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 Topic: newbie needs help
Posted: October 15 2009 at 11:45am |
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hi newbie here and have some problems. i have a 90g and have had it set up for almost 2 months, i had a clarkii, 2 damsels, foxface and a powder brown tang. i have a couple corals, snails and crabs. everything was doing fine and then over the past few days all but one of my damsels have died. the tang and the foxface died in my main tank and i took the clown and 2 damsels out yesterday and put them in another tank to try to treat them for ick, but this morning the clown and damsel were dead. the other damsel seems fine. the corals,snails ans crabs all seem fine in my main tank. i have tested the water, temp and it all seems fine. i had another member on here look at it and he said everything seems fine. i bought all the fish from the same place. any help is appreciated.
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Dion Richins
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 11:49am |
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Way to much bio load in a 2 month old tank. Powder Browns are extremely difficult to keep. The tank needs to mature for a couple of months before adding ANY MORE fish "In My Opinion."
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dduts
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 11:51am |
Ditto to what Dion said.
When you say you tested and it seems fine, what did you test for and what were the results?
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90g mixed reef
GOT CRABS?
Sometimes I wonder "why is that frisbee getting bigger?"....and then it hits me
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Chad
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 12:00pm |
First of all, sorry to hear about the fish! It sucks when you first get excited and invest money into this hobby and then lose stuff right at the start.
Now can we get a little more info on the setup? What type of filter are you using, how much water flow and live rock, what type of sand and how much sand, protein skimmer, basically tell us all about your system and we should be able to help you get this tank functioning properly. Chad.
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What?! You pooped in the refrigerator, and ate the entire wheel of cheese?! I'm not even mad.... That's actually amazing!
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 4:20pm |
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i tested for nitrate, nitrite, ph and alkalinity. i kinda figured it could be the amount and kind of fish i had but they did great for almost 2 months. as far as my setup, im using a canister filter its a mag 350. i know thats not good but im waiting on parts to come in for my sump. i started off with about 40 pounds of rock but only about 10 pounds was live. 80 pounds of crushed coral, none was live i got about 2 pounds of live sand that i sprinkled over everything. i have 2 powerheads that flow 295gph each, and a odyssea 216w t5 light. i have a candy coral, some kind of mushroom, and some kind of polyp. sorry if thats not a great explanation, im new.
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dduts
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 4:32pm |
 93_fd wrote:
i tested for nitrate, nitrite, ph and alkalinity. ...................... |
What were the actual results?
My guess would be you have/had a low Ph with that bio load and need for more flow. You need good oxygen exchange. The fish may have suffocated. Do you by chance have a glass top on the tank?
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90g mixed reef
GOT CRABS?
Sometimes I wonder "why is that frisbee getting bigger?"....and then it hits me
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dduts
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 5:20pm |
temp and salinity results would help too?
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90g mixed reef
GOT CRABS?
Sometimes I wonder "why is that frisbee getting bigger?"....and then it hits me
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 5:24pm |
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no i dont have a glass top, i have my powerdeads pointed slightly up so cause some movement on top.
nitrates are between 20 and 30 ppm
nitrites are 0
alkalinity about 280 ppm
ph 8.3 to 8.5
salinity 1.022 to 1.024
temp is 79 in the morning and after the light has been on all day its about 82.
Edited by 93_fd - October 15 2009 at 5:47pm
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 5:45pm |
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also im wondering is there anything i can put in the tank for the snails and crabs to feed on since i dont have any fish now and probably wont put any in for atleast a couple weeks.
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dduts
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 5:53pm |
Well there goes the suffocation theory. I'm out 
Disease/ toxins? Anything around the tank? Do you use fresh activated carbon?
Not familar with that ppm reading for alk. Did you get the meg/l reading? I doubt that's the issue for you though. Sorry, I'm out of ideas
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90g mixed reef
GOT CRABS?
Sometimes I wonder "why is that frisbee getting bigger?"....and then it hits me
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 6:21pm |
280 ppm Alk  is almost 16 dKH (5.6 meq/l). The recommended range is
8-14 dkh/
140- 250 ppm
2.8-5.0 meq/l
What supplements have you been adding? Stop adding all supplements and let the Alkalinity settle down on it's own. It may take a couple weeks. Also check the Calcium which should fall between the range of 350-450 ppm. Let us know so we can help you know how to keep the levels where they should be.
As Dion said many of those were risky fish to have in a tank that young.
As a reef aquarium matures it stabilizes and becomes a healthier environent. In a new tank that is set up properly, it's not the Nitrogen compounds that are a problem and usually not the Alkalinity, the Calcium or even the pH. Tank health improves with age reaching optimum after a year. It's hard to describe but a lot of the tips and clues to this are found in the thread below. I recommend reading the entire thread and the extra links as well. There is a link to some good information regarding Ich that you will be glad you know before adding the next fish. Which, btw can be added immediately but don't overdo it.
You have come to the right place for making this tank enjoyable. 
A comment regarding Temperature. I have found it best to set the heater to come on at 75. The tank does very well at 75 and then there is less risk of it going over 80 by the end of the day. I try to keep my tanks from going over 80 because that seems to be the point at which many coral start to show stress. When the temperature is over 80 in a reef tank without robust circulation, fish are okay but coral get bothered.
Hope this helps. 
Edited by Mark Peterson - October 15 2009 at 6:32pm
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Dion Richins
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 7:10pm |
From what I'm reading. You've had this tank up for 2 months with fish in it the whole time? Your ammonia had to have been very high for some time. 30lbs of dead rock and 80lbs of crushed coral. You have to cycle all of this. There is die off in the rock, bacteria blooms etc.
Just comes down to the excitement factor with a tank that wasn't ready. Take some water to the lfs and have it tested. Wait 2-4 weeks before adding any fish. Add some snails and crabs if you need it for algae control.(if its out of hand its a sign of issues)
You need to clean out the mag once a week. The poop and other unwanteds are fermenting in there and can/do cause issues with water quality. Your sump/fuge will do wonders for your tank.
Also do what you can to cool the tank off. I run mine at 73-76 at all times. I worry if it gets to 80 and would be having fits at 82. I know many run their tanks at that temp and higher with out any issues but it worries me. (higher temps= higher metabolism, more poop etc.)
Again its just my opinion.
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: October 15 2009 at 7:19pm |
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I would also add some more sand if it were my tank. I have about a 3.5-4" sand bed in my 65 with a plenum
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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Posted: October 16 2009 at 3:34am |
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not real sure if thats my really what my alkalinity is im just kinda guessing since all i have is test strips and its not as dark as the 300 reading but darker than the 200 reading. i have about 3 inches of sand in it, hopefully thats enough. im not going to add anymore fish for now, ill wait and see if the things i have in it right now survive. thanks for all the help and ill update if i have anymore questions.
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: October 16 2009 at 4:02am |
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3 inches should be enough. I agree with Dion that the tank just needs to balance out and mature. When I set up my tank I didn't have anything but rock and sand in it for about 5 weeks, then added cleanup crew, then slowly built up the bioload with careful monitoring of nh3, no3, no2 etc. I run my tank at 76degrees, but even when it does reach 80 it doesn't seem to bother anything. But above 80 kick on the fan above the sump
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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