Things are starting to die please help

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by Nikon Samurai, Feb 8, 2009.

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  1. james37128

    james37128 Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Pull a cup of water out of the tank, put an airstone in it for a good hour. Then test the ph of that. That will tell if you have a co2 problem, which I would guess you definitely have a co2 problem, a biocube with no skimmer and no airstone.
     
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  3. PackLeader

    PackLeader Giant Squid

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    Well, for the PH, I would.nt worry about that right now. 8.0 is not a bad number. Not ideal but not terrible, and definitley not causing your problems. The things I would worry about would be the ammonia. And the nitrates being at 20 after all that water changing is an eye raiser as well.
    But as john stated, you are overstocked. I would see if you can take anything back, even if you don't get credit for it. At least that way they will survive. With ammonia in the tank those angels will die. I would see if you can get down to the clowns and thats it for now. You'll probably have to remove some rock to do it, and that will give you the chance to search for the rotting fish. The clowns won't put too much of a strain on anything and would have the best chance of surviving as the tank catches back up. Then, you can add ONE angel or maybe a couple smaller fish, but that would be it.
    Just take a step back, get some animals out of there if you can, and remember to take it slow. You're going to have to have to let the tank catch back up with itself. The water changes might lower the levels, but will do nothing to establish the bacterial colony and will shock the system, only making things worse in the long run. Spend the time that the tank needs to re-establish itself by gathering your test kits, other equipment, and doing research. You'll be back in the game with a nice and stable tank that will be awesome as it matures before you know it.
     
  4. Aqualung

    Aqualung Stylophora

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    Good luck man, do lotsa research on this site. Search forums for any questions you have running through your head.
     
  5. Nikon Samurai

    Nikon Samurai Bristle Worm

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    Cleaning the sump and reef balls


    I did a search on here for cleaning reef balls. This thread is the only one that talking about it. I've talked and read on a few other sites with most of the information being incorrect. So far the the feed back on here has been the best i have found online. If anyone has a sugestion for how to clean the sump and junk out of the reef balls i would be grateful. I rinsed the spill dish today. It was very nasty. When i looked at the reef balls from above they really didn't look that bad but the 3rd chamber where the water is pumped back into the tank is nasty. There is gunk all over the motor. after reading about so many others using or switching to LR in their sump i'm wondering if i should do the same? Or maybe i should just sit back and leave it alone ....
     
  6. PackLeader

    PackLeader Giant Squid

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    When cleaning the bio balls, just do a few at a time. You will need the others to keep the clean ones seeded. So, say clean 1/3 of them. Wait a couple weeks and clean another 1/3. And so on...