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

resortez · Jul 30, 2019

If you have parameters before the sand bed vacuum to compare with the after, that might help in pinpointing what’s going on. A big stress on the animals are large fluctuations, temperature swings can definitely affect animals & bio load of the aquarium, putting everything into shock. I’ve seen incidents where the RO water being used for water changes is 6-8 degrees warmer than the aquarium water & after pouring the warmer freshly mixed RO water into the tank, 5 minutes after pour in all coral & inverts went into shock & also affecting the bio load, creating a nutrient swing as well. Double the trouble & it is summer. The ammonia is very suspect & can indicate that either too many nutrients were pulled out or too much died off from some type of shock like temperature or contamination. My 2 cents. Hope that helps & might click something. Good luck.

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

There's been discussions about those Sealab #28 blocks. Randy Holmes Farley, our reef chemist, has stated that it's unknown what other things than alkalinity and calcium is added or what contaminants might be in them. With them you have no idea how much calcium and alkalinity is dosed, even though the manufacturer says "as needed". I would discontinue them.

You do need the basic tests and test your water to understand what's happening. Respectfully.

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

dhuynh said:
Waste of money for your situation. You're not running the Triton method.

I'm sorry, we will have to agree to disagree. The OP may have water contaminants causing this issue. ICP test will reveal what's truly going on.

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 30, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
There's been discussions about those Sealab #28 blocks. Randy Holmes Farley, our reef chemist, has stated that it's unknown what other things than alkalinity and calcium is added or what contaminants might be in them. With them you have no idea how much calcium and alkalinity is dosed, even though the manufacturer says "as needed". I would discontinue them.

You do need the basic tests and test your water to understand what's happening. Respectfully.

I understand bout the testing. I'm just a dummy...

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

dhuynh said:
Waste of money for your situation. You're not running the Triton method.

ICP test isn't used in conjunction with Triton exclusively. Can be done by anyone, regardless of how they run their tank.

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 30, 2019

Sealab no 28

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

Jimmyfish1 said:
Sealab no 28

Yes, I'm/we are aware of what the manufacturer "says".

Good read:

Sealab No 28?

Sealab No 28; sounds like Chanel No 5. . I had an experienced reefer tell me to use Sealab No 28 blocks instead of dosing? What are the pros and cons? What is your experience and opinion? I have 100g with live rock and fish only but want to start adding corals. Thanks

www.reef2reef.com

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

And:

Sea-Lab #28 blocks - anybody know about these things?

Thought I'd bring these up since I had never really heard of them until recently. They've been around a while from what I can tell, but I haven't heard of many people using them (so maybe that's a cause for concern :eek::confused:). Have any of you used them? What has been your experience...

www.reef2reef.com

dhuynh · Jul 30, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
ICP test isn't used in conjunction with Triton exclusively. Can be done by anyone, regardless of how they run their tank.

I still think it's a waste of money in this case.

He's doing water changes and running dosing prime and using other things they can't be measured.

I'm sure ICP tests are great things other than the Triton method.

I would spend the money right now on more of the basics test kits.. even if he got back the ICP test result, what would he be able to do with it without the other standard tests in place?

As I said, in this case, ICP test would be a waste as the basic stuff haven't been taken care of yet.

Crabs McJones · Jul 30, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
ICP test isn't used in conjunction with Triton exclusively. Can be done by anyone, regardless of how they run their tank.

Correct. ICP testing can be used on any tank Triton method or not and tests 32 different elements from major, minor, trace elements and unwanted elements. Anyone can do an ICP test to figure out where their levels are at

Edit: Correction, its 36 elements not 32!

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 30, 2019

Hey man... idk what anyone else may or may not know so I posted it....

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

dhuynh said:
I still think it's a waste of money in this case.

He's doing water changes and running dosing prime and using other things they can't be measured.

I'm sure ICP tests are great things other than the Triton method.

I would spend the money right now on more of the basics test kits.. even if he got back the ICP test result, what would he be able to do with it without the other standard tests in place?

As I said, in this case, ICP test would be a waste as the basic stuff haven't been taken care of yet.

I agree with you on basic tests needed. They need to be used, but the ICP test will test for elements and contaminants that we in the hobby don't have test kits for. If the Sealab #28 blocks are dumping elements uncontrollably into the water, there is a good possibility they could be in excess. This could cause major issues. In my book, the test is worth every dime. Your mileage may vary.

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 30, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Yes, I'm/we are aware of what the manufacturer "says".

Good read:

Sealab No 28?

Sealab No 28; sounds like Chanel No 5. . I had an experienced reefer tell me to use Sealab No 28 blocks instead of dosing? What are the pros and cons? What is your experience and opinion? I have 100g with live rock and fish only but want to start adding corals. Thanks

www.reef2reef.com

So.... they're not so metered. Though used to be all u needed. For some still is and some dont like the non metered bit?? If I'm understanding they may not be the bees knees but it ain't a chinese miracle cure...

vetteguy53081 · Jul 30, 2019

I may have missed your salinity but Raise temp to 77-78 deg, salinity at 1.025-1.026 and if you are able to, check under fraf plug and see if any bugs are visible underneath.
Do add a few drops of Aquarium Iodine to tank. If they do not perk up, remove (again if possible) and dip in Hydrogen peroxide. Always wakes up a sleepy zoa. . .LOL

Flippers4pups · Jul 30, 2019

Jimmyfish1 said:
So.... they're not so metered. Though used to be all u needed. For some still is and some dont like the non metered bit?? If I'm understanding they may not be the bees knees but it ain't a chinese miracle cure...

I'm old school and remember when these where big back in the day. That was then and this is now. We understand a considerable more about water chemistry now and adding anything without testing isn't the best practice.[/QUOTE]

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 31, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
I may have missed your salinity but Raise temp to 77-78 deg, salinity at 1.025-1.026 and if you are able to, check under fraf plug and see if any bugs are visible underneath.
Do add a few drops of Aquarium Iodine to tank. If they do not perk up, remove (again if possible) and dip in Hydrogen peroxide. Always wakes up a sleepy zoa. . .LOL

No bugs. Some sporbid worms(?) I do add 2 drops the morning after a water change. Salinity is 1.025. What ratio for peroxide??

Jimmyfish1 · Jul 31, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
I'm old school and remember when these where big back in the day. That was then and this is now. We understand a considerable more about water chemistry now and adding anything without testing isn't the best practice.

[/QUOTE]

Ok. That's a clearer explanation. Sorry. I was borderline asleep last night.