Javed Aman

Isn't that what the BRS carbon reactors are?

Although my tank isn't anywhere as near as established as the ones mentioned here (it's only 18 months ago). I am experiencing the same symptoms as much of what is being mentioned here. High Aluminum (Marine pure large block in sump), low iodine, slightly low strontium from my ATI-ICP test. All of my SPS have died over the course of two months. Mostly bleaching, then eventually STN/RTN. I personally believe my tank is too low nutrient or there is some bacterial/dino issue as whenever I blow the rocks with a turkey baster all of the corals close up and the fish freak out. It's almost as if there is a contaminant that it annoying everything. Also is anyone aware of chloramines in the water supply? I believe I purchased the correct filters from BRS to handle for that, but maybe could be an issue.

Actually reading this thread gave me some insight into what I might be experiencing. Especially the mention of blowing the rocks off causing all of my corals to be ticked off. It still happens, even after my SPS have been all killed off. I think I have dinoflagellates. I want to avoid doing total blackouts until I'm certain with the correct ID and I know that the remaining corals can take it. My nutrients have been low for months and I guess I always assumed the dino to be algae. My issues also seem related to the last few posts from: . I think low nutrients from a sustained period of time might have triggered something and now I have dinos too. What are the next steps?

One thing I notice is that whenever I blow off the rocks with a turkey baster a lot of detritus comes off and all of the corals close up for hours afterward. In the past, with my previous tanks, it was never this bad. I feel like there is some contaminant somewhere or something that's influencing the tank. But the ICP showed none of the common contaminants.

Thank for the reply. I'm using Tropic Marin pro currently, it has lower Alk/Ca. From my understanding the NSW level of Alk is 7 dkH. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/ . Now the change was made based on suggestions from R2R. It seems like higher alk, low nutrients, high light, lead to this kind of bleaching at least anecdotally. I can slowly bring it back up per your suggestion. I also rinsed off all the socks and they were dry for at least two weeks. I wonder if anything in the "rinseless" type lingers. The brine shrimp is the spirulina enriched kind that one the back at least has the same nutritional facts as the other foods I'm feeding. But I'll cut back on it a bit and move towards more mysis, pellets, etc. I also wondered about the RO/DI. And actually replaced everything in January with the BRS sale. It's never registered more than 0 TDS. Moreover, I had ATI-ICP on RO/DI (which is free) and it showed no issues. The funny thing is that this is my third tank. I've always sort of had the idea there are many ways to skin a cat and sticking success is achievable with persistence. The biggest difference between this tank and previous tanks is that it is barebottom and it started with dry rock (that was in a dry tub for 2 years and from a previous tank). In the past I started with ocean live rock and just had more success and biodiversity. This tank seems very sterile and just less stable. Thanks again for your suggestions!

Thank you for the thorough response. The bleach incident was nearly 2 months ago. It seems its affects would be more acute than chronic. However, I can do more water changes if you think that will help.

Thank you for the reply. I've done a 40% waterchange in January after the incident. I then have done another 20% end of Jan and Feb. This is in conjunction with my regular 7% weekly waterchange. I did run carbon a couple of times as well as polyfilter as indicated in my original post (sorry it was probably hidden in a the wall of text). Sodium hydroxide ionizes into sodium and eventually water correct? I was more concerned because I read the splashless bleach actually has some surfactants in it. Thank you for the reply. How should I drop the Ca? The corals don't seem to be taking up any Calcium or Alk at this point. I've also read a lot on R2R that 7Alk is more preferred. I intentionally moved down from 9.5 based on suggestions research from the incident in Jan.

