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Help me with my system! (1 Viewer)

Again, I really appreciate the input guys. I am getting really desperate at this point. I have been contemplating going BB and acid bathing all my rocks and many other things, but I just cannot be convinced my rock or sand is the problem.
 
I'm pretty sure grounding probe isn't of any value without a GFCI and is actually worse than nothing at all. There is a document in our old forum that Redwinger had posted several years ago. May want to review it and either remove the grounding probe altogether or add a GFCI. Just having the ground probe is actually bad. Not to say that's the silver bullet to your current situation but definately something to research in case you really do have an eletrical issue in the tank sometime in the future.
 
spsick said:
Never used a refractometer. I guess I never seen a need as my salinity never changes. Probably wouldn'r hurt to compare to my deep six :)

When I had explosive growth I was using a HOB filter with the little carbon/ filter pads. I stopped for a long time with the new tank but have been using it lately to improve light penetration.

Yeah, grounding probe with no gfci. I'll check it out with a voltmeter but I don't think im leaking any voltage. Fish are all fine and I have never gotten a zap.
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I'm not a betting man but the salinity is the first thing we need to get dialed in. Refractometer is the best way to be accurate and really should be checked with a couple different ones that are calibrated to be sure. I had some of the same problems you have been describing not too long ago and low and behold my salinity wasn't near where i thought it was....
 
Saltwater empire carries 1.023 calibration fluid. I tested mine when I got my conductivity meter and it was off by several ppt.
 
k, I'll check that out. what does a refracto run, about $45 right?
 
spsick said:
k, I'll check that out. what does a refracto run, about $45 right?
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yeah you can get one for about that. make sure it is the temperature compensating kind. if you want whenever you want i can bring mine over and we can compare just to have 2 to test against;)
 
Make sure you calibrate the probe as well, and not just with RODI either, that isn't the most accurate method.....

I've used Coralife salt as well, it's not a that (real nice close to NSW alkalinity).

How long has the new sand bed been in there?
 
I would certainly verify salinity asap.

If you were having great growth when running more carbon regularly, it would seem that allelopathy might be an issue, especially if there are large leather colonies that've been in the tank for quite a while. Just a thought. I would try running aggressive carbon for several months.

hypertech said:
I don't know that it says much, but your switching salt brands seems to be about the same time as the trouble.

I bought a bucket of that coralife salt. If my arm is in it too long, it starts to burn. I don't have the problem with IO. I haven't noticed any difference in the corals though. Could be related some how?
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I seem to remember some bio-assay studies done on urchins where freshly mixed synthetic saltwater was quite harmful. Might be worth checking that your fresh SW doesn't go straight in.
 
wes said:
I seem to remember some bio-assay studies done on urchins where freshly mixed synthetic saltwater was quite harmful. Might be worth checking that your fresh SW doesn't go straight in.
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I'm not sure I buy into that but its essentially irrelevant.

It generally sits there mixing so long before I get off my a## to actually do the water change that I have to top it off with RO because of the evaporation.
 
hypertech said:
I'm not sure I buy into that but its essentially irrelevant.

It generally sits there mixing so long before I get off my a## to actually do the water change that I have to top it off with RO because of the evaporation.
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you and I both...
 
ah, you're right, I was remembering wrong. Turns out there's no biggie. Synthetics are aight. yeaaaa boiiiii.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17521140

it still seems to me that very freshly made saltwater wouldn't be ready to go right in. We all know about salt-burn from creep that falls into the tank; seems like undissolved bits in a fresh mix might cause some irritation. I doubt that any of us are dumb enough to do things that would really cause damage--like raising salinity by just dumping salt in the tank (I had people come into har-mar and tell me about doing that...).
 
