pgravis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2009
- Messages
- 641
- Reaction score
- 868
- Location
- Utah
- What state or country do you live in
- Utah
So, my tank is looking like garbage. Early in the winter I lost a good chunk of euphylia when my apex died and impacted my dos. Finally got that replaced, and things...seemed to stabilize, if not maybe improve slightly. Alk has been consistent via Hanna checker at about 8.6 since then, and the rest of my kits expired and I’m unsure of their validity, hence why I pulled the trigger on $100 worth of advanced tests. Now, in the last 3 weeks, I have lost all my sps but a good size digi colony, 2 lord colonies, and my remaining lps and anemones seem retracted and stubby. The overall larger issue of the tank is that I am a full time ICU nurse, in graduate school, and have a 5 yr old and 3 yr old that need attention, so the tank maintenance at times gets neglected. The specific reason things are dying is the mystery I’m trying to solve. I used the last of my salt for a 15% water change about a week ago, and have been working, in trainings, or doing homework every day since. I finally broke down and ordered both the triton ICP and the N-doc tests to get some specific answers. Tests are supposed to be here Friday. Here is where the question finally gets asked! I am hoping to get to my lfs before a grave shift today or tomorrow to get a bucket of salt to do some large water changes and I’m unsure if I should do the changes as soon as possible or hold off for a couple days and get the tests sent first. I’ve lost enough that I’m curious what parameter was out of whack enough to lead to the mass deaths I’ve seen, but I also don’t want to lose everything and maybe a water change sooner would help.
Other things I’m worried about: I have a basement sump and I live in a house built in 1893. A month or two ago while doing some work, I had a small amount of 127 years worth of dust off a joist fall into the sump-ran some carbon for a week after and did a water change. Unsure of impact, maybe it had metal in it?
Also recently added some eBay mangroves to the tank. They were listed as tank safe and the reviews mentioned the same, but maybe they had some pesticides or something on them?
Tank info:
60 gallon main mixed reef display with 75 gallon basement sump and connected 90 gallon refugium set up for ~6 years and a new (~8 months or so) 25 gallon anemone/mangrove lagoon plumbed into the same sump.
TLDR: should I send triton tests off before or after large water changes?
Other things I’m worried about: I have a basement sump and I live in a house built in 1893. A month or two ago while doing some work, I had a small amount of 127 years worth of dust off a joist fall into the sump-ran some carbon for a week after and did a water change. Unsure of impact, maybe it had metal in it?
Also recently added some eBay mangroves to the tank. They were listed as tank safe and the reviews mentioned the same, but maybe they had some pesticides or something on them?
Tank info:
60 gallon main mixed reef display with 75 gallon basement sump and connected 90 gallon refugium set up for ~6 years and a new (~8 months or so) 25 gallon anemone/mangrove lagoon plumbed into the same sump.
TLDR: should I send triton tests off before or after large water changes?
