GFO issues

Absolutely not, look elsewhere.

How hot is the tank getting, how much aeration is the water getting?

 

Its near impossible to kill mushrooms. If you are killing mushrooms there is a deeper issue.

Extended GFO use (past expiration) is only going to leach more nutrients back into the water. Not an issue.

Did you acclimate the corals? Do you have inverts that are healthy and happy? are you using RO water at the least but ideally rodi water?

 

How long did it take to lose them?

 

I would check your PH , alk, and salinity.

 

Is your tank grounded

 

Those kind of corals I have not seen go down hill that fast unless something stung the torch.. Or alkalinity burn maybe. Your parameters would not kill the corals if they are normal.. Did you test your alk again?

 

The salinity is a little high. Those hydrometers are not reliable. I would suggest a refractometer and you can get them fairly cheap :0) If all else fails, get water from another reefer that has 1.025 or 1.026 ; then add it to your hydrometer and mark on the hydrometer the 1.025 or 1.026 line. Then when making the SW, you have an exact line to refer to.

It would be helpful to know what the "cleanup battle" is so we have all the info in order to help :0) I had a phosphate problem for longer than I wanted :9( What rock is in the tank(Pukani/Fji/etc)? What do you feed, how much and how often? Phosphates can be caused by a variety of things. What test kits are you using? Some kits are easier to use and read than others?

Stray voltage can be in a tank and only the inhabitants know it. A person doesn't have to be 'shocked' when there's stray voltage :0)

Taking one step at a time can be really helpful to getting your system running well. We will help you :0)

 

Agreed, I have seen water test on a hydrometer 1.026, only to really be 1.031 or higher

 

What's the dt size?

Your qt and introduction methods are right on. This is a good system. Keep it up. Are you animating the coals to the ai's?

assuming your qt is low to no light the coals could be having trouble with moving from little light to a really heavy future light like the ai's.

api test kids are bit the best but will suffice as a cursory tests. Magnesium will kill coals in HUGE dosages but not fish (unless you are sitting at 5k or higher which is really hard to do)

Sponge is right (as usual) stray voltage can be hard to see. I have had a power head go bad and bleed into my qt. The only way I found it is I had am open wound on my hand which the voltage wad able to give the near fresh nerves a buzz. Luckily qt was empty but I would have never known otherwise. ..

By chano akgae do you mean cyano bacteria? Purple pink red or brown slime stuff?

 

There are several things that I am seeing regarding your first post so let's begin at those but take one step at a time:0) First, try to get your water tested so you can ensure that good water is going into the tank. You want the salinity at 1.025 or 1.026. You want at a minimum, RO water for the tank and RO/DI is the best.

You can usually get a refractometer for $20-30 with free shipping on Amazon or Ebay. You want to make sure that it's for salinity and has automatic temperature compensation. The VeeGee and Sybon's are the best out there but they cost a lot more :0/ The DD H20 refractometer is good but a little higher in price than most hobbyists pay. You will want to make sure that they can be calibrated, I like to 0/zero mine using RO/DI or distilled water. I don't trust the calibration fluids one can buy as I have found too many discrepancies with them.

Now, as far as your RO/DI unit, do you have a TDS meter? They aren't expensive and can be picked up at WalMart/etc or online. Testing the RO/DI water is a mainstay to ensure that your RO/DI systems is working properly and can tell you when filters and resins need changed. As you know, water quality for your tank is the lifeblood to everything inside it! If the water quality is bad, so will be your tank. You will be fighting a neverending battle until this is taken care of and basically just throwing money to the wind! Do not buy anything for the tank until you get a refractometer, TDS meter and, new filters and resin...or a new RO/DI unit!

Cyano bacteria is caused from nutrient issues and is photosynthetic. Phosphates and silicates are a big cause in getting cyano. It can come from food, sand and rocks. You will need to remove as much cyano from the tank as humanly possible. But remember, if your water is the reason/part of the reason, doing WC's won't help. Phosphates can be bound up in the rock (and sand) and 'leach' into the water. You can literally go through buckets of GFO and still have phosphate problems from the rock or rock and sand. So how do I determine if the rock has bound up phosphate in them? You can take a larger rock and place it in a bucket of SW , wait at least 3 days and then test the water. If nothing shows up, wait another 4 days and test. If it doesn't show PO4, then there probably isn't much in it. If it shows PO4, then there's alot in the rocks. If the rock is old/been used for at least 5-7 yrs it's a good indicator that there is PO4 in it (but not necessarily a high amount), if it has been in a system with sustained high nutrients (NO3 & PO4), or if it is Pukani rock, there's a good probability that there's PO4.

So what can be done if the rock is leaching PO4? Rocks can be given a Muratic Acid wash. This is an acid so precautions HAVE to be used!! I will not discuss this at this time as there are other things needing done prior to this step...IF this step is necessary in the future. Once you are getting quality water, Then other steps can be taken :0) You will get to where you have a thriving, beautiful tank but patience, time, work and some expense will be necessary. GIRS members will help so just follow our guidance and keep us posted every step that you take and ask any questions you have! Most importantly, BELIEVE and picture your beautiful tank in your mind!!

 

I religiously would keep my Salinity at 1.025 every week, when I got my Refractometer it showed 1.032 I was shocked at the difference.....