Package Part 2

[cprice79]

First off and to be repetitive of my first post...WOW....the package is fantastic...the colors are fantastic and the rocks were crawling with life.

I want to share my experience from the first part. From a first timer it was fairly easy...

I monitored the water twice a day (pH, Alkanlity, Nitrite, Nitrate and Ammonia) and did partial water changes everyday as the ammonia level climbed above .5 ppm. I had one BIG ammonia spike. I pulled the rocks and found one sponge spewing funk. Other than that I have been lucky and I have had no issues.

I do have a couple of questions...

1. How do you attach the sponges to the rock?
2. The peppermint shrimp that was supplied was DOA. Is this a critical part of the package or can it be replaced later?

 

[noahm]

Attaching stuff is easiest for me when I use the superglue/epoxy sandwich method. plumbers epoxy/frag epoxy/marine epoxy (any 2 part approved for potable water use) and superglue gel. The epoxy doesn't initially stick well to rocks or sponges or frags, so put a gob of superglue gel on the base of the coral (for sponges just tip them upside down so just the base is at the surface of the water--DONT take them out). Be liberal with the gel. Now take a ball of epoxy that you've made and smush it gently onto the glued base. Now apply more gel to the bottom of the epoxy ball. Now flip over the sponge and push the base/ball onto the rock while giving it a half twist. This will break the film of the superglue gel and push the stuff into the pores of the rock for a good secure fit. Hold for 30 sec and you should be fine. It will take the epoxy 30 mins or so to really be strong, so don't go banging into it for a while.


It helps if you clean the spot with a toothbrush first as well. Also, on everything but the sponges, you can pat the base dry with a paper towel to help the glue stick. Also, try not to squeeze the base of the sponges too much when pushing it onto the rock. If you have some smaller rocks to attack them to, it can be helpful so you can move them around a bit if they don't seem too happy. With sponges, a lot can depend on orientation. Many kinds are meant to be getting flow from a certain direction and have grown their cells accordingly. If it doesn't seem happy, give it a turn.

Don't think you can tease us with no pics either....

 

[cprice79]

The saltwater gods are laughing right now...I got home to do my evening test....DEATH zone. I find dead crabs, dead shrimp, the sea cucumber is dead, the little fish that came in the package is gone, the anenome didnt make it....All thats left are some snails, hermit crabs and the starfish is still moving (well see if he hangs around) I test the water ammonia > 5 ppm. Immediately start a water change and start going through the rocks to find the culprit. One of the rocks that was nearly encrusted with sponges was FOUL. I took it out of the water and it reeked up the entire room. It was bad enough to send my daughter and wife scrambling out of the room. So now I am faced with a dilemma.

I am going to make sure the tank settles down before I kill any other animals...can someone provide a list of animals I should restock?

 

[noahm]

:hmm4: Bummer!

Give richard an jingle via email. He is great and will likely work with you on this one. I don't know how big of a package you had, but at the very least, you are going to want a full complement of snails and most of your hermits. You will want the cuke (s) as well. The nems are cool, but not necessary. Just make sure you get all the dead crabs and stuff out of there. Now that the offender is out, you'll be surprised what pulls through with water changes.

 

[cprice79]

Well the starfish gave up the ghost...meaning that one rock with 3 bad sponges wiped out an entire tank....valuable lesson.....

Do larger tanks have them same issue as them nano tanks?

 

[noahm]

Larger tanks have way more room to buffer the dead stuff. I have had a few decent sized things die in my 125 with no measurable ammonia spike at all. Nanos are very difficult for that very reason until things are really settled in. Even then, it is just more difficult. A lot of people have a bigger tank and a nano. That way, they can do ultra fast regular water changes on the nano with good stable tank water from the big one. Best thing is to keep a whole batch or water available for change at any time.

Glad you seem to be taking this in stride. Don't give up.

 

[cprice79]

Rise and shine to a 5am water change. Had another good ammonia spike...The sponges are the only thing left in the tank besides the rock...Went through and did the smell test again but I couldnt find a culprit....I can definitely see how people get discourage....

