Help after water change!

[Katiesaquarium]

Hello all, I hope that some of you can assist me on my situation. I am scared that all my coral might die. Yesterday at around 6:00pm i did a 5 gal water change, and now this morning some of my corals are closed up, my snail fell onto the sand, fish seem to be fine but montipora looks like its beginning to bleach! I would really appreciate any help you can give.

I used tap water with Amquel water conditioner.
salinity at 1.026

parameters:
PH: 7.6-8.0
alkalinity carbonate: 9*KH
Phosphates: 00ppm
Nitrates:00ppm
ammonia:0

using API master test kits
Also it has been established for over 2 years now

 

[sen5241b]

Did you really equalize both temp AND salinity? How is cal and mag?

 

[Katiesaquarium]

Yes the temp was almost parallel and salinity may have been 1.027 when added.... calcium is 380-400 (i just did the test) and i dont have a mag test.... is it that imperitive? if so, i can go to my LFS when it opens and have them test.... Im worried

 

[Katiesaquarium]

I called my LFS and they gave me this advice.... many of you may have already known this and for those of you that didnt ( like myself) can make use out of this post.... APPARENTLY you must mix the salt and water 24 hours before it goes into the tank. otherwise, you will create an ammonia spike and "burn" your corals. You should prepare some water in the event that you will need a small water change later in the day, But as of now you should do nothing to stress them out more.... let the process play out.


Hope this helps anyone! :)

 

[dcantucson]

Did you add salt mix to the aquarium? Or just mix it up and us it immediately?

 

[Katiesaquarium]

mixed separately and added it to the tank a few minuets later after it was all dissolved.... i just had never had a problem before so i never knew to ask......

 

[dcantucson]

I have never had that problem and I have done the same thing dozens of times before too. Humm.....

 

[Katiesaquarium]

Yeah,..... maybe its just one of those unlucky times.... but i did do some research and alot of websites say the same thing---oops :) but i guess we know now for future reference... also they said cold weather and cold water can affect how your salinity is read

Anywho, good luck in the future, wish my corals luck to live

 

[dcantucson]

I hope it ends up positive for you Katie.

 

[scu95821]

I'm totally new and don't know what I'm doing so I'm surprised no one else has said it.
Tap Water-!!!

 

[Katiesaquarium]

well maybe,.... but amquel water conditioner takes care of the tap issue (usually) maybe it didnt in this case, I used to use RO/DI but recently switched to tap and my corals seemed to like it better, I think my RO filter was going bad and i would have to replace the cartidges (around $150 total far all cartridges)

 

[Bifferwine]

Amquel won't take care of everything in tap water -- tap water can still have high nitrates and phosphates (which can be fatal to corals), as well as high metals. You should avoid using tap water. Use RODI water from the grocery store, fish store, Walmart, or make your own RODI water.

But yes, salt needs at least 24 hours to dissolve completely. Your salinity levels could have been way off, since you can't get an accurate reading right away. You should always prepare new saltwater at least a day ahead of time, letting it mix with a powerhead.

It should not cost $150 to replace your RODI cartridges. I have a 5-stage unit, and it costs around $40 to replace them all. Check out P U R E W A T E R C L U B. My RODI unit cost less than $100 from there, and their replacement filters are very affordable.

 

[Katiesaquarium]

Hey thanks alot!!! I did so much research and added up the cost and it seemed easier to just Buy a whole new filter then the cartidges lol but i will check them out.....


BTW my phosphate and nitrates seemed to be ok so im guess it was the salt water mix.

 

[scu95821]

how often do you have to replace cartridges?

 

[Bifferwine]

About once a year is average. You don't know for sure that they need replacing unless you test the water with a TDS meter. TDS meters are cheap -- you can get one off of Ebay for $10 to $20.

 

[yote]

I've done the same thing with mixing the water for a few minutes then doing my water change and I got away with it for a while.But one time I didnt get so lucky.Now I normally have my water mixing all the time.

 

[Epos]

I've never heard or observed an ammonia spike after adding freshly mixed salt water to a tank. At my work, it's not uncommon for us to drain a frag tank to the sand and refill it with water that was mixed about 20 minutes beforehand with no ill effects. I've done weekly water changes of at least 25% for the past year, and 50% weekly water changes for the past month using saltwater I mixed about 30 minutes earlier, and I've had no problems with an ammonia spike. I'm not sure how freshly mixed saltwater can cause an ammonia spike, not saying it's not possible, but I've never heard of this phenomenon and I can't think of a reason why it would happen.

 

[Bifferwine]

It's not an ammonia spike directly caused by the fresh saltwater, it's that the freshly mixed saltwater is very caustic to fish and corals. Any fish or corals that die from the caustic water then cause an ammonia spike.

 

[dcantucson]

I am not convinced that the freshly mixed saltwater was the culprit. :dunno:

 

[Epos]

Thanks biff, that makes sense.