I’m giving up.

[LadyMac]

IMO api is very unreliable. It’s highly inaccurate for marine setups. Does great on freshwater. They just have too much room for errors in their numbers for marine. I would get better testing supplies. Api will help as a basic guide but if you want accurate numbers you’ll never get them.

 

[Gaines69]

First I would get rid of all those filters, keeping only the purigen.
Second, do a large (50%) wc.
Third, get a new set of test kit.
Forth, buy Red Sea NOPOX and do some GFO.
Fifth, probably you should swap the sand... (and before the wc...)
Good luck. Everything will become ok.

Can I run the GFO in my hob fuge. It’s small ( 2 gal I think) but has good water flow because it’s hooked up to a submersible pump. At this time I have Chaetomorpha in one section and live rock rubble in the other section. It hangs on the side of my aquarium because my hob filter takes up the intire back of my aquarium.

 

[Gaines69]

My tank a few days ago only live rock and I’m hapoy that my coralline algae is spreading I know the scape needs work and I’d like a deeper sand bed for my pistol shrimp but working in this tank is a pain because of the evil little Princess Leia. Would it hurt to put the two clowns in a 5 gal bucket with live rock and a heater so I can really redo the scape?

 

[Brew12]

My tank a few days ago only live rock and I’m hapoy that my coralline algae is spreading I know the scape needs work and I’d like a deeper sand bed for my pistol shrimp but working in this tank is a pain because of the evil little Princess Leia. Would it hurt to put the two clowns in a 5 gal bucket with live rock and a heater so I can really redo the scape?

Not at all for a short period of time. They would be just fine for a few hours, just make sure that you provide them with some shelter like PVC pieces.

 

[CindyKz]

Not at all for a short period of time. They would be just fine for a few hours, just make sure that you provide them with some shelter like PVC pieces.

I would also add an airstone to the bucket so they have plenty of O2.

 

[Gaines69]

Not at all for a short period of time. They would be just fine for a few hours, just make sure that you provide them with some shelter like PVC pieces.

Thanks. I’ll put their favorite ornaments In the bucket woth them. I know, they are fake. Lol. I tried a real anemone, a green bubble tip, and it only lived for three days. Scared to try another one. Lol. They swim in and out of the anemone and sleep in the round cave things.

 

[Gaines69]

I would also add an airstone to the bucket so they have plenty of O2.

i will definitely add an air stone. Heck I might even attach my old hob filter. I love my fishy babies. ( even though Princess Leia hates me.

 

[Alfrareef]

Can I run the GFO in my hob fuge. It’s small ( 2 gal I think) but has good water flow because it’s hooked up to a submersible pump. At this time I have Chaetomorpha in one section and live rock rubble in the other section. It hangs on the side of my aquarium because my hob filter takes up the intire back of my aquarium.

You can run GFO anyplace with a flow, preferably not to strong.

 

[Gaines69]

You can run GFO anyplace with a flow, preferably not to strong.

Ok thanks. The flow coming out of my HOB filter is really strong so I’m thinking the fuge in the second section. Maybe with a filter pad in front of it to slow flow a little

 

[Alfrareef]

I’m just not sure I can find any other salt in my local area. I’m gonna test my water next time. I know that the distilled water has zero everything because I tested it. Lol

But can have metals...

 

[Alfrareef]

Thanks. I’ll put their favorite ornaments In the bucket woth them. I know, they are fake. Lol. I tried a real anemone, a green bubble tip, and it only lived for three days. Scared to try another one. Lol. They swim in and out of the anemone and sleep in the round cave things.

I don’t know about anemones but dead in three days you should have other problems...

 

[tiggs]

An important thing to remember with IO and RC is that the elements can settle at the bottom of the bag/box/bucket during shipping or even storage, causing inconsistent mix batches. If you shake up the bag/box/bucket good prior to mixing, the levels should come out a lot closer to what it says on the package. I was having the same issue, but since adding the shake to my routine, it's been extremely consistent.

This is assuming you're not mixing up the entire package at once. If that's the case, then it's either a batch that's way off or an issue with test kits/devices.

