I just killed my fish

[juanmanuelsanch]

Well Im about to quit the hobby to be honest. My grade of frustration in at the most high since I started with it.

I wanted to raise my magnesium and pkh levels, so I got epson salts and baking soda.

I started adding the epson salts dissolved in the sump and then the baking soda.

Minutes after all the clown fish are on its side like that lack oxygen. I put my everything on full speed to see if that helped, nothing. One of the clownfish died in front of me.

Now I moved them all to a QT but they dont look good, I will be surprised if they made it.

My question is...WHAT THE HELL happaned? Why such a reaction?

I was using the famous online calculator to increase Mg from 1200 to 1300

And then to increase dkh from 7 to 10.

I did a 10% water change, I still have fish in the display tank. I hope they make it.

Also all corals are shut, whatever happened. The aquarium is not happy about it.

 

[homer1475]

Were you just adding the salt without mixing it with water first? Could have been a serious overdose of Epsom salt.

Also for a MAG DIY supplement, your supposed to mix epsom salt(magnesium sulfate) and MAG flakes(magnesium chloride) together in RO/DI to make a complete magnesium supplement. Not just epsom salt alone.

 

[davehead86]

Well if you tried to adjust from 7 to 10 DKH in one shot thats probably what did in your tank. You have to make small adjustments to tanks when changing levels.

What corals do you have, what tank size, other fish, inverts, water parameters? All things that could also help explain whats going on. How much did you add of each too?

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Were you just adding the salt without mixing it with water first? Could have been a serious overdose of Epsom salt.

Also for a MAG DIY supplement, your supposed to mix epsom salt(magnesium sulfate) and MAG flakes(magnesium chloride) together in RO/DI to make a complete magnesium supplement. Not just epsom salt alone.

I think its an over dose of everything. I did dissolved part of it. The rest was in the sump dissolving. Yes I added just epson salt, 1 kilo of it.

This is the calculator I used.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Well if you tried to adjust from 7 to 10 DKH in one shot thats probably what did in your tank. You have to make small adjustments to tanks when changing levels.

What corals do you have, what tank size, other fish, inverts, water parameters? All things that could also help explain whats going on. How much did you add of each too?

the tank is 140 gallons + 60 sump and I have 4 clownfish (it was 5 with the one that died) and lawnmoner, one bicolor blenny. And 3 others that I dont know the spicies since I got them from my local beach.

Corals, one SPS, some polyps, some xenia, one green favia, some mushrooms and a soft coral.

 

[davehead86]

the tank is 140 gallons + 60 sump and I have 4 clownfish (it was 5 with the one that died) and lawnmoner, one bicolor blenny. And 3 others that I dont know the spicies since I got them from my local beach.

Corals, one SPS, some polyps, some xenia, one green favia, some mushrooms and a soft coral.

We are gonna need pictures of the fish and the corals. No offense but with the vague answers you are giving we could have other problems on our hands too besides some dead clowns.

Its all fixable, and probably very easily fixable if you tell us everything you can about the system so we can start pointing you in the right direction.

 

[davehead86]

I think its an over dose of everything. I did dissolved part of it. The rest was in the sump dissolving. Yes I added just epson salt, 1 kilo of it.

This is the calculator I used.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

That explains that problem.
You didnt complete the chemical reaction correctly. I suggest a MASSIVE water change over the next few days to get that crude out of the tank, unless someone else thinks that adding the second part of that reaction will fix the problem.

 

[Sk8r]

Suggest you use aquarium preparations which come with labels and instructions and dosages suited to our tanks. Yes, they cost more. But they're much easier to figure.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

That explains that problem.
You didnt complete the chemical reaction correctly. I suggest a MASSIVE water change over the next few days to get that crude out of the tank, unless someone else thinks that adding the second part of that reaction will fix the problem.

But did I add something to the system that seemed to be toxic?

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Suggest you use aquarium preparations which come with labels and instructions and dosages suited to our tanks. Yes, they cost more. But they're much easier to figure.

