NEWBIE READY TO GO POSTAL........

[cafamore]

just kidding but man am I frustrated. asked about removing bio balls everyone said to take them out but I didn't ask if I should remove them slowly or all at once so I took all of them out. nitrites and trate went rocketing did a 30% water change yesterday and a 40 today tang is still no moving or eating and when he does move he crashes into ever thing. so I put balls back in. today I also put in a protein skimmer but am getting bazzillion micro-bubbles in return so I shut it down.

tank is 110
live rock 100lb
base rock 40lb
live sand 75 lb about 5 inches
tang, damsel tomato clown, 60 hermits 25 snails,

also 3 nice mushroom rocks which were dong great are now all puckered up some falling off rocks

help please don't want to lose anything

[Doug1]

OK how old is this tank and when did you last add how much live rock? Somethings not adding up here. If the tank isnt at least 6 months old and stable you CANT keep a tang in there

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I dont advocate holding marine creatures for ransom but......since you asked
Doug, plank owner
http://hellreef.homestead.com/index.html
www.thereeftank.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000001.html

[This message has been edited by Doug1 (edited 02-07-2001).]

[cafamore]

lsf said it ok but ive learned they just wnt to sell tank is only 2 monthes old and just added some live rock this weekend i know that the rock is some of the cause.

[ReefJunkie]

I would have to say that the LR is the cause to the problems. If your tank is only 2 months old I highly doubt that your bioballs had hardly any bacteria biult up which wouldn't cause much if any spike from there removal.
I would suggest finding a good home for the tang an the clown until the tank cycles. Do you know anyone that has a hospital tank? Or you could see if your LFS will take them. Tangs are very touchy and at this point it probably dosn't have much hope in your tank. What kind of protien skimmer do you have? Have you tested for ammonia? What are your nitrete and nitrate readings?
Please keep us informed and we will try are best to help you.

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Scott

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all"
reef@pacifier.com
"Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you have never been hurt,
And dance like no one is watching"

[naser]

leave the skimmer on...it takes up to a week for it to even out and stop making those micro bubbles..the bubbles might even help you cause oxygen will help break down decaying protien.

[Alice]

Cafamore;

I'm sorry that you are having so many problems but it seems as though you didn't read all the way through the replies to your questions.

I did a search on your name and read through the threads. And while you did only ask "Bioballs; in or out" and got mostly the one word answer "out" there were replies that advised them to be removed gradually. As far as adding the live rock, only one reply even suggested that you add the rock all at once, and that was with careful monitoring.

That 50 lbs of new live rock in your tank is cycling; it could take another 2 weeks to cycle. You need to remove your livestock or your rock to a holding tub or you're going to lose your livestock. If you move out the rock, you're going to have to do waterchanges in the main tank to reduce the ammonia, nitrites or nitrates in the tank so that your critters get a chance to survive. If the tang is in that bad of shape, you'd better do it fast.

We all have made mistakes but the old axiom holds true; nothing good ever happens fast in a reef tank.

~Alice

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too! My specs: www.thereeftank.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000029.html

[bmw]

"If the tank isnt at least 6 months old and stable you CANT keep a tang in there "
I know your intent Doug, but that statement, as it stands, is just not true.
Stable-don't know. Never seen anything but stable for 4 tanks now. But I put a yellow tang in at 2 months in a 90 gal. And a year later he is fat and sassy. And though the subsequent tanks are smaller, I would not hesitate to do the same with another 90 gal or larger.
I think, please correct me here if I am wrong,what you are gettin at is the stable part. And that comes from setting up the tank right from the get go.
In my case(s) that has meant, lots of live rock, lots of water flow, a deep sandbed, a good skimmer, good light(and no-not mh-just vho and pc-but a good deal of that) and attention to the alkalinity and calcium. Plus, alot of macro algae(which in my case is IN the tank-I like it!) That with quite abit of water changes (25% every 2 weeks).
Like to hear you thoughts on this.
Thanks,
b.

[Doug1]

Bruce, I understand where youre coming from, in the other hand you seem to have a grasp on what youre doing. A fairly new tank thats just had live rock(more) added to it that has a bunch of problems isn't the proper environment for a tang. If you look at the context of the whole post there is a lot of difference between the level of experience you have and someone struggling to get a tank up and running. And I don't mean that as a derogatory statement towards anyone, thats why a lot of us devote the time we do. I think the operative phrase is setting it up right to begin with after the research

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I dont advocate holding marine creatures for ransom but......since you asked
Doug, plank owner
http://hellreef.homestead.com/index.html
www.thereeftank.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000001.html