Need Help...

[SSLVRNBLK]

Hi All,
I used CYANO SOLUTION for red algae.. Well it seems it killed my biological system because my Ammonia 2.0 and Nitrite .50 are way up I used it on Tuesday did a 50% water change on Wednesday 24 hours later.. It did a great job but now im nervious for my live stock and coral.. What should I do? All looks well and the only things I have lost is the new snails I added.. Which was two of them.. I have attached a photo to show the condition of the tank.. Please help..

 

[temet vince]

How's everything today? Still improving?

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Havent tested today still at work but will tonight.. It was the same yesterday maybe a little lower... Not sure what went wrong.. But other than a few snails I've lost nothing.. But to anyone wanting to learn anything from my experience I cant tell you how important a CUC is.. 3 snails and 3 Hermit Crabs is not even close to be enough... The reason I say this is with the proper CUC I dont think i would have used CYANO Solution and could of used that money on more coral..

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Tested and it is still VERY high.. What do you think is going on? What should I do? Would another water change help? Should I do a large water change?

 

[JEC11718]

i know that anytime I need to lower ammonia I do a wc.

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

i know that anytime I need to lower ammonia I do a wc.

How much? 25, 50, 75%?

 

[Chipie]

I would also add some Seachem Prime to the tank to take out the ammonia's toxicity.It's reef safe.

 

[jrsydevi1]

How much? 25, 50, 75%?

I would start with a 25% WC... more than that can cause more problems than it solves...

Check ur lvls again after a few days.. and if necessary.. do another 25% WC..

Thats what I would do..

 

[brandon429]

The only organisms affected by large water changes (100% daily for example) are your fish. Not the corals, not the bacteria, just fish.

Having detectable ammonia in the presence of reef organisms is the major concern, its killing off weak benthic animals etc IF thats a true test result.

The #1 rule in nano reefing regarding ammonia is never rest on your own test results

Too many wrong tests abound, even distilled water having none will register some ammonia to some testers...so, get a second interpretation preferably from an entirely different brand/type of test so we really know the measure

But, you have suspected ammonia and must act.

the likelihood of fish being stressed from successive big changes (100% was just an example) is smaller than the ammonia stress, so get to changing. All you have to do is match salinity and temps, nothing else, and pour back in slowly to avoid kicking up sandbed waste which is a secondary risk in big water changes...problems here are why many people think large water changes are harmful.

 

[brandon429]

also, based on your pictures I think you have no ammonia problems. Fish would be respiring at the surface of the tank, gills pumping and red, xenia would withdraw, no way its really that high. we have test error here I bet 95%, but that doesn't mean you are ammonia free it just means we need a second test asap.

I can tell by looking at the sandbed the tank isn't very old, so there are some natural options for cyano removal #1 is just repeated siphoning until it stops, #2 is getting turbo snails, #3 is peroxide it never causes a tank wipe out like you mentioned. Most people opt for #1/2 first.

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Thats great info brandon429.. How do I do a 100% water change without keeping coral out of water for sometime? Should I pour in as I take out? I need to do something because my xenia and RBTA are being affected.. Tomato Clown looks good though.. So im at a lost...

 

[brandon429]

you can save the tank. It looks wonderful really.

I have all or most of those same corals, all are tolerant of brief emersion!

So you do it ideally at night when polyps are withdrawn to lessen water-filled mass

But I've done some in the day.

There are many reef areas in nature that become emersed with coral exposure, some for hours.

Just drain water down half way or better, then refill slowly with matched clean change water

my tank has had this done over 300 times, no exaggeration there's video of a drain run on my YouTube page

Brief emersion for up to a few minutes, especially for such a benefit as nitrogenous waste removal, is great to do even when your tank is healthy

I have a video of my whole tank drained leaving the shrimp on the sand for a few mins, it will be ok

Try like a 70% change and then a follow up change if needed, that lessens impact on fish

Worst case scenario is total bed loss but that's unlikely from a known reef treatment.
If persistent ammonia occurs your fish have to be relocated, they are top ammonia producers and you could change water repeatedly to support coral until bed re establishes but I don't think this has occurred, pics are very sharp man.

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Ok did about a 80% water change and it lowered ammonia to .25 I will let everyone know how everyone fairs... It was at 2.0 before the change and hadnt lowered at all IMO.. So im not sure why it seems I lost all my biological seeding... Hoew long do you think it is going to take to catch back up?

 

[tomservo]

From what I have heard, most of the cyano killers are just antibiotics. Obviously, this could also kill a lot of 'innocent bystanders', hence the instructions for large water changes the day after, and some even say to do a series of changes.

The water changes also help remove the nutrients released by the dead cyano.

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

From what I have heard, most of the cyano killers are just antibiotics. Obviously, this could also kill a lot of 'innocent bystanders', hence the instructions for large water changes the day after, and some even say to do a series of changes.

The water changes also help remove the nutrients released by the dead cyano.

How long will it be before the good bacteria is back and my tank is stable?



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[NanoReefWanabe]

How long will it be before the good bacteria is back and my tank is stable?



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based on how long it takes a nitrate coil to start working i would say upwards of a month for biological populations to be where they should be...(also why cycling your tank properly takes upwards of a month)

as for 95-100% WC (you cant possibly get 100% of the water out), i have also done them in my system (~10G) i first completely empty the sump clean all the poop out and refill with clean water (return pump off) leave a circ pump going in the display...then i siphon out the display, i refill it within a couple minutes and all is fine, restart the pumps and my tank/ inhabitants never seem to skip a beat...night is the best time as mentioned, be sure to irritate the snot out of your corals that are open to force them to close...

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Tested water today and im at 1.0 again after being at .25 yesterday... I cant or I think i should be doing 100% water changes everyday... So do I just let it be and hope for the best?

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

get another test kit...i am thinking you kit is bad or expired...your fish and corals will not live long exposed to toxic levels of ammonia...that said if you had those levels of ammonia in your tank i would think everything would be toast by now..

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

But I tested Fresh mixed salt water to insure my test kit was working and it was at zero as I would expect.. I hear what your saying and I cant explain it but I do trust my test results... I just want to know how to handle this situation? Do I start a small 5 gallon tank and change 20% daily until my DT gets better?

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Here is a picture from tonight...