Micro organisms are gone!

[Chasman]

I just noticed yesterday and last night that all of my pods and other micro bugs seem to be gone.

Tank 29gal w/ HOB refugium (Cheato still growing well)
Started 10/16/09
Live rock and algae look normal.
This mornings water tests:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0 (or at least undetectable w/ Salifert test)
PH = 8.0 (slightly lower than usual)
Salinity 1.025
Temp 79.4 (always very stable)

Last water change was 10 days ago. 10gal mixed for 48 hours with the same box of Tropic Marin I used the last time. Changed out the carbon in the canister filter which I do about every 4 to 6 weeks. Used the same carbon stuff. Chemipure Elite. Used RO/DI water from my Ocean Reef +1 unit I've had since Nov. I tested it and the TDS reading was 0 this morning. No lighting changes and I've been very consistent with water changes. I have an auto top off water system that has been working just fine, so the salinity has been stable. The water level doesn't change by more than an eighth of an inch.

Critters are:
one clown fish (only fish in the tank and has been in there since Dec. he's fine)
six snails (3 Trochs and 3 Astrea all look fine)
One clump of Star Polyp
One small tree coral
Some mushrooms (orange ones and blue ones)
One Xenia stalk that I culled back about three weeks ago.
A very small zoo frag
And a very small Acan frag I purchased last week

Not a whole lot in there when you look at it. And all of the inhabitants look fine.

I'm stumped! I had tons of pods and such before. Do they go through a cycle of some kind or did something go wrong?

Chasman

[Doodaa]

They will populate according to the available food. I'm betting you just have a low nutrient system.

[Chasman]

I definitely don't overfeed, so that could well be it. I use EcoSystem Reef Solution from time to time but no where near what is suggested on the bottle. Think it would help to increase the use of that?

[Doodaa]

I think you shouldn't feed more just to get pods to grow more. You'll end up with algae too.

[Steve McKay]

I think you shouldn't feed more just to get pods to grow more. You'll end up with algae too.

+1, Chasman do you have Gammarus Shrimp (photo below) if you do most likely you still have pods just not millions of them. I didn't notice that I had pods until recently myself. No big deal unless you have a Mandarin or want all walks of marine life.The Gammarus Shrimp in the photo was returned to the tank alive.

[Steve McKay]

It's time for a photo update Chasman.

[Chasman]

Steve

That's exactly what I had. Lots of them. Plus a lot of much smaller shrimp like creachers. Now I don't see any. My brittle star count is way down too. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it and just keep things as usual. Just thought it odd they dissapeared, and I don't think my little clown fish ate them. Who knows.

Chasman

[Steve McKay]

Steve

That's exactly what I had. Lots of them. Plus a lot of much smaller shrimp like creachers. Now I don't see any. My brittle star count is way down too. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it and just keep things as usual. Just thought it odd they dissapeared, and I don't think my little clown fish ate them. Who knows.

Chasman

I would keep things the way they are, if you had more of them before you will have more of them again. I don't think their gone the numbers have just dropped do to food or predation. Where are the new photos of those orange mushrooms and your tank Mr.

[Steve McKay]

BTW, Gammarus Shrimp eat pods if I'm correct.

[Chasman]

I am due for some new pics. With April 15th looming, my schedule has been a bit nuts.
I'll work on it.

Chasman

[Ninong]

BTW, Gammarus Shrimp eat pods if I'm correct.

They eat copepods and detritus. Copepods eat phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and detritus. They all eat organic particulate matter in the water.

I fed a small amount (about one tablespoon) of D.T.'s live phytoplankton maybe two or three times a week to my 120-gal reef aquarium and I always had loads of amphipods and copepods. The copepods, in particular, are impossible to see unless the lights have been off for a couple of hours and you surprise the tank with your flashlight. You will see them scurrying back to their holes in the live rock. The amphipods are so much larger that it's a lot easier to see them and in my system a lot of them ended up in the sump. I found loads of them in there every time I cleaned things.

[Ninong]

I use EcoSystem Reef Solution from time to time but no where near what is suggested on the bottle. Think it would help to increase the use of that?

Isn't that intended for corals? I don't think it contains anything that would interest either copepods or amphipods. You need to feed phytoplankton if you want to increase your copepod population. If the copepod population increases, the amphipod population will grow to keep up with the available prey.

