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i need some help

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anemone asm coral corals fish goby hippo hydrometer lights mag please help prefilter problem remove return rock saltwater sand skimmer sump tank tanks top water changes zoas
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wally43

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
i've had my tank running for a while now, here is the info
65g tank, 20g sump with a asm g1x skimmer maxi jet 1200 without mod and one with mod, and a mag 7 return, 50lbs of sand about 70lbs of rock, two clowns one hippo tank two cardinal fish, a royal gramma, and a purple fire fish goby, a **** ton of crabs and snails, paras are as follow
ph 8.4
alk 1.7-2.8 milli equaivalents per liter
nitritie 0.1 p.p.m.
nitrate high range 50 p.p.m. low range 10 p.p.m.
ammonia 0.25 p.p.m.
as far as i know everything is fine, the temp is at 79.8
i just did a water change last week but i dont see how that would affect it now
now to the problem, everything was fine last night i wake up to turn the lights on this morning and everything looked ok i go to breakfast and come back and the nemone moved and is all closed up my frogspawn is all closed up and like ozzing out white slime none of my zoas are opening and my hammer coral is all pulled in the fish are fine if anyone could please help, i can post pix if needed, any help will be awesome i dont wanna lost corals here thanks
wally
 
#5 ·
If you are reading Nitrite and Ammonia the most likely something has died. It may be a contaminant got into the tank.
What are the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels today?
I would suggest waterchanges, and lots of carbon.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Perhaps it's marks on the trail that your anemone took. I barricade mine with rocks and flow because when it moved it left a trail of unhappy corals, and generally wreaked havoc in the tank. There are some zoas on the same rock that the nem has taken over and they close up regularly when it touches them, but they seem to survive. It took a while for it to find a sweet spot, but once it parked (about six months ago) I tried to lock it in. So far, so good. When it was still moving around I'd find the tank looking pretty much like you describe, but in a couple of hours the corals would start perking up again. Unfortunately that happened a half dozen times until 'Rosy' found her home. I'd still do a big water change and run some carbon, but here's hoping it's just the wrath of the nem that's happening.
 
#7 ·
How long is "a while now"? I don't like those ammonia or nitrate numbers. I also don't like those nitrate numbers, too high for someone keeping corals.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
i did a water change today and the tank is looking better i havn't tested since i just changed the water was gunna wait a lil bit for that, but the tank has been up and running for 8 or 9 months now with no other problems, i think one of my sea urcins and a star fish are dead but i dont know if it was before or after all this started, the frogspawn and hammer coral are looking a lot better, but none of the zoas or pallys have opened up yet, thanks for the help guys i'll test the water tonight and get back with ya
wally
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
just tested heres results
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate high range 25ppm low range 5ppm
ammonia is still at 0.25ppm
i have a small bag of carbon i can use but the only place i can really thing to put it is in the prefilter box before the sump so i'm gunna put it in there, thanks again for all the help guys, i can alway rely on MRs to help out whenever a problem arises, i'm making extra water for another water change if needed so i'll keep you informed
wally
 
#11 ·
wally43 said:
just tested heres results
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate high range 25ppm low range 5ppm
ammonia is still at 0.25ppm
i have a small bag of carbon i can use but the only place i can really thing to put it is in the prefilter box before the sump so i'm gunna put it in there, thanks again for all the help guys, i can alway rely on MRs to help out whenever a problem arises, i'm making extra water for another water change if needed so i'll keep you informed
wally
Click to expand...
Ammonia should be zero... test it again in the morning and do another water change tomorrow if you are still getting a reading.

How often do you normally do water changes and what percentage of system volume do you remove for each change?
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
i just use one 5g bucket prolly once a week or every two weeks and i usually test once every two weeks to check everything, like i said before im pretty sure my brittle star just died and my sea urchin which im taking out, i'll check in the morning and see what it is thanks
wally
 
#13 ·
Five gallons???

Why are you only doing a five gallon water change for an 85 gallon system? That's less than a 6% water change. Most folks change 20% once or twice a month to stay on top of things (At least I do, I shouldn't speak for other Reefers). If you have recently had a death or two in your tank, I think you should do a larger water change -- 20 gallons would be a good start. You will be surprised at how well your animals respond.
 
#14 ·
MyNemesis said:
Most folks change 20% once or twice a month to stay on top of things (At least I do, I shouldn't speak for other Reefers).
Click to expand...
Yep... I would agree that most reefers probably fall into that category.

I actually do a 25% change at least once per week on mine but then again my current system is only a 12G Aquapod:secret:

I agree though, a 20% change a couple of times per month will do your system well. A 3-~40% change a couple of times per month is even better!

It's important to remember that with much of the "bad stuff" (e.g. nitrate accumulation) that happens in our tanks, it doesn't really go anywhere. It either needs to be "used up" through extensive use of algal scrubbing filters, mangroves, very deep sand beds, etc. -OR- it needs to be exported from the system. The only way to export is through water changes!

Another side benefit of frequent and larger water changes is that you are adding trace elements back into the system with each batch of fresh saltwater... good for the inhabitants' health.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
so after another 5g water change this morning so that makes it 10g change between tonight and today i tested the water again
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
mitrate high range 12.5ppm low range 2.5ppm
so looks to be leveling out, all the corals are doing better the hammer coral and the frogspawn are coming back out, but still no zoas or pallys opening up and still all the fish are doing fine, i'm still making up more water for more water changes, thanks for all the help and info on that,
wally
 
#16 ·
corals

wally,

i would do a bigger water change all at one time, if you do it over a couple times, it is defeating the purpose kinda, atleast of the water you change after the first one has been done. think about it like doing a water change on new water, that is wasting it.

i guess with 85 gallons your probably not taking out what you just put in but it is much better to do it all at once. imo

glad to see everything coming back though, i know how scary that time period is.

~steve
 
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