KurtsReef
Aquarium Advice Regular
First time visiting this forum, I did a quick search and did not find anything so a little background...
I have a saltwater tank that has been up and running for about 5-6 years, it started in a 45 Gal tank and was moved to a 75 gallon main and 30 gallon sump two years ago. I have lost a total of 5 fish over that time, however 3 of them were during a recent power outage which the water temp dropped to about 55F the others were presumably due to reasons other than water conditions. Two fish in the tank (Sailfin Tang and Maroon Clown) have been in the setup the entire time.
Corals also thrive, with the exception of (1) colony of xenia and (1) colony of candy cane coral it lives, grows, and propagates without issue.
I have (4) 96w power compact lights on the system, another small light in the sump to grow algae. There is a Prism skimmer in the sump, other than that the only filtration is liverock.
Now for some admissions...I do not believe in testing the water every day and making water changes as often as the aquarium industry states. The system has had only two real water changes and one of those was the switch from 45gal to 100gal system. I have had my water tested at the local store several times and they always give it a clean bill of health (I did test it almost daily the first couple months and have the kit not sure if the chemicals would be any good). I do not overfeed and my little eco-system seems to run perfectly well with one exception...the crabs do not live very long. The only crab that has lived for an extended time is a horseshoe crab that has not been seen since the power outage.
So, what are some things that would cause this? I am expecting the crabs to live off of algae mostly and do not give much food...am I starving them? That is my number one concern, as I cannot think of anything else that would be causing this anomaly of death in the tank.
I have a saltwater tank that has been up and running for about 5-6 years, it started in a 45 Gal tank and was moved to a 75 gallon main and 30 gallon sump two years ago. I have lost a total of 5 fish over that time, however 3 of them were during a recent power outage which the water temp dropped to about 55F the others were presumably due to reasons other than water conditions. Two fish in the tank (Sailfin Tang and Maroon Clown) have been in the setup the entire time.
Corals also thrive, with the exception of (1) colony of xenia and (1) colony of candy cane coral it lives, grows, and propagates without issue.
I have (4) 96w power compact lights on the system, another small light in the sump to grow algae. There is a Prism skimmer in the sump, other than that the only filtration is liverock.
Now for some admissions...I do not believe in testing the water every day and making water changes as often as the aquarium industry states. The system has had only two real water changes and one of those was the switch from 45gal to 100gal system. I have had my water tested at the local store several times and they always give it a clean bill of health (I did test it almost daily the first couple months and have the kit not sure if the chemicals would be any good). I do not overfeed and my little eco-system seems to run perfectly well with one exception...the crabs do not live very long. The only crab that has lived for an extended time is a horseshoe crab that has not been seen since the power outage.
So, what are some things that would cause this? I am expecting the crabs to live off of algae mostly and do not give much food...am I starving them? That is my number one concern, as I cannot think of anything else that would be causing this anomaly of death in the tank.