URgent help needed.

Theo Reef · 10/11/2017, 06:01 AM

Good day all.

I’ve set up a new reef a couple of months ago. The tank is a 125 gal tank. I’ve got a big skimmer, zeovit reactor- dosing zeostart, zeo bak and zeofood. I’ve got a calcium reactor containing ca and mg media , and I’m using a maxspect razor light.

I am at my ends with this. I added 2 snowflake clowns which died, after that I added 2 blackice clowns which also died. Before adding the fish I quarantined them for 3 weeks, and tested the DT water, all parameters where normal.

Do you think my liverock can cause this? I bought the rock as deadrock, gave it a bath in muriatic acid and afterwards had it in a bucket for 24 hours with high flow on them, and added baking soda to neutralize the acid. I rinsed it 3 times after that. I started up the tank and let it cycle for 4 months, doing a 100% at month 2, I also added a couple of liverock I bought from a LFS to seed it. This is my first guess.

My second guess is CO2 exchange. For some reason my ph is fluctuating. The alkalinity is at 8.3, ca and mg is normal but my ph is fluctuating. It’s mostly at approximately 8,65. I read up about how to rectify this, and the best advice seems to be aeration, so I added a airpump to the sump.

Can anyone give me some advice please. I hate to lose fish...

mcgyvr · 10/11/2017, 10:30 AM

You really aren't giving us much information..
What else is in the tank? corals? fish? list them all
Please state your actual parameters?
define this ph fluctuation...

How long before they die after going into the display?
Were they eating/healthy in the QT tank?

With a skimmer there is no need for any additional aeration..

sde1500 · 10/11/2017, 10:34 AM

I would doubt the LR caused it. What do you actually do while the fish are in QT?

xCry0x · 10/11/2017, 11:00 AM

I would turn off the Zeovit and CA reactor to start with while you get your tank figured out and stabilized. It sounds like you jumped in and way over complicated things.

8.65 PH is very high -- don't know a ton about CA reactors but my guess would be you have something funky going on there. So again turn it off.

You don't need a CA reactor unless you are running an SPS dominant tank with a significant amount of coral growing. You don't need Zeovit at all unless you -really- want to go that route -- again with a decent coral grow out going.

greengeco82 · 10/12/2017, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xCry0x

I would turn off the Zeovit and CA reactor to start with while you get your tank figured out and stabilized. It sounds like you jumped in and way over complicated things.

8.65 PH is very high -- don't know a ton about CA reactors but my guess would be you have something funky going on there. So again turn it off.

You don't need a CA reactor unless you are running an SPS dominant tank with a significant amount of coral growing. You don't need Zeovit at all unless you -really- want to go that route -- again with a decent coral grow out going.

I agree. Simplify. No need to have those extra pieces of equipment at this point. Especially for a couple fish. Also, when you pick fish at the store, pick ones with fat bodies. They are usually healthier. Also, is your tap water filtered? Check your temperature. Make sure you have a skimmer or some type of oxygen exchange.

Uncle99 · 10/12/2017, 05:35 PM

Rock is like a sponge, it absorbs everything. You used baking soda which would increase your ALK and PH if if was leaking from the rock. Check your ALK reading. If more than 14.... You have your answer. The acid could also reside in the rock. If you water parameters are perfect and exactly the same including temp from the QT, then there is no other valid reason.

Breakthecycle2 · 10/12/2017, 06:08 PM

3 weeks is not enough QT time either.

mikenh77 · 10/14/2017, 06:28 AM

Ive done multiple muriatic acid then baking soda treatments. I highly doubt it is whats killing your fish. Some people add baking soda or soda ash to the tanks as supplements and if your rinsed the rock 3 times with water it's most likely gone and on top of that it has had months to react with your tank water. I'm thinking It could be as simple as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity levels being off.

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10/11/2017, 06:01 AM	#1
Theo Reef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: South-Africa, Pretoria Posts: 21	URgent help needed. Good day all. I’ve set up a new reef a couple of months ago. The tank is a 125 gal tank. I’ve got a big skimmer, zeovit reactor- dosing zeostart, zeo bak and zeofood. I’ve got a calcium reactor containing ca and mg media , and I’m using a maxspect razor light. I am at my ends with this. I added 2 snowflake clowns which died, after that I added 2 blackice clowns which also died. Before adding the fish I quarantined them for 3 weeks, and tested the DT water, all parameters where normal. Do you think my liverock can cause this? I bought the rock as deadrock, gave it a bath in muriatic acid and afterwards had it in a bucket for 24 hours with high flow on them, and added baking soda to neutralize the acid. I rinsed it 3 times after that. I started up the tank and let it cycle for 4 months, doing a 100% at month 2, I also added a couple of liverock I bought from a LFS to seed it. This is my first guess. My second guess is CO2 exchange. For some reason my ph is fluctuating. The alkalinity is at 8.3, ca and mg is normal but my ph is fluctuating. It’s mostly at approximately 8,65. I read up about how to rectify this, and the best advice seems to be aeration, so I added a airpump to the sump. Can anyone give me some advice please. I hate to lose fish...

10/11/2017, 10:30 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 17,167	You really aren't giving us much information.. What else is in the tank? corals? fish? list them all Please state your actual parameters? define this ph fluctuation... How long before they die after going into the display? Were they eating/healthy in the QT tank? With a skimmer there is no need for any additional aeration.. __________________ Being blunt and having fun

10/11/2017, 10:34 AM	#3
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,124	I would doubt the LR caused it. What do you actually do while the fish are in QT? __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.

10/11/2017, 11:00 AM	#4
xCry0x Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Martinez, CA Posts: 1,116	I would turn off the Zeovit and CA reactor to start with while you get your tank figured out and stabilized. It sounds like you jumped in and way over complicated things. 8.65 PH is very high -- don't know a ton about CA reactors but my guess would be you have something funky going on there. So again turn it off. You don't need a CA reactor unless you are running an SPS dominant tank with a significant amount of coral growing. You don't need Zeovit at all unless you -really- want to go that route -- again with a decent coral grow out going. __________________ Red Sea Max 250

10/12/2017, 05:35 PM	#6
Uncle99 Crab Free Zone Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,681	Rock is like a sponge, it absorbs everything. You used baking soda which would increase your ALK and PH if if was leaking from the rock. Check your ALK reading. If more than 14.... You have your answer. The acid could also reside in the rock. If you water parameters are perfect and exactly the same including temp from the QT, then there is no other valid reason.

10/12/2017, 06:08 PM	#7
Breakthecycle2 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Posts: 258	3 weeks is not enough QT time either.

10/14/2017, 06:28 AM	#8
mikenh77 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 61	Ive done multiple muriatic acid then baking soda treatments. I highly doubt it is whats killing your fish. Some people add baking soda or soda ash to the tanks as supplements and if your rinsed the rock 3 times with water it's most likely gone and on top of that it has had months to react with your tank water. I'm thinking It could be as simple as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity levels being off. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk