Bought a house...came with a tank.

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greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
I am not a starfish expert by any means but I have read that many "sand sifting" stars can have a negative impact on the benficial critters we need in our tanks and once they have depeleted that food source will move on to whatever they can get their arms around. There are a number of threads and articles online about stars and while some point out the benefits of having these stars as a cleanup crew memeber their are just as many that mention issues of them depleting beneficial fauna and eating fish and inverts.

I would just do some research and decide if it's something you want to keep. Keeping the star well fed will likely help curb any issues as well.
 

branflake12

yeah, thats right-purple ROPE
Sep 20, 2005
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Iowa City
test results

Alright...here are the less than stellar results. I tested my hydrometer with fresh and got it to say zero. Now it reads max in SW and i have ensured there are no bubbles. I knocked some creep back in when I was cleaning, but i didnt think it was much.

Ammonia: .25
Nitrate: 15
Nitrite: 0
Ph:8.1

On my way to get some RO DI fresh. Even if the hydro isnt working right, I need to get that ammonia out of the tank.

The yellow fish has burried itself in the sand and is breathing quite heavily.

I need some advice on steps for correction...:1zhelp:
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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If you haven't left already take a sample of water with you to your LFS and have them double check the SG. Get some extra RO/DI for top offs. Sorry missed the yellow fish until now somehow.

Is this it?



You might want to work on getting the smaller tank going however I am concerned about you going to a smaller tank with 3 fish coupled with ammonia in your current water and an unknown SG. If you are confident that you can match your existing water temp and SG, you can do a 50%+ WC by using a mix of your current water and new SW.

Are you sure you had an ammonia response? Those color charts can be hard to see sometimes. It is entirely possible that your SG has gradually increased to spike the hydrometer but all of your fish should be in pretty bad shape or dead. Have you ever added fresh RO/DI since you owned the tank? If not you have likely evaporated a lot of water. You really need to verify that SG and go from there.
 

branflake12

yeah, thats right-purple ROPE
Sep 20, 2005
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Iowa City
I went to get some fresh RO but the grocery store was out of containers to hold it. Tomorrow.

Got a phosphate test kit and it came out at .5, not sure what that means.

I am not certain of ammonia reaction, the clowns look very healthy and are active (though you pointed out they are hardy). The store i went to doesnt do water tests (sort of a local/chain/franchise), All i have done was a salt for salt 5 gallon change in the week we have lived here. I will get 10 gallons of RO DI and add gradually and watch the salinity as well as take a sample to the LFS where i get said water (tomorrow).

JJ'd some aiptasia tonight cuz the wife wanted to watch. Very cool stuff.

More updates as they come.

Brandon
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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0.5 on the phosphates is something you want to remedy as well. While not leathal to your fish the phospahtes are going to fuel algae growth. Those colormetric cards are so hard to read accurately. Make sure you have good light when you compare the test tube to the card.

You need to find a good source of water that you can trust. RO/DI will provide you with much better water quality than just RO. Keep in mind that much of what I am saying is in the interest of getting the tank back on track and more reef ready. If you decide to just go with fish only you can be a bit more toloerant of some water quality issues.

Thought a bit more about your situation and how to facilitate cleaning your tank out. A simpler option would be to take your fish to a LFS and ask them to hold them for a couple weeks until you get things accomplished.

If you are going with the 10g (which is what I would do personally) your SG being through the roof is going to be a concern for acclimation to the new tank water and if your ammonia reading is correct I wouldn't want to use any of your current water in the smaller tank. If your SG and ammonia results are correct moving them to the 10 gallon might be better accomplished by adding all new water to the 10g. If the yellow fish is the coris wrasse then you are going to need some of that sand you mentioned in the tank and a tight fitting lid (wrasses jump). If your SG is 1.032+ then mix the new water to about 1.025-.026. Buy or mix up about 15-20 gallons of new water.

You shouldn't have cycle concerns with the 10 gallon. However, (again) if your SG is through the roof, you may get some bacteria die off when you transfer the LR from the higher SG to the lower SG without acclimation. I'm not sure about that though so maybe someone else will chime in. Where is everyone BTW?

Once the 10g is set up grab a clean 5 gallon bucket with a few cups of your current water. Put a heater and an air pump in the bucket and catch your fish to put in the bucket. Using the extra new SW setup a drip line and slowly drip the lower SG water into the bucket and as the bucket fills up remove water and allow the new SW to continue to drip until the fish become acclimated to the new water (probabaly take a couple of hours) and then add them to the tank.

You don't need to go through all of this if your SG is more in line (1.021 to 1.026).
 

branflake12

yeah, thats right-purple ROPE
Sep 20, 2005
180
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Iowa City
Hey greech.

Thanks for the input as usual.

The wrasse, if thats what it was, is very much inside the big star this morning. I can see a fish shaped bulge in his "disc". oh well. I am not as attached to these if they were "mine" to start with, but still would like to keep them.

I am not certain on the salinity...I will get a sample to a "real" LFS hopefully tomorrow if my idea of adding RODI fresh doesnt bring it down tonight. I plan to bring it down gradually to avoid acclimation issues for the two remaining fish. I guess i am in no rush on this, i just want to be sure its headed in the right direction at all times.

As for phosphates...yeah the cards are hard to read but i have been doing it for a long time and they have gotten better. at least they dont fade and bleed when they get wet anymore. How does one remedy the phosphate level. Are you shooting for a zero reading as well?
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Glad to help. Good luck with it.
 

branflake12

yeah, thats right-purple ROPE
Sep 20, 2005
180
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Iowa City
I added 2.5 gallons of fresh RO DI UV (whew) from my LFS to the tank last night (just a top up, no change. The SG reading came down from the max...so it was maxed. I bought 10 gallons of the stuff (had to get another bucket) and I am going to do 2.5 gallon changes over the next couple days and watch that salinity. The ammonia reading is more yellow than green this time, so its headed inthe right direction. How long to wait after you dump in fresh to check the SG? I figured in an hour the tank has been "turned over" enough to check?

LFS said he would take the star, maybe in exchange for some shrimp/crabs/snails when I am ready.

So, my goal is going to be to get the water in check (how do i remove phosphates again? just WC's?) and then go to the 10G with the clowns and inverts and some rock, then scrub the rest of the rock off and deep vac the sand. I hope by keeping all the rock wet and the same filter media (bio wheels are turning again) that my cycle should not be harmed (or just see a mini cycle).

THoughts?
 
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branflake12

yeah, thats right-purple ROPE
Sep 20, 2005
180
0
0
Iowa City
Also, while i was digging around to unplug the powerheads i noticed the airline that runs to the part of the skimmer that is inside the tank is just capped...no pump or anything. SHould this be?
 

fsn77

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Staff member
Feb 22, 2006
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Most skimmers do not require an air pump, but it shouldn't be capped off. The skimmer draws air in through that airline. Without air coming in, the skimmer cannot make foam. Is the skimmer bubbly / foamy inside with the way things are now?
 
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