Help with tank

[DSAfanatic]

I am having some serious issues with my tank. I have a Neo 90g made my DSA and it is about 9 months old right now. Almost everything was transferred to the tank from my 40g which was about a year old. The only thing new was some more liverock and some new hardware for the bigger tank. Everything was great for about 6-7 months. I was having good growth, color, my anemone was happy. My ph always seemed low though, around 7.8-8.0. Here is a pic from my phone from a 9/27/2009.

Then I started having issues with cyano. I would siphon it off and turn my lights out for a few days and it would go away. However, a few days later it would show back up after the lights turned back on. I also started having issues with the ionic balance of alk/calcium/magnesium in my tank. Calcium would start precipitating out because my mag would get down to 1000-1100. I have a geo calcium reactor and I have replaced the media in it as well. I would have to put in about a gallon of bionic magnesium in, over the course of a week of course. This is around the time I noticed my RBTA not as happy anymore.

I got sick of battling cyano for 3 months and I decided to kill it with Chemiclean. Worst idea ever. I lost half of my corals and my RBTA looks horrible now and won't eat. And now, my entire tank is covered with hair algae!!

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can try to start rectifying the situation? Here are the parameters of my water as of last night.

Salinity - 1.024
Temp - ranges from 75-80
ph - 8.2
alk - 12
phospates - undetectable
nitrates - 10
nitrites - 0
ammonia - 0
calcium - 380

[DSAfanatic]

I will post a pic of my tank now when I get home.

[DSAfanatic]

Here is a list of my current equipment

Euro Reef 80
Geo Calcium Reactor
Tek T5 lights (all bulbs are 9 months old)
Mag 12 for a return that splits to go to my TLF Reactor that has carbon in it
MP40W
Nano Wavebox

[Europhyllia]

try reducing CO2

[ErikH]

I doubt the chemiclean was to blame. Is your anemone still alive? Have you smelled it? What are you measuring your salinity with? How much are you dosing daily? What are you dosing? What are your tanks temps? Did the corals RTN or STN? Have you checked for Phosphates? Phosphates can kill corals easy. You should run a 2 little fishies phosban reactor and a carbon reactor.

[Paul28]

First off run carb to get rid of that cemclean crap do a large water change slow down effected drip some or add some air pimps to the tank co2 is way to high run phosban reactor with phosban not phosguard or kent phos removers phosban will last longer stop adding a bunch of crap for lvls just do water changes but make shur alk dosent drop to low your mag and cal wont raise becuse to many phosfates, why are you yousing a 2 part with a cal reactor ? and not running calcium hidroxid ?

[DSAfanatic]

I doubt the chemiclean was to blame. Is your anemone still alive? Have you smelled it? What are you measuring your salinity with? How much are you dosing daily? What are you dosing? What are your tanks temps? Did the corals RTN or STN? Have you checked for Phosphates? Phosphates can kill corals easy. You should run a 2 little fishies phosban reactor and a carbon reactor.

My RBTA is still alive. I measure my salinity with a glass hydrometer. My tank temp ranges from 75 in the morning to 78-80 in the day. I am currently not dosing anything. I was dosing Brightwell Reef BioFuel, MicroBacter, Koral Color, and aminos before the crash. 1 of my corals RTN, the others were STN. I am currently running both. I have 2 TLF reactors. One is half way full of carbon, the other is 3/4 full of Phosguard.

[DSAfanatic]

First off run carb to get rid of that cemclean crap do a large water change slow down effected drip some or add some air pimps to the tank co2 is way to high run phosban reactor with phosban not phosguard or kent phos removers phosban will last longer stop adding a bunch of crap for lvls just do water changes but make shur alk dosent drop to low your mag and cal wont raise becuse to many phosfates, why are you yousing a 2 part with a cal reactor ? and not running calcium hidroxid ?

I am currently running carbon and I change it weekly. I am currently using Phosguard but I will try Phosban. I am currently not dosing anything. I do not use 2 part calcium, I only use Bionic Magnesium to raise my Mag levels when they are low. I don't want to use kalk because it will raise my alk even more.

[DSAfanatic]

It was definitely the Chemiclean becasue my corals didn't start to die until about 36 hours after I added it. And trust me, I have done plenty of water changes since then. Also, is there such a thing as running too much carbon?

[ErikH]

You need to raise your CA. People have had much success with low alk and high CA. Raising your CA should lower your alk. What kind of salt are you using? Magnesium is not used up as quickly as alk and ca in a reeftank, which is why I am questioning. Did you slack on a water change? What kind of skimmer do you have?

[Paul28]

phosguard last 3 days then its trash try phosban :) what your problem is your cal reactor is not set bal to your tank your putting way to mutch co2 in the tank and cyno loves co2 also thats why you cant raise cal at all its locked try calcuim hydroxid and bring the effective down a bit calcuim hydroxide will take alot of phosphats out and alot of the co2 out but be very carful your alk will fly up . do you open your windows at all in the room of tank do you have air atones in your tank at all ? there is no way to gess what your demands are on your tank noone can your going to half to figure out how mutch co2 is in reactor ph wise , and set the bubble drip with the effective drip for your tanks alk a cal reactor will not raise cal only alk it will help keep cal bal with alk when cal gets to were you want it. when i first got my cal reactor i was having same problem as you are having now

sorry for run on and miss spelling :)

[ErikH]

What kind of corals died? I mean you can look up ferric oxide on wetwebmedia or RC and check it out for yourself. I am just saying that it could have been alot of things, 36 hours after adding chemiclean? Don't you water change then? I have a reeftank that I used to use chemiclean on constantly and never had a problem. I have two anemones, clams, and bunches of SPS and zoas. No ill affect from the Chemiclean. What is the TDS of your water? I am suspect you had a phosphate issue, I mean, cyano=excess nutrients and lack of flow. You cannot ignore that.

