Cant keep corals even for a second?

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dm 0620

Guest
i have a 140 gal tank.
last year it all got to hot and i killed everything.
i have since got a chiller and everything seemd to be good.
except this
i cannot keep corals even for a day, the second i put them in they start shriviling and die.
here are the facts its 140 gal with a 40 gal sump the sump has a sock, some live rock, a protien skimmer, a refugium, a heater, the chiller, and the return pump.
for lighting i have 2 150 watt metal halides and 2 90 blue actinics running the blues for 8 hours and the metal halides for 4
i have a 2" sand base, and between 150 and 200 lbs of live rock
i use scripps sea water doing a 20% water change every 2 weeks
i test for nitrate, nitrites, ph, ammonia,
i also tested for copper just to check
all the chemical levels were perfect i confiormed that and so did 3 different stores
the temp is 79-81
salinity is 1.025
i have 2 power heads and the return pump for flow
i have kept coral before but they never seemed quite right and now i cant grow any at all.
all fish are perfectly healthy does anyone have any ideas?
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
this is weird. could it be the placement? what kind of corals have you tried?
 
ppanthrah75

ppanthrah75

Member
what kind of corals? is it possible one of ur pieces of equipment is malfuctioning and leaking voltage into ur system?
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Can u post a pic of the setup please? I'm leaning to possible stray voltage. What type of powerheads? I have 4 on my 55.
 
J

juliansreef2

Guest
it could be placement or as its been said a malfunctioning piece of equipment thats shocking your tank with electricity
 
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dm 0620

Guest
well ive tried soft corals, mushrooms, zoanthids, supposedly the most hardy, also i dont think its placement ive tried many different places, i have 3 total pumps in the sump and 2 power heads in the main tank. ill work on a couple photos.
 
J

juliansreef2

Guest
check the connections of the powerheads and heater. they might be the problem.
 
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dm 0620

Guest
like do you lthink it is electrifying the tank? wouldnt i be ablo feel that, would it hurt the fish.
 
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dm 0620

Guest
im also not getting any coraline
also im pretty sure none of the snails or crabs i put in have survived
 
J

juliansreef2

Guest
it could be electrifying the tank. i had a problem with that with a tank i was tending to at school. the fish looked like it was seizing and it turned out it broke the heater and was being fried.i wasnt able to feel it that much until i realized what the problem was and the fish would get hurt so unless your fish are acting weird i dont think its happening but it cant hurt to check.. unless of course it is electrifying the water xD
 
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dm 0620

Guest

i know it looks like alot of wires and it is but none are in water just disorganized
 
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dm 0620

Guest
i tried to send the pics but the website said something about holding it for moderation. not sure what that means but im sure no electricity is leaking into tank. any other thoughts its pretty lame have a reef set up tank with no corals in it.
 
bluetang66

bluetang66

Member
stray voltage is easy to check for. take a voltmeter set it to ac volts, place one end in water and touch your light frame. i was cleaning mine and brushed my arm against lights and wow what a jolt, checked it and was reading 118 volts. most of it was coming off of the heater. i had noticed my leathers had been shedding more than usual. i've been trying to read up on it myself and ran across your thread.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
what is scripps sea water?
looks like a perfect set up to me.i have had electric shock in tanks over the years andf havnt lost anything.
do you get you corals from the same place?
definitly need a couple more powerheads but dont think thats the problem.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
I don't think that voltage is your problem. There is stray voltage in all tanks that is emminated from your lights and power cords running into the tank. If there was actual current passing through your tank you would know it as soon as you put your hand in the water. But voltage alone shouldn't hurt anything as long as it's not afforded a path to ground. And if this has been an ongoing issue then there must be another reason for this happening to your corals. But everything that you said sounds good. I haven't heard anything about calcium and alk levels.
BlueTang66: You really should get that heater out of the tank if you are detecting that much voltage. You or someone in your family could be seriously injured.
deejeff: I think Scribbs is a place in souther cali where you can go and get natural sea water that has been pumped from the the pacific coast line and filtered for sand.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
My friend had a similar problem and it was because he was using a hydrometer rather than a Refractometer. His salt level was off the charts! Hydrometers are something that should give you an idea of what your levels are at. Its amazing how off they are though. Especially if you are not calculating temp into the equation.
 
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dm 0620

Guest
okay so i tested with the voltometer and it reads zero so its not the electricty
i have not recently tested calcium or alk but the reason i dont is because my dad does everything the same. he does a 20% water change and does not add any chemicals, his tank is thriving and he started adding corals after only 3 months.
i have followed the same pattern with changes and nothing grows.
any other ideas
 
keith gray

keith gray

Member
IS everyone sure this is enough light ? I have a 75 gal with 2 -250 watts. If his tank is that big with only 2- 150s that only 300 total for a much larger tank
 
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