Which do you recommend?

 

[matthemmings]

Have you tested the new parameters, in particular pH?

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

 

[homer1475]

Plain epsom salt without mixing with the second part of the magnesium solution is toxic in large quantities. Just reread the article myself to make sure.

Adding the epsom salt into the tank without first mixing it into RO/DI, alone is enough to have a massive overage and cause a major ionic imbalance.

From the same calculator you used in the warning under the output:

Dissolve it in RO / DI water and add it to a high flow area, better if in a sump. The first time add a small portion and make sure there isn't any problem before adding the remainder. Long term use may affect ionic balance if no water changes are made. Limit the increase to a Max. of 100 ppm/Day

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Here are some pics

https://goo.gl/photos/n71gdvbtR5cKyjTb9

 

[homer1475]

Personally, I would do a few large water changes over the course of a couple days. Then reread the DIY article, or use commercially available products.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Plain epsom salt without mixing with the second part of the magnesium solution is toxic in large quantities. Just reread the article myself to make sure.

Adding the epsom salt into the tank without first mixing it into RO/DI, alone is enough to have a massive overage and cause a major ionic imbalance.

From the same calculator you used in the warning under the output:
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I will be making water changes in the next days ( I can only do 20% at a time).

So I have to assume that my water now is toxic and cant do much about it ?

 

[homer1475]

I wouldn't say it's toxic, but certainly a little messed up. Just do the WC and don't add anything else to the tank. If there is any epsom salt or baking soda left in your sump undissolved, remove it the best you can.

Test your levels and see where your at. That will tell you how much your WC's are affecting your levels.

PS.
The jump from 7 to 10DKH in one push will also cause problems. You need to do a little more research on how and when to dose so you do it properly next time.

 

[Sk8r]

What I use---is Kent Turbo Calcium, Kent DKH Buffer [alk], Kent Tech-M (magnesium). They all dose by the teaspoon, wait 8 hours to test again, then if not adequate, repeat every day until it is proper. I use IO salt, which is lower in magnesium than Oceanic, which I used to use when I had a tank full of hammer coral.
For testing I use only Salifert tests, which rely on color for very few: the regular ones (alk, cal, mg) all return precise numerical results.
For calcium dosing once I HAVE set my levels where they are in my parameters below my sig---I use powdered lime (Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime) dosed into my ro/di reservoir at the rate of 2 teaspoons per gallon of ro/di---if it doesn't all dissolve, it will when more ro/di is added. That ro/di container with that additive should be lidded (you can use a sponge as a gasket for your wires.)
I am so sad that you've had this problem. There is no safe way to make an instant correction of a number of points of chemical imbalance: it should take days to bring to level. THis also is true of salt. Just go very slowly and wait for it to dissolve, then test again. THis is why the powdered lime is so nice: it goes in very slowly and dissolves because of the 8.3 alkalinity, which you maintain.

I do hope you'll continue in the hobby. Most of us who've been at this a while have had disasters, some by fate, some by error, but we learn and we try to pass on what we know. Your experience becomes valuable over time.

 

[homer1475]

I do hope you'll continue in the hobby. Most of us who've been at this a while have had disasters, some by fate, some by error, but we learn and we try to pass on what we know. Your experience becomes valuable over time.

This x1000

Don't worry we've all been there at one point or another. It's what you take away from this disaster that makes us better reefers.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

well first of all. I want to thank all of you for helping me out.

About the fishes...they seem to be doing okeish. All 4 clownfish are now swimming, still lots of gasping and stress. But they do seem to be recovering in the QT.

About my params at the moment.

1400 Mg

DKH is 12 ! So it went from 7 to 12. Which is a huge swing.

PH is between 8 and 8.2

 

[heathlindner25]

I think its an over dose of everything. I did dissolved part of it. The rest was in the sump dissolving. Yes I added just epson salt, 1 kilo of it.

This is the calculator I used.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

You added 2.2 pounds of raw Epsom salt at one time?