fishy all the time
Member
I have a 210 gallon reef tank that has been up and running for about 5 years. I have upgraded tank sizes through the years but have changed nothing else. I conside it a established tank with no problems. I am worried though because the tank seems to not being doing to well. All water chemistries are fine. Nothing ever changes. The temp is 77.8 and might creep up to 78 during the day. Ammonia is zero, nitrites are zero, nitrates are 10, pH is 8.2, and salinity is normal. A few weeks ago we added 3 cardinal fish and then a week later added 4 more. All of them died. I added a clown goby and that is fine. Most of the other fish are original and have been through all the diffent sized tanks. About 3 days ago I noticed my gold bar maroon clown had stopped eating. Eveything else was fine ( no other things were noted wrong) Then it died. My frogspawn, which has been growing for years and is hugh, just seemed to die overnight. It is pure white except for one branch that is closed up tight. I checked the tank for copper and phosphates and even through in a poly filter for kicks. Normal. My worries are though now are from the Southdown sand. My lfs owner and his wife often go out to eat with my boyfriend and I. He always stears us in the right direction. He keeps telling u though that there are silicates in this particular sand. The would also explain why we can grow coraline like mad. Since we have switched to this particular tank we have had no growth. My lfs guy has told me that is because the silicates have broke down. He thinks this has released toxins into the water. Can anybody help me with this or have any ideas. I have not tested for silicates since I dont have a test. I would have to order one from somewhere. Thanks for the help, I am just worried since we have never had any tank problems. Sorry this is so long.