Gulf Coast

Well I am beyond distraught right now. I did not sleep well knowing the fish did not look good. 5:15am I woke up as per normal, the tang is on his side. I do not think he is going to make it. Now this fish was perfectly fine before this, eating perfectly. I blame this death on the copper, because he likely only has hours left and he was healthy as a horse before treatment.

So here we are. This was actually caused by the Red Sea tank. All fish were perfectly healthy before all this happened, a manufacturer's defect. We did not have an easy decision to make through this. When the tank started leaking like that you are scrambling to save all your babies, then one gets sick. We did not just put them in copper on a whim, we watched and waited for weeks. Sometimes the Royal Gramma looked better, then hours later it would look way worse. Overall I think he was getting worse. Only when we thought it may had been, not certain but almost certain the others were showing signs did we start this process. So our favorite fish is going to die today, but would he had been fine if we had left him in the tank? We made the decision as a couple and whatever happens after today we make as a couple. Either way I need a Xanax.

I am currently stressed beyond belief and have no idea if I am making good decisions or not. The corals are easier to deal with, I do not stress like this if I lose a polyp from a colony. But like I said before, I am not giving up, I will get through this and learn better husbandry. Work today is a complete wipe, I am having trouble focusing.
 
Guys, I would like to suggest this. After my recent Red Sea incident I picked up two of these. I am thinking of adding two more, one under my kitchen cabinet where my RO/DI is and one by my hot water heater.


If you cannot see the link, go to Amazon and search for

Zircon Leak Alert Water Leak Detector & Flood Sensor​

 
You guys are too quiet? Give me some updates! Does everyone still have tanks and how are they doing? I am having to add water too often so I think I am about to buy a Tenecor ATO if I can force the narrow one to fit. Also the white worm production is ramping up, we did a test feeding today while changing out the culture's food to see how the fish reacted to live food, they absolutely destroyed it and it was noticeable the difference in feeding frozen food compared to live food. It is hard to explain but they seemed to be able to recognize the live food easier when it hit the water and they left none of it, where the frozen food they seem to be lazy and pieces just kind of float around.
 
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Yeah, between work and soccer tournaments I've been sodding and landscaping the front yard, so luckily my tank is in cruise control, but it's past due for some maintenance and cleaning. I've actually been on the reef moonshiners method for exactly a year. A couple weeks ago I decided to meddle with the alk levels, and attempt to level it off closer to 9dkh. So I've been trying to adjust the dosing to keep it level. Should have left it alone! lol I can't help but to tinker with everything.
 
Yeah, between work and soccer tournaments I've been sodding and landscaping the front yard, so luckily my tank is in cruise control, but it's past due for some maintenance and cleaning. I've actually been on the reef moonshiners method for exactly a year. A couple weeks ago I decided to meddle with the alk levels, and attempt to level it off closer to 9dkh. So I've been trying to adjust the dosing to keep it level. Should have left it alone! lol I can't help but to tinker with everything.

Well mine "was" in maintenance mode until the seal broke. But I am getting back there very quickly.
 
One other thing... I've apparently got silicon making its way through my RODI water. Even through a "silicon buster" DI resin. So I've got to figure that situation out.

Guess I need to add another cannister to the RODI setup.
 
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Silicon? Explain....
It's more often referred to as silicates, but the ATI ICP tests for silicon, an element that makes up silicate. Basically, adding silicates to the tank can feed diatoms, and cause an "outbreak." An ICP test of my RODI water is showing high levels of silicon, despite running through a Silicate Buster DI resin which is supposed capture it.

I have been back and forth with Spectrapure, the maker of the Silicate Buster DI resin, and they suggested testing the pure water with a resistivity meter (I'll attach the resistivity chart they provided below) . Which I did, and basically confirmed that the ICP test is correct, and indeed the resin is not working correctly. However they are not volunteering to replace the resin, and pretty much just said that they don't know what's going on.

Spectrapure Resistivity Chart.jpg
 
It's more often referred to as silicates, but the ATI ICP tests for silicon, an element that makes up silicate. Basically, adding silicates to the tank can feed diatoms, and cause an "outbreak." An ICP test of my RODI water is showing high levels of silicon, despite running through a Silicate Buster DI resin which is supposed capture it.

I have been back and forth with Spectrapure, the maker of the Silicate Buster DI resin, and they suggested testing the pure water with a resistivity meter (I'll attach the resistivity chart they provided below) . Which I did, and basically confirmed that the ICP test is correct, and indeed the resin is not working correctly. However they are not volunteering to replace the resin, and pretty much just said that they don't know what's going on.

Spectrapure Resistivity Chart.jpg

What part of town?
 
I added a second DI resin chamber to mine. Might be worth a try.
 
Well I’m still struggling with super high nitrates! Tried the NoPox method and it lowered it a bit but not enough! I change the sock filters and clean the sump every 3 days. Also have a mini refugium. I recently got a salifert phosphate tester and tested 0. So I think I’m gonna head to oceans coral and pick up some phosphate supplements!
 
Well I’m still struggling with super high nitrates! Tried the NoPox method and it lowered it a bit but not enough! I change the sock filters and clean the sump every 3 days. Also have a mini refugium. I recently got a salifert phosphate tester and tested 0. So I think I’m gonna head to oceans coral and pick up some phosphate supplements!

Are you also running macro algae?
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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