NEED HELP

[Mercury64]

Hi all, I rently bought power compact lights, i92 watts, 10k bulb and a blue bulb, my calcium is about 375, also since I upgraded from hang on filters to a wet and dry about six weeks ago my nitrites and ammonia are both at .25
I tried doing some simple corals like polyps but they seem to die after a few days, there either dead or in shock ,they seemed to be open when I got them but then they close and never open again ,I raised m salt level to 1.025, what am I doing wrong?
Also my lights are on those plastic tabs that lift them about four inches or so off the tank should I be using them?

 

[Mercury64]

sorry 192 watts

 

[lando]

Sorry to hear about your trobles. I would say your main problems lies with your water parameters and not your lighting. You should have no detectable ammonia or nitrite. I am guessing the removal of your previous filter and the starting of a new wet/dry has caused the tank to go through a mini-cycle. How big is the tank, any LR, what type of filtration and what fish do you have in it?

 

[lando]

I just read your profile. Do you still have the clown trigger and dwarf angel in there? IF so, they are not reef safe and could be part of the trouble with the corals. Also, do you have 192 watts of taotal light or 2 192watt bulbs?

 

[Mercury64]

I have a 125 gal ,about 100 lbs or more of live rock, for fish I have mostly tangs ,mimic-purple tang-soho tang and a powder blue, also have a tamato clown and a squrrel fish
using a wet and dry with the over flow tannk and a sup, double drain and i'm using a 1300 gal per hour pump, I clean the filter and sponges every day, if I dont clean the sponges in the overflow I find the restrict and the water leven goes down in the swump, also I have a skimmer in the sump, empty it every day as well

 

[lando]

What filter media are you using in the sump...bioballs?

 

[Mercury64]

no there in another tank, just the tangs and the tamato clown and squrrel fish

 

[Mercury64]

yes bio balls

 

[lando]

That could be your problem. At any rate, you should now remove all of your livestock to QT and let your tank finish out it's cycle. It should not take too long but with the fish in there contributing to the bioload, the biological filtration cannot get ahead. Take everything out and let the tank cycle for a couple of weeks.

 

[Mercury64]

I dont have a tank big enough for them all, I even cut down on the feeding to every other day ,I even did two water changes already nitrites and ammonia still stay about .25, I did add some prime in there to de tox the ammonia and nitrites so the fish would be ok, Ive had my tank cycle worse then this like when I upgraded from a 55 about a year ago but with in a week or two it was done this is just strange to me, had to be somehing to do with the filter, seems liek the hang ons with the bio whels seem to cycle faster

 

[Fluff]

I don't think you can get an accurate reading for your ammonia and nitrites while using an ammonia eliminator. There's a chance your readings could be normal, or way higher.

 

[lando]

Very true, Fluff. Try another test kit or see if your LFS will test your water. I am still betting on a mini-cycle due to the filtration change. You really need to find some way to house your fish for a couple of weeks. Maybe see if the LFS will porvide foster care for you. It will be an ever ending battle with fish in there. You can try a large water change, like 30% and see if that makes a difference.

 

[fishfirst]

What was your acclimation process... a quick change in salinity can kill corals... also the ammonia is definately a factor