Burnt microwaved popcorn fumes, KILLING my tank!

J

judy j

New member
Last night my daughter tryed poping microwave popcorn. Something went VERY WRONG. In less than 2 minutes smoke came billowing out of the microwave. It wasn't fully poped and it was BLACK and the odor was VERY STRONG. You may say, "so what, Ive done that. No big deal"
Well , when I got up this morning, I looked in my tank, (as I always do) and to my SHOCK it was cloudy. Than I noticed my galexia (sp?) which is the size of a large grapefruit and the brown membrane was gone around the edges. Everything looked like it was dieing. AND IT WAS! The lights were still off so I knew things would be closed. But something was TERRIABLY WRONG. And the only thing it could be were the fumes from last night.
It's a 55 gal. fully loaded with corals, mushrooms. zoos. 3 fish, (still alive),stars. ect.
So I quickly made 20 gal of salt water. Using warm tap water from the well. I know thats wrong but there wasn't time to get warm RO/DI salted, that sat for 24 hours. And it would be the only time. I was panicking. And with my daughters help, we got 20 out and 20 in, in about 1 hour.
It's still cloudy, and alot had DIED. The brittle stars FELL APART. The candy canes skin fell off. The whole galexia is white except for the points. They don't look good and I don't know if it will live or if it's to late. HOW DO I KNOW IF SOMETHING IS REALY DEAD? The zoos are closed. Does that mean they are safe? if I can get the water clean again. THe brain and hammer heads are closed tight. Maybe theres hope for them. The feather dusters are gone.The test I've done don't look bad enought to kill anything. I'm making more RO/DI and will salt it for tomorrows use. WILL TOMORROW BE TO SOON TO DO ANOTHER 10 OR 20 GAL WATERCHANGE? I'll try to get the water tested at Fin and Feather. (Justin were are you when I need you?)
Is there any hope? Please help! I'm just a beginner at this.
I saw a few snails and a few crabs ALIVE. I've turned the daylight off. I heard that helps with stress. THe mushrooms like it better.
It KILLES ME TO LOOK IN THE TANK AND WATCH THINGS DYEING. Please, someone, tell me there is HOPE!
Judy J
 
Lots of carbon and water changes. Don't be afraid of doing a 100% water change, just be sure to match salinity, pH and temp before doing so.
 
wow, I'm really sorry to hear this.

I agree carbon is a good choice. Also an ammonia binder like Prime or Amquel.

Do you dose limewater? If so, any chance it overdosed, causing the initial cloudiness?
 
I did change the carbon today. Thanks. Ammonia binder, what is that? I have something called Aquarium evolution, a water conditioner for removal of ammonia, chlorine & chloramine. AmmEx. Is it the same?
Also, what do you mean 'Do you dose limewater?'
Judy
 
What sponge? A filter? That's not a concern. A 100% water change can be useful in emergency situations, but it is also stressful. I'm not sure if it is best or not.

If you used limewater/kalkwaser, you'd know it. :D

Yes, the AmmEx would be good to use if there is elevated ammonia. Do you have an ammonia kit? If not, maybe treat anyway, then try getting a kit tomorrow.
 
The sponge that grows on the LR.
I checked the ammonia and it was between 0.0 and 0.2. Isn't that low? I know 0.0 is best. But than with everything dying, wont that cause a spike? Should I still add some tonight, just in case it gets higher overnite?
judy
 
That artificial butter flavoring used on popcorn can cause bad reactions in people as well: it's a pretty nasty chemical for living things. I'd throw in polypads if they still make those things.
 
100 % water change in a reef tank with corals, sponges ascidians, etc. never, about 50 % max. Some systems can handle 100 % changes but not many. You do a 100% water change in a SPS tank and you will be in trouble
 
Calfo never seemed to have any problems with near 100% water changes...

As to shock value... I assure you it is little. The corals and other creatures in the tank respond in minutes/hours to a near 100% w/c as they do a 20% one.

Any hobbyists out there that remember the Berlin method days of reef-keeping (bare-bottomed)... we used to do 50-100% water changes several times yearly on huge tanks just to keep nitrates in check.

If you pay attention (again) to pH, S.G. and temp (general matching chemistry) on well-mixed saltwater... is is of little matter how big the percentage is.
Click to expand...

But, it's not my tank, so best wishes either way you go Judy :)
 
The tank is a 55. But there is about 50+LBs of LR and 4" of sand. Would I do 50% of 55 or of the real water volume? And should I do this water change every day until the water clears?
And what about the corals that look more dead than alive. Isn't it bad to leave them in the tank. Do I give them a chance to show some life. I've thrown some things out. I have about 16 Kenya trees. Mostly frags. I WAS going to take some to the store for credit tomorrow but that won't happen now. They look perty bad. I can smell them when I walk into the room. They'er laying down. There is a large toad stool that won't open and is laying over, also. Does anyone think it would be a good idea to send some of the better looking things over to my sisters 55 gal tank. She has the room but I don't want to mess up her tank.
I only have (had) 2 SPS's. one WAS brown but now its white.
Maybe when I wake up tomorrow I'll find that it was only a nite mare and my tank will still be beautiful.
Thanks every one for all your support. And may this NEVER happen to anyone.
Judy
 
My kid did the same thing the other day with popcorn. The whole house filled with smoke and all the smoke and carbon dioxide detectors went off. I opened all the windows airing out the house and threw in a couple of extra heaters to help with water temp. The skimmer went nuts and I did a 10% water change, but that was it....everything was fine. Sounds like something else is going on there...maybe someone dosed something etc...........
 
