Is my tank crashing before my eyes?

[TMIAAL]

Hey All

12 gallon nano here. Fully cycled with a cocktail shrimp. Had levels at zero for a couple weeks just to make sure before I added any stock. First added a CUC of 4 astreas and 4 nassarius to take care of the algae and they went to town on it.

Next added a small frag of zoas and 2 heads of frogspawn. Both were doing great. About a week and a half later, I decided to add a cleaner shrimp and some shrooms. Shrooms (3 heads total) came on a small piece of rock from LFS. This seems to be where the trouble started. I noticed some aiptasia and other undesirables on that new piece of rock so I was fidgeting around in the tank yesterday a good deal trying to deal with that. Yesterday, everything was looking good. Zoas were opened, frogspawn was really spread out, snails cruising along, and the shrimp was shy, but eating.

Today I woke up and it was a whole different story. Snails not moving at all and even just falling off the walls upside down. Zoas haven't opened up at all. Frogspawn is incredibly shriveled up. Shrooms are shriveled too. Also got some small frags on plugs delivered this morning that were ordered before all this happened. Acclimated them, dipped them, and put them on the bottom of the tank. They are all shriveled and/or not opening.

I've got a Coral Box Moon LED lighting system, but have turned it down a bit to let the corals adjust. All lights are 30-40% max.

I've been paranoid and doing lots of water testing and nothing has been abnormal.

Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, are all zero. PH is around 7.8-8ish. Water temp is consistently 79. Salinity is 1.023ish (slowly trying to raise it a bit).


Ordinarily I would think that this is just a case of corals getting used to a new tank, but based on how my previous corals have responded and the way my snails are acting, I'm panicking a bit. I'm worried that I may have had a trace of something deadly on me when I was messing around with the aiptasia and new rock.


Any suggestions or insight on this? Do I just have to wait it out? Any other info I can provide to be more helpful?

 

[mcgyvr]

do some larger water changes and run some carbon if you think you may have accidentally added some "chemical" that shouldn't be there..

 

[TMIAAL]

do some larger water changes and run some carbon if you think you may have accidentally added some "chemical" that shouldn't be there..

Thanks for the response. I have chemipure in the back of the tank. I guess I have no reason to believe that I added a chemical to the water, I'm just racking my brain to think of what it could be with otherwise "normal" parameters.

 

[mcgyvr]

could be that you just disturbed them messing around in the tank too..

I'd do water changes just in case and see how it goes..

 

[dastrder]

What did you do to "deal" with the aiptasia?

 

[TMIAAL]

What did you do to "deal" with the aiptasia?

Took the rock out and sliced off the aiptasia with a knife. Had to do it a few times, because I didn't fully get the sneaky bastard.

 

[dastrder]

Start by doing a 20-30% water change and then wait and watch. Maybe you did just disturb them. Maybe there is a little chemical warfare going on. Try and keep your hands out of the tank for awhile.

 

[heathlindner25]

Took the rock out and sliced off the aiptasia with a knife. Had to do it a few times, because I didn't fully get the sneaky bastard.

If one cell was left,they will be back. I prefer a blow torch

 

[TMIAAL]

Water change sounds like a plan. I had just done about a 15% change last week.
I'll get the water started today and do it tomorrow morning. Hoping everything survives until then...

Thanks for the input so far

 

[Sapelo]

Just curious if your parameters are all still zero?
Unfortunately 12 gallons doesn't give you a lot of room for problems, a little bit has a big impact.

 

[TMIAAL]

Just curious if your parameters are all still zero?
Unfortunately 12 gallons doesn't give you a lot of room for problems, a little bit has a big impact.

Checked twice today. Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Phosphate all at zero

 

[OrQidz]

I hope things improve....are you sure about your tests? Sometimes they can get out of date, or faulty, or whatnot.

 

[TMIAAL]

I hope things improve....are you sure about your tests? Sometimes they can get out of date, or faulty, or whatnot.

Bought them a couple months ago and they don't expire until 2020

 

[TMIAAL]

Well waited it out and things are looking better this morning. Didn't wake up to any suicidial snails. Most corals are open even though the lights aren't fully on yet. I think I'm gonna hold off on the water change for a day to limit the amount of changes going on in the tank. Hope things continue to improve.

Thanks for the help

 

[Sk8r]

You're testing a stony coral beginning reef now. You need salinity/temperature/alkalinity/calcium/magnesium at minimum. One of these may be your problem. Plus the fact that softies like mushrooms and zoas don't like stonies like frogspawn and vice versa. Go up to the parameters sticky and to the red arrow sticky: meanwhile water changes and carbon, plus test kits. Salifert is my choice.