Ok guys I'm about to go insane....

[ahiggins]

My next tank I’m going to do bare bottom

 

[Jimmyfish1]

I've got some nessarius snails, hermits, and a banded serpent I believe would be more pleased with at least a touch of sand...

Unless someone can verify none of them need it... in which case I'll pitch it

 

[Jimmyfish1]

Wife sent me these pics not long ago....
I moved all my coral and inverts to a hospital tank last night...

 

[A. grandis]

For about a week and a half nearly all(95%) of my zoas have been closed up.... I've tested my water numerous times. I have a hammer that's ****** too. An acan that seems to be happy hermits happy banded serpent that's happy snails thriving I just dont know what to do....

I don't have time to read the whole thread, but I saw the pictures on page 4!
Remove the hermits and serpents from tank.
Make sure temperature isn't too hot, too cold. 79°F is the best.
If your system isn't mature, that's is probably the reason why.
Reef water chemistry and stability for zoas.
I find that many times people aren't providing good quality reef lights for their reefs anymore, icluding the stores, and the colonies grow weak and live under stress.
Good luck.

 

[Jimmyfish1]

I don't have time to read the whole thread, but I saw the pictures on page 4!
Remove the hermits and serpents from tank.
Make sure temperature isn't too hot, too cold. 79°F is the best.
If your system isn't mature, that's is probably the reason why.
Reef water chemistry and stability for zoas.
I find that many times people aren't providing good quality reef lights for their reefs anymore, icluding the stores, and the colonies grow weak and live under stress.
Good luck.

I reset my tank with a 1/4 inch sand. A few live rock new water. Bacteria. All while everything was in a qt. I lost my hammer and a few hermits a couple snails. And a lil fish. But everything else for the most part doing ok now. I think I'll lose a few zoas tho...

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

I reset my tank with a 1/4 inch sand. A few live rock new water. Bacteria. All while everything was in a qt. I lost my hammer and a few hermits a couple snails. And a lil fish. But everything else for the most part doing ok now. I think I'll lose a few zoas tho...

1/4” sand? Should’ve just kept bare bottom. You can add sand at any time down the road but you just seen what it’s like to remove it.

Sand isn’t the issue though. You’ve had no heater and I can tell you depending how you keep your house temp wise.. I see 2* in a 55g freshwater in my sons bedrrom with full hoods and hob filter and proper heater.

Agitation through a sump with open top I can see possible 5* + temp swings daily if you turn air up during day and down at night which I think most people do..
Heaters are more for temp stability then specific temp cause ocean waters can get cold tood.

Second thing I noticed from your little journal post, you’re running a ph of 7.5-7.6 that’s what my tap water runs..

Running a range between 40-80ppm nitrate

I stopped reading after this.. if your going to keep a tank this poorly this is what’s going to happen.

Not to be a dick but to be perfectly honest.. you just tore your tank down for no reason cause the tank wasn’t the problem it was how you didn’t properly maintain even one important basic of Husbantry. I can’t tell if you can’t tell the actual from testing and this is where you think it is? Or if your tank is really running 40-80ppm nitrates! But not being able to read if it’s 5 or 10 in one thing. But 40-80? Inverts not corals are going to live that high. Even some snails are going to die this high if kept long term.

78-80* no more then 1* temp swings
8-8.3ph
Less then 25ppm nitrate (ideally under 5ppm)
Less then 1ppm pho (ideally under 0.2)
Salinity 1.025-26

These are basics for safe ranges

Seems to me you had a freshwater tank and just jumped two feet first concerting it to salt wo first researching what is needed.

 

[Jimmyfish1]

1/4” sand? Should’ve just kept bare bottom. You can add sand at any time down the road but you just seen what it’s like to remove it.

Sand isn’t the issue though. You’ve had no heater and I can tell you depending how you keep your house temp wise.. I see 2* in a 55g freshwater in my sons bedrrom with full hoods and hob filter and proper heater.

Agitation through a sump with open top I can see possible 5* + temp swings daily if you turn air up during day and down at night which I think most people do..
Heaters are more for temp stability then specific temp cause ocean waters can get cold tood.

