High Cal and mad corals

TheNomadRhodes · #1 05/29/2007, 08:37 AM

Hello every one. I don't know if this is the right forum for this question or not, if its not then sorry

Heres my issue, my tank has been doing great for some time now,
But here recently things are starting to go down hill, a few of my corals have gotten Jelly, all my corals are getting really mad and stopped opening up, my neogreen candy's on of the pride and joys of my tank I fear isn't going to make it but my fox coral is very happy I don't get it..

I haven't really done any thing different to the tank since this started

i'll run my prems

Cal 750 to 800 ... yes thats not a joke thats what I pulled out the other day.

Trates are about 75
Am is about 2
Trite is maybe 3 on
Mag don't know.
Ph 8.4 and holding.

the only thing I've done since all this started was change my salt from IO and RSRC to Oceanic.
I don't like to point to one thing, but could it be my salt? the guy at my lfs said salt is salt so buy whats cheaper but the more I read I don't really know what to think or is my tank getting ready to crash

and now I'm getting this weird dark rusty brown algae growing on every thing. any ideas on what I should do.

I have a fuge I use only RO/DI.

DSMpunk · #2 05/29/2007, 10:02 AM

I doubt your Ca is really that high. If it is, then your other parameters have to be out of whack too. Can you test your ALK and Mg levels?

Im no chemistry expert, but I dont think your Ca could get that high with your pH being 8.4. Wouldnt it precipitate before getting that high?

MiddletonMark · #3 05/29/2007, 10:07 AM

Test your alkalinity.

Either your salinity is very high too, or likely your Alkalinity is very low [problematic].

I'd get an Alk kit, see what that reads. Overall, I personally pay a lot more attention to Alk than Calcium - as unstable Alk often means unstable tank.

drummereef · #4 05/29/2007, 11:30 AM

What are you dosing? Oceanic is known for high calcium levels, but you'd have to be dosing something to get it that high. The other though would be a faulty test kit.

Also, what is your salinity and how do you test?

TomRep · #5 05/29/2007, 11:50 AM

I agree with everyone that you need to test your alk. However, of the paramters given, you need to get rid of the ammonia and try to get you trates down a bit. These as well as a possible low alkalinity will cause your corals to not like you too much!
tom

TheNomadRhodes · #6 05/29/2007, 01:33 PM

Well I think every one was right on the test kit I had been useing a Seatest, but I ran to the lfs and get a Nutrafin kit, I pilled back the sticker on the seatest and it was from 1993.... So umm hehe ya my bad, I guess thats what I get for buying things on the bargain rack the new one said my cal was 5oo or so.
My Alk is 2.9 to 3.8 redsea ket
salin is kept at 1.022 to 24.
I don't dose very much pretty much the norm like Iodide, the normal supplements..

markzfishn1 · #7 05/29/2007, 01:40 PM

I'd still suggest some large water changes. Any amm. and trites are bad, and your trates are very high too. Sounds like something died in your tank and is polluting the water.

TheNomadRhodes · #8 05/29/2007, 03:45 PM

Well I just got done doing two big changes about 63 gallons over 3 days.
I'm going to start doing small ones every day 10 15 gallons, as for dead things in the tank I dont really know what it could be. I havent lost any fish, my skimmer has been pulling some real black all most tar like crude out, i've been fighting this issue for some time now.
I was told by some one in club that it could be my sand bed, but do sand beds go bad? and how would I know it was my bed with out just taking it out? any ideas would be great, thank yall very much for the help