I just killed my fish

[GimpyFin]

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.

What I use---is Kent Turbo Calcium, Kent DKH Buffer [alk], Kent Tech-M (magnesium).

This is an excellent suggestion. It will take out some of the headache/confusion in the dosing department. Kent's Tech CB (2-part for cal/alk) also works quite well. Sorry to hear what happened. Try not to get too distraught, though. There's a lot to this hobby and we've all struggled with something(s) at one point or another. :beer:

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

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

pretty much...

 

[heathlindner25]

pretty much...

Ouch....Surprised me a little, since you've been in the community for a while. Sorry for your losses

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

in the community not in the hobby. Today is definitively not a good day.

Any how... update.

The lawnmoner is lethargic, not that active, he is usually picking on the glass or the rocks to eat. Not after the incident.

The bicolor blenny, havent seen it, he is a tough guy. Probably hidding, even if its not in the usual places.

What I cant understand is what element or reaction caused so much havoc. Was it the sulfate from the epson?

I know ph swing can take a heat, but PH hasnt change, only the DKH which went from 7 to 12. Stupid me...

 

[joshbrookkate]

Stay with it. And learn. Good luck with your remaining livestock.....

 

[homer1475]

The huge jump in alkalinity at one time is what more then likely is making your fish act lethargic. It's also what is ****ing off your corals.

 

[gmlee]

Don't worry not so long ago I added magnesium sulfate with calcium chloride thinking it was magnesium chloride to increase my mag. levels. You should have heard the words I called myself! And yes I did drip it in the tank until I couldn't understand why my calcium chloride was low in my container.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

well today its not looking good. The corals are looking dead. The tank has an odor, not rotten eggs. But smells more than usual.

Ammonia went to the roof. at 2 ppm. I dont think whatever is in there will make it.

 

[Sk8r]

Take everything viable into a bucket of new salt water---never mind cycling. Sort out those that seem improved and put them in a separate bucket. Do a total water change in the tank, rinse off the rock in good water, discard that water, re-set-up, and maybe get new sand. I don't know to what extend the chemical may have settled in the sandbed. These are the symptoms of magnesium overdose in humans: how this shakes out for sea creatures I'm not sure, but it's not good. https://www.google.com/search?q=magnesium+overdose+symptoms&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

No it's not good. I think I'm having a tank crash. Everything is looking horrible at the moment. I can't do a total water change because the rodi takes 10 hours just to fill 29 gallons.

I did add some prime to the tank to avoid ammonia from going any higher.

I'm doing a 20 % water change as we speak. But again I have to wait hours to get a new batch ready.

I think most death are at microscopic level. All the invertebrates and 3 fishes that are left are still alive. The fish are extremely lethargic and I'm unable to reach them.

I feel so bad right now. I can't go to square one again. I'm so frustrated and I don't have the necessary equipment to keep everything separated and under observation

 

[BlackTip]

Any change you want to do to your water, you do it slow... very slow. Over many hours, days, or even weeks.

 

[meeandcharlie]

Gosh I'm so sorry! You'll get through this and learn! I'm new, and please experienced reefers correct me so as to help OP if I'm wrong. I'm putting myself in your shoes...I would work on saving life. I would just get everything into fresh saltwater with same temp and salinity, I think in an emergency you can use tap water (not for your tank), and looks like you have prime on hand to treat it. Any container(s) will work. You'll just have to watch the temp if you cannot get a heater in it. Oxygenate and keep temp within range, then work on making the ro/di. I know my small ro/di only makes 50 gal per day, so I always have 30 gal fresh and 30 gal salt mix on hand for my 90 gal tank.

 

[Sk8r]

When you have a tank crash, never mind ro/di water---use Prime water conditioner on tap water, add salt, mix til clear (a potent pump can do it faster) and get the survivors into it.
When you re-set-up, yes, use ro/di, because what you put in your tank is the foundation of the next chemistry. But until then, it doesn't matter---it's temporary.

 

[Stolireef]

We've all been there and done stupid things either out of ignorance or by accident. If you have a local fish store nearby, I'd really recommend moving whatever livestock is still living to the LFS (Local Fish Store). Drain the tank, give everything a good rinse, and start over. If you had a small imbalance in your tank, you could probably tweak and water change your way out of it. With this type of thing, a restart will be both easier and far more likely to be successful.

As for dosing, with your livestock, I'd first test my freshly made saltwater for CA and kH. If they are in the range of 400-450 for Ca and 7-9 for kH, don't dose anything. As you're corals grow, test the water about weekly for those two. You should see very slow movement down on those numbers. Once you clearly identify that the numbers are moving down, you have shown that your tank is consuming them and you can start dosing. When you start dosing, go really slow. Try to first just get the numbers to stabilize. Once there, you can start slowly dialing things in to your livestocks' preferences.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

I have the remaining survivors in a quarantine tank. I'm still doing water changes. I think I might go and see how the rest of the day go. I can't take out everything at the moment. My fish tank is not easy to remove stuff. I will see how things goes.

I'm still trying to figure out what chemical reaction caused the havoc.

Again thank you all for the help.

 

[meeandcharlie]

You got this :dance: Good luck!

 

[elFloyd]

We've all done something like this.

Here is what I think caused the problems:
- Using the calculator link you posted, to raise magnesium from 1200 to 1300 requires 768 grams of Epsom salt. You added 1000 grams and raised magnesium from 1200 to 1400.
- Some undissolved Epsom salt was pumped into the display tank. This probably landed on your corals.
- Raising DKH from 7 to 12 very quickly is probably the biggest issue.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

What I cant understand is what element or reaction caused so much havoc. Was it the sulfate from the epson?

I know ph swing can take a heat, but PH hasnt change, only the DKH which went from 7 to 12. Stupid me...

Could methelyne blue help? They use it on fish that have suffered ammonia poisoning or are having problems breathing due to gill damage.


Sulfate is pretty toxic from what I understand.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

well I just came back to a break from work, still not looking good.

Ammonia still is in the roof (more than 2 ppm Im sure).

I can see little particles floating which would mean that lots of the micro life is dying and that could explain the high ammonia.

Snails, crabs and shrimps are still ok.

The remaining fish that I could not take out are no where to be seen. I suspect they are dead.

All my corals are looking horrible, even in the bucket. Im about to throw them away. I cant do much atm.

Making a new batch of water... I dont know if that will make any change. By the looks of it I will need the tank to cycle again.

Im really about to give up

 

[heathlindner25]

Might consider giving the livestock away before leaving.