Help Please!

[bkvreef]

Heres my setup
110g 72 x 19 x19
two mod mj one on each end
two overflows going into sump approx 20 gal
seaclone skimmer100 in sump
quiet one pump 1000gph
approx 70lbs lr
2" ls
About two months ago I transfered over from 55g keeping all the fish and lr
The inhabitants:
2 percs
1 coral beauty
1 ywg
1 scooter blenney
1 algae blenney
3 chromis
10-15 mini reef hermits
The problem:
Since the move I have lost:
30 or so astrea snails
1 sand sifter
star polyp
frog spawn
I went through removed all the snail shells, etc.
I bought a green brittle yesterday and drip acclimated it.
However, today it is not moving very much, and his disk is going up and down (like breathing heavily).
My levels:
s.g. 1.027
nitrates 20
nitrites 0
alk 180
pH 8.2
Calcium has been in the preferred levels(I believe 300ppm?)
I've tested for copper and it tests as 0
I use only RO/DI water
and I've done numerous water changes over the past several weeks

:help:

 

[sergeant]

Do you prepare your water or do you buy from a LFS? Try to bring the salinity down to 1.023. Now your tank is twice the size. Do you have enough water movement? I beleive the calcium level should be between 400 to 450 ppm. Also make sure your skimmer is big enough to handle the new size of tank.

 

[velvetchs]

How long did you acclimate your star for? They need at least 2-3 hour acclimation time. I wouldn't drop your specific gravity to 1.023 as suggested by previous poster. 1.025 - 1.026 is the preffered range for any inverts especially starfish. (BTW, are you measuring the specific gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer? Your sp made be higher/lower than you think if you're using a hydrometer, which can cause issues with inverts.)
As far as your snails dying, are they dying or are the hermit crabs killing them for sheels? If you just moved everything recently enough, it may be that the new tank is too clean to sustain the snails and they are starving to death. (I killed quite a bit of snails before I figured this out).
Just be a bit patient with the new brittlestar; it may need some time to adjust also. You are aware of the predatory nature of the green brittles, right? Hopefully, Ophiura will chime in on this; she has helped many people here with questions on stars, including me!

 

[bkvreef]

Originally Posted by Sergeant
Do you prepare your water or do you buy from a LFS? Try to bring the salinity down to 1.023. Now your tank is twice the size. Do you have enough water movement? I beleive the calcium level should be between 400 to 450 ppm. Also make sure your skimmer is big enough to handle the new size of tank.
The mj mods give plenty of water movement.
I was wrong on the calciium I looked back at it and realized that it was 400 not 300.
As far as the skimmer, I know it's not what many people would suggest. However, I survived without one at all for a year + on the 55g. While I will probably upgrade later on I feel that this is at least a start.