Problems with sump tank and some corals

Riceman · 01:34 PM

Hello this is my first time leaving a thead so please bare with me...

I have three problems with my salt water first tank. I have been running my tank for 13 weeks and have exchange water three times within that time period. I have a 130 gallon salt water, dual overflows w/ spray bar, power combat lights and sump tank. so here goes

1) My sump tank for some reason contineous being low on water. at first I was able to put water in once every two weeks but within the last week or so I am putting water in at least every three days now. pics enclosed of sump tank.

2) I have star poloy that was shining beautiful but now they wont even come out. I thought it was of my water temperture which was below 70 degrees but I did get corrected one week ago and now it at 80 degrees.
the water was check at oceans and seas but I dont know wat else to do. but my others corals are doing well esp my anomia.

3) I got some orangish color flower looking items growing in my tank and was wondering at it is... pic enlosed

thank u in advance on any advise....

P.S. I been changing my water with simple tap water (I was told that michigan walter has it own purities and That I need need to go through a cycle to prepare my water for adding to my tank

EMUreef · 04-06-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riceman

Hello this is my first time leaving a thead so please bare with me...

I have three problems with my salt water first tank. I have been running my tank for 13 weeks and have exchange water three times within that time period. I have a 130 gallon salt water, dual overflows w/ spray bar, power combat lights and sump tank. so here goes

1) My sump tank for some reason contineous being low on water. at first I was able to put water in once every two weeks but within the last week or so I am putting water in at least every three days now. pics enclosed of sump tank.

2) I have star poloy that was shining beautiful but now they wont even come out. I thought it was of my water temperture which was below 70 degrees but I did get corrected one week ago and now it at 80 degrees.
the water was check at oceans and seas but I dont know wat else to do. but my others corals are doing well esp my anomia.

3) I got some orangish color flower looking items growing in my tank and was wondering at it is... pic enlosed

thank u in advance on any advise....

P.S. I been changing my water with simple tap water (I was told that michigan walter has it own purities and That I need need to go through a cycle to prepare my water for adding to my tank

1) Its called evaporation it happens in this hobby.
2) Could be anything, the temp swing could have caused it, if ocean and sea's says your water is fine than it probably from the temp swing. A swing that low can be very bad for a tank.
3)Those are called aiptasia, KILL THEM, but you have to use a special way to kill them as if you poke at them and such they spread, get something called aiptasia X, i have it, works great.

Do you add a de-chlorinator to the water? if not i'd stop using tap water as it has a lot of bad things in it. Id look into getting a RO/DI unit.

redemer123 · 07:54 PM

you need to top off water every day or two in your tank otherwise your salinity gets all messed up and lacks stability causing unhappiness with all the critters, 80 degrees is to warm and 70 is to cold try about 75 degrees. those orange flowers look like aptasia which are pest anemones that can take over your tank if not controlled. you might want to change water more frequently such as every 2 weeks, i personally change water every week. thats probably the ammonia problem you are having. whoever told you tap water is ok is somewhat wrong you will want to look into a RO/DI unit for maximum water purity. I also recommend some more efficient lights such as T5's power compact are simply not efficient enough if your planning to keep coral more coral. did you allow your tank to cycle before putting anything into it? I highly suggest you read into things a little more because lack of knowledge in this hobby = failure and inevitably you will not find any enjoyment and no longer keep saltwater fish tanks Im not kidding when I say READ READ READ thats how you come to success...this site is full of people who may help you if you have any further questions.

jimsflies · 04-06-2011, 03:46 PM

I'd recommend getting your salinity checked or purchase a refractometer if you haven't already. Once you get things dialed in, it won't be something that you need to use every day, but it is nice to have. (I'd skip the plastic hydrometers...they are fairly inaccurate.)

It looks like you have a lot of salt spray in your stand/sump. Try to figure out how to minimize that. Cover the area where the drain is (although it looks like it could already be covered). Perhaps slow the water flow through your drain and sump by using a valve on the discharge side of the pump. As far as evaporation, it isn't uncommon for a tank your size to go through 2 gallons of top off (fresh) water per day. Things that effect this are how much water movement you have, how fast water flows through your sump, temperature of the tank, and humidity levels.

Evaporation isn't a bad thing...and can be helpful in the summer to keep your tank cool. But it is something that requires daily attention. Many people get an auto top off so they don't have to deal with it daily. But top offs also can cause their own problems.

Many people use tap water. The Tropicorium successfully uses tap water. Its always a little more of a gamble than using RO water simply because we don't know what is in it. Public water supplies often add phosphates, chlorine and fluoride to the water, which can cause problems for reef tanks. The advantage to RO water is, it provides a known starting point (hopefully 0) for you to mix your water and eliminate unknown variables. By looking at your tank pics, it doesn't appear that you have algae issues which I would immediately look at the water source in your case.

To me it looks like you are on the right path: You are here asking questions. You don't have a ton of livestock yet which is good. You already discovered that you had an issue with your temperature. I think once you get on the right track with your salinity you will see your polyps open again. In this hobby it seems that good things don't happen fast. Take your time and figure it out one step at a time and feel free to ask here. That is what we are here for.