Help! Nothing survives in my tank

J

jmurray551

Premium member
I have a 29 bio cube that has been up for about 2 years. For the past 4 months nothing is able to survive in the tank. Fish have died, snails die within 24 hours. All corals have died. Well, I guess that's not completely true. There are pulsing zenias and a GSP that are alive but stunted. I also have an emerald crab and a couple of hermit crabs that are alive. My zoos appear to be alive but have not opened up in 4 months. I have about 30lbs. of live rock. I used to have a lot of coralline algae. Even that seems to have gone away.

I have modified the tank with an aquatic life skimmer in the first chamber. Filter floss, cheato and chemipure in the second chamber. I have LED lights about 10" above the open tank. They are the 1020 ones I believe from China. I got them on a group buy from here. I run them at about 30%. Tried different levels with no change.

Here are my readings:
Salinity - 1.023
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Calcium - 480
Phosphate - 0
PH - 8.2-8.3
Alkalinity - 4

I do have some issues keeping temp down. Right now at 81.

I do weekly 5 gallon water changes. My skimmer seems to work but takes in more water than I would like to see. I have to dump it every other day. It is brown but not dark. I think I have pretty good water movement. I have 2 koralia power heads in the tank in addition to a MJ1200 for the circulation pump. That being said, I am constantly blowing crud off of my rocks with a turkey baster. It is not food because I haven't had anything to feed.

Any body have any suggestions? I am at a loss and about ready to give it up for awhile. I have a 100 gallon tank I would like to set up but I am afraid to do so until I can get this one figured out.
 
How confidant are you those test results are accurate? Have you ever had anyone validate them for you? Also how stable are your parameters, do they change greatly over a day, week, month? What is the highest temp your tank hits?
 
Your alk is way too low for corals, get it up to about 8 dkh, also check your Mg, keep it around 1200-1300, your coraline will rebound too. Also keep your salinity closer to 1.026.
 
low alk means ph issues, also could have low mag, old tank syndrome? do you have a sand bed? there really isint enough information here. 81 for high temp should be fine, especially for fish, my tank is 81 pretty much year round.
 
fwadiver said:
low alk means ph issues, also could have low mag, old tank syndrome? do you have a sand bed? there really isint enough information here. 81 for high temp should be fine, especially for fish, my tank is 81 pretty much year round.
Click to expand...

Something doesn't add up here. Alk 4 with no corals and 5 gallon water changes makes no sense. I'd get that water to an LFS or fellow reefer for testing. Make sure you have no screws dropped in the tank. Also check for a current, there are many posts online on how to do this.
 
+1. What test kits are you using. Your levels doesnt make sense to me either with no hard corals to use up alk. Test magnesium level, but it should be fine with all your water changes. How are u checking salinity?
 
with a alk of 4 your ph is probably all over the place, I agree with evryone else. Get yourwater to a fellow reefer or LFS and have them check it for you. Good luck
 
Answers to additional questions.

I have not had tests verified. I will do so.

I have checked for current and no issues there.

I have a sand bed.

I use Seachem Alk test kit. It reports Alk as meq/L. Converting to KH puts my Alk at 11.2. Sorry for the confusion.

My parameters have been stable.

I used to have higher temps when I had the hood on the tank. Now that I have the LEDs. I don't have any fluctuation.

I use Instant Ocean for salt. I also get RODI water from a LFS.

Test kits -
PH and Alk - Seachem
Phosphate - Salifert
Ammonia, Nitrates and Calcium - API

Use a refractometer for testing salinity.
 
jmurray551 said:
I have not had tests verified. I will do so.

I have checked for current and no issues there.

I have a sand bed.

I use Seachem Alk test kit. It reports Alk as meq/L. Converting to KH puts my Alk at 11.2. Sorry for the confusion.

My parameters have been stable.

I used to have higher temps when I had the hood on the tank. Now that I have the LEDs. I don't have any fluctuation.

I use Instant Ocean for salt. I also get RODI water from a LFS.

Test kits -
PH and Alk - Seachem
Phosphate - Salifert
Ammonia, Nitrates and Calcium - API

Use a refractometer for testing salinity.
Click to expand...

How was the refractometer calibrated?
 
Your numbers shouldnt be killing things then, but to be safe have them re-checked by someone else.
How are you acclimating new livestock?
 
I would check the calibration of your refractometer. I had bunch of fish die off because my refractometer was completely off when I did a big water change.
 
Please don't make a bunch of changes all at once or you will not know what it is that fixes it or what causes it.

And u also don't want your tank out of balance even more from trying to figure out what it is.
 
A quick update. I have not recalibrated the refractometer in awhile. A buddy coming over with the solution to do that tomorrow. I will get a tank shot up soon. Strike mentioned to look for a screw in the water. Didn't find a screw but I did find a paperclip that had fallen in the sump. ( long story). Could that have caused it? What would that have done? Do I need to completely change water now? I noticed that the drain where the skimmer is was not drawing a lot do water. Most of the water was being drawn from the lower inlet. There was a lot of "crud" on the top of the water. I blocked most of the lower inlet and am getting much better flow on the top. What other toxins could there be and how do I test for them?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top