Hello a bit new here, need some help

[cibolariverman]

I have just purchased a very nice 58 gallon sw tank with and wonderful population of hard and soft corals with a wide variety of fish. The move for this tank was very involved and we were very careful to keep everything safe and alive.

The tank was just purple everywhere and the only damage I can see, two weeks after the move, is that the side of the tank that was purple has now lost its color. The fish, all corals and compete system appears to be doing fine.

Being everything was mixed up a bit and I took all the water, general testing of the water was delayed 5 days. This was so that everything could settle.

Upon my first test the Ammonia was .50, PH was 8.3, Nitrites were .25, the Nitrates were below .25 and the phosphates were .75. The tests were all about the same until day 8 when the Nitrate started climbing to 20. I immediately used Prime in the recommended dosage. All other levels were the same before the prime.

The next day, day 9 the tests were: Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, PH 8.3, Phosphates .50 and then the Nitrates jumped to 80.

I then performed a 15 gallon water changed, using prime in the emergency dosage for a 58 gallon tank.

Now there was a very healthy mini starfish population that some were lost in the move, based on them appearing to be dead on the tank walls, I removed them, but did not lose anything else, except for the Copi Pods. This can be the only thing I think may be spiking the Nitrates???

Does Prime give false readings for an Aquarium Phar testing kit?

It has been 10 days now and everything except the Hammerhead 2 head coral appears fine. It looks a little weak and looks to be fading away.

My other corals are as follows: Torch 3 heads, Daisy/blue polyp milti rock, Recordia 2 heads, Huge 6 head Bubble coral green and white, 2 leathers small, Galaxy large, Xenia white pom pom 35 heads, Zoos red green mix, Blue sponge medium, Fuzzy mushroom, Green stripe mushroom, Orange disc. All appears to be fine, accept for the hammerhead.

Inverts: 3 sand shifting starfish, 30 hermit grabs, a cleaner shrimp, 2 brittle stars, with one not looking so good, very rich with Copi pods, 2 tube worms.

55lbs of aged 3 years Fiji rock and 30 lbs of sand.

Now the fish, which is what amazed me, were all purchased very small and have grown up in the tank and do not damage the coral or inverts are as follows: 4 green cromis, Lyre tale anthia, Desjardini sailfin, blue tang, flame angel, fox face, clown fish that owns the bubble coral, scooter blenny, starry blenny, niger trigger, falco hawk fish. Yes this tank is friendly and everything gets along great. Over 1.5 years with this current population.

Now the tank has a JBJ efu-45 reaction 4 stage canister filter with uv sterilizer, which I am not a huge fan of but it has been working great for over two years, JBJ artica mini 1/15 hp chiller, warner marine h2v2 80 gal hang on protein skimmer, JBJ k-2 viper hqi clamp on lamp, 100w, JBJ hood system with 2 65w blue lights. Everything is pulsing, looking happy, bright and growing like mad.

Now at day 10, I have just noticed for the first time, I am getting green and red slime algae starting to develop. Never has this been in the tank before.

The previous owner only did water changes once a month of 10 gallon for this 58 gallon tank and used the following feeding and chemical mixture, might I add, very successfully, the tank was stunning: phytofeast 3 capfuls every 3 days, protein pellets every 3 days, sea weed 2 quarters sheets every 3 days, Magnesium 4.5 capfuls once a week, Strontium 3.5 capfuls once a week, Calcium 3.5 capfuls once a week, Iodine 3 drops once a week, DKH buffer 2 capfuls every 2 days in the am, Vitamins/HUFA 2 capfuls once a week, prime 2 capfuls once a week and Trace elements 4 capfuls once a week. Everything is from WM research, except for the DKH buffer it's from Kent and the Phyoto Feast being from Reef Nutrition.

The canister has ceramic cubes, standard white liners and two large chemi pure bags. I have not changed them, but did rinse them 3 days after the move, thinking they might be pretty dirty, the tank was very cloudy after getting it back up. The tank was down for apx 1.75 hours before being refilled with the same water. All the rocks were kept submerged in small tanks, we were very careful...

So, hope this was enough information for some advice, this tank is gorgeous and I am concerned over the spiking Nitrates, red and green algae growth.

I also appears that the Copi Pod population didnt do well being transported either.

[fsn77]

The spike in nutrient levels is a result of the move and completely stirring everything up. It doesn't sound like there is any method for exporting nutrients on the tank (such as a refugium or algea turf scrubber), leaving frequent, large water changes the only way to significantly combat them.