[Paul28]

I am currently running carbon and I change it weekly. I am currently using Phosguard but I will try Phosban. I am currently not dosing anything. I do not use 2 part calcium, I only use Bionic Magnesium to raise my Mag levels when they are low. I don't want to use kalk because it will raise my alk even more.



your going to half to bal the calcuim hydroxide that raises alk with that cal reactor are you will be fighting crapy alge the rest of your tanks life aand cal will be a constant fight :(

[Paul28]

also ph will always low always

[Europhyllia]

What kind of corals died? I mean you can look up ferric oxide on wetwebmedia or RC and check it out for yourself. I am just saying that it could have been alot of things, 36 hours after adding chemiclean? Don't you water change then? I have a reeftank that I used to use chemiclean on constantly and never had a problem. I have two anemones, clams, and bunches of SPS and zoas. No ill affect from the Chemiclean. What is the TDS of your water? I am suspect you had a phosphate issue, I mean, cyano=excess nutrients and lack of flow. You cannot ignore that.

Erik, could it be that you are thinking of ChemiPure (the water purification media) rather than ChemiClean (the cyano killer media)? I use ChemiPure. I'd never use ChemiClean.

ChemiClean is not the GFO based product.

[Europhyllia]

your putting way to mutch co2 in the tank and cyno loves co2 :)

Exactly.

[DSAfanatic]

would an airstone help with raising the ph by counteracting against the CO2 from the reactor? My effluent is really slow because if I raise it then my ph drops.

[Paul28]

omg yeh air stone will be a BIG time change in ph and also be able to turn the drip up also were is your effected drip dripping ? i run a airstone in both my overflows and 1 in the sump in the first baffle

[Paul28]

also do you have a controler on your cal reactor ?

[DSAfanatic]

Yes I have a controller on it and it is set at 7.5. BPM is at 50 and effluent drip rate is at 60 ml per min.

[Paul28]

ummm your ph in the reactor is 7.5 ? or your have it shut off when your tank is at 7.5 ?

[ErikH]

http://www.melevsreef.com/chemicals.html

Yeah I was wrong, lol. I went back to double check.

[ErikH]

I think he has an internal probe.

[Paul28]

if you have the internal prob to shut off the co2 at 7.5 its not melting anything its just pumping strait co2 into your tank :(

[aquasport24]

if you have the internal prob to shut off the co2 at 7.5 its not melting anything its just pumping strait co2 into your tank :(

+1, it needs to be alot lower like 6.6-6.8, what media do you use w/ the GEO ? small or large?

[Ping]

I don’t know much about calcium reactors except to say that tank crashes have occurred from improper CO2 adjustments and / or pH probe calibration inaccuracies.

Chemi Clean has cause many tank crashes. People have used Chemi Clean and not had a crash, others have had a tank crash (or many tank crashes) and do not blame the chemicals they dump in their tanks, but they still wonder why their corals died.

Simply put, if it kills the cyano, what other biological life forms is it killing.

Aside from the possible CO2 issue, chemicals often destroy the lower biological trophic levels that we have learned to establish in order to successfully keep corals alive in captivity for extended periods.

We should dose elements, not chemicals in order to maintain an ionic balance and a biologically sound closed captive system.

[Paul28]

also what is the size of the reactor becuse omg your effected drip is high and the co2 is way way high

[DSAfanatic]

I have the Geo 612 and it recommends coarse media. The holes on the bottom are too big for the fine media. I have the internal ph probe and the instructions that came with it said 7.5 I will lower it to 6.8. Should I try to lower slowly and reduce it by .1 or .2 every day or just go ahead and change it to 6.8?

[aquasport24]

i'd go straight to 6.8 , let it run for about an hour and then check the effleunt drip.

[DSAfanatic]

i'd go straight to 6.8 , let it run for about an hour and then check the effleunt drip.

Check for what? This is my first calcium reactor. What should my alk/calcium/mag coming out of it?

[aquasport24]

check for Alk, it should be 2-3x than the dispaly tank alk.

[DSAfanatic]

also what is the size of the reactor becuse omg your effected drip is high and the co2 is way way high

Geo 612 so its a 12 inch tall and a 6 inch diameter. What do you think I should put my BPM and effluent drip rate at?

[ErikH]

Paul, I think you may have set a little light off in my head. I think that maybe my probe may be off in my reactor. This would explain the "all of the sudden: low ph in my tank. Hmm.

[Paul28]

sorry just got back from lunch start your co2 at 10 bubs a min and 40 to 50 effected drips a min then test your alk every day for a week then adjust daily to balence the effective drip with the co2 bub to get the ph in your reactor to 6.5 to 6.6 now here is the fun part if your tank needs more demand for alk adding cal and mag you need to balence again the co2 drip and the effected drip over a month you half to know your tanks demand it may take a few weeks of tuning the effective drip down and co2 many mnay times but rember do not do it fast few drips at a time or you will go out of wak also look into cal hydroxide balence it in with it thats were it gets hard it will help take co2 out of the tank and also buffer the system if you have a cal reacctor with no air stones or a place for water get pushed over something or pured in on rocks or something for oxegen then you will fight ph FOREVER hair alge cyno you name it thay all feed on CO2

[Paul28]

i reformated my com awile back with all my charts i was hoping someone in this hobby had the ph value with alk with no co2 defrence also the alk and cal with no co2 but noone did :( lost mine cant rember it to the numbers

[Paul28]

also guys becarful with messing with alk up and down you will bleach the **** out of your sps FAST do things slow !!