Well i'll begin by sayin Hello from Wisconsin, I have a 90 gallon bow front tank started with a 29 and did great and moved up to the 90 it was a nightmare from day 1. well that was 7 years ago. now i run it with a 100 gallon protein skimmer, 2x 100 gallon canister Filter all tied in a 25w Uv sterilizer and a 1/2 horse chiller to keep everything cool temp i keep on the chiller is 77.5 degree all summer long it was nice and cool i wanted to jump in myself.. But here comes the problem, i had 100 nass snails and 50 blue legged crabs well the snails are gone for now reason dont know why but there all dead and gone .. the crabs loved it they all had new food source and homes fine.. now i noticed not so many crabs only have 1 fish in my coral tanks and its a 6 line wrasse.. and i am haveing a Hair algea blom now mind you i dont thre food in the tank for the fish either he finds things ot eat , quest is did he eat my crabs looking for foos? cause he hasnt eaten my shrimp yet .. if he does he's a dead fish haha.. And Idea's
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dragoneggs
Well-known member
Welcome to RF true blue... Are you doing regular water changes?
dragoneggs
Well-known member
And with RO water I presume?
dragoneggs
Well-known member
I guess one thing to check would be your TDS of your 'tap' water. Phosphate buildup could be a concern. Other than that I will have to defer to the gang here.
dieden
Exocoetidae
Welcome to RF!!!!! You will find these guys to be extremely helpful.
NC2WA
Well-known member
TrueBlue,
Welcome to RF !!!
Reason: Your hermit crabs are killing the snails to take their shells.
What are the water parameters of this tank?
(that is, Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Mg) ?
Salinity level?
pH?
What type of skimmer do you have?
Are you changing the collection cup of the skimmer at least once a week?
What type of lights and how long is the photo period?
I would suspect 50% of the problem is the tap water. I would start with a 30% water change and use RO water in your water changes over the next several weeks. I would do a WC every 2 wks until you get the HA under control.
Kirk
Welcome to RF !!!
Reason: Your hermit crabs are killing the snails to take their shells.
What are the water parameters of this tank?
(that is, Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Mg) ?
Salinity level?
pH?
What type of skimmer do you have?
Are you changing the collection cup of the skimmer at least once a week?
What type of lights and how long is the photo period?
I would suspect 50% of the problem is the tap water. I would start with a 30% water change and use RO water in your water changes over the next several weeks. I would do a WC every 2 wks until you get the HA under control.
Kirk
dragoneggs
Well-known member
All good questions from Kirk... the challenge with this hobby is there are so many variables and no one right answer. It seems that water quality is the problem so checking all the params you can is the best start. Don't know if the crab/snail issue is related to the hair algae... but it could be. Yeah I know not alot of help but knowing at least approximately, all your water params is pretty much imperative.
Krish
RF STAFF
Welcome to RF! 
. I would start by taking a look at your canister filter. What are running in it? Depending on how it is being used canisters are known to be nitrate factories and anytime you have an excess of nitrates you will have algae problems. Let us know a bit more about your canisters
. I would start by taking a look at your canister filter. What are running in it? Depending on how it is being used canisters are known to be nitrate factories and anytime you have an excess of nitrates you will have algae problems. Let us know a bit more about your canisters 
ac7av
Bring on the FISH!
Welcome to RF
Why don’t you start by giving us a full rundown of your tank? What you have in it, on it and you have already filled us in on some of the equipment but tell us all about how it’s all hooked up and water flow threw your system. All this can help us to help you. I know you know the basics because you said you had a successful nano and then went big and now nothing but problems.
I have to agree on the canisters. If your using them like you would for a fresh water tank they will cause more problems then they will fix.
Why don’t you start by giving us a full rundown of your tank? What you have in it, on it and you have already filled us in on some of the equipment but tell us all about how it’s all hooked up and water flow threw your system. All this can help us to help you. I know you know the basics because you said you had a successful nano and then went big and now nothing but problems.
I have to agree on the canisters. If your using them like you would for a fresh water tank they will cause more problems then they will fix.