Second thing I noticed from your little journal post, you’re running a ph of 7.5-7.6 that’s what my tap water runs..

Running a range between 40-80ppm nitrate

I stopped reading after this.. if your going to keep a tank this poorly this is what’s going to happen.

Not to be a dick but to be perfectly honest.. you just tore your tank down for no reason cause the tank wasn’t the problem it was how you didn’t properly maintain even one important basic of Husbantry. I can’t tell if you can’t tell the actual from testing and this is where you think it is? Or if your tank is really running 40-80ppm nitrates! But not being able to read if it’s 5 or 10 in one thing. But 40-80? Inverts not corals are going to live that high. Even some snails are going to die this high if kept long term.

78-80* no more then 1* temp swings
8-8.3ph
Less then 25ppm nitrate (ideally under 5ppm)
Less then 1ppm pho (ideally under 0.2)
Salinity 1.025-26

These are basics for safe ranges

Seems to me you had a freshwater tank and just jumped two feet first concerting it to salt wo first researching what is needed.

I tore it down bc yes. I realized I was lacking. Temp is stable at 74 now. This weekend I'm testing bc I just reset this past weekend...

 

[Jimmyfish1]

I got it down from un numbered maroon color to 40...

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

I got it down from un numbered maroon color to 40...

Ok good! I didn’t want to come off like a dick but long as you’re understanding better now and learning. I wouldn’t run 74* though. It will work but I’d go up to 78 which is considered the low end of normal.

40 is still high and it’s onky going to go up again when tank is back running 100%

You need a change in filtration system. If I remember you said you have a small sump running like 14g volumn right? You have any pics of it? You need better nutrient export in your system and would like to help but don’t know what you have to work with and don’t want to just throw out bunch of fancy expensive stuff to buy when I know it’s not needed..

Also how many wavemakers are in your display? And what flow rating? What size return pump are you running? Where are they all placed? I’m willing to bet you don’t have good circulation in the tank which allows detritus to set and rot away. This is one reason 55g are not common in reef systems and really not that common in fresh either. Tall, narrow and long don’t make for good flow but can be done. A pic of placements would help too.

 

[Jimmyfish1]

Ok good! I didn’t want to come off like a dick but long as you’re understanding better now and learning. I wouldn’t run 74* though. It will work but I’d go up to 78 which is considered the low end of normal.

40 is still high and it’s onky going to go up again when tank is back running 100%

You need a change in filtration system. If I remember you said you have a small sump running like 14g volumn right? You have any pics of it? You need better nutrient export in your system and would like to help but don’t know what you have to work with and don’t want to just throw out bunch of fancy expensive stuff to buy when I know it’s not needed..

Also how many wavemakers are in your display? And what flow rating? What size return pump are you running? Where are they all placed? I’m willing to bet you don’t have good circulation in the tank which allows detritus to set and rot away. This is one reason 55g are not common in reef systems and really not that common in fresh either. Tall, narrow and long don’t make for good flow but can be done. A pic of placements would help too.

Idk the specs right off. I took 2/3 of the rock to permit more flow. 1 powerhead in tank. Fist size. 2 return pumps. I think 1 is about 500gph and the other around 3. Hard plumbed. PVC overflow. On opposite end.

 

[Jimmyfish1]

Sump after rebuild

 

[A. grandis]

I reset my tank with a 1/4 inch sand. A few live rock new water. Bacteria. All while everything was in a qt. I lost my hammer and a few hermits a couple snails. And a lil fish. But everything else for the most part doing ok now. I think I'll lose a few zoas tho...

Leave it alone and wait for cycle. Zoas are pretty hardy.
Good luck!

 

[Izzythegirl]

Sealab no 28

 

[Izzythegirl]

Sealab no 28

I’m confused where can I get the 14 elements to complete the cycle

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m confused where can I get the 14 elements to complete the cycle

Don’t need the 14 elements
Add denitrifying bacteria such as micro bacter XLM