It's possible that your lone fish in the tank doesn't produce enough detritus to sustain a large population of pods. Adding a little phyto every now and then would definitely help. If you use a product like D.T.'s, mix about a teaspoon of it in a glass of tankwater and then pour that into the tank with the pumps off. Swirl the water around a little with your hand so that the phyto goes all over the tank. Leave the pumps off for 10-15 minutes. The best time to do this would be half an hour after the lights go off for the night.

[Ninong]

I use EcoSystem Reef Solution from time to time but no where near what is suggested on the bottle.

Okay, I just googled for EcoSystem Reef Solution and it looks like it's one of those mystery potions that is supposed to contain vitamins, as well as iodine, strontium and other "trace elements."

Ingredients: Contains multiple minerals and trace elements found in natural seawater, including Iodine, strontium, magnesium, etc., and also contains multiple vitamins.

A little bit of this every now and then won't do any harm but I wouldn't overdo it in your small aquarium. It certainly can't contain enough magnesium to substantially affect your magnesium levels. There is three times as much magnesium as calcium in your tankwater. Or at least there should be. I doubt that it contains enough strontium to result in overdosing either. Iodine could be another matter, which is why I wouldn't go crazy with this stuff. I wonder if they tell you anywhere the exact chemical analysis of a single capful of this product. Probably not. None of these manufacturers tell you exactly what you're getting, in particular the quantitative analysis of the recommended dosage. You're lucky if they even tell you anything about what's supposed to be in it.

The truth is that you don't need "trace elements." Your salt mix contains WAY TOO MUCH trace elements in the first place. Usually much, much more than what you would find in natural seawater. If you do routine water changes every month, you will have more than enough of the "trace elements." Strontium is not considered a trace element. It's a minor element and magnesium is a major element. NSW levels of strontium are ~9 ppm and magnesium ~1300 ppm. Iodine, on the other hand, is only 0.06 ppm in NSW, so it is a trace element. That's all forms of iodine: iodide, iodate and molecular iodine.

[Ninong]

I looked up Dr. Ron Shimek's study of some of the reef supplements to see if he had tested EcoSystem Reef Solution but I didn't see it on the list so I guess it wasn't included.

You might want to check out the results for several supplements here. All of this was done by an outside lab. When this study was published several years ago, one vendor in particular went ballistic and even threatened to sue Ron. In the end, that vendor revised the label on their product Combisan to remove the guaranteed anaylsis after THREE different labs, including one hired by the vendor, came back with the same results: Combisan is nearly 100% water and does not contain the 5% of essential trace elements (or whatever) originally claimed by the vendor, Two Little Fishies. Their other product, Marine Snow, came back as more than 99% water.

Anyway, everyone should read that study. It might tell you something about what's in those bottles on the LFS shelves. In some cases, the answer is "not much."

[Chasman]

Thanks Ninong. Your input is always very helpful. Part of the reason I haven't used to much of the Reef Solution is partly based on what you said. I have no idea what's in it. That could be fueling some of my algea that I don't like as well. I'll stop using it.

Fortunately my LFS sells D.T.'s and they keep it refrigerated and a low supply to keep it fresh. I'll give that a try.

I'm sure you are right about the low bio load of a single fish. But you know as well as I do, as soon as I put fish number two in there, this entire forum will chastise me for overloading my tank.

Thanks again for your help.

Chasman

[Ninong]

Make sure you check the shelf-life date on the bottle of D.T.'s. It has a six-month shelf life. You want to try to find a bottle that has at least four months left on it. Don't forget to gently shake the bottle at least once a week while keeping it refrigerated. This is very important. You have to hope that the LFS employees actually did this to the bottles they had in their refrigerator. Open the bottle of D.T.'s that you purchase while you are still in the store to make sure it smells fresh. It should have no bad odor at all. If it does, ask for a refund immediately.

If you have a clownfish, it just makes sense to get another clownfish of the same species so that you will have a mated pair. While not absolutely necessary, it's better to do this before your resident clownfish gets big. I would suggest trying to find a new clownfish that is an inch smaller than your current one. This too is not absolutely necessary but it does make matters go smoother.

Do not get a clownfish of a different species, especially in your small aquarium.

[Steve McKay]

But you know as well as I do, as soon as I put fish number two in there, this entire forum will chastise me for overloading my tank.

You know I will.

Get another one, maybe a goby or something too. There's nothing wrong with having three fish in 29, just not big fish and a good amount of rock to separate territories would be good.