Phosphate problem

[tanks4life]

Ok so my red monti digitata is bleaching. So I started by testing everything. My calcium is too high. Literally too high to read on the seachem test, the API test instant ocean test and hagen test. So yea that's a problem, the my phosphates are at 5. Literally seemed to happen overnight. I've since done a 20 percent water change and added phosguard (it was the quickest solution I could find). The bleaching has slowed, however I was writing down everything that's in the tank and I realized that I am pretty stocked. I'm think I'm too far overstocked and I'm trying to decide who needs to be moved. I've got a 150 gallon FOwLR tank. I'm currently trying to set it up as a soft coral only reef. Only problem is there is a red volitan, pastel pink talbot damsel, dog face puffer, and a maroon clown in there. So a normal cuc is out of the question.

My 65 gallon reef currently has:
2 maroon clowns
4 engineer gobies
1 yellow clown goby
1 yellow watchman goby
1 bar goby
1 6 line wrasse
1 coral catfish ( whom will be moved)
1 kole tang
1 sailfin tang
1 yellow tang
1 mandarin
1 black sailfin blenny
1 green chromis
2 cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
1 large long tentacle nem
1 rose bubble tip nem
1 green condi nem
1 rock flower nem

Then it's stock well with mixed corals.

My puffer is small and my lion is still small so I'm trying to figure who to move soon while the two predators are still to small to make lunch.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

You did say that the reef tank is 65 gallon. Is that a typo? I'm by no means an expert but may be closer to being below a semi-beginner; but my opinion is you have too much stuff in the 65 gallon. I would think it would be better to have that selection of fish in at least 120 gallon, even better; an even larger tank.

With all of the livestock and plus the added corals, I think that's way too much in the 65 gallon tank. Remember; this is only my opinion. Maybe others can chime in. What size sump/refugium are you running on the 65 gallon? What size and type of protein skimmer are you using on the 65 gallon?

Wannabee

 

[tanks4life]

Oh yea I forgot to mention those. Lol its a diy converted wet dry. It holds 25 gallons of water. 5 gallons in the first chamber where the overflow hose hits the 2 filter socks, 10 in the refugium with 4 inch sand bed and lr rubble, then 10 in the return/equipment chamber. With a hydor 705 skimmer. It pulls a full 2 cups of coffee colored skimmate a day.

 

[butch]

I'll be over shortly with some buckets to help lighten the load! lol

I agree with Wannabee, I think your tank is way overstocked. Are any of your nems hosting the clowns? If so, its only a matter of time before they become territorial and push the other fish to a smaller area in the tank. That's not even taking the 3 tangs in that small of a tank into a consideration.

 

[tanks4life]

Ideally I would like to have all 3 tangs in the 150. However I want to get a uv first. Being they are the largest fish they are my first choice to move. The coral cat is going but he's still too small. I want to add 1 175 watt metal halide to this tank, and only one because I want to move the long tentacle nem. My 2 maroon clowns stopped hanging out in him and moved to the condi. I keep them all well fed so they should be fine. And my maroon that's already in the 150 will have a host too. I want to move the damsel as well but after these guys are moved I'm at a loss at who else to move... eventually the watchman will have to be moved be he isn't nearly big enough yet. The bar goby is just now swimming out in the open after living in my tank for over a year. And he always sleeps with the watchman so I really don't want to separate them.... any thoughts?

BTW I tested my Rodi water and it has high phosphates so I'm replacing all the filters tomorrow and making a fresh batch of water. I want to do another water change on Wednesday.

 

[tanks4life]

Yea basically I got the tangs as little guys who would eventually be moved to the bigger tank. But I have been working on getting everything for this tank just right. And I already had the volitan. I actually put the damsel I'm with him because he ate one of my sexy shrimp!!! But he's apparently a boss because the lion never even cared. Lol

 

[tanks4life]

Ok now aside from the obvious over stocking how can I get my calcium and phosphates back to normal levels without stressing the bajesus out of all the livestock?

 

[curtismaximus]

I hate to say it but I agree with the other guys. In a tank that size I would only keep about 5-6 fish max, regardless of size. You can spend tons of money on water changes and GFO but until you lighten the load, that will merely be a bandage to a sever wound you got there.

The main thing you do not want to do is overreact. Do not do anything to crazy and risk losing everything. I would do a 10 gallon water change every other day for the next 5 days. Run GFO and make sure you change it out every week. If you have any SPS be prepared to lose them. If the corals are not acclimated to that high of PO4 levels you will most likely lose them.

I understand this is not what you want to hear because I would not want to hear it either. Unfortunately there is not a magic fix to this situation. You are going to have to make some difficult decisions. I hope you take this information not as ridicule but as help. I hope the best for you and your tank mates.

 

[rdnelson]

If the calcium is that high, what is the alkalinity and magnesium levels. I am betting that in addition to the high phosphate you have a run away imbalance on CA and Alk.

 

[tanks4life]

I did another round of tests this morning after adding a small amount of phosguard yesterday. I will certainly be adding an gfo reactor in the near future. But here are the results
PH 7.9
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite .01
Nitrate 40
Phosphate 2.5
Kh 90mg/l
Calcium 500
Specific gravity 1.025

So basically somewhere things went wonky!!! I don't have a magnesium test or I would check that out as well. I will be moving some tangs, my black sailfin blenny, and the damsel. The rest of the selection is still undetermined. The sailfin is being moved because he produces a ton of waste. I've noticed he always swims out when I walk up to the tank poops then swims back to his cave. I'm going to try installing a metal halide light on the bigger tank so I can move a few mushrooms and one of the nems as well.

 

[tanks4life]

I also believe the craziness came in when I added 3 new rocks. They were at a lfs and the owner left them out overnight. They were covered in zoas and one had a nem on it. I rinsed them with my waterchange water then dipped them in melafix. Then rinsed again. But I think there was still some die off left that helped this. I was in a hurry or I would have done a better job cleaning them. Lol

 

[rdnelson]

Check mag. Alk and CA balance hinges on the mag levels. If you don't know that level, you could be going in the complete wrong direction making it even worse.

 

[tanks4life]

Ok. I have one more lfs to check with. They are new and strictly saltwater so maybe they will have a kit. If not then I'm going to hit up amazon. Lol

 

[kilralpine]

Thats a pretty hefty bioload. Carbon dosing or pellets MAY help relieve some of that. Heavy Bioload = Good Equip + Good Husbandry. Trates at 40 for an extended period of time wont be good for hard corals.

 

[tanks4life]

Ok picked up a red sea test kit for cal. Kh. And mag. Magnesium level is 2300!!!!!!!! I'm going to do a waterchange tomorrow so the salt mix has time to settle. But I'm going to pull the tangs out shortly

 

[rdnelson]

That mag needs to be up around 2500. Do it slow. Maintain that for a while and just watch the Ca and Alk. Once the mag is stable around 2500 for a while you can then worry about getting the other two in line. Get the phosphates down as well.

 

[tanks4life]

I dosed mag 1 time a few weeks ago.

 

[rdnelson]

Opps. Brain freeze. You are correct 1350-1400. Not sure what I was thinking.

 

[rdnelson]

LOL. That's the problem. I have been working on one massive spreadsheet since about 5:30 this AM and everything is blurry.

 

[tonymission]

What is your ALK at? That's more important than calcium and mag IMO