Tank Crash because of MAG?

DSmithZ28 · Oct 8, 2023

I have three frag tanks plumbed into 180 gallon main display. Roughly 350 gallons. I did a 25% water change using instant ocean and my magnesium drop from 1300 to 1250. This is nothing new but this is the first time I’ve been able to do a larger water change, but with this batch, the most I’ve seen the magnesium drop. Last night I added 32 mL of magnesium and it brought it up to 1260. When I came in this morning and looked at the tank, it was white, cloudy, and all my acro are RTN . No temperature change, phosphates are .06 nitrates are 5.2ppm. I put an ammonia badge in the tank and it did not change color so I’m not sure if free-floating ammonia is the culprit? I did detect a very foul smell in my shop where the tanks are located. Alkalinity has not changed. Calcium has not changed pH has not changed. Not sure where the white cloudy came from but preparing for a massive water change currently started running carbon. Any ideas?

Cabinetman · Oct 8, 2023

Did the scrubber media somehow get into the system?

MnFish1 · Oct 8, 2023

DSmithZ28 said:
I have three frag tanks plumbed into 180 gallon main display. Roughly 350 gallons. I did a 25% water change using instant ocean and my magnesium drop from 1300 to 1250. This is nothing new but this is the first time I’ve been able to do a larger water change, but with this batch, the most I’ve seen the magnesium drop. Last night I added 32 mL of magnesium and it brought it up to 1260. When I came in this morning and looked at the tank, it was white, cloudy, and all my acro are RTN . No temperature change, phosphates are .06 nitrates are 5.2ppm. I put an ammonia badge in the tank and it did not change color so I’m not sure if free-floating ammonia is the culprit? I did detect a very foul smell in my shop where the tanks are located. Alkalinity has not changed. Calcium has not changed pH has not changed. Not sure where the white cloudy came from but preparing for a massive water change currently started running carbon. Any ideas?

I doubt it's Mg. It could be multiple other changes - like alkalinity, etc - assuming something happened with the water change. White and cloudy suggest a precipitate of Ca and PO4 - which Mg tends to prevent. I don't know what it was - whether the RO water, or something in the mix, etc etc - but I would bet quite highly it had nothing to do with Mg. Can you give the rest of your parameters - and PS - so sorry - what a mess,

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 8, 2023

The magnesium value is fine.

MnFish1 · Oct 8, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The magnesium value is fine.

Any suggestions?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 8, 2023

MnFish1 said:
Any suggestions?

On what, the cause of the RTN? I don’t know but I think that chemistry issues get the blame far more often than it is really the case.

Might be a bacteria issue.

DSmithZ28 · Oct 8, 2023

Adding Mag was all I did last night and everything was fine. Here the tests I ran

Alk 8.21
Cal 435
Mag 1263
PH 8.3
Temp 77.7
PO4 0.06
NO3 5.2
No ammonia on a badge.

Running 1.75 cups of carbon (new changed)
Just changed CO2 scrubber 2 days ago
Instant ocean 25% water change that only affected mag from 1300 to 1250

No stray voltage. Recent ICP had some minor trace elements low because I couldn’t do water changes out of a brute. Have large 250 gallon containers. Cleaned with bleach multiple times. Tested on a QT system multiple times and used one time prior on this system no issue. I’m at a loss. But I sure appreciate yall helping.

Getting ready for a large water change. Setting up a second carbon reactor. Added microbactor 7 in case of ammonia I missed. It’s all I can do at this point.

DSmithZ28 · Oct 8, 2023

Oh and there has been nothing new added to this system except 2 tangs. Both are pre medically QT and fat and happy. They came from another qt system where I have observed them for a year with no issues.

MnFish1 · Oct 8, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
On what, the cause of the RTN? I don’t know but I think that chemistry issues get the blame far more often than it is really the case.

Might be a bacteria issue.

It seems to me that there has to be some error (somewhere) - chemically. I can't believe/understand how a tank can go this badly so quickly - with a magnesium addition. Is there a situation whereby an overdose of Mg would cause Precipitation (if so - my guess it would be a massive overdose)

Subsea · Oct 8, 2023

Water that has a calcium or magnesium precipitate snowstorm would clear up soon enough. For me, white cloudy water means a bacteria bloom.

DSmithZ28 · Oct 9, 2023

Well figured it out the hard way. Heaters. I heard and smelled one blow up tonight and noticed that the others were also bad. They were 3 ehiem 300 watt heaters. I cleaned them last week and the cord must have been brittle and when I removed them it created a leak.

josh6surfer · Oct 9, 2023

Where they the glass ones??

DSmithZ28 · Oct 9, 2023

josh6surfer said:
Where they the glass ones??

Yes they were the ehiem jager 300 watt and all of them failed. Plus the two backups I had one of them failed. Looks like Helios is what everyone is using these days. I’m done with ehiem.

FishyFishFish · Oct 9, 2023

It sounds like a lot of failures for such a reputable brand.

I’ve had 3 eheim heaters for the last couple of years and they’ve been faultless (albeit they are not the 300W heaters).

josh6surfer · Oct 10, 2023

DSmithZ28 said:
Yes they were the ehiem jager 300 watt and all of them failed. Plus the two backups I had one of them failed. Looks like Helios is what everyone is using these days. I’m done with ehiem.

Sorry you went through this. Personally I think you can achieve some good heating without breaking the bank. I currently use two 200 watt Hygger titanium heaters (without their controller) with an Inkbird. I have the inkbird set to off at 80 degrees and my Apex controller set to 78 degrees. Basically the apex controller controls the heaters and the inkbird is my redundant backup.

Icryhard · Oct 10, 2023

josh6surfer said:
Sorry you went through this. Personally I think you can achieve some good heating without breaking the bank. I currently use two 200 watt Hygger titanium heaters (without their controller) with an Inkbird. I have the inkbird set to off at 80 degrees and my Apex controller set to 78 degrees. Basically the apex controller controls the heaters and the inkbird is my redundant backup.

I came here just to say: nice flex with the black belt.