 

[Gaines69]

But can have metals...

I’m not sure about metals but it’s the best I can do at this time. Watched a video where someone tested distilled water with a TDS meter and it showed 1. I don’t have funds or space for a rodi system right now.

 

[Gaines69]

I don’t know about anemones but dead in three days you should have other problems...

I’m not sure what the issue was. My clown fish and pistol shrimp had no issues. The BTA didn’t act right from the moment I put it in the tank. When I found it three days later it was just a small clump of slime. It’s death didn’t seem to effect any other livestock in my tank but I did big water changes two days in a row, added Purigen, and used prime in my new water. That was about 4 months agowhen my tank was at a friends house. Now I have it back and I’m trying to get everything back to where it needs to be. Im thinking it’s not to horrible because the sea whip I purchased several weeks ago is doing good.

 

[Gaines69]

An important thing to remember with IO and RC is that the elements can settle at the bottom of the bag/box/bucket during shipping or even storage, causing inconsistent mix batches. If you shake up the bag/box/bucket good prior to mixing, the levels should come out a lot closer to what it says on the package. I was having the same issue, but since adding the shake to my routine, it's been extremely consistent.

This is assuming you're not mixing up the entire package at once. If that's the case, then it's either a batch that's way off or an issue with test kits/devices.

I have never purchased salt by the bucket but I will pick up a small bucket and dump my bag of salt in so I can shake well before use. Thanks for the tip

 

[tiggs]

The distilled water having metals thing is basically non-existent these days. Many years ago, some distilleries still used metal piping and the fear was that it could rust and affect the water. Pretty much every water distillery switched over to plastic many years ago, so distilled is equal to RO/DI in terms of quality for our tanks. The reason I say "basically non-existent" is because I obviously can't speak for every mom and pop distillery in the world, but any large reputable brand is definitely on plastic by now. I can say with 100% certainty that Poland Spring is completely pure and safe to use, as I've used it for the last 6+ years.

The preference of RO/DI is greatly tied to cost and ease of use these days. Being that I have a nano and live in an apartment, it's just more convenient for me to pick up a few gallons at the grocery store than setup a full water storage station.

 

[Gaines69]

The distilled water having metals thing is basically non-existent these days. Many years ago, some distilleries still used metal piping and the fear was that it could rust and affect the water. Pretty much every water distillery switched over to plastic many years ago, so distilled is equal to RO/DI in terms of quality for our tanks. The reason I say "basically non-existent" is because I obviously can't speak for every mom and pop distillery in the world, but any large reputable brand is definitely on plastic by now. I can say with 100% certainty that Poland Spring is completely pure and safe to use, as I've used it for the last 6+ years.

The preference of RO/DI is greatly tied to cost and ease of use these days. Being that I have a nano and live in an apartment, it's just more convenient for me to pick up a few gallons at the grocery store than setup a full water storage station.

Same here. I live in an apartment t on the third floor. My tank is only 27 gal and my son is getting a 13.5 gal for his birthday. It’s just easy to grab the gallons of distilled water when I go get groceries.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I DO NOT trust API test kits. maybe its wrong, maybe kit is right. I would stretch out water changes a tad and continue regular feeding. Sounds like over filtered. If youre changing water that often, the number of filters are overkill.

 

[Gaines69]

I DO NOT trust API test kits. maybe its wrong, maybe kit is right. I would stretch out water changes a tad and continue regular feeding. Sounds like over filtered. If youre changing water that often, the number of filters are overkill.

Ok. So water changes every two weeks or maybe once a month? What do you mean by over filtered? Should I just run the filter pads, and Purigen? Add gfo to my little hob fuge? If I put no pads in my bio wheel hob filter it causes way too much flow. I’ll look into a new test kit when I have more funds. Lol. I believe both of my lfs and big chain stores use API. .

 

[Daimyo68]

Api kits are your first problem. Have you water tested by another reefer with good kits, or a lfs using good kits.

After getting some reliable readings, then plan your attack.