Tank crashing, crazy parameters. Help!

glb · Nov 14, 2016

My 12g nano isn't doing well. It's totally my fault for not staying on top of maintenance but I'm trying to fix the damage and I don't know how.

Here's the deal:

Some hair algae
Mushrooms dying off
Chalice starting to fade.
Sexy shrimp died
Existing trocus snail ok. Two new ones this weekend (acclimated) not looking good.
Clownfish happy.

Here are the parameters:

pH: 7.9-8.1
Temp: 78
Alk 134 ppm (7.6kh I think)
Ca not detectable (though I dose limewater and add Ca supplement daily
Mg: 30ppm. (now dosing)
Nitrates: 5-10ppm
Phosphates: 0.02ppm

I read Randy's articles about balancing alk/ca/mg but don't know what I'm doing wrong. I know too much Ca can drive alk down and not enough Mg means less Ca in the water. I did a 2g w/c last week and this week with no real change. I use limewater in my ato and it worked very well for a while at keeping things in balance. At this point I wonder if there's a toxin in the water. I've changed the carbon and gfo. I just don't know what to do! (Mods if this post belongs in another forum feel free to move it. I put it here because the water chemistry is so screwy.)

Anirban · Nov 14, 2016

Man how you reached 0 Calcium and how you are measuring it? Also 30 ppm Magnesium and how are measuring that? If I am in your place I will do some large water changes to bring the parameters back. Then start thinking about the problems further....or shift the live stock in a temporary place and start stabilising the system.

buckroe07 · Nov 14, 2016

I agree. The easiest thing to do since it's a smaller tank is to do water changes to bring parameters back in line then test again and dose accordingly.

jenreefer · Nov 14, 2016

Make sure your test kits are in date, and confirm numbers with new test kits. I would make up whole new batch of water and test it with your test kit before using, will tell you if kit is not giving accurate readings.
Small frequent water changes are easier on fish, unless you can match temp, salinity and pH, then can do large change. get all dying things out of tank immediately.

good luck and keep us updated.

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 14, 2016

yes retest. 3 30% water changes over the course of a week should reset you with a mild salt. IMO stop dosing, find out whats going on.

TheEngineer · Nov 14, 2016

Agree with these suggestions. Considering what is in the tank, why did you start dosing to begin with? Were you noticing an issue with levels?

Alfrareef · Nov 14, 2016

Retest or take sample to LFS test it. I don't ever understand values like those...

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 14, 2016

The calcium (too low to measure) and magnesium (30 ppm) testing isn't accurate as written. Stop dosing unless you understand what the current valeus are better. They are unlikely to be low, IMO, and certainly are not the cause of any problems you report.

You likely have too much calcium, and used a whole syringe before seeing the endpoint. That's high, not low.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 14, 2016

Anirban said:
Man how you reached 0 Calcium and how you are measuring it? Also 30 ppm Magnesium and how are measuring that?

It doesn't matter. Neither can possibly be accurate.

Anirban · Nov 14, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
It doesn't matter. Neither can possibly be accurate.

Exactly, thats why I asked how he is measuring it? 0 calcium after using limewater in a tank with almost nothing......

glb · Nov 14, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The calcium (too low to measure) and magnesium (30 ppm) testing isn't accurate as written. Stop dosing unless you understand what the current valeus are better. They are unlikely to be low, IMO, and certainly are not the cause of any problems you report.

You likely have too much calcium, and used a whole syringe before seeing the endpoint. That's high, not low.

Oh. Lol about reading the test kit. I feel a little better.

Knapp870 · Nov 14, 2016

I agree with Randy on too high of calcium being high on the suspect list..

glb · Nov 14, 2016

I use Hanna Checker for alk. It's new reagent, not a bad batch. Salifert for Ca and Mg, both well within their expiry dates. Randy cleared up reading the test. I have too much Ca, not the other way around. I'll keep doing 2-3g water changes until things settle out. I was dosing Ca in addition to limewater in the ato because it was dropping. My guess is my low alk and mg are due to the high ca. I still can't figure out why my cuc's aren't adjusting well. I temp acclimated them and have never had a problem with snails or crabs before. Learn from my mistakes. Don't skip water changes or testing. It's so much more work to fix things later!

glb · Nov 14, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The calcium (too low to measure) and magnesium (30 ppm) testing isn't accurate as written. Stop dosing unless you understand what the current valeus are better. They are unlikely to be low, IMO, and certainly are not the cause of any problems you report.

You likely have too much calcium, and used a whole syringe before seeing the endpoint. That's high, not low.

Do you think I should just use RODI water in my ato for a while?

jenreefer · Nov 14, 2016

glb said:
Do you think I should just use RODI water in my ato for a while?

Yes, that would be a good start.

Diesel · Nov 14, 2016

Now that we know where you went wrong, on a 11 gallon tank one gallon water change should be enough to keep it all in check and no need for dosing.
If your 11 gallon is packed with tons of SPS I would say yes maybe but than a 2 gallon would be enough to keep that 11 G in range.
Do you have a pics for us?
FTS?

glb · Nov 14, 2016

Diesel said:
Now that we know where you went wrong, on a 11 gallon tank one gallon water change should be enough to keep it all in check and no need for dosing.
If your 11 gallon is packed with tons of SPS I would say yes maybe but than a 2 gallon would be enough to keep that 11 G in range.
Do you have a pics for us?
FTS?

Actually my alk wouldn't stay up without the kalk. There's not much in it right now. Just one monti (i think) some favia and a few mushrooms. The kalk also helped with a low ph problem. I went wrong by not keeping up with weekly maintenance. Then I tried to fix it with dosing. I'll never do that again!!!