Hi All, Hoping you can help me with the current issues I'm having with my tank. Seems like a few of us might be suffering from reef issues these past few months. The setup: Aquarium: Started 07/2019 75 gallon Aquarium Masters + 20 gallon Trigger Systems sump Reef Angel Controller 70 Lbs dry rock (old from a previous tank, but left in a tub for 2 years) Barebottom with Starboard Lighting: 3 x Radion 15 Pro (10am - 8pm, ramp up down, peak 45%) 4 x T5 - Ati Blue plus and actinic (11:30 - 3:30) Kessil H160 Fuge Light 11:00pm - 9:00am Peak light at 250 Par for most SPS except top which is 350 - measured with seneye Basic Parameter Management: 2 x 200W BRS Titanium heater Fuge - Chaeto and Gracilaria (though hair algae tend to grow over it) RLSS r6i skimmer (30% pump speed) GHL Doser 2.1 SA for Alk/Cal Large MarinePure block Flow: 2 x Sicce 3.0 for return 2 x Maxspect Gyre 330 (OGC -20 - 40%) 1 x Vortech MP40 ES Maintenance: 6 Gallon waterchange weekly (unless there is an emergency) occasionally run carbon via bag in sump dosing 5ml Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, or Phyto a couple of times a week Feeding 2x NLS pellets + 3x mix of frozen brine, mysis, calanus daily I've dosed (very slowly about 1/8 dosage) of Dr. Tim's Refresh in the past. Currently, I'm dosing a little bit of Eco-balance because I suspect there might be some biological imbalance. Livestock: 4 x Dispar Anthias 1 x Orange Storm Clown 1 x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp 1 x Mexican Turbo Snails Many Trochus Snails Many scarlet and red leg hermits When I started the tank, things were growing well: coralline algae were growing, sponges were taking over, and trochus snails were spawning regularly. Most of the growth of the corals was from the first 5 - 8 months of the tank's life. About two months ago I posted (on R2R) about a sudden RTN/STN event in my tank. After some research, it may have been a combination of things. My coral colors were pale for a few months, but everything was encrusting and growing. I never registered Nitrate for the first year of the tank, but my phosphates were always high (as much as 1.5ppm at one point, but usually between 0.1 < 0.5). In terms of the sudden STN event, I suspect it was related to me changing filter socks with socks that were washed with this new "splashless bleach". I always rinse socks off before I put them in, but it may not have been sufficient. I also had turned off my skimmer that night because I had just cleaned it. There is a chance there was a drop in the dissolved O2 levels. The fish also looked ticked off that day. Either way, I'm not 100% sure what could have caused it, but it looked like my actions of large water change, running carbon, and running polyfilter at least slowed it down initially. To be honest the tank has not recovered. The zoas in my tank have not opened since. Some do half-open occasionally, but almost all of them just say closed. The SPS have become increasingly paler, and some have more STN. I stopped dosing alkalinity and Ca over a month ago because I saw that it kept rising because the corals weren't up taking it. Over the course of two months, the alkalinity has dropped from 9.5 to about 7.7 dkH. Current Parameters: 1.025 - salinity measured by both calibrated refractometer and Milwaukee handheld 7.7 dkH - measured by Hanna 480 Ca - measured by Salifert 1320 Magnesium - measured by Salifert 7.9 - 8.1 - daily pH swing measured by my controller 78F - 79F - temperature measured and managed by my controller 0 - ammonia/ammonium (salifert, tropic marin) 4ppm < X <10pmm - Red Sea pro nitrate test 0.04 - phosphate measured by hanna ATI-ICP test concerns from 02/10/21 : High Lithium (1127 µg/l should be 161.8 µg/l), high silicon (293.3 µg/l should be 95.17 µg/l), high Aluminum (26.92 µg/l should be 0.10 µg/l) , and low iodine (27.87 µg/l should be 61.86 µg/l). I've run cuprisorb for about a week to try and lower the aluminum, but it has always been high because I use MarinePure blocks. I've read in the chemistry subforum that lithium can be pretty high because of salt mixes. To fix the iodine I added 4 drops of lugols (spread over 4 days), things didn't change except for the cleaner shrimp molting. Most of the damage seems to be towards the SPS: Notice the paleness of the tissue and also the parts where the tissue is missing entirely. This tends to be areas near the base or tips (depending on the coral) Regarding the Zoas, I've only attached one picture but that's what nearly all of them look like. Sorry for the long post; it's been a few weeks coming. I'm sort of at my wit's end and don't know what could be going on. Obviously, there are some stability issues with the number of waterchanges I've done, but really shouldn't be that dramatic. I do have some LPS and they for the most part seem okay as of now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You could try getting one where the transformer is separate like : https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Transformers-Supply-Output-Listed/dp/B00DKSI0S8/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=12v+power+supply+ul+listed&qid=1607216375&sr=8-4 Just get something that is UL listed and at least 1A like you are looking for.

Sorry to see that Rik! Bought some stuff from you a few months ago. Hoping they will grow out so I can donate to your rebuild.

Actually I've been looking for parts for this skimmer too. When did you reach out to them and when did you get that information about the new pumps?

I placed the clownfish that was in the sump for a couple of days in a breeder box and back to the DT to see how the two would interact. In the sump, it was still eating. The less aggressive one (that was in the DT) seems to be the aggressor now.

Also looking at the scale again. I grossly overestimated their size. Both are maybe a little bit bigger than 2".

I would use the breeder box instead of the sump. The breeder box would be there until I sell it or give it to an LFS. So that I could return to an opposite light schedule that I had before I put the fish in.

Would one of those breeder boxes be a better idea then?

