Just like most people....they think they are fine as well...little do they know...:razz:

I hope no one took me seriously on the water softener salt...hehehe

The official word on the salt is Coralife Scientific grade Marine salt. It's almost an empty bag and once its done I have a big tub of instant ocean sea salt that I bought on boxing day...

Now for the bad news...I tore up the tank and found no trace of the dragon goby...He was pretty darn small to begin with so I cant say that I am surprised...My cleaner shrimp hopefully made short work of em...

I like the new look of the tank even though my anemone doesn't...he is all angry now just keeps pacing the current...hehe

I will agree with much of what has been said. You are keeping inverts successfully, so you are doing something right. One major issue is the accuracy of the equipment you are using. If the test is faulty then the actions that you take to correct a problem is going to cause problems instead of fix them. Be sure of the equipment / tests you are using. I think earlier on somebody had offered to come test your water. Take them up on the offer- they may spot something else that nobody has noticed and that you could only see in person.

Next, as to a million different suggestions- you will find that in this hobby. Everybody has their own way of doing things from those who use no skimmer to those who use Zeovit. Neither is wrong. How to acclimatize fish? Well, on both sides you will find people very adamant that their way is the “right” way. Try to remember that neither will kill everything you put in the tank or nobody would follow it. It is like that with most disagreements. Drip or don’t- one may cause slightly less stress- but neither will guarantee dead stock (but do keep an eye on the temperature.)

R/O water- nice but if you are doing 15% changes not a requirement. Not using it may cause some other issues with algae or the likes- but as has been mentioned- many people are successful without. It may not be ideal- but keeping saltwater fish was popular (though slightly more difficult) before every home “needed” a filter- and the last tank that I kept I did not use R/O and I did not do huge water changes. Nothing was what I would consider stressed or unhealthy.

Finally, concerning issues such as S.G and temperature, I use http://www.ronshimek.com/reef_aquaria.html In the article on salinity / temperature he gives the actual temperatures and salinity of the ocean around the world. I don’t know if he outright states what is best- but if you can think he does make it so you can draw your own conclusions. Then you just have to be confident that you are providing the best conditions that you can and that most closely match natural conditions and ignore any well meaning advice. Good luck.

Total Failure
 

I am just getting over a major tank crash, I lost all my fish over night. However, I did learn alot. My suggestion is, go to the LFS and buy an O2 test kit, they are only $15. I had no O2 in my tank, none. I now have a sump and I raised my O2 using airstones and a few other tricks. Oh yah, the LFS cannot test for O2 because the water has to be tested as soon as it comes out of the tank. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip...I have an air stone in there but I will pick up a tester just in case...

Anyone have any thoughts on the salt I was using? Just to recap I am using Coralife Scientific grade Marine salt. It's almost an empty bag and once its done I have a big tub of instant ocean sea salt.

I used Coralife salt once, it didn't kill anything, but I would recommend the Instant Ocean instead. Just a better salt, IMO.
Oh, and I wouldn't waste money on an O2 test kit. Unless you get a major die off, or huge algae bloom, your O2 levels will be fine. Maintaining decent flow in your tank is sufficient to off gas the CO2, and O2 just loves to replace it. Most tanks with normal temps and stocking will always have sufficient O2.

In your opinion, is a single power head good enough flow for a 33 gallon tank with 50 lbs or rock? I have been debating getting a second power head with an oscillating head or replacing the one I have with one...

Depending on what you keep, you may want another powerhead. As long as you've got some surface agitation, you'll be fine for O2 levels, but a reef may appreciate more flow. It helps corals slough off mucus and stuff.

Interesting that you mention that because just recently I have noticed an increase in stringy slime in the tank...only within the last week tho...If it was from the snails I would have thought it would be more consistent from the day I put them in...my Duncan coral only slimes me when I move him and that is a rare occurrence...just very odd.

There are pockets of variable salinity water near river outlets into the ocean that fish swim past and don't suddenly start floating. Fish can deal with the salinity changes much more readily than they can deal with toxic conditions.

Slow acclimation exposes the fish to low pH in the presence of increased ammonia making it more toxic. Additionally, slow acclimation exposes the fish to water low in O2 as it stagnates.

If the large swing in SG was dangerous you'd think those of us who float, cut and dump would have lost some fish - but it hasn't happened.

yeah...kinda what the message said...was more of a hmm good then a hmm bad... :)

Anyone have any thoughts on this? It kind of got buried in the river salinity talk :P

bump

I have noticed an increase in stringy slime in the tank...only within the last week tho...If it was from the snails I would have thought it would be more consistent from the day I put them in...my Duncan coral only slimes me when I move him and that is a rare occurrence...just very odd.


I would also like to take someone up on their offer to have my water tested. I am on the NE side of town if anyone can help.

Cheers!

Slime is usually a sign of distress. Can also be poop from the fleshier corals or an anemone (can't remember if you have a nem or not).

Take a sample of your water to the LFS for testing if you can't find someone willing to do it for you.

That must be exactly what it is...I recently put in a LTA and the slime started appearing shortly afterward...

Is there a best method to controlling it? its very difficult to suck up with the fluval (or the HOB I just put on to help with that) considering all the flow in the tank...

I haven't had any other suggestions so I did a google search and was what the likely hood that its red slime algae?

Well if the slime is red, then it's probably red slime algae aka cyanobacteria. Which is caused by excess nutrients. Best to get that under control asap. Read the guide in my signature about nuisances algaes.

I had a bit of that in one of my tanks you can buy some stuff to treat that. Worked great on my tank.
BTW nems don't do well in SG less than 1.024 but I assume you already took care of that.

Also, anemones need mature stable tanks. Three months is a little young to have one in there.

The anemone is doing great as is everything else right now. Salinity is up to 1.025 as of yesterday...

Thanks for asking.

Red Slime aka Cyano is just part of the regular tank cycling process. It may come and go for a while. Once you switch to RO/DI you will see less of it.. tap water always seems to be a major culprit. You can treat with chemiclean or one of the other red slime removers but IMO it just masks the issue and it comes back. I say this all from my own experience.

You can syphon it out but have some patience and it will get better.