Returning to my sad tank after RAP NYC. Help!

[Miami Reef]

I first noticed the Si

That causes problems

Then the Chlorine

Oochie momma

Everyone is suggesting water change. Odds are that's where the Chlorine is coming from

Make sure your DI cartridge is going the right way.

Maybe change the RO membranes, how old are they?

Send an ICP of your fresh made salt water while you're at it. That will give you a clue as to where stuff is coming from

(Maybe someone sprayed bleach in your tank, known to happen)

You are extremely misinformed. The ICP is stating chlorine as chloride. It is not saying he has actual bleach in his tank.

Silicone is not the same as soluble silica. The soluble silica will be much less than the total silicone (from seams etc).

 

[moretor1]

I first noticed the Si

That causes problems

Then the Chlorine

Oochie momma

Everyone is suggesting water change. Odds are that's where the Chlorine is coming from

Make sure your DI cartridge is going the right way.

Maybe change the RO membranes, how old are they?

Send an ICP of your fresh made salt water while you're at it. That will give you a clue as to where stuff is coming from

(Maybe someone sprayed bleach in your tank, known to happen)

wrong kind of chlorine, ICP tests for chlorides (sodium chloride etc)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys, I need some advice and guidance (again...). For some added context, I had a high nitrate issue a while back that we are still correcting.

@Gumbies R Us and I have been gone for the last week at RAP NYC, and we've had a family member coming over and feeding out tank frozen mysis every other day while we were away. When we came home yesterday, we were met with a sad site. Although they looked okay when we left, at some point, our Duncan looked like it had some polyp bailout while we were gone. There were between 6 to 8 heads on it, but four are now entirely skeletal. What's left looks pretty punny.

We sent an ICP Analysis the day before we left for our trip; check out the report below. There are some obvious areas of improvement, such as phosphates. We have Brightwell NeoPhos coming in the mail tomorrow to correct that issue. Additionally, my torch and candy cane also look sad. The mushroom, toadstool, BTA, and fish are all doing well, but I'm afraid the bottom is about to drop out with them as well.

We also have an army of spirorbid worms, pineapple sponges, and unknown algae growing. The picture below is for identification. It is more red in person. Does anyone know what it is?

I'm trying not to get too down about this, but it feels like it has been one thing after another for the last several months with the tank. Any tips or advice is very much appreciated. It's gut-wrenching to see your tank members in such a state.

Here is the ICP report. Some parameters not included in the ICP report are Nitrates, which are currently high at 40-50, and Salinity at 1.025.

This requires a little scraping and elbow grease. Leave lights off during the day for 5 days and you will see a diiference already

 

[Solo McReefer]

You are extremely misinformed. The ICP is stating chlorine as chloride. It is not saying he has actual bleach in his tank.

Silicone is not the same as soluble silica. The soluble silica will be much less than the total silicone (from seams etc).

Thanks for the schooling

 

[Solo McReefer]

wrong kind of chlorine, ICP tests for chlorides (sodium chloride etc)

Thanks for the schooling

 

[Lavey29]

Couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not rough if you know what you are doing. There is so much wrong in this thread/tank I don’t know where to start.

Vast majority in the hobby are new or novice reefers and probably don't have your alleged skill level so very accurate and true to state the first year is rough.

 

[Outlaw Corals]

First off don’t add anything more to the tank until you get it stable, i also see some of your trace elements are at zero, start dosing some of the trace elements that are low or zero, you can get some water conditioner to add to your RO water to remove any chlorine, you could also save a lot of money by dosing vodka to get your phosphates and nitrates down, once you get them down to where they need to be start dosing bacto balance it will keep them stable, bumblebee snails will eat those evil worms do you have, and most importantly be patient you must be very patient, how big is the tank?

 

[Dburr1014]

It's great that people respond without reading the ICP results or the body of the thread.

Chlorine, been resolved.
Phosphate, not high but missing. Feed reef roids or dose a bit.
SI, resolved

The algae looks brown and wispy to my eyes. Lyngbya or very similar. Manual pulling, up the cuc and flow a tad. Get a sock on the main and use a soft toothbrush on it. Clean sock, do this as needed.

Duncan may recover once you get your water in order.

 

[Nano_Man]

Fww
I would get my parameters bang on and stable
Use a good salinity tester get two types then you can check one against the other if one gives strange readings maybe hydrometer ect
The first year has ups and downs . And if things are getting hairy I believe in lights out or rap the tank black out no light no growth. If you turn your rock over it will be clean as a whistle not getting light. I only test for three things salinity/ nitrate/ phosphate but anemones like high nutrients believe me . Your reef is going through the stage as it gets older . Sometimes it sucks for the first year. Theses are only my opinions don’t over complicate things keep them simple

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Just an update: I have some proper salinity calibration solution coming in the mail over the next few days. Once that gets here, I'm going to recheck salinity. In the meantime, I will do a water change since we have been out of town and see if that helps. I will also start pulling more of the algae off the back. Surprisingly enough, there's less algae in there now than there was a week ago.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

What is that algae like if you pull it out - slimy or tough? It looks a lot like the Bryopsis I have in my tank, which is tough.

More slimy than tough

 

[formallydehyde]

I've continually used swing arm hydrometers so far. They can be slightly less accurate, but usually not by much, and as far as I know they don't really drift from stated values unless they're physically damaged or salt dries on them. They're also cheap.