My water test had been spot on till Package 2....which hence forth will be called the "Package of Death"

A bigger tank definitely seems to be the way to go

 

[liverock]

Rise and shine to a 5am water change. Had another good ammonia spike...The sponges are the only thing left in the tank besides the rock...Went through and did the smell test again but I couldnt find a culprit....I can definitely see how people get discourage....

My water test had been spot on till Package 2....which hence forth will be called the "Package of Death"

A bigger tank definitely seems to be the way to go

Bummer .....let it calm down...then email me.....we will get it happy again.......and do the nose test on the rock again if you have any ammonia issues....

we can't let your little one be unhappy!

Richard TBS

 

[cprice79]

Hahaha....shes still happy although we had to have the where do fishes go when they die talk with her...

 

[liverock]

Hahaha....shes still happy although we had to have the where do fishes go when they die talk with her...

Is weird that the tank was so happy....then went south with part two so quick...as I told you...small tanks=tough.....things can change real fast....but .....it does happen sometimes.....


not to worry, as none of my customers fail at this...I make sure of that!


Get the chemistry back in line....and we will make it happy again....

sea ya
Richard TBS

 

[cprice79]

Is weird that the tank was so happy....then went south with part two so quick...as I told you...small tanks=tough.....things can change real fast....but .....it does happen sometimes.....


not to worry, as none of my customers fail at this...I make sure of that!


Get the chemistry back in line....and we will make it happy again....

sea ya
Richard TBS

no worries Richard.....I am still a satisfied customer and I appreciate the knowledge you have shared....things happen and it probably doesn't help that I'm a newb and I learning on the job

 

[liverock]

no worries Richard.....I am still a satisfied customer and I appreciate the knowledge you have shared....things happen and it probably doesn't help that I'm a newb and I learning on the job

But I am unhappy......so...when it does calm down...let me know what you lost....and we will make it/you/daughter happy again!

I have another cute little fish for her!

Richard TBS:lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:

 

[cprice79]

So we battled ammonia spikes pretty much all Friday and I have decided its basically down to a hail mary...

The strategy is basically to go back to square one....

I took all the rocks out of the tank...inspected each closely and scrubbed off basically everything that was even borderline suspect. Then I vacuumed out all the dead worms and other crap that had accummulated since the nuclear bomb went off in my tank. After everything was all cleaned up I did a >50% water change and I spiked the tank with more new tank bacteria that I picked up at the LFS store.

So far so good....through repeated testing today I have not seen a huge ammonia spike (its staying below 1ppm) unlike yesterday where the level was above 2.5 ppm multiple times...

One question though...I have noticed the Alkalanity has been high. The salanity of water is good and the pH is right in the 8.1-8.2 range. Should I be concerned and if so how would I bring it down with throwing off the pH?

 

[liverock]

So we battled ammonia spikes pretty much all Friday and I have decided its basically down to a hail mary...

The strategy is basically to go back to square one....

I took all the rocks out of the tank...inspected each closely and scrubbed off basically everything that was even borderline suspect. Then I vacuumed out all the dead worms and other crap that had accummulated since the nuclear bomb went off in my tank. After everything was all cleaned up I did a >50% water change and I spiked the tank with more new tank bacteria that I picked up at the LFS store.

So far so good....through repeated testing today I have not seen a huge ammonia spike (its staying below 1ppm) unlike yesterday where the level was above 2.5 ppm multiple times...

One question though...I have noticed the Alkalanity has been high. The salanity of water is good and the pH is right in the 8.1-8.2 range. Should I be concerned and if so how would I bring it down with throwing off the pH?

Good job on the rebound....the good news is the tank will have much better chemistry to start with.....so give it 10 days or so....and we can get it fixed!

Don't mess with the alk......is a result of the melt....it will come around when we get it going again...

sea ya
Richard TBS

 

[fuzzybub]

Where did you get the new tank Bacteria? Nolans?

 

[cprice79]

Alright...I'm happy to report that order has been successfully restored to my nano-tank universe!! The tank has re-cycled and everything has settled down nicely I did wind up pulling out a couple of the live rocks that seemed to be problematic with near constant die off. Not sure what to do with them at this point. My initial thoughts where to let them air dry, scrub everything that I can off and then let them cure in buckets of water before adding them back to the tank. I don't want to add them back to the tank until it is more established/mature. Thanks to everyone for their input and help through this learning experience!!