Tank going downhill :(

Anthrilliel · Dec 8, 2020

I have a 30 gallon tank. Live rock, 2 clowns, 1 diamond goby, 1 skunk shrimp, 1 gramma, zoas, xenia and waving hands. Everything seems fine on paper. Temp 78.9, PH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0.56, Phos 0.1, Salinity, 1.024, dKh 9.6. Tank is 3 months old. RO/DI water used.

My clowns are all of a sudden unable to swim? Staying at the bottom of the tank. My corals which initially opened up for the first 2 days are now ask closed up.

I have a wavemaker that I turned off just now to give the clowns a break (there is still a slight current from the filter).

I am getting ready to do a 75% water change. Any advice?

robbyg · Dec 8, 2020

first thing that comes to mind is your salinity. Are you sure it’s 1.024? That not a bad salinity level but if your measurement device is off it could be down at1.020 and not everything can survive well. At that level.
What are you using to test salinity?

Anthrilliel · Dec 8, 2020

robbyg said:
first thing that comes to mind is your salinity. Are you sure it’s 1.024? That not a bad salinity level but if your measurement device is off it could be down at1.020 and not everything can survive well. At that level.
What are you using to test salinity?

I am using a refractometer for Salinity, hanna for phos and nitrates, salifert for the rest.

xrouter · Dec 8, 2020

Anthrilliel said:
I am using a refractometer for Salinity, hanna for phos and nitrates, salifert for the rest.

Have you calibrated it recently? Do so with some RO water that is the same temp as your tank as they do slip.

Doing the water change should help but only if you are getting the right salinity. Have you been doing regular water changes prior to this point?

Also if your salinity is way out do not do a 75% change in one hit to get it correct. You need to bring it back in line slowly, a big swing could finish everything off.

Also you say the corals were open for the first 2 days, so these are new additions to the tank or do you mean 2 days since you noticed an issue?

Anthrilliel · Dec 8, 2020

xrouter said:
Have you calibrated it recently? Do so with some RO water that is the same temp as your tank as they do slip.

Doing the water change should help but only if you are getting the right salinity. Have you been doing regular water changes prior to this point?

Also if your salinity is way out do not do a 75% change in one hit to get it correct. You need to bring it back in line slowly, a big swing could finish everything off.

Also you say the corals were open for the first 2 days, so these are new additions to the tank or do you mean 2 days since you noticed an issue?

I have also tested the Salinity with dipsticks and it matches the refractometer. I calibrated it a month ago, but I will do again. Corals are new additions.

Waters · Dec 8, 2020

Everything looks good as far as your numbers.....even if your salinity was 1.020 as someone stated, it wouldn't affect the clowns (coral yes, but fish are often kept in lower salinity). I personally would do a large water change.....I am leaning towards some sort of toxin in the water but it is hard to say for sure obviously.

Cell · Dec 8, 2020

Any other symptoms on the clowns? Are they breathing heavy? Can we get a full tank picture as well as a close up of the clowns?

Katrina71 · Dec 8, 2020

Any improvement after water change?

Dom · Dec 8, 2020

How old is the tank?

Cell · Dec 8, 2020

I'd turn the powerhead back on and aim it at the surface for starters.

Cell · Dec 8, 2020

Also, you posted this at 2 am, my time. Were the clowns maybe just sleeping or has this been going on all day?

NeonRabbit221B · Dec 8, 2020

Toxins or stray current?

Carbon wouldn't be a bad idea and aiming powerheads for air exchange is never a bad idea in times of stress.

Rhoads238 · Dec 8, 2020

+1 to possible toxin. Water parameters seem fine although as previously mentioned, salinity is slightly low. Due to the sudden onset it may be a possible contamination. Large water change is a good idea. Just try to match your sg, temp and alk when doing one that large.

tripdad · Dec 8, 2020

Did you dip the coral additions? If so did you put them through two additional rinses before adding to tank? Any dip drug into the tank by chance?

robbyg · Dec 8, 2020

If it's not her salinity measurement that is off my next thought is that it might be an Ammonia spike. If the tank is cycled but only has a limited amount of sand and Rock it will not have enough bacteria to be able to handle Ammonia spikes from large feedings or dead animals as fast as it is produced.

So my question is did you do any big feeding or did anything die in the tank over the last 7 days?

Reefer37 · Dec 8, 2020

Personally, I would lean toward toxin or ammonia spike. That's a decent size bioload for a 30g, 3 month old tank.

jd371 · Dec 8, 2020

Everybody pretty much covered everything. I'd like to add if there was anything sprayed near the tank like disinfectant, air freshener or anything like that.

Dom · Dec 8, 2020

Anthrilliel said:
I have a 30 gallon tank. Live rock, 2 clowns, 1 diamond goby, 1 skunk shrimp, 1 gramma, zoas, xenia and waving hands. Everything seems fine on paper. Temp 78.9, PH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0.56, Phos 0.1, Salinity, 1.024, dKh 9.6. Tank is 3 months old. RO/DI water used.

My clowns are all of a sudden unable to swim? Staying at the bottom of the tank. My corals which initially opened up for the first 2 days are now ask closed up.

I have a wavemaker that I turned off just now to give the clowns a break (there is still a slight current from the filter).

I am getting ready to do a 75% water change. Any advice?

Sorry I missed the tank age the first time around.

As has already been mentioned, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So if you could post a full tank shot and some partial tank shots, we can get a close look for any signs of a problem water tests might not necessarily show.

Anthrilliel · Dec 8, 2020

Cell said:
Any other symptoms on the clowns? Are they breathing heavy? Can we get a full tank picture as well as a close up of the clowns?

So it seems like they are feeling better....
I turned off the wavemaker last night. Could it be too strong for them? Should I keep it on for only half the day? It is only 530 gph. Should in still proceed with the water change?

I appreciate all your help so much.

Cell · Dec 8, 2020

I'm starting to suspect it may have just been clowns doing clown things. The powerhead should be fine. If it were my tank, I would aim it along the surface so it gently breaks the water.