Water Quality Issues...? (1 Viewer)

[HippocampusCollectus]

I'm having one of those days (months?) Where I just want to quit the hobby. This is going to be long and im sorry but I'm lost. I feel like I've tried everything. Both my display and nursery tanks are having issues. Caspian on of my adult male seahorse has had multiple pouch evacs in the last month, and after noticing bubbles on his tail as well I moved him to a hospital tank with kana and sulfa. Did 10 days, he was back to perfect. Within like 36 hours, EVERYTHING was back. GAS BUBBLE DISEASE in seahorses is usually due to a drop in water quality. No one else is having problems. (I did loose Sunny back on Dec 22 for unknown reasons) I stare and stare to makes sure I don't miss anything on them. I've tested my water and for testable things my tank is the healthiest it's ever been. See test results below.

Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0.03
Phosphates 0
Ammonia 0
Ph 8.1
TDS of RO 14 (I know this is high, we just changed filters and it spiked for some reason but dropping slowly. Was at 8 before filter change.)

I have no idea what could be in my tank causing him to have these issues at this point. What else can cause water quality issues??

 

[frankc]

I have no experience with seahorses, so I had to do a quick read of an article on GBD from Seahorse Savey. Between that article and the fact that it cleared up with antibiotics, it sounds like it could be bacterial. Look for any areas in the tank or sump that might have a lot of detritus that might attract "bad" bacteria.

Also, with the relatively high TDS water, it might be worth sending a tank water sample for an ICP test to make sure you don't have any nasty metals in the water.

I hope you can figure it out. I've always thought it would be cool to have a seahorse tank but never quite had the nerve to try it.

 

[mitchell77546]

I'm no seahorse expert but i would say very little to no NO3 and 0 Po4 is a bad thing. I cant imagine minimal TDS would be an issue considering that it most likely would simply feed algae. I was thinking bacterial issues as well....

 

[HippocampusCollectus]

Yes it is a bacterial thing. (Most seahorse disease are) where/how do I do a water test?

So basically I my NO3 and phosphates were to high, and now they are too low what's an appropriate level?

 

[mitchell77546]

I would use the same rule of thumb that I use with coral. Direct field ratio in theory has served me well.

 

[mitchell77546]

I target in 03 at 15 ppm and nitrates at .09 2.05

 

[mitchell77546]

I’m not sure what size tank you were running but I find this difficult to maintain even on 120 gallons of total tank volume

 

[BigRick]

My bet is if your TDS got over 10 it probably bypassed/released some chloramines into the tank.

 

[soymilk]

how are you measuring tds? are you flushing the filters out a bit before using it? When I put in fresh DI resin, it usually takes running it a few minutes before the tds drops to 0.

consider getting an icp test

 

[frankc]

Yes it is a bacterial thing. (Most seahorse disease are) where/how do I do a water test?

So basically I my NO3 and phosphates were to high, and now they are too low what's an appropriate level?

You can buy an ICP test from icpanalysis or Triton. You have to create an account to register the test, then you fill the sample container with water and mail the test to them. In a few days you get a report of all sorts of elements in the water. It won't identify anything about bacteria, but if there are harmful metals or missing elements, that could cause stress that would make the seahorses more vulnerable.

Since seahorses are not photosynthetic, I don't see how 0 nitrates or phosphates could be harmful to them - that's for corals and algae.

Speaking of which, when I met you at the frag swap last year, you were trying to find some type of coral that you could keep that wouldn't sting the seahorses. Were you able to find something suitable, or are you just using plastic objects?

 

[mittens]

A UV may be a quick way to see if it’s a bacterial issue.

 

[mittens]

Throw in cuprisorb as a quick and cheap fix for heavy metals while you rule other things out.
Did you flush your filters when you changed them?

 

[HippocampusCollectus]

how are you measuring tds? are you flushing the filters out a bit before using it? When I put in fresh DI resin, it usually takes running it a few minutes before the tds drops to 0.

consider getting an icp test

I'm going to look into the icp test. We've ran it quite a bit, as in probably 30 gallons already, and the tds is still at 14. I'm honestly not sure why it's doing this.

 

[HippocampusCollectus]

My bet is if your TDS got over 10 it probably bypassed/released some chloramines into the tank.

What are chloramines?

 

[HippocampusCollectus]

You can buy an ICP test from icpanalysis or Triton. You have to create an account to register the test, then you fill the sample container with water and mail the test to them. In a few days you get a report of all sorts of elements in the water. It won't identify anything about bacteria, but if there are harmful metals or missing elements, that could cause stress that would make the seahorses more vulnerable.

Since seahorses are not photosynthetic, I don't see how 0 nitrates or phosphates could be harmful to them - that's for corals and algae.

Speaking of which, when I met you at the frag swap last year, you were trying to find some type of coral that you could keep that wouldn't sting the seahorses. Were you able to find something suitable, or are you just using plastic objects?

Ok I'll look into that. I have a few gorganians now, but mostly plastic plants.

 

[HippocampusCollectus]

A UV may be a quick way to see if it’s a bacterial issue.

I already have a UV sterilizer. I'll try the cuprisorb. By flush I assume you mean letting the water run for a while.

 

[Ostentum]

What are chloramines?

They are put into the water by the water district similar to chlorine. But this is a Chlorine Ammonia molecule that breaks down into both chlorine an ammonia in the tank. And this is not a couple days type of thing it takes a very long time. Chlorine will leave the water through evaporation after a couple days. Chloramines don’t really go away without activated carbon. It’s the reason I run 2 carbon stages on my RODI. It will also ruin your DI stages fairly quickly. Like less than 100 gallons through it

 

[mittens]

I already have a UV sterilizer. I'll try the cuprisorb. By flush I assume you mean letting the water run for a while.

Essentially yes. No need to flush sediment but you do need to flush the carbon 5-10 min before putting your di cartridges in. Then flush your di for another 10-15 min and/or until your tds meter says 0

 

[RR-MAN]

Very cheap essential tool to use with your ro di unit- it’s a must:

Triple Inline TDS Meter TRM-1

Why does BRS recommend this? Using a RODI system without a TDS meter is like driving a car without a speedometer and gas gauge. At some point you will end up in trouble. With RODI systems it is TDS that you will want to monitor for performance and filter quality. If you have a single or dual...

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