Seriously weird issue from my rays tank- need urgent help

[fong]

Hi ppl, i need your help to answer some questions:

Current situations:
6x6inches rays in 6*2.5*2 ft water volme tank
Sump tank 5*1.5*1.5 ft and 3/5 full with bacteria house.
4 kg coral chips
Water temp = 30.5deg celcius
Ph = 6.4 - 6.5 and dropping
Ammonia in tank water is less than 0.25 ppm
Ammonia in tap water is more than 0.25 ppm

Associated problems/questions
1- why tap water ammonia higher than tank water? Does changing water helps reduce ammonia level still?
2-why ph keeps dropping from 7.4 to 6.5 and still dropping ? The corals chips are all less than 1 month old only.
3-my rays appetite has gone down. Was away for 5 days but realised rays not eating as much as before despite water change.
4-adding salt after water chAnge neccessary?
5- when feeding market prawn. Should i stick to one type of prawns or can switch between grey prawns and tiger prawns?

Is there anything with my water parameters / regime?
How to get the rays to eat like before again?

Please help. Thanks

[sen_jie]

IMHO

1) Tap water there are ammonia. WC is to remove nitrate which is something our filter has difficulties in converting. Whereas for a establish tank, ammonia can be converted over to nitrate easily

2) it maybe due to high bio-load OR its a sign to wash your sump filter. At times those dirt/sludge stuck in the sump build up caused the PH dip.

3) Maybe due to point 2 that caused discomfort for the ray. Thus appetite drop. Healthy ray is a hungry ray.

4) I feed a mixture of diet to rays from frozen ghost shrimps, tilapia meat, kuning, grey prawn, bass meat.


For me,everytime there is a problem in my fish, i point it to the water, which is the byproduct of the filtration Thus i will focus on washing the filter media as a starting point.

[aquaticmaestro]

Originally Posted by fong

Hi ppl, i need your help to answer some questions:

Current situations:
6x6inches rays in 6*2.5*2 ft water volme tank
Sump tank 5*1.5*1.5 ft and 3/5 full with bacteria house.
4 kg coral chips
Water temp = 30.5deg celcius
Ph = 6.4 - 6.5 and dropping
Ammonia in tank water is less than 0.25 ppm
Ammonia in tap water is more than 0.25 ppm

Associated problems/questions
1- why tap water ammonia higher than tank water? Does changing water helps reduce ammonia level still?
2-why ph keeps dropping from 7.4 to 6.5 and still dropping ? The corals chips are all less than 1 month old only.
3-my rays appetite has gone down. Was away for 5 days but realised rays not eating as much as before despite water change.
4-adding salt after water chAnge neccessary?
5- when feeding market prawn. Should i stick to one type of prawns or can switch between grey prawns and tiger prawns?

Is there anything with my water parameters / regime?
How to get the rays to eat like before again?

Please help. Thanks

Bro, I'm no Ray keeping expert but here's what I can help with:

1 - Taken from PUB's website - For disinfection, chlorine is used to destroy the bacteria and viruses. Ozone is used, as well as chlorine, at Choa Chu Kang and Bedok Waterworks. Ammonia is added in the treated water containing free chlorine to form a stable chlorine residual. Activated carbon is also used to remove any bad taste and odour. - See more at: http://www.pub.gov.sg/general/waters....N9WPYdl7.dpuf

Even if your tap water ammonia is high, I think its still good to change water as you help remove other substances like NO2, NO3. Tank ammonia lower than tap water means your biological filter doing a good job!

2 - I had CC in my tank and pH do drop sometimes too. Used to add Baking Soda into my ray tank in the past when the pH drops. No issues with the Ray.

[canopy]

look like sump problem if PH keep dropping. Check for food stucked in the sump compartment. If not waste the sump media one compartment at any one time. DO NOT wash all media within a day.

[fong]

Hi thanks all for the advise ,

If my ammonia level is lower than tap water ammonia . Does it means my filter is ok? Or must achieve zero ammonia ?

[fong]

Originally Posted by aquaticmaestro

Bro, I'm no Ray keeping expert but here's what I can help with:

1 - Taken from PUB's website - For disinfection, chlorine is used to destroy the bacteria and viruses. Ozone is used, as well as chlorine, at Choa Chu Kang and Bedok Waterworks. Ammonia is added in the treated water containing free chlorine to form a stable chlorine residual. Activated carbon is also used to remove any bad taste and odour. - See more at: http://www.pub.gov.sg/general/waters....N9WPYdl7.dpuf

Even if your tap water ammonia is high, I think its still good to change water as you help remove other substances like NO2, NO3. Tank ammonia lower than tap water means your biological filter doing a good job!

2 - I had CC in my tank and pH do drop sometimes too. Used to add Baking Soda into my ray tank in the past when the pH drops. No issues with the Ray.

Hi bro

Baking soda where to buy? Any brand ? also how much to add? Or should I throw in 2 more kg of coral chips? What is the safe ph level ? If ammonia is not the issue then the only difference is the ph which was 7 and now 6.5 . So if I increase ph my ray will eat more?

[Ong88]

Mustafa baking section cheapest baking soda ime.

But no platinum brand.

[llewellyn]

don't panick and try to do too much changes suddenly, else might get worse.

Ph at around the range you mentioned is acceptable.
check your filter wool, many leftover food stuck there? Time to change?
How about your sump conditions?
was there more than usual feeding while you were not around which compromised the water quality? Or perhaps, your rays were overfed which results in lesser desire for food? Please check.

Baking soda is easily available at most supermarket. The brand is arm and hammer(orange box packaging) around $1.70.
just add half teaspoon and observed the reading an hour after.

[fong]

Thanks to all for the advise.

[LauLanChu]

Baking soda = Baking powder, go to any of the supermarket baking section and you should be able to find.

How long you having this tank setup? Looks like your tank is not fully established yet as you are still detecting ammonia, and you using your priceless rays to do cycling? The new water from tap ammonia should be quickly eliminate by your filteration if your tank turn over rate is good.

The pH you get (in a stablized system) should stay stable determined by the amount of coral you have. Increase the coral is you find the pH is low. Do also note the effect of coral chips also determined by where you placed them. It is best recommeded to place them in stream of flowing water like filter compartment.

First of all, your tank got to be fully cycled and established.