Idaho-Tank
Aquarium Advice Activist
Thought Id start a thread and ask for some advice/help. Have had tank up and running for over a year. Tank was moved about 7 months ago and did lose some coral and a few fish during the move but it did stabilize and again begin to thrive.
Here is my build thread:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/tank-build-newbie-again-need-thoughts-131765-27.html
Here is a shot of the tank prior to the move:
In the past 4 months I have lost every SPS and LPS. My zoanthids, palys, leathers etc.. have been fine. My Clam has thrived and looks as good as ever. Fish all have been healthy. Ever since I have noticed problems I have not added a single item with the exception of snails last night to hopefully help combat some algae issues.
At first it was the Stonies that began to die then the LPS.... All the while I tested the water.. everything tested fine. Even took water sample to a LFS to verify my results. I have always used RO/DI water. Water changes etc.. I did nothing differently than normal. The only thing I can think of that caused this crash was the two things I did change. I replaced my bulbs over a 3 week period. I also changed salt. I assume one or both of these caused my crash. I don't understand however why things continue to slide down hill. About 3 weeks ago I encountered an algae bloom. This type of algae is nothing that I have seen before. If feels exactly like cotton balls. Looks similar (other than color obviously) too. It has grown on the sand and live rock. My two tangs don't seem to care for it. The few snails I did have also do not seem to want it either. I am still wondering what is causing the algae. I have not over fed (in fact I am probably underfeeding if anything) I have also slightly reduced lighting in hopes of combating this. Again all my tests are great..
Salt: I decided to switch from "Oceanic" because it was always so high in calcium and it was difficult to maintain constant ALK. I went with the LFS recommendation of "OceanPure". Now I think I will switch back to "oceanic". I made the switch slow... smaller water changes over maybe a months time.
Lights: I called up Reef Geek and asked them for a recommend based on what I had in my tank. They sent me ATI blue plus and purple plus bulbs. I changed a couple bulbs out every 5 days or so. Things were great for a couple months or so.
Other ideas: Like all of us, I would occasionally add a coral or something I bought.. perhaps I introduced something that killed everything off?
Anyway I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do next. It is depressing to have a very established tank thrive even after a move.. then BAM... watch things slowly die off. As bad as it was the tank still was at least presentable.. now with the algae its is becoming an eye sore. HELP!
taken today.
Here is my build thread:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/tank-build-newbie-again-need-thoughts-131765-27.html
Here is a shot of the tank prior to the move:
In the past 4 months I have lost every SPS and LPS. My zoanthids, palys, leathers etc.. have been fine. My Clam has thrived and looks as good as ever. Fish all have been healthy. Ever since I have noticed problems I have not added a single item with the exception of snails last night to hopefully help combat some algae issues.
At first it was the Stonies that began to die then the LPS.... All the while I tested the water.. everything tested fine. Even took water sample to a LFS to verify my results. I have always used RO/DI water. Water changes etc.. I did nothing differently than normal. The only thing I can think of that caused this crash was the two things I did change. I replaced my bulbs over a 3 week period. I also changed salt. I assume one or both of these caused my crash. I don't understand however why things continue to slide down hill. About 3 weeks ago I encountered an algae bloom. This type of algae is nothing that I have seen before. If feels exactly like cotton balls. Looks similar (other than color obviously) too. It has grown on the sand and live rock. My two tangs don't seem to care for it. The few snails I did have also do not seem to want it either. I am still wondering what is causing the algae. I have not over fed (in fact I am probably underfeeding if anything) I have also slightly reduced lighting in hopes of combating this. Again all my tests are great..
Salt: I decided to switch from "Oceanic" because it was always so high in calcium and it was difficult to maintain constant ALK. I went with the LFS recommendation of "OceanPure". Now I think I will switch back to "oceanic". I made the switch slow... smaller water changes over maybe a months time.
Lights: I called up Reef Geek and asked them for a recommend based on what I had in my tank. They sent me ATI blue plus and purple plus bulbs. I changed a couple bulbs out every 5 days or so. Things were great for a couple months or so.
Other ideas: Like all of us, I would occasionally add a coral or something I bought.. perhaps I introduced something that killed everything off?
Anyway I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do next. It is depressing to have a very established tank thrive even after a move.. then BAM... watch things slowly die off. As bad as it was the tank still was at least presentable.. now with the algae its is becoming an eye sore. HELP!
taken today.