Ok this morning making tap water salt water i noticed a clorine smell to the water ? i didnt use it and a water change hasnt been done yet.. my canisters are mag 350's for 100 gallon, i have 1 pumped threw the 25w Uv sterlizer, i have the option to run a water buffer or a carbon basket , which is what i use, is carbon with a filter over that.. on both canisters i have the other filter is plumbed into my 1/2 horse chiller, things i have in the tank are as followed ..
1- frog spawn which i noticed tonight have split into 4 heads
1- purple tip anomene * getting late spelling sucks*
1-sixline wrasse
1- kena tree that has splint into 3 and has stated droping branches
differnt polyps
Mushrooms
about 110lbs liverock
1- cabbage
my lighting is a 300w hal, with night light of blue and White, i have them turned on for about 5 hours thats about it
1- frog spawn which i noticed tonight have split into 4 heads
1- purple tip anomene * getting late spelling sucks*
1-sixline wrasse
1- kena tree that has splint into 3 and has stated droping branches
differnt polyps
Mushrooms
about 110lbs liverock
1- cabbage
my lighting is a 300w hal, with night light of blue and White, i have them turned on for about 5 hours thats about it
dragoneggs
Well-known member
Water params?
ac7av
Bring on the FISH!
I’m surprised with the need for a chiller with your setup. Are you running this tank with lids on the tank? If you are you really should remove them. If you use water conditioner first it will remove the chlorine from the water before mixing it with the salt. It is recommended you use a ro-di filter for your water supply but not necessary. Tap water can some times be the reason for algae break outs.
It sounds like your corals are happy so your parameters must be good. You are probably getting some nitrates or phosphates in your water and it could be coming from the tap water. If you know you are not getting it from the tap water then the canisters are another probably source for the algae breakout. Lack of water flow in the tank, old lighting and over feeding can also be the cause for algae breakout.
Are you using sand or something in the bottom of your tank?
It sounds like your corals are happy so your parameters must be good. You are probably getting some nitrates or phosphates in your water and it could be coming from the tap water. If you know you are not getting it from the tap water then the canisters are another probably source for the algae breakout. Lack of water flow in the tank, old lighting and over feeding can also be the cause for algae breakout.
Are you using sand or something in the bottom of your tank?
ac7av
Bring on the FISH!
Usually when someone asks for the water parameters this is what they are looking for on this site.
Salinity
Ammonia
Nitrate
Nitrite
PH
Temp
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphates
Water hardness dkh
But you may not have test for all this and really for the algae problem mostly you look at ammonia, nitrate phosphates, and temperature.
I know for sure its not the over feeding i dont put anything in the tank for 1 fish he finds stuff, just super aggro to anything smaller then he is.. Yes i have both lids on the tank just do that my house seems to drain my tank super fast and it slows it down. And yes i have 7 year old Live Sand in the bottom of the tank..i run 3 water pumps 2 lvl 2 and 1 lvl 3 pump i wonder if thats not enough. what can i do withthe canisters to fix that problem if its it?
lvsuckerfish
g funk
cannister filters can make a decent media reactor for like carbon in a mesh bag and also GFO in a mesh bag. some people put live rock in them.those are the main things to use a cannister filter for from time to time you can add filter floss or padding to polish the water.
I would venture a guess that your low salinity is what is killing your inverts. Inverts are much more sensitive to lower salinity, than fish.
kh between 0-40?
Are you measuring your Kh in PPM, dkH or Meq/l?
Gh? I could be mistaken, but I think I'd ignore your General Hardness test kit. Test for Calcium instead.
If I remember right, Gh measures the calcium AND magnesium AND some other elements, in saltwater, instead of testing each of these individually.
In a freshwater set up, Gh is useful. I don't think it is, in SW.
kh between 0-40?
Are you measuring your Kh in PPM, dkH or Meq/l?
Gh? I could be mistaken, but I think I'd ignore your General Hardness test kit. Test for Calcium instead.
If I remember right, Gh measures the calcium AND magnesium AND some other elements, in saltwater, instead of testing each of these individually.
In a freshwater set up, Gh is useful. I don't think it is, in SW.
