Woke up to find almost everything dead.

[Mickey]

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, when you're just starting out it is very hard to sort through all the information you'll get on these discussion boards. Lots of different opinions out there and most are good even though they conflict. Some are downright bad advice.

Key things to remember:
- Nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank. Stability is key even if numbers are slightly off.
- There are many different ways to run a reef tank successfully. Find a method that works for you and stick with it until you have a really good reason to change. Constantly changing things up to find the "perfect" method is not good.
- Similar to what someone else suggested earlier, pick one or two folks here whose advice to follow and give them a lot more weight when posting threads. Take everyone else's with a grain of salt.
- Research the general range of parameters that constitute normal and stay within that range. pH of 7.8 is not bad, especially if it is pretty stable within daily ups and downs. Meaning, it's not 7.8 at 7:00AM one day and then 8.1 at 7:00AM another day. pH will naturally fluctuate over the course of a day.
- Even cleanup crew should not be added too fast else they will starve to death.
- I'm sure there's more but I think that's enough for now.

On another note, I suggest just buying some copepods if you really want to add them rather than culturing them yourself given the size of your tank. There are lots of good online vendors. Of course, if you really want to get into culturing them and know what you want to do with the excess, and you have the time to devote to it, then go for it. Personally, I found it to be a pain. Copepods are beneficial but not sure adding them is really needed.

Good luck!

 

[namlessdude]

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, when you're just starting out it is very hard to sort through all the information you'll get on these discussion boards. Lots of different opinions out there and most are good even though they conflict. Some are downright bad advice.

Key things to remember:
- Nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank. Stability is key even if numbers are slightly off.
- There are many different ways to run a reef tank successfully. Find a method that works for you and stick with it until you have a really good reason to change. Constantly changing things up to find the "perfect" method is not good.
- Similar to what someone else suggested earlier, pick one or two folks here whose advice to follow and give them a lot more weight when posting threads. Take everyone else's with a grain of salt.
- Research the general range of parameters that constitute normal and stay within that range. pH of 7.8 is not bad, especially if it is pretty stable within daily ups and downs. Meaning, it's not 7.8 at 7:00AM one day and then 8.1 at 7:00AM another day. pH will naturally fluctuate over the course of a day.
- Even cleanup crew should not be added too fast else they will starve to death.
- I'm sure there's more but I think that's enough for now.

On another note, I suggest just buying some copepods if you really want to add them rather than culturing them yourself given the size of your tank. There are lots of good online vendors. Of course, if you really want to get into culturing them and know what you want to do with the excess, and you have the time to devote to it, then go for it. Personally, I found it to be a pain. Copepods are beneficial but not sure adding them is really needed.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice! I definitely need to research copepods and culturing them before I get into it. I wanted to consider them since I learned that having a variety is healthy for the tank to create a well rounded ecosystem. Buying them can be very expensive since a small bottle is about 38 canadian dollars and that would run out rather quickly.

My tank is relatively smaller, so my fish might eat all the copepods even befor they get a chance to make it to the rocks and hide to culture further so I'm not sure yet. I will look into it before i get into it.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

My friend you've been given some great advice in your previous threads, you are basically going way too fast and not doing any research, this is a research heavy hobby that requires supreme patience.

Less than one month old tank and less than one month experience equals many dead animals. What happened to that blue tang? Not meaning at all to give you a hard time, you can tell me to buzz off, but your frustration is obvious and we want to help, but at the same time its sad for us to read about these animals dying needlessly.

In this stage of the hobby, allowing the bacteria and the micro-organisms to reproduce is more important than adding fish or corals.

Please slow down and take some time to do some reading, your next move is to build a successful biomme, this will take care of your fish and inverts and coral.

Set Up for Success by Biome Cycling Your New Reef Tank EP: 07

Cycling your aquarium establishes a healthy microbiome that not only consists of beneficial nitrifying bacteria but a variety of other organisms that can help combat pests commonly experienced during the first few months of a new aquarium.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Understanding the Coral Biome and Microbiome | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

As our understanding of corals and coral reefs has increased over the past few decades it has become increasingly clear that a coral reef and even each individual coral is far more diverse than we…

reefbuilders.com

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/rhf/index.htm#:~:text=%22Seawater%20dissolved%20organic%20matter%20(DOM,%2C%20however%2C%20largely%20unknown.%22

The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up a Thriving Reef Tank

Setting up a reef tank, however, is more than just an aesthetic venture; it requires careful planning, dedication, and an understanding of the delicate balance needed to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem. The team here at Top Shelf Aquatics has created a guide the "ultimate" guide to setting...

topshelfaquatics.com

All of this! Exactly, Believe me, we all get the rush of wanting your tank to be a mini reef. But to do it correctly takes time, and research. We are all here to help, and learn from one another. The very first lesson in reefing is patience! When my tank mwas a month old, all I had in it were copepods. We will all help you, but learning thru the death of living creatures is not fair to them.

 

[namlessdude]

Hey guys, follow up question. I added new water and setup my tank. Starting with 0.25 ammonia which i assume is from stirring up all the sand. The rest are all 0. My pH actually started with 8.3 which is great! I assume its due to the new salt that I used.

The question is, my alkalinity is current 6.8 dkh. Should i use the buffer to increase it a bit or is this okay to leave? I can do 10 grams of marine buffer which should increase it 1 meq/L which is 2.8 dkh. This would bring it to a nice 9.6. Thoughts?

