I have a 25g nano cube that has been running for several years. I have two very healthy and active fish in it (a clown fish and a tang). For the first few months after it cycled I was able to keep corals and anemones but for the past couple years any coral or anemone I buy dies withing 24 hours of going in to the tank. My ammonia and nitrates have always tested fine. I buy ocean water from petco. My salinity tested a bit hight but I don't think it's high enough to cause death that quickly. Even the snails I bought yesterday are already dead. Any suggestion on what else I can test for? I would really like to add to my tank but I don't want to keep throwing away money for anemones and corals that die 24 hours later. Why would my fish be so healthy but corals die that quickly?
What's Wrong With My Tank?
- Thread starter tiiky
- Start date
Water quality is my guess
What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate & PH readings?
What is the salinity reading?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
What sort of filter is on the tank and when & how was it last cleaned?
What do you transport the salt water home in and has it been used for anything besides salt water?
I would do a massive (90%) water change each week for a couple of weeks and then try again with a cheap coral.
You should also look at how the animals are being packed and how long they are in the bags for during transit. Then look at how you acclimatise them to the tank. it could be any one or more of these things.
What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate & PH readings?
What is the salinity reading?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
What sort of filter is on the tank and when & how was it last cleaned?
What do you transport the salt water home in and has it been used for anything besides salt water?
I would do a massive (90%) water change each week for a couple of weeks and then try again with a cheap coral.
You should also look at how the animals are being packed and how long they are in the bags for during transit. Then look at how you acclimatise them to the tank. it could be any one or more of these things.
Just to add to the former posting.
Did you ever compare the salinity of your water with the water the corals came with?
Salinity is extremely difficult to exmine exactly. Calibration solutions may help but real confidence I would have only in a oceanographic institute.
Only, even if your LFS thinks he has SG 1.025 in his tanks and it's actually 1.027 then the corals do at least well in his tanks so it must be within limits.
I always measure salinity and ph of the water the live stock came with to get an idea how long to acclimatise and by the way I see what salinties other people run. That way, I would notice if my figures have gone out of out of range.
Regarding clownfish it is been written that they can do up to SG 1.030 and probably they can do more. So, it's seem possible to run a fish only tank with a specific gravity that would harm corals.
Another possibility would be copper. That could be tolerated by fish, too, but would harm corals. At least Sera sells a simple and inexpensive copper test.
Did you ever compare the salinity of your water with the water the corals came with?
Salinity is extremely difficult to exmine exactly. Calibration solutions may help but real confidence I would have only in a oceanographic institute.
Only, even if your LFS thinks he has SG 1.025 in his tanks and it's actually 1.027 then the corals do at least well in his tanks so it must be within limits.
I always measure salinity and ph of the water the live stock came with to get an idea how long to acclimatise and by the way I see what salinties other people run. That way, I would notice if my figures have gone out of out of range.
Regarding clownfish it is been written that they can do up to SG 1.030 and probably they can do more. So, it's seem possible to run a fish only tank with a specific gravity that would harm corals.
Another possibility would be copper. That could be tolerated by fish, too, but would harm corals. At least Sera sells a simple and inexpensive copper test.
Giving you my specific stats as they are right now wouldn't help, they're a bit elevated because I just tried an anemone and dead anemones spike your stats like no other. I have tried them though with ammonia and nitrates at 0 so I don't think it's coming from there, this is an ongoing problem. Perhaps it could be copper, that is one thing I have never tested for. The water I buy is retail packaged purified natural sea water so I don't think the container is the issue, they don't get reused. I'll admit that I haven't paid as much attention to salinity as I probably should since I switched to this water because it's supposed to be what fish would have in the ocean. I will go buy a copper test kit and look more at my salinity. If I do test positive for copper how does one get rid of it? Water changes or is there a chemical treatment?
If the shop is using R/O water to make up the seawater then it should be free of copper. You can add some activated carbon to the filter and that will remove any copper in the water. Replace the carbon after a couple of days and then every month or so after that.
Carbon will remove medications so if you have to treat the fish you will have to take the carbon out before treating them.
Carbon will remove medications so if you have to treat the fish you will have to take the carbon out before treating them.
Unfortunately that is not the case. Activated Carbon is not capable of removing any heavy metals like Copper, Iron, etc. Only reverse osmosis filtration and or DI resins can remove those.
I'd lean towards salinity/sg as the OP's problem. When is the last time you calibrated or verified your measuring device tiiky
You can calibrate them.....? 
I run activated carbon in my filter all the time so that definitely wouldn't solve the problem. I'm on my way to the pet store right now to see if they sell a copper test kit, perhaps I should pick up a new hydrometer as well.
I run activated carbon in my filter all the time so that definitely wouldn't solve the problem. I'm on my way to the pet store right now to see if they sell a copper test kit, perhaps I should pick up a new hydrometer as well.
You can and should calibrate/verify them and its easy with your own DIY standard.
kj23502
lazy dayz
Calcium, Alkalinity, magnesium, iodine, strontium are also some important tests for reef tanks...plus
"Some soft corals seem prone to sudden demise (typically described as "meltdown") if iodide levels are allowed to fall." Robert Fenner: The Conscienscious Marine Aquarist page 114.
Just thought I'd throw that in their
"Some soft corals seem prone to sudden demise (typically described as "meltdown") if iodide levels are allowed to fall." Robert Fenner: The Conscienscious Marine Aquarist page 114.
Just thought I'd throw that in their
It would be great if we could accurately test them though using hobby test kits. Since we can't, testing and dosing is more dangerous than not worrying about it. (iodine)
Having xenia in your system is a good way to make sure iodine is good, they melt in inproper iodine levels, so that way you can know theres a problem. But i wouldnt trust a test kit with it.
Having xenia in your system is a good way to make sure iodine is good, they melt in inproper iodine levels, so that way you can know theres a problem. But i wouldnt trust a test kit with it.
ben1987
Fish Aficionado
what tang is it?
kj23502
lazy dayz
And I suppose that if one does consistent and religious water changes the nutrients used would be added back to the tank 
It's a purple tang. Unfortunately the first pet store I went to doesn't have a copper test so I'll have to go to another one when I get back from vacation. I gave the filter a good thorough cleaning today and did a partial water change. I'll let it cycle while I'm gone and do some more testing when I get back.
Crazy fishes
Fish Addict
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....and don't forget poly filter, that can also remove copper and other nasties. What is a purple tang doing in a 25g
? Regards
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