My New Reef tank Strikes DEATH

BigFishy

Reefing newb
Hi All,

SOOOO, I am trying to start a 17 gallon reef tank. I have about 18 pounds of live rock and about and inch of live sand. The tank has been established for a week (only running the lights for 3-4 hours per day). About a four days into the process, I added a peppermint shrimp, emerald crab and margarita snail. Snail died on the first day and crab isn't doing so well. I ran some tests (pH, Ammonia, salinity, carbonate, calcium, nitrite and nitrate) and the tests are good except the calcium level is high (550-ish). I want to do a partial water change to lower the calcium. Should I do a 10% water change?

The only thing left for me to purchase for the tank is a powerhead, but for now the filter pressure is doing a good enough job taking into account there isn't any coral in the tank.

PLEASE HELP
 
Hello and welcome to the site...did you use tap water, cause that could be an issue with invertebrates. Also what is the temp, and what method did you test for the other parameters(ph,nitrate,ammonia,etc)
 
I used tap water ... First, I set the salinity level, then I used de-chlorination in it.
Temp is 78 or 77 ... it's a add on to the outflow from the filter. Also, I have a thermometer in the tank saying it's 78.
Testing was with test kits from the store. The box is blue on the top and yellow on the bottom. It's at every pet store

How do I lower the calcium? A small water change?
 
Your calcium is fine. High but fine, not going to kill anything.

What you need to do is let the tank cycle. Nothing else you can do.
Patience is key in this hobby.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Your snail likely died from the metals in the tap water, copper is lethal to invertebrates even in microscopic amounts. Also tap water contains nitrates which can lead to ugly algae problems.

You can buy a RO/DI filter for around $150 and make your own water or buy distilled water from a grocery stores for about $1 per gallon.
 
So should I do a tank change with distilled water? 10% per week ... 20% per week?

I read you aren't suppose to do a water change the first 2 weeks
 
Since my tank is fairly new, can I add some more live rock? Will it affect the tank in a bad way? I was thinking of adding about 5-10 pounds. The stuff I've got is pretty small. So far I have 18.5 pounds in a 17 gallon tank.
 
Live rock and live sand, yes. Live animals, no. Although a couple dead snails will probably help jumpstart the bacteria.

Your tank has only been going for a week. I would just replace most of the water now. It's not like it's going to set you back in your cycle time at this point.

Good luck!
 
+1 everyone. Using tap water can make it difficult to keep inverts.
So can triggers:lol:
I've had this debate before and we all know not all tap is equal ...with that said,i have used tap for 4+ years and still do... i do keep some of the hardier corals ,and my hermits live just fine
I'm not telling you to use it ,but i'm saying there are other things to consider as potential problems
 
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