The purple that was growing on the side of the tank was coralline algae. It tends to die quickly if exposed to air too long. It'll grow back relatively quickly, as long as proper calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels are maintained.

Quite honestly, that is a lot of fish for a 58g reef tank. That many fish and that much food in a tank of that size is going to be prone to elevated nutrient levels over time, especially without a good means for nutrient export. As the fish grow larger and require more food, this issue will only become more prevelant. Some of those fish are going to outgrow that tank soon enough as it is, so you may want to consider removing some of those and subsequently reducing the amount fed to suit the remaining fish.

The copepods will return in time, hopefully quickly enough to keep your mandarin (scooter blenny) alive. Has the mandarin been willing to eat any of the foods being added to the tank? Some will, others won't. Those that won't need a strong copepod population to survive.

Please keep us posted on how things are going, and feel free to ask more questions if you have them. There's numerous people here that will gladly help out.

[Ace25]

Upon my first test the Ammonia was .50, PH was 8.3, Nitrites were .25, the Nitrates were below .25 and the phosphates were .75. The tests were all about the same until day 8 when the Nitrate started climbing to 20. I immediately used Prime in the recommended dosage. All other levels were the same before the prime.

The next day, day 9 the tests were: Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, PH 8.3, Phosphates .50 and then the Nitrates jumped to 80.

I then performed a 15 gallon water changed, using prime in the emergency dosage for a 58 gallon tank.

This part has me the most concerned, your using Prime, which the vast majority of the time that means your using Tap water. Very seldom do I see people using Prime on their RO/DI for just added chloramine removal. So if you are using Tap water to mix your salt with I think that is part of your problem.

Next problem, in my opinion you have 3 fish that are not suitable for that size tank, the 2 tangs and the trigger. The foxface is on the border as well.

My opinion.. step back, take a deep breath, and start new again with your maintenance routine. Don't do what the previous owner did because I think that was too much and 1/2 of it was not required (dosing strontium/iodine/etc). First, start out with good RO/DI water and then just worry about getting phosphates and nitrates down and keeping the 3 majors (Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium) in balance. It is really easy to get phosphate and nitrates down quickly, keeping them down on the other hand requires a change in maintenance and/or filtration system. To get nitrates down to 5 and below quickly you will need to do several very large water changes over the course of a week with good RO/DI water + saltmix, not tap water.

I have been able to get nitrates that were over 200 on a tank to under 10 in just a few days doing 90% water changes each day for 3 days. Also got phosphates from 2.0 to .2 from the same water changes. This is on a tank I was asked to maintain at my work because no one else would. I then added more filtration, live rock, ROX carbon and GFO to the tank to help keep levels down low. This is on a 60G tank that has 6 fish, a squirelfish, blue tang (been looking like near death for about a year because it is too small of a tank for it but my work insists on having a "dori" to go with the clowns even if dori is white, no fins, and red open sores on her face), 2 clowns, zebra chromis, and a PJ Cardinal.

[leocom2000]

....
Now there was a very healthy mini starfish population that some were lost in the move, based on them appearing to be dead on the tank walls, I removed them, but did not lose anything else, except for the Copi Pods. This can be the only thing I think may be spiking the Nitrates???

Does Prime give false readings for an Aquarium Phar testing kit?
......

Yes, Prime will affect the test kit reading. It modifies the chemistry of the water to the less toxic state, but does not remove it. Water changes with RO/DI+salt are the best solution here.

[cibolariverman]

Thank you fsn77, ace25 and leocom2000. I am using Catalina water that is a bit high on the salinity from my local store, so I have been reducing it with RO water. Right now I have it exactly at 1.023 and holding steady.

The previous owner was using the prime, so I continued it not to disrupt the tanks balance too much. The scooter blenny loves the protein pellets and actually the sea weed sheets too, so I guess I am lucky.

Agree with the heavy fish load and will be removing several of them and placing them in an additional tank in the house, thank you good advice.

I have just prepared another 15 gallons; pre checked at 1.023 and will perform that tomorrow and test again.

Thanks to all of you for your help and advice, a little stressed not wanting to destroy this wonderful, established tank.

Keep you posted on the results after several 15 gallon water changes over the next days.

Again pleasure to hear from you, thank you very much!

