Water Change Problem

Ari

Ari

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Hi guys, On thursday I did a 50L water change on my 400L system and on Sunday I put in a DSB using playsand that I washed properly (15cm). Straight after the water change on Thursday all my corals closed and they still look closed/weak.:( Must I give it time? And one more thing I bought 2 sand sifting starfish Saturday. The one is moving and going under the sand but the other one is on the sand and he has only lifted his arms now and then... is he dying? My fish are like always

Thanx in advance:)
 
hay bud sorry to here im still new to this so cant help much but will be tagging to see what the pros have to say
 
Ari said:
Hi guys, On thursday I did a 50L water change on my 400L system and on Sunday I put in a DSB using playsand that I washed properly (15cm). Straight after the water change on Thursday all my corals closed and they still look closed/weak.:( Must I give it time? And one more thing I bought 2 sand sifting starfish Saturday. The one is moving and going under the sand but the other one is on the sand and he has only lifted his arms now and then... is he dying? My fish are like always

Thanx in advance:)
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sound strange, ok first to check is your salinty, whats it sitting at?
did you use nsw or salt mix?
 
also what water did you use to mix the salt and what salt did you use?
 
Tridan my salinity is at 1.20 and temp is at 26... What does saltmix or nsw mean? I used the same salt with all my water changes from the Seachem Reef Salt bucket...
 
I used RO of course
 
Ari said:
Tridan my salinity is at 1.20 and temp is at 26... What does saltmix or nsw mean? I used the same salt with all my water changes from the Seachem Reef Salt bucket...
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Do you mean 1.020, its a bit low optimum is between 1.023 and 1.025

NSW is natural sea water
Saltmix is what you are using mixing salt and ro
 
Oh ok thanx understand:thumbup: Yes I mean 1.020 I'll try get it up
 
Thanx guys but is this really the problem to the corals??
 
Ari said:
Hi guys, On thursday I did a 50L water change on my 400L system and on Sunday I put in a DSB using playsand that I washed properly (15cm). Straight after the water change on Thursday all my corals closed and they still look closed/weak.:( Must I give it time? And one more thing I bought 2 sand sifting starfish Saturday. The one is moving and going under the sand but the other one is on the sand and he has only lifted his arms now and then... is he dying? My fish are like always

Thanx in advance:)
Click to expand...
Did you not have a DSB before...? Could you have started a "mini cycle"..? Sorry, I'm still new at this and don't own a DSB, so if I read you'r Post correct, you then added one...? If that's the case, surely that could be possible...correct me if I'm wrong..:blush:
 
Yes it is a big problem to corals. it affects them directly due flow of fluids in and out of corals. and turgidity of certain corals and if it comes to clams it is lethal
 
belindamotion said:
Did you not have a DSB before...? Could you have started a "mini cycle"..? Sorry, I'm still new at this and don't own a DSB, so if I read you'r Post correct, you then added one...? If that's the case, surely that could be possible...correct me if I'm wrong..:blush:
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There are tiny cycles happening in your tank every time there is achange
 
But the cycles are more related to bio load and getting rid of detris in uncured liverock. i dont think a dsb will really cause a serious cycle if the substrate is clean
 
If the substrate is clean.... How did you wash it?
What is the playsand made of? Silica or calcium carbonate or something else?
Did the tank go cloudy when dsb put in? Is dsb in tank or in sump? Did you observe the temp of tank upon and just after adding dsb?
Tank will not go into immediate cycle when adding a dsb, as bacteria needs to colonize each grain, a slow process which will not be noticed.

Read ur post again, and see things closed up at point of water change... Hoew long did you aerate new mix for?

Mixed batch last week, shocked to see RO water pH of over 9, and mix almost 10, scientifically measured of course. Only after 6 hours of viscious aeration did pH drop to acceptable levels. 50 litre in your system only a 12 percent change, but any salt mix not completely reacted and settling \ coming into contact wwith corals could cause localised pH spike and burn corals.
they should recover though.
 
Irie Ivan- I bought playsand from Toys R US and I put a hose pipe inside a bucket and I filled it with water and I kept rinsing the sand until the water became clear, so I made sure I washed it properly. After that I filled the bucket with 20L of my aquarium water that I took out from the water change and gave it a stir and tossed the water out... No the water did not go cloudy mabye a bit of haze though. The dsb is in sump. yes the temp stayed at 26. I left my new mixed water in a bucket next to my tank for the night... But what I'm trying to say is my corals were like this from after the water change and not from DSB. The corals are exactly the same and they are not recovering. All my corals: Mushrooms, leather coral (Tree), green star polyps and daisy polyps. So they are not the sensitive type you know... I feel so demotivated now but I'm gonna get a cup from my friends sand bed hopefully it'll get started now and I'm gonna leave the water for about a week or two before the next water change. Thanx for your help guys :)
 
Firstly how did you do your water change, ie did you buy salt water or did you mix the salt yourself (If so how did you go about this).

Secondly how do you measure your SG? Glass hydrometer, swing arm hydrometer, refractometer.

Thirdly if i were you i would run some filter floss and active carbon in a bag for a week to clear up the water and any nasties in the water.

I would raise the SG to 1.025 slowly and stick to weekly water changes making sure i mix the salt to the correct sg aerate it over night and heat it to the correct temp befor doing the water change.

If you are still worried about a mini cycle (a tiny possibility) you could dose stability or special blend.
 
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