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09/24/2020, 12:16 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
Posts: 32
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Surface Agitation
I'll start with the sad news....
I had a couple small fish that seemed totally fine go sluggish and die over night in the last couple days. About a week ago I installed a new Icecap gyre as a second wave maker and while I was at it I cleaned and tuned pump 1 on my setup. In re-installing the pumps and trying to dial in the new controller I (now realize) I did not put the pumps back in position that allowed for much surface agitation. I just today repositioned the gyres so there is a nice amount of surface agitation and it seems all the fish have perked up. Is it possible that I slowly suffocated the tank over the last few days but with a repositioning it shot an immediate dose of much needed O2 into the water? Is it likely that was the cause of my problem and would surface agitation really work that fast? Tank parameters tested normal so I have no other explanation.... |
09/24/2020, 12:26 PM | #2 | |
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Posts: 441
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Surface Agitation
Quote:
It doesn’t take much to deplete the water of oxygen, especially if you have a lot of fish. One of my favorite YouTubers, Marc Levenson from Meelev’s Reef, always tells the story of how he turned off his pumps to feed the tank and forgot to turn them back on and returned to a tank with dead fish 8 hours later. Almost all of his fish suffocated and died. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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09/24/2020, 01:04 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
Posts: 32
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Thats what I was afraid of....dang... ....
I'm heartbroken that the suffocated my fish.... some weren't that affected but it was incredible how fast some declined. I'm glad I caught it in time. My poor fish This hobby is all about learning and experience I guess....... oh and $$$ |
09/24/2020, 01:19 PM | #4 |
RC Mod
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It also depends on the quality of your skimmer whether it produces bubbles (weak) or foam (good) and on the way water enters your sump. Mine falls from about a 6 foot height via a 12' hose, and splashes into my sump with considerable violence, all this for a 90 gallon lightly stocked tank. I can go an easy 8 hours with no power, no problem. You might look at each of those areas and see where yoo can pep up the agitation.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
09/24/2020, 01:31 PM | #5 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Dewitt MI
Posts: 5,051
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Quote:
If the OP has a sump but no skimmer an airstone in the sump would help wit gas exchange.
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Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels |
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09/24/2020, 05:18 PM | #6 |
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Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
Posts: 32
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Thanks for the input. Floridians unfortunately are not afforded basements otherwise I'd totally have that kind of plumbing.
Best I can do is my skimmer. I have a Reef Octopus which foams nicely but my return pump is set pretty low so I don't think I was getting oxygenated water back up to the main tank with enough speed and volume to compensate for the lack of surface agitation. Might be a separate post but now I'm wondering if I should keep the gyres on constant or go back to the random mode I had been using. I figure I'll give my fish at least a couple days of constant flow on the surface but long term should I go back to a more random flow in the tank? |
09/24/2020, 08:10 PM | #7 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 441
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Quote:
If you have corals, random flow is the way to go. Just make sure your surface doesn’t look still. Here’s a photo of my surface to show you what it should look like. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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09/25/2020, 01:36 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 138
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Is your join date (Aug) an indication of the age of your tank? Did you test for ammonia? I'm not buying the "surface agitiation" theory.
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09/26/2020, 08:18 AM | #9 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
Posts: 32
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Quote:
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09/26/2020, 08:21 AM | #10 |
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Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
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As a follow up, the fish are all much perkier (is that a word?) no that I’ve corrected things.
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