I NEED HELP!!

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I NEED HELP!!

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ssggrub

Posted 6/30/2009 9:17:36 AM

New Member

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/30/2009 9:12:09 AM
Posts: 1, Visits: 3

I do not know whats is wrong with my tank. Do you have a minute? I have been doing salt water aquariums for over 20 years and never had anything like this happen. Here is whats is going on. My tank is a 135 gallon reef ready Oceanic, I have a sump on it with bio-balls, a protien skimmer, uv lamp. I the tank I have well over 250 pounds of live rock. I bought some "live sand" from a guy in Florida off of e-bay. That sets the stage for the rest of the story. Here it goes....way, way back in the 30's (oh wrong story)!
I sat the tank up about 8 weeks ago. I put the live sand in first and filled the tank up with water. I let it go for a week or so and added 2 clowns. Here about a month ago I bought a complete setup from a guy and brought it home. He had about 80 pounds of live rock with very nice coralline algae on it. I got up the next morning and had 100's of dead bristleworms (could be good or bad). A few days later the bright coralline had turned a very dull pink. I took a water sample to my friend who owns a reef shop. The ammonia was sky high. We thought ok this could be part of it right? No...the tank went through a complete cycle every thing came back down. I had to raise my ph, so I did.
Two weeks ago I bought a 75 gallon complete with over a 100 pounds of live rock. I brought it home got the rock into the tank and the coralline did the same thing. It turned a very light pink if not completely die. Ok...now I am thinking another ammonia spike. I took a water sample in this past Sat. and everything checked out ok. I buffered the PH again.
On that Sat. a guy called my and told me to come and pick up a 40 gallon nano from him. He had to deploy to Iraq. I went and got his stuff which had huge leather corals, zoo's, mushrooms and other stuff. I brought the stuff home put it in my tank, and everything just evaporated! My fish are fine. I can't keep corals or any soft leathers alive.
It is not my light, I have over 5 watts per gallon with actinic,50/50 and 12000ks.
I am thinking of two things here.
1- The sand I got off of ebay was bad.
2- The tank has a deadly level of cooper in it some how.
3- Some other toxic chemical was in the stuff Used to plumb the tank.

I have no idea, I am going to get the copper level checked soon. What are your thoughts as to what could be wrong? I need help........ I can be emailed at: calegrauberger@hotmail.com

w00t

Post #184581

Hailey

Posted 6/30/2009 4:37:24 PM

Fishkeeping GURU

Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/23/2011 6:10:41 AM
Posts: 12,694, Visits: 6,330

Please post your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, kH, and salinity levels in numbers. Also, if you could possibly get the copper reading, please do and post that too. However, without any numbers to back it up, it sounds to me like the cycle has never been truly complete. Every time you added something to the not fully cycled tank it caused more die-off, extended the cycle, and perpetuated the issues you're going through. I can't be sure without numbers though...the only solid advice I can give you now is to hold off on adding anything else for now, until this is figured out.

.

Post #184616