Things are starting to die please help

I should add: CO2 may be a problem as well. The biocube's dont really have that great of flow and are closed top, which won't help. And it could explain a low PH reading.
I would wait to see what a second source tests the water as before making too many decisions, but I would definitely recommend getting at least a koralia 1 to throw in there, if not a pair. The added flow will help ALL of your params and help keep the corals happy.

 

that test kit will do part but does not include all of the test that you need if you like to order the kits thin you should also order the marine set also. the strip tests are not accurate and i would not trust them. the ph will be lower in the am and higher in pm has to do with lights, in the am mine reads 7.9-8.0 and pm 8.2-8.4 without adding anything. so iwould check it in the am if it hasent droped to far the let it go, watch the tank throught the day if it get worse then i would do a 2 gal water change with the water that you mix tonight.

 

1.) How long have you had the tank at your place and how did you move it?
2.) CO2 is always present in the water, granted in differing concentrations depending on airflow across the water surface and how many fish you have in your system just to name a few.
3.) Are you running without a skimmer right now?
4.) What exactly do you have for flow in your system

I have a feeling you are going to have to step back and start this over again once you have the proper materials and hardware. It sounds like your buddy didn't really have a good grasp on the hobby and now you are paying for it. It may be a little presumptuous of me to say this now, but that is how it looks from this end. So what I want you to do is to list out ALL of the hardware you have running in the biocube. Filtration, lighting, powerheads, everything down to the nuts and bolts. I want a complete listing of livestock and I want you to fill out the form at the beginning of the ASAP section of the forum and put that here as well. This is going to take some time. I would leave your tank alone for now. I am talking overnight. Just fill out the information and get it to us and, as a group, we will pick your system apart (not pick on you.....please realize that when we rip things up, we are just trying to square things up....sugarcoating takes sooooo much effort). So you have your homework....I, as well as a few others, will keep an eye on the thread.

 

fish

I added a coral beauty, dwarf angel, 2 tiger clown fish and a sand sifting goby and an anenome. the goby jumped over the top into the spill plate. i found him the next day flopping around so i put him back in the tank. he was breathing really fast then disapeared into the rocks never to be seen again. one week later i added 2 star serpants, 3 pepermint shrimp then about 2 weeks later i had the 48 hour shipping addition of 3 polyp frags, flaming clam, torch, and an emerald crab.

So basically after spelling it out it looks like you are right. It's my fault and i've over loaded the tank which is why my water has turned to poop. So with that said ... what should i do?

 

Well, you need to find that goby. If its dead and rotting in there that would be enough to cause the problems you are having.
and 29 gallons is well to small for 2 dwarf angels (coral beauty is a dwarf angel). Too small for one really, but you might be able to get away with keeping a single one. What is the other angel?
And I would get that anemone out asap. You won't be able to keep one with biocube lighting very well. And it will soon die with the poor water quality. When they die they will release a poison that is utterly DEVASTATING. That will cause many, many more deaths. Its something I experienced myself.

 

Oh my. Ummmm. The anemone needs to go back now. Yesterday. The day before. If that thing dies, it will poison the tank. In a 29g tank, you can only have about 10 inches of fish total. I am conservative with my tank and bide by the 1 inch per five gallon rule rather than the by the book 1 inch per three gallons. You have much more than that. I am presuming the goby is gone. I would keep just the coral beauty and the 2 clowns and call it good. That is about how much you would want in your tank anyway. But that anemone has to go.

The polyps will probably survive. The flaming clam will most likely perish here soon. Ask Packleader about the torch, but I have a feeling that one will go downhill as well. The emerald crab will succumb to the high nitrates (I think your test is wrong on that one....it has to be with the amount of ammonia you have). The sea stars are also very sensitive to ammonia and nitrate as are the peppermint shrimp. You are going way too fast here and need to literally step back and let the tank mature. You are looking at probably three months solid of not adding any livestock while the tank cycles again.

So, if I haven't said it enough.....get that anemone out of there and back to the LFS. The clowns will be alright without it if that concerns you. No big deal. They will probably host the thermometer instead. They get confused sometimes.

