Reef nutrition

Crabby's "Elite210" tank at the Romberg Tiburon Center

Checked water parameters today and everything looks good, except for Ca and Mg, which are high but in appropriate proportions:
NH4,PO4,NO2 = 0
NO3 = 5 mg/L
pH = 8.3
Alk = 8 dKH or 2.86 meq/L
Ca = 700
Mg = 1400

I suspect that the Ca and Mg levels will stabilize at a lower level once calcifying organisms are abundant in the tank. This week I'll be seeding the tank with chunks of coralline algae and will put in a "canary" coral to see how it does.
 
Since alkalinity and calcium are used in relative proportions, you'll need to add an alkalinity-only supplement in order for calcium to drop to normal levels.

Keep in mind that calcium and magnesium are in much higher concentration than alk, so the amount of alk you'll need is pretty significant. To match a calcium difference of 300 ppm, you'll need to add about 50dkh total of alk. (over time, of course)

I also had problems with high calcium levels recently. It turned out that my salt mix is low in alk, so calcium built up over time. Do you mind if I ask what brand of salt you're using?
 
pixelpixi said:
Since alkalinity and calcium are used in relative proportions, you'll need to add an alkalinity-only supplement in order for calcium to drop to normal levels.

Keep in mind that calcium and magnesium are in much higher concentration than alk, so the amount of alk you'll need is pretty significant. To match a calcium difference of 300 ppm, you'll need to add about 50dkh total of alk. (over time, of course)

I also had problems with high calcium levels recently. It turned out that my salt mix is low in alk, so calcium built up over time. Do you mind if I ask what brand of salt you're using?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments! I use SeaChem Reef Salt, but I haven't been following a regular water change routine on this tank since setting it up. (getting the water change plumbing set up is next on my to-do list). I have been running a Ca reactor for about the past 3 weeks, but since neither Ca or Alk are getting used at present, might that have exacerbated unequal levels in the salt mix? I have some Kent SuperBuffer that I can try adding to increase Alk without adding any Ca.
 
It has been a while since I wrote, so here's an update and a concerning development. I'll not be adding photos here, as all of the ones I take look like crap. That's what you get with a point-and-shoot, I guess. However, some amazing photos have been taken by a student in another lab who owns a nice camera setup, and I'll try to post some of them soon.

The water parameters are all great, and corals that were added to the tank that were mostly alive have largely gotten better since being added. Some of the DBTC corals, including hammer, frogspawn, blastos, acans, etc..are doing really well. Chalices are doing splendidly. So are the sarcophytons and other softies. Acroporids are mixed. Mostly the acros are looking better than they were before being placed into the tank, but many have not recovered from an unfortunate stress they suffered in May while I was out of town and the person who promised me he'd look after the corals in the frag tank did not do so. They suffered a concomitant temperature and salinity spike for 3+ days while I was in NY. Almost everything was bleached, but some of the acros are recovering and others are not.

But, here's the troubling development...The fish have all been doing splendidly, that is until today. This morning one of my lab members noticed that the midas blenny was having a seizure. He picked it up out of the tank and into a clean pint-container. The gill opercula were still pumping, but the fish was comatose. The belly was blue and a bit distended. We watched the fish during the day and were amazed when small black critters started to appear on the outside of the fish - they were either coming out of the mouth or the anus of the fish and attaching on the outside to suck the fishes blood. I've got some good high-res video of them through a microscope. They are a crustacean, and the middle section was totally engorged with blood. My guess is that they were also eating the poor fish from the inside out. I can't find any images online of a crustacean parasite that looks like this one. I think it is either an isopod or a shrimp of some sort. The legs were rather longer than most isopods, and it moved rather quickly, unlike isopods. But the head was more isopod than shrimp. After the video recording, we preserved the parasites in alcohol and froze the (now dead) fish in my ultracold freezer. Anyone ever see anything like what I described? I'll try to post the video clip somewhere, but have to edit it first since the raw video is 4GB.

Yesterday the blenny looked totally normal and ate vigorously. Today it's dead. Who knows if any of the parasites made it out of the fish before we took it out of the tank. I am very concerned about the rest of the fish in the tank and am considering taking them all out and into a quarantine tank. However, I have no idea if typical treatments will work since these parasites must be in residence INSIDE the fish. All the other fish look great with no distention or discoloration of the stomach, and all are eating like pigs. But, so was the blenny yesterday...

Bad things come in threes, right?: My car also died on Friday and one of my dogs is puking blood at the moment. I'll be taking him to the vet in the AM. Isn't life grand...
 
Oh, and to make matters worse, I just heard rats scurrying overhead in the ceiling between the first and second floors of my house...
 
Just one question.
Have you, your students, or your fish been in direct contact with any extraterrestrial beings? :bigsmile:
 
Update:

No additional fish appear to be sick, rat is still alive and well, and dog is feeling better. How much do you think it costs to give a dog the pleasure of enjoying BBQ beef rib bones and other goodies at a potluck party? $1600.05 (Bones: $0.05, vet bill: $1600.)
 
 
Update on reef and non-reef related items:

Dog is recovered fully :)
Rat met his maker :)
No more fish death from bizarre parasite :)

Last week the poop hit the fan on Tuesday. Let's hope tomorrow isn't a repeat.

I hope to get better pics and parasite video uploaded within a week or so.
 
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