit is great, only $10, 50 tests, and is darned accurate. The only kit that's better is a LaMotte, which is about $40-$50 for the initial investment.

 

[mastershake]

im sure you probably know this, but from the way you wrote your posts, i thought i should just throw it out there to be safe.

the way chemi clean works is you :

1-dose whatever it tells you.

2-let it sit for a day

3-siphon as much of the bacteria out of the tank as you can

4-and then do a water change

this stuff doesnt kill existing bacteria, its only a preventative measure to keep it from coming back, done porperly i have had results, but its only short term, the bacteria will most likely come back if source isnt take care of.

heres my suggestion to yuo, and i can only give one a month because they are jsut to valuable ,

take out your corals, leave your fish in, feed sparingly(just enough everyone is happy) dose your chemi clean and only do it once, then leave your tank for lets say at least about 2 months without adding corals or fish, its a long time, but if you dont youll never get it to clear.

the reason for this is it will allow tiem for this bacteria to run its course, like everything else in a new tank, it takes time to do its thing, a tank within the first year will go through so many algeas, bacterias and other funk. But once all these things find a natural balance, they wont be as rampant and destructive,
corals will rarely make it through a cyano infestation, unlesss you are planning on sitting and siphoning them clean every day, i say ditch them, get them when your tank is a lot older.fish wont be affected by the bacteria. but the more there are the more they will contribute to feeding it. either through feeding all of them, or all their wastes, less is best.

i would even suggest few to no water changes in this time also, personally, i rarely do them, once a month maybe, but if your tap water changes color from the phos tests at all then everytime you water change or top off you are feeding the bacteria, starve teh bacteria, it dies, once you notice it clears up, wait a while still, and then start to SLOWY add things back in the tank


but this of course means testing your tap water, testing your tank, watching your nitrates ,trites,ammo,phos, ph, etc weekley!

and, i sincerely suggest taking out your hang on back filter they do practially nothing to help, i never liked them on any of my tanks fresh or salt, i would sooner use a undergravel filter then them, i would suggest for you, getting three more powerheads, removign the filter, and i just looked at your sig... 64 watts of CF in a 30 hexagon... im not a pro at lights, but i have this gut feeling that its just not enough to penetrate very far into the water, i maybe wrong, but if your corals arent closer to the top, that may also be one reason they arent looking great,

hope this helps,

(disclaimer) dont take offense to anything, im onyl trying to offer you help and the reasons i think you should try these things. everything is my own opinion and you dont have to do a darn thing i suggest.

 

[zacdl]

Malklore, how can I give you a number if its bareley on the scale? .1 is the first level on the scale, and its not even close to .1 yet. Hara read my other thread at one time, where I mentioned this as well.


Actually mastershake you helped quite a bit (So far more than everyone else thats replied....)

It says on the Chemi Clean its OK for corals so I just left them in there (no place to put them otherwise).

I belive it is 72 watts of light, which is enough for the corals I have.

They were doing great (opened all the time, looking healthy). Until the anemonae/cyano thing came along.

Look at the pics, they arent really covered in cyano that bad.

I tried taking up some of the algea but its next to impossible to get it out. The sand I can get it out of, if I suck some sand with it, but off the rock I cannot, then it just grows back onto the sand pretty quick.

I wasnt going to do waterchanges until the 48 hours it says on the Chemi Clean.

I do have a question. If the 48 hours are up, should I dose it again and NOT do a waterchange? Or should I change and then dose?

The bottle says "Do a 20% water change after full dose"

 

[MT79]

how can I give you a number if its bareley on the scale? .1 is the first level on the scale, and its not even close to .1 yet

I told you this already, get a BETTER test kit. .1 meg/l PO4 is very HIGH. You need a good quality test kit like Seachem or Salifert. They measure as little as .01 meg/l or less. W/ out an exact number none of us can help. Period.

 

[zacdl]

It might actually be under .01, I was just going off memory.

 

[MT79]

It might actually be under .01, I was just going off memory.

"Might actually" doesn't help. The clock is ticking and everything in your tank is going to pay for your apathy/laziness.

 

[zacdl]

lol, I wasnt at the tank at the moment I posted that, I could not have checked.

Its between the 0 and the 0.1. Here is a scale where it is at.

0
-
-
Somewhere about here
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.1

 

[zacdl]

So whats that about 0.02-0.03?

 

[MT79]

0 and the 0.1. Here is a scale where it is at.

First off, I still don't like what ever brand test kit you are using. It's not precise enough for PO4 testing. A Seachem PO4 test goes from 0-.05meg/l in the same amount of increments your goes all the way from 0-.1meg/l(BTW there should only be 9 dashes).

So whats that about 0.02-0.03?

Yes, but re-read what I said above. Regardless .03meg/l is too much and will cause excessive cyano and various algaes. Here are some steps to prevent future outbreaks:
1) Increase the water flow in your tank. Add another power head like an MJ 600 maybe even a 900. 15x per hour tank turn over would be a good start.
2) Use only RO/DI water. Make sure there is no PO4 in it. Do a test to be certain - again preferably w/ a better PO4 test kit.
3) Get a clean-up crew. According to your sig you have 2 snails. You should have more like 20-30 snails consiting of various types ie. nerite, trochus, astrea, etc. If you keep hermits, make sure you replace any snails they kill. A small sepent star would make a great addition to your clean-up crew.
3) Limit feeding. We all like watching our fish feed but you have to have some discipline. W/ just clowns and a goby once every day or two would be more than adequate. Be mindful of what, when and how much you feed.
4) Keep up w/ PWC's. IMO/IME replacing about 15% weekly is a good amount.

In the mean time, make sure your source water and freshly made SW are free of PO4. Syphon out as much cyano as possible daily until it is under control. If your tank smells bad something is wrong-it's not rocket science. Check Ammo., nitrite, nitrate- again get exact numbers. Best of luck and hopefully in a few weeks you'll have some pics to be proud of.