Fish not doing well - Bad RODI water quality?

[Kensington Reefer]

Until you system settles in, I highly recommend you get NSW
Get more than you need for that water change
Get it Wednesday for use over the weekend
Or get it over the weekend for use mid week
Heated and with a power head

 

[Darkxerox]

thanks @Kensington Reefer ..


I mix salt a day before I use it, let it sit in barrell for mixing with a heater overnight and use it next morning.. is that sufficient or there is some extra benefit of doing it days before I need it?

Some salts have organics in them so you don't want to hold them for long periods after mixing. Others have drops in alk over time (not sure if that's abiotic or from bacteria growing). Old video but they go into a few common brands:

 

[MichaelB]

Feel free to hold on to those containers you picked up if you need to get natural from Neptunes. I only really would want the bucket lids back.

I highly recommend Neptunes (for SouthBay) for your water if your not mixing your own. Not all places change filters as often as they should and you never know if it's quality. Robert pays very close attention to the water he uses and offers.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Robert sells NSW.

 

[spuri87]

Some salts have organics in them so you don't want to hold them for long periods after mixing. Others have drops in alk over time (not sure if that's abiotic or from bacteria growing). Old video but they go into a few common brands:

very interesting.. thanks for sharing.. sounds like for Red Sea salt, storing for longer time may actually reduce Calcium and Alkalinity.. And for other salts, doesnt really matter, since the swings arent that too much for at 2-3 weeks.. I use Instant Ocean Purple box, since I don't have a lot of corals, will switch later to better brands later.

Feel free to hold on to those containers you picked up if you need to get natural from Neptunes. I only really would want the bucket lids back.

Thanks Michael

I highly recommend Neptunes (for SouthBay) for your water if your not mixing your own. Not all places change filters as often as they should and you never know if it's quality. Robert pays very close attention to the water he uses and offers.

Thank you, good to know!

FWIW, I checked Alk and ph again a day after adding baking soda and alk jumped up from 6.4 to 8.3 and ph is in same 7.8-8.0 range

 

[Turkeysammich]

very interesting.. thanks for sharing.. sounds like for Red Sea salt, storing for longer time may actually reduce Calcium and Alkalinity.. And for other salts, doesnt really matter, since the swings arent that too much for at 2-3 weeks.. I use Instant Ocean Purple box, since I don't have a lot of corals, will switch later to better brands later.


Thanks Michael


Thank you, good to know!

FWIW, I checked Alk and ph again a day after adding baking soda and alk jumped up from 6.4 to 8.3 and ph is in same 7.8-8.0 range

Baking soda dose not move ph only alk. Soda ash moves alk and ph.
You can diy soda ash. Bake the baking soda for a hour at 350*. It will turn into soda ash.
Go slow if you don’t know what you’re doing. Read read read some more.

 

[spuri87]

Yeah it may actually lower ph a little.. and I don’t see much impact on ph as expected coz it’s bicarbonate not carbonate.. ChatGPT also suggested Baking it to increase ph too, but I felt there maybe something I might mess up so just added Baking Soda for now without heating.. will look to add soda ash later

 

[Darkxerox]

Baking soda dose not move ph only alk. Soda ash moves alk and ph.
You can diy soda ash. Bake the baking soda for a hour at 350*. It will turn into soda ash.
Go slow if you don’t know what you’re doing. Read read read some more.

Not entirely true. A higher alkalinity system will equilibrate to a higher pH assuming CO2 levels in the room are the same.


Chemistry And The Aquarium: The Relationship Between Alkalinity And pH https://share.google/cz4I1zYRBsh981nmB

 

[Turkeysammich]

Not entirely true. A higher alkalinity system will equilibrate to a higher pH assuming CO2 levels in the room are the same.


Chemistry And The Aquarium: The Relationship Between Alkalinity And pH https://share.google/cz4I1zYRBsh981nmB

My bad. Baking soda will move ph but it’s only minor. Not major like soda ash. Thomas is correct.

 

[spuri87]

Quick update.. Added 40ml Prazipro yesterday in the evening.. removed skimmer cap, turned up wavemakers to run at 75% to increase aeration.. Water is still very cloudy after 12 hours.. tried to feed flakes, and no fish could dare to go up and were waiting for some flakes to settle down to the bed.. I guess with change in water chemistry, the hesitation is understandable.

Added nori to the clip and most tangs (except 1 yellow tang who is preferring to hide more) joined the party.. PBT is looking much less shittier with lesser white spots than 2 days ago.. here is a small video of them snacking on nori:

 

[under_water_ninja]

I don’t see these threads in a timely manner. If there’s ever any concerns that I may be assistance of please shoot me an email! Also if you have any questions about anything qt please feel free to stop by the shop sometime. I like your attitude of learning things, like Alex said, sometimes there’s “experts” for a reason in certain applications. But I am glad to share my knowledge, so stop by sometime! Also just my 2 cents, chain of custody when aquiring fish is highly important!!!!!! Good luck to ya

 

[spuri87]

thanks @under_water_ninja .. When I got into the hobby, HTA was the 1st shop I was told about.. I have since heard only good things about you and HTA.. I watched your video on acclimating new fish and followed the same steps when I got my clowns.. Wish I was closer to you guys (I am in San Jose).. I love to learn and try new things.. I will definitely stop by sometime to talk to you and pick your brains on a few topics I found super intriguing in this hobby!

 

[spuri87]

and with changed water chemistry, I see Diatoms! not terrible at the moment, but starting to be more and more visible to naked eye

 

[Turkeysammich]

and with changed water chemistry, I see Diatoms! not terrible at the moment, but starting to be more and more visible to naked eye

Diatoms can be silicates from bad/old ro/di membranes. Then the diatoms can lead to what looks like Dino’s but they are silicate snot on your rock.

 

[spuri87]

thanks @Turkeysammich I plan to send water for ICP test after this mess is cleared, that shall hopefully reveal whats going on in my tank water!

 

[Turkeysammich]

thanks @Turkeysammich I plan to send water for ICP test after this mess is cleared, that shall hopefully reveal whats going on in my tank water!

I don’t think Icp will help you in telling what is wrong but I’m not 100% sure. Cuz I think Icp only tells you chemical compounds Derek @derek_SR would know. He icp’s a lot and knows how to read them.

 

[tribbitt]

From the video it's not looking too bad. They're eating, swimming, and you're running meds.

Good luck to the fish, you've got a great team of experts helping you in this thread