Was it 94% fat free? SK8r said that artificial butter flavoring was bad. I always get the fat free.
Other than the popcorn, my kids don't touch the tank. The youngest is 19 and they all love it too much to mess with it.
I did use PO4-Minus for a hair alge problem that was starting. Never used it before and didn't use the whole bottle. But I stoped using it a week or 2 ago. Didn't help anyway and I don't like stuff like that.
Anyway, when I checked it out this morning, there was 1 clown still alive. So much was dead. Alot of kenya trees (about 16. Some were to go to the store today for credit) saying around fallening apart.
So I found a 20 gal tank and filled it with s/w , took out the LR that had dead stuff or nothing growing on it and washed it off and put it into the 20 gal. Than I looked for things that might have some life in them. washed them off and added them to the 20.Than I found an emeral crab(alive) , the one live fish and some mushrooms (most may not make it. I'll keep an eye on them) A frw cabbages didn't look to bad. and a star pollup which just looked closed. A few hermit crabs. several rocks with zoos. added them to the tank. It's full to the top on one side with plain rock and the other side hopefulls.
Than we ( my sister who directed me, because I was a bit out of it) emptyed the tank of water . I could see little worms on the top of the sand and knew they had to of lived under the sand. Not a good sign. So out went the sand. I really want to do it right, So down to Fin and Feather I went with my sad story and water to test from the 20, which was already at 0.1. They said not to use the ammonia binder but to do 4 gal w/c to keep it down.
Well I've got 4" of sand in and I'm making RO/DI water as I write.
The 20 has a powerhead and protine skimmer and heater in it. And to my dismay the water is already cloudy. WHY?WHY?WHY?
Is it because stuff is dead or dying? I don't want to put anything in the 55 unless it is healthy.
I plan to fill the 55 about 2/3 or so and when the temp and PH and everything esle is right, I'll get 5LBs of live sand and start adding the LR. That should be in 3 or 4 days, I hope.
Does this sound right? I don't want to keep all that stuff in such a small tank for to long. Please give me your suggestions.
And what if the water dosen't clear? I realy dont want to give up. I just want to go to bed tonight and wake up finding that it was just a bad dream. And my tank is as beautifull as it was 3 days ago,.
Judy
 
it does sounds like a nightmare. :(

I'm not sure why the 20 is cloudy, but a bacterial bloom in response to released nutrients and organics may be the cause. Be sure to keep the aeration up. O2 drops is crashes may be a significant factor in many later deaths.
 
and Speakerguy you will find many people that disagree with that, especially SPS'ers. I do not care what Calfo says :D And back in the Berlin day there was no such thing as SPS tanks ;) I too have done many 90 - 100 % water / month but not on tanks with SPS's, sponges etc. Big Water changes almost always stir up the bottom and release things. You are never suppose to let a sponge loose it water.

And are you into speakers, as in audiophil :) Or is it that you just speak allot ??
 
hmm.. when you move an sps frag from one tank to another, say from seller to buyer, that frag expriences 100% water change, neglecting to consider acclimatization and what not, as im sure lots of people just place their corals in without acclimatising to little ill effect. likewise, lots of acroporid corals are exposed fully to air during low tides in many reef areas, so there again theres 100% water change in a sense when the tide returns. its more about the quality of water i think. if youre changing out old water for new water, with the new water being of near ideal quality, there shouldnt be much of an issue, in fact, wouldnt the coral be happy for a change of environment to one less filled with polutants and toxins?

i dont practice 100% water changes frequently, but i have certainly done so in the past, and with a full fledged sps tank to no ill effect. I use NSW though, as opposed to salt mixed.

not meaning to upset anyone, and certainly not bro boomer, but just thought id chip in to the debate.

cheers,
ian
 
This morning I fully expected to see a very cloudy tank. But it wasn't. Almost clear. I still have to do all the water testing on the 20. Didn't see the clown :)( One mushroom rock has color and looks hopeful. Another looks beyond help, donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know when I should give up on it. None of the polyps have opened. Thought the blasto might make it but it's white now. The pink tipped hammer is closed but there seems to be very tiny green specks in the cracks. Do you think there is hope? Also I'm afraid that if I leave something that is dead hoping that its not, wont it pollute the tank?
Because the critters in the LR are dead (I saw dead worms hanging out) should that be a concern?
Still making RO/DI water, Ã"šÃ‚½ way there. Trying to look on the bright side of this, instead of remembering what Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve lost,(Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d show you the pictures but I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know how to do that yet) Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll think of what I can get. :)o). And Mothers Day isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t that far away.
Mike, still waiting to know what kind of popcorn your off spring burnt. And was your tank covered. Mine wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t.
Judy
 
Ammonia SPIKE. It was off the chart. It was green blue. Yesterday it was 0.1. Again I panicked and did an 8 gal w/c. out of the 15 gal of water in the tank. Took out a rock with about 15 dead mushrooms. One cabbages had brown stuff coming out of it when I poked it. Took it out.
With a spike so high, can I assume that there is nothing alive? Except the one blue hermit crab I saw.
Still hopeful.
Judy
 
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