[cibolariverman]

Ok, here is my update. Since Sept 4th I have performed 2-15 gallon water changes, and switched from the Catalina water to the RO/DI+salt. The red and green algae have stopped growing. I am adding Weise Organics Alga Magic for now. Switching the water was a good recommendation, for I have discovered that this local water has caused problem with algae growth. Some stating too many nutrients? Salinity is steady at 1.023 and holding.

Immediately after the 1st on water change on the 5th, next day here were the results: Nitrates @ 40, Nitrites .25, Ammonia .125, phosphates @ .25, PH @ 7.8

I continued with the original owner's recommendation and regiment of chemicals, trace materials and the prime. The corals started coming alive and the fish appeared more active and happy.

After the second water change on the 8th I waited till the next day and the new results were as follows: Nitrates @ 40, Nitrites .15, Ammonia 0, phosphates @ .25, PH @ 8.2

I am going to perform another 15 g change tomorrow and will test again, but I just can't get the nitrates down. Again, I am thinking the copepods that were thriving in the tank/sand and filter may have died off and causing this?????? Perhaps all the purple walls that died???? it is growng back however SLOWLY.

Just tested an hour ago and the Nitrates jumped back up to 80, all other stayed the same.

I ordered new filter media and 2 bags of chemi pure and should have it by Tuesday. Then I will try that. The feeding has stayed consistant with the owner recommendations and I am careful not to over feed.

Now the hammerhead is just exploding and growing rapidly and all the others just booming with growth too, it's great. The fish all look healthy with nice color too. I also added a 2,000/4,000 jar of live tigger pOds not wanting the Mandarin to have problems if the native colony had passed.

The skimmer is working well and I don't see any increase in waste. Keep you posted, if you have an ideas on lowering the Nitrates other than what I am doing please let me know.

[Ace25]

Well.. 15G out of a 58G tank wouldn't be what I would consider a large water change. 40G out of the 58G would be, and I think if you did that you would then notice the nitrates dropping quickly. Doing 45G in 3 different 15G waterchanges doesn't have the same effect as one large waterchange from my experience. Yes, it is expensive to mix/change all that water in one shot, but that is the only way I know of to get nitrates to drop quickly, otherwise you could do things like build an algae turf scrubber, remote deep sandbed, de-nitrator coil, or Seachem De*Nitrate to name a few options, but all those things take time before your nitrates start to go down. Your fish list is certainly not helping matters either, lots of poop coming out of those larger fish adding to the nitrate problem.

[cibolariverman]

Ace25, got it, all I had was a couple contaners. Just picked up a couple more, now I have 25 gallons of stransport/storage. I will go and pick up 3 more and try a 40. Also the new filter media and new chemi pure paks will be here Tuesday.

Hate to sell the problem fish, and they are a bit small for my large "fish" only tank in the house and may become food....everything gets along so well and doesn't pick at the corals.

This tank was running at about .25 or lower nitrates all the way up to my transportation, I was friends with the guy.

Will try the 40 wc and new media and re-test mid week.

Thanks for the advise....

[Haydn24]

Umm, I would not be replacing all of the filter media as it will remove a lot of BB, causing a bigger problem...

[RiVerfishgirl]

You've already gotten a lot of good advice, I just wanted to mention that I would remove the niger trigger, because while he's ok now (I assume he's still fairly small after 1.5 yrs), he WILL eventually start eating your inverts. Their personality is variable as far as whether they will pick on other fish, but it's pretty much guaranteed they will eat inverts eventually. They also are bad about grinding stuff off rocks and picking on corals (which is not as detrimental with soft corals since it usually just frags them, but any hard corals can be damaged and left open to infection). Also as a carnivore he is adding quite a bit of bioload to the tank and will outgrow it anyway.

The scooter blenny, if he doesn't tend eat prepared foods, you will immediately want to order a large amount of copepods for since you've had a lot of die off. When they don't eat prepared foods they consume very large amounts of copepods and he will deplete them quickly.

(Sorry, I just noticed that you said he eats protein pellets. Their diet is mainly protein based foods like copepods in the wild, so I'm not sure if the seaweed is necessary, but if he's eating it I'm sure it's a good addition of vitamins and minerals. You can still order copepods to reseed the tank. I ordered some off of reefcleaners.org to seed my 40g).

[leocom2000]

Just to make sure your RO/DI+salt and test kits are good, test your freshly made RO/DI+salt water for Nitrates and Phosphates. Otherwise, you might be chasing your tail (been there, done that).