Hi All, This morning I found my two orange storm clownfish, that I had for 4 months (and were owned for 4 months by the previous owner), locking lips and biting each other's gills. To be honest, I noticed some aggression yesterday too, but it died down today after 15min. Today there were going at it for hours until I managed to catch one and put it in the sump. They really must have hated each other because both were fighting inside the net! They were purchased and juveniles and likely lived their entire lives together. But in my tank (75 gallon) they stayed together for a couple of months, then slowly drifted apart to different sides of the tank. I recently added 3 anthias (after a full quarantine) and have been feeding a lot. As expected the clownfish have gotten most of the food and so have also grown noticeably in 3 weeks. One was always about 1/3" smaller than the other and would frequently do the "shake" in front of the other. But now that they both have grown it seems like they are nearly the same size. How long can the one clown in the sump stay there? The sump is a 20 gallon, but the fuge area is about 5 gallon. I realized that I probably have to give up one of them. Is there any other solution? Both fish are breathing extremely heavily and is there any action I should do? I'd rather not try to catch the other and stress it out by netting it. One is about 2.25-2.5" and the other 2.5-2.75". PS: I posted a FS for the one in the sump. If there is a solution where I won't need to get rid of it, I will remove the thread.

A shared sump can be a good idea, but I'd make sure that in case of power outages the extra water volume draining back from the frag tank would be supported by the sump. How big is the frag tank? The usual assortment of snails is fine in general. If it's large enough, maybe a tang to pick off algae.

I would run something like a bag of carbon or chemi-pure to handle any of the toxins that may have been released by the anemone

Hi All, Looking for some WAMAS wisdom regarding an old skimmer that I have from a while back, the RLSS r6i. When I bought it, it came with the Waveline DC 3000 and seemed fine for the most part. I was given an upgrade to the Waveline DC 4000 by Salty Supply (now defunct) but never installed it. I’m building a new reef tank and I’d prefer not to have to buy another $400 skimmer or needlessly waste this one, so I’m trying to get this one be in operational condition. Basically my issue is that the DC 4000 pump that I have may have rust issues as mentioned here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2360803). This is because my pump was manufactured before this defect was known. The screws are definitely titanium, but the housing may have stainless steel screw bushings. Is there a way to test to see if the bushings really are stainless steel? I tried a magnet but neither the screws or the bushing stick; however, stainless steel isn’t necessarily magnetic. If they are stainless steel is there a way I can remove the bushings and replace them with titanium ones? I have a spare volute, but it’s for a return pump configuration and not skimmer. I’m not quite sure how I can modify it to work with the skimmer. I’ve contacted the two main distributors of RLSS skimmers from back in the day: Premium Aquatics and Aquarium Specialty, but neither has gotten back to me. I’ve also reached out to RLSS directly, but I doubt I’ll get a response since their website hasn’t been updated since 2015 The other option would be to potentially find a compatible pump, but there really isn’t any information available on these skimmers to begin with so I wouldn’t know where to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I’d be glad to post pictures of the skimmer if it helps.

Had the corals shipped. Unfortunately most of them didn't make it. Pretty heartbroken. I think the best approach would have been to sell the colonies in MD and start fresh over here.

Right and make sure it is fully dried. Not like some that still have some organic matter trapped deep within. It may require a lanthanum chloride bath.

Well I hope I have better luck with the ones that are still here.

No I haven't noticed any scratching or rubbing against the rocks. To be honest, I always thought their breathing was a bit high paced, they've been like that for as long as I've had them. At least compared to the clownfish/mandarin they breath twice as fast. I don't know if you can tell by the video, but does their breathing look normal?

Well I stopped the prazipro on Saturday, since the Anthias seemed to be doing much better. I upped the feeding to 4-5 times a day, mixing as much cyclopeeze as I could. Fins were fine, and spots were gone. I also have been feeding Seachem's Focus and Metronizadole, as well as prazipro. Unfortunately this morning I saw my pom-pom crab munching on the dead carcass of the largest female. I immediately pulled it out and did an fw dip; no flukes, nothing came off the fish. The fish was fat, color was good, and no strange behavior. The crab ate all of it's fins and one of its eyes. I'm even surprised how strong it was. For a crab so slow, when it wants something it moves fast even dragging an anthias 5x its size with it. I doubt it killed it. Should I be concerned? http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/167362-killer-pom-pom/ indicates that they can be mean. I don't get it. There aren't any flukes, the parameters seems fine (even more sensitive animals like the shrimp and LPS corals seem to be doing well). I've attached pictures of the male anthias and some video which shows their typical appearance and behavior. Keep in mind the fish was afraid of the camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/javisaman/9445045085/

White stringy poop is usually a sign of internal parasites