I bought OD calibration solution for my refracto and found out I was 3 points off. Turns out I was at 1.021 when I thought I was 1.024. I was using RODI to calibrate, now I know better. I use instant ocean and found my Mag levels to be very low when I finally sprung for a salifert test kit. I dose 2 part and just dumped a little Mag in every now and again. I figured with a 15% water change a week and some additive now and again I was fine. The low mag caused an imbalance in CA and Alk as well. I was running 12 on my Alk and 330 on my Calcuim, added Mag and now I am 10 and 420.

I would say go back to basics. Verify salinity, get Mag, Calcium, Alk, and Nitrates at ideal levels, and go from there. Beyond that with good flow, lighting, and ideal water paramers if you still have a problem, then you can dig deeper.

When I got lazy with testing on a weekly basis and just added the same amount of 2 part and Mag that always worked in the past is when my tank started to show less than ideal results. Good luck, you will get it figured out.
 
Adam G said:
I bought OD calibration solution for my refracto and found out I was 3 points off. Turns out I was at 1.021 when I thought I was 1.024. I was using RODI to calibrate, now I know better. I use instant ocean and found my Mag levels to be very low when I finally sprung for a salifert test kit. I dose 2 part and just dumped a little Mag in every now and again. I figured with a 15% water change a week and some additive now and again I was fine. The low mag caused an imbalance in CA and Alk as well. I was running 12 on my Alk and 330 on my Calcuim, added Mag and now I am 10 and 420.

I would say go back to basics. Verify salinity, get Mag, Calcium, Alk, and Nitrates at ideal levels, and go from there. Beyond that with good flow, lighting, and ideal water paramers if you still have a problem, then you can dig deeper.

When I got lazy with testing on a weekly basis and just added the same amount of 2 part and Mag that always worked in the past is when my tank started to show less than ideal results. Good luck, you will get it figured out.
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Those numbers aren't so far off with Instant Ocean salt.....
 
O.k. guys, 1.030 with a refractometer. It didn't require any calibration though, I put r.o. on it and it was already at 0 so I don't know if there is more to be done or what...

Either way, it is a little high, but enough to be slowly killing all my acros?
 
spsick said:
O.k. guys, 1.030 with a refractometer. It didn't require any calibration though, I put r.o. on it and it was already at 0 so I don't know if there is more to be done or what...

Either way, it is a little high, but enough to be slowly killing all my acros?
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That still doesn't mean it's calibrated... you need a calibration solution of a known salinity.(I don't care what the instructions say). 1.030 isn't high enough to kill anything, that's essentially what the Red Sea measures.....
 
Zibba said:
Yes, 1.030 will kill your acros and can stress your fish.
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Are you sure? I'm no expert on acros, but if they exist in the Red Sea then they wouldn't die. The Red Sea ranges to over 1.030...Of course, if there are no acros in the Red Sea then the point is moot....
 
mattb said:
That still doesn't mean it's calibrated... you need a calibration solution of a known salinity.(I don't care what the instructions say). 1.030 isn't high enough to kill anything, that's essentially what the Red Sea measures.....
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:gay1:I should have read the ENTIRE thread before commenting.:beerchug::gay1:
 
Essentially, the problem with 1.030 is the limited dissolved oxygen in the water within closed systems, right.

Also, one can add freshly mixed salt water if it is under 10% of the total volume as stated by Julian Sprung in Volume III of blah blah blah. Something like that. Anything more causes problems.
 
While I'm not going to argue that a reef can't exist at 1.030 because the Red Sea has a beautifully diverse ecosystem, I do think it should be noted that (1) the Red Sea is one of the most saline oceans and (2) most people don't model their hobby reefs after the Red Sea. Largely, the literature focuses reef keepers to maintain around 1.024-1.026. With that said, we should also remember that a lot of the corals that we're trying to keep, haven't come from the Red Sea. Many are coming from the Indo-pacific and Australia where the salinity isn't as high.

Just my two cents.

I do agree that the refractometer needs to be calibrated against a standard. All other parameters being stable, I think that salinity is the culprit here.
 
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