 

[OrionN]

I would wait until it finishes cycle before doing anything

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I agree with @OrionN

 

[EstelleOrain]

All of this information is great and it's going to be really difficult to figure out what killed all that, what I will add is when I started out several years ago I made the similar mistake of chasing numbers and used seachem reef buffer. It basically killed every invert that was in the tank. While I can't prove that was the cause since all my other parameters were in range I had alot of older reefers tell me that it was likely the culprit and instead use builder or sodium bicarbonate. Not sure if you used the same thing but since you mentioned you dosed a marine buffer I just wanted to throw that out there. Also learned from this that the cheaper tests are difficult to read accurately and not very accurate. I ended up getting some hanna testers with the calibrated tube's so I'm sure when one of the cheap tests says something is off it is actually off. I've stopped checking now except maybe once a month and I just check calc, mag and alk and dose all for reef once a day.

 

[TehBrainz]

Refractometer

Make sure to calibrate and use conversion tables should your calibration temperature be significantly different than your saltwater. These devices can drift even though they have a small cover over the adjustment screw.

I keep my Calibration fluid in the basement and it can read as low as 65°F at times.

Also, calibrating with DI water isn't the right way, you need to make or buy a salt solution with a known salinity for calibration.

I use the following calculators to help

Hamza's reef calculator salinity page (other great calculators available) and then the salinity correction calculator.

Aquarium Calculators

An index of useful aquarium calculators and converters.

www.hamzasreef.com

 

[Northern Flicker]

Contributor, not cause. Its overall water when all die and can be rock if copper present as well as use of tap water

Are you saying 0.25 phosphate contributed in their motile inverts dying?

I would strongly disagree with that.

OP - don't chase pH with a buffer. I was going to write more but OrionN nailed it on their post on the first page.

You should start a tank journal! Then we can all follow your progress and it will be easier to get you the right advice based on your tank and your experience level. You will bounce back, this is a learning moment and will only help you.

 

[Northern Flicker]

All of this information is great and it's going to be really difficult to figure out what killed all that, what I will add is when I started out several years ago I made the similar mistake of chasing numbers and used seachem reef buffer.

The only real use for these buffers is in an emergency situation or in some cases to help balance shipment water with tank water in commercial settings.

I used to cringe when I couldn't talk my customers into a more long term solution for pH issues knowing this product was about to set them on a temporary pH roller coaster.

 

[OrionN]

I just use RO water to calibrate my refractometer
Really to confirm that the screw have not come loose and the scale moved.

 

[AmazingYocool]

I appreciate the info on pH. I am a science student and we learn a lot about pH in chem. I can see how so many variables can fluctuate the pH, but, a buffer is supposed to control for that since it adds a weak acid or a weak base that would instantly react with any additional H or OH to to maintain a consistent pH. supposedly what I dosed the tank with was a buffer that would help, but little did I know, it didn't.

I might be late but the buffer definitely is what caused this. PH and KH Are one in one. When one goes up, the other is bound to aswell. Im sorry you lost your inverts, that sucks. It's very scary using some chemicals especially buffers.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Are you saying 0.25 phosphate contributed in their motile inverts dying?

I would strongly disagree with that.

OP - don't chase pH with a buffer. I was going to write more but OrionN nailed it on their post on the first page.

You should start a tank journal! Then we can all follow your progress and it will be easier to get you the right advice based on your tank and your experience level. You will bounce back, this is a learning moment and will only help you.

No- noting its elevated

 

[Jody Owens]

I think there are a couple of issues with all of this. The first is that we believe that our LFS should be knowledgeable and provide correct information. I can tell you that isn't the case a majority of the time. In my area of the country, it is very difficult to find knowledgeable employees. I also think that you also have to question the videos you see on the internet. You have to consider are they truly impartial or trying to promote a product.

The second is that people want to correct a problem with some powder or drop. They don't want to research what is causing the actual problem and stopping it there. If you aren't careful, you will be adding multiple chemicals to your tank to offset the problems that each of them cause. Sometimes the simple solution of doing a water change is actually the best way.

 

[sfin52]

idea why it spiked. I did dose the tank slowly over a week with marine buffer to raise my pH to 8.3 from 7.8.

This would spike alk. The label says as much.

 

[KrisReef]

Never mind. One of those days

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

used seachem reef buffer. It basically killed every invert that was in the tank. While I can't prove that was the cause since all my other parameters were in range I had alot of older reefers tell me that it was likely the culprit and instead use builder or sodium bicarbonate. Not sure if you used the same thing but since you mentioned you dosed a marine buffer I just wanted to throw that out there.

Because alkalinity got too high? That's about the only issue I can see from Seachem Reef Buffer.

 

[anything prints]

let the tank finish its cycle,has any chemicals been sprayed near the tank? heater working prop not cracked?

 

[twentyleagues]

I'm skeptical that his issue was too much alk supplement. Why do you believe it was? We don't even know how much he added and the current alk is not high.

In OPs first post it got to 16+ dkh and the stuff died. Then they did a wc to bring it down. I am not certain its the cause but 16+dkh in a short time from a standard 7-8 is a lot.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In OPs first post it got to 16+ dkh and the stuff died. Then they did a wc to bring it down. I am not certain its the cause but 16+dkh in a short time from a standard 7-8 is a lot.

OK, I unfortunately missed that and I agree that if that test was accurate, it could have been the issue. Not sure how the alk dropped back to below 7 dKH in 2 days in such a tank, however. Not getting an actual alk result from using more titrant makes the high alk test a bit suspect.