First Tank Failure

[John.Thompson]

I recently made my first reef tank. It was/is a total fail so far. I made sure to do everything right. I waited for the tank to mature with plenty of healthy bacteria supplement. I tested the water Params and salinity every day. Kept the temp stable. I did it all. However, a majority of my coral have perished within the first week. Many within their first 24 hours… does anyone have any experience like this that they found a solution to? Should I have waited even longer for tank maturity?

 

[Jeffcb]

I recently made my first reef tank. It was/is a total fail so far. I made sure to do everything right. I waited for the tank to mature with plenty of healthy bacteria supplement. I tested the water Params and salinity every day. Kept the temp stable. I did it all. However, a majority of my coral have perished within the first week. Many within their first 24 hours… does anyone have any experience like this that they found a solution to? Should I have waited even longer for tank maturity?

How long has the tank been running?

 

[John.Thompson]

How long has the tank been running?

About 2-3 months. I was told for the coral I got that that was enough. Was I misinformed?

 

[kiran]

What were the parameters when you last tested?

 

[dvgyfresh]

Need to know more info , parameters , live rock or dry rock , cycle steps , a picture helps a bunch.

we’ll figure out the problem just need some more info !

 

[JonezNReef]

How did you cycle the tank? Did you add ammonia or ghost feed the tank?

 

[SeaworthyAquatics]

What tests do you use?

 

[blaxsun]

All of the above questions. Assuming you give it another go, I would start with some hardy soft corals. Things like GSP, zoas/palys, xenias, ie: things that are near impossible to kill. Then you can gradually move into LPS and eventually SPS - as each has additional requirements.

 

[John.Thompson]

Need to know more info , parameters , live rock or dry rock , cycle steps , a picture helps a bunch.

we’ll figure out the problem just need some more info !

Live rock. Normal 10% water changes every week and bacterial dosages. Current parameters:
-nitrites: 0
-nitrates: 0
-Hardness: 150PPM
-PH:8.3
-Alkalinity: currently a little low @~50ppm but was up at 100-120 a day and a half ago
-Chlorine: 0

Excuse the dirty glass. I realize small ranks are NOT good first ranks because they can tend to be unstable but I checked params every day at least once a day and every was fine for the longest time. I kept lighting to a “minimum” All coral are low flow low light.

 

[John.Thompson]

What tests do you use?

The typical recommended test strips then occasionally I take it to my local shop for a full run down “actual test” if that makes sense. Refractometer for salinity. Calibrated with distilled water.

 

[John.Thompson]

What were the parameters when you last tested?

In previous reply that I just posted. Thank you.

 

[John.Thompson]

How did you cycle the tank? Did you add ammonia or ghost feed the tank?

Yes to both

 

[soymilk]

even at 100ppm, this doesn't sound right. Normally most reefers try to keep their dKH around 7-11 dKH.

thats at least 150ppm, what test kit are you using?

 

[John.Thompson]

even at 100ppm, this doesn't sound right

Could you explain what that means? Please and thanks

 

[soymilk]

I'm used to seeing alkalinity displayed in dKH. Its just a different way of measurement.

with that being said. You said your alk was 50 ppm. This number is way off. You should be at 130-200 ppm.

what test kit are you using to check alk?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Live rock. Normal 10% water changes every week and bacterial dosages. Current parameters:
-nitrites: 0
-nitrates: 0
-Hardness: 150PPM
-PH:8.3
-Alkalinity: currently a little low @~50ppm but was up at 100-120 a day and a half ago
-Chlorine: 0

Excuse the dirty glass. I realize small ranks are NOT good first ranks because they can tend to be unstable but I checked params every day at least once a day and every was fine for the longest time. I kept lighting to a “minimum” All coral are low flow low light.

Something is not right. The Alk number is way low.

What salt mix are you using, or where are you getting saltwater?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I recently made my first reef tank. It was/is a total fail so far. I made sure to do everything right. I waited for the tank to mature with plenty of healthy bacteria supplement. I tested the water Params and salinity every day. Kept the temp stable. I did it all. However, a majority of my coral have perished within the first week. Many within their first 24 hours… does anyone have any experience like this that they found a solution to? Should I have waited even longer for tank maturity?

If this is a newly setup tank, it was not close to ready for coral as coral requires a stable environment with proper parameters/ readings for skeletal and growth support.
A new tank is subject to chemistry changes, bacterial blooms and ammonia and nitrate spikes.
What test kits are you using ?
You will have to focus also on various ranges as posted below to assure good water quality for coral:

Temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.025
nitrate < .10
phos < .04
Ammonia < .03
mG 1300
Alk 8-11
CA 400- 440

 

[blaxsun]

I would invest in a decent test kit. Something like the Red Sea Marine + Magnesium and Calcium, or the specific Salifert test kits (you can skip ammonia and nitrite).

What @soymilk (and others) mean is that your alkalinity appears really low. Like below the minimum requirement low. 50ppm is around 2.75 dKH. Even 120ppm is only 6.7 dKH (below the minimum).

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Yeah let's get that alkalinity rechecked and in DKH.

Kind of lights and what schedule are you using?

 

[kiran]

I would suggest getting some other test kits and doing some tests at home. Salifert and Red Sea make decent kits. Nyos is also another brand I heard of that's good to use for nitrate tests.

It sounds like the tests you've done so far (including the LFS test) hasn't been accurate.