 

The goby was lost 2 weeks ago, i doubt he would still be a solid at this point. The second angel is a pygmy angel. Little blue guy with a yellow face. The anenome has been eating the small pieces of bay shrimp i give him once a week for the past 3 weeks. Shouldn't that compensate for the lack of lighting? He's perched himself at the top of the reef as the closest thing to the lights. The only pet stores are petco and petsmart, they don't do trade-ins do they? I don't know anyone else with a tank. I don't want to toss him in the toilet ... I was told i will be able to tell when the anenome is about to die by the way it looks. It's not bleached and looks better than when i purchased it. Would you toss it? I bet with a bad experience on your belt the answer is probably yes right? I would be sick if all my efforts (and $800) got flushed because of a $20 anenome.

Should i put amonia detox in the tank if there is a .1 reading?

 

Yeah, the torch pulled in all it's tenticles, molted over and is now a barnical but it's still alive. I see him faning the water every few seconds. When my friend gave me the tank he had a torch that was over a year old and 8 heads in size. it was so beautiful but died after the move. That is why i purchased this torch but i see didn't wait long enough or he woudln't be a barnical.

 

Well....I am going to bed. Go ahead and fill out what I listed on post #23 and I will look at it again when I get up in the AM. In the meantime, use only the actinics (if you have a choice). This will put the fish in a quasi-resting mode and will keep your corals feed with the light they need. I would only do this for maybe six hours a day starting tomorrow until your parameters get stabilized. If that means a few months, then so be it. Then you can re-introduce the regular daylight bulbs. Good night dude. And don't worry.....we'll get this figured out.

 

Brief description of the problem. - things are dieing!
A picture(s) - i have posted several in my album under my profile.
PARAMETERS (important)
Temperature: 80
PH: 8.0
Ammonia: .1
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Salinity: 1.023
dKH/KH/Alkalinity: 3.5(?)
Magnesium:test kit will be here in a few days
Calcium:kit will be here in a few days
Phosphate:kit will be here in a few days
Test kits you own: Instant Ocean liquid Aquarium test kit and quick dip test strips
Liquid or Strips: both
Brand Name: Instant Ocean and Quick dip, test not yet delivered are red sea
Are they Expired?: no brand new

Tank size? 29 biocube
Estimated total system?
Reef, fish only or, freshwater? Reef
Current inhabitants? What and how many?
Clean up crew?
1 pepermint shrimp,
1 coral beauty,
1 pygmy angel,
2 tiger clown,
1 gramma,
1 emerald crab,
12 turbo snails,
8 scarlotte hermit crabs,
2 serpant starfish,
1 tourch (now looks like a barnical),
1 flaming clam,
5 types of polyps, (yellow star, green star, purple button, 2 zoanthid)
1 Xenia
3 or 4 mushrooms (i took most of them out so only small ones left),
several very small feather dusters,
Also, i've seen several bristle worms at night,
The anenome is going back tomorrow. If the store will not take him i'll put a note on the tank that says "all drains lead to the ocean"
How long has your tank been set-up? 2 years witha friend, The last month and a half as been at my house
Substrate.
Type? life sand
Depth? 2 inches
Live rock? yes
How much? 34 lbs
Did you recently add some? only what the polyps came on
Filtration.
Type? reef balls, and a biocube carbon filter
Protein skimmer? just ordered a biocube skimmer
Do you wet or dry skim?
Maintenance schedule for filtration? weekly 5 gallon water changes
Drilled tank/hang on back overflow? biocube setup
Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much? biocube stock setup
Macro? What kind?
Lighting. biocube stock - 36W 10K Daylight (16")
36W Actinic 03 Blue (16")
Lighting type?
Age of bulbs? one year
Feeding
What? I feed the clown fish a very tinny pinch of flake food every few days
Water change schedule.
How much? 5g
How often? once a week
What salt brand? Instant ocean until my new order comes in of Oceanic
Water source? I was using the IO premixed but yesterday i tried walmarts RO water
Additives/supplements used? Kents PH buffer
Do you have a ground probe? That's why i got the star fish or what i was lead to believe they would help with.
What kind of flow does your tank have? Just the biocube stock power head



Thank y