Tank Crashing!!

Chef Reef

Chef Reef

In Memoriam
If anyone could please help me or has any idea why my tank would be crashing.. i came out this morning and my angel was dead. lion was in the proccess of dying. checked water.. paramiters were a little off but were fine last i checked. so made new water have everything living in the new water. i have no idea what to do now. things have been dying in my new water still..

Dead list:
Singapore angel
Dwarf fuzzy lion
Damsel
Cleaner shrimp
neon green feather duster
corals probbably dead. not looking good..
cant find my goby.

Things alive.
Ribbon eel <--- HELP!
hermat crab
a few mushrooms.
SS star

I dont have a back up tank so i cant just switch everything over. if anyone knows what might be wrong or what i need to do post or call me #(505) 480 - 8482.

PS nothing was in my tank that could nuke it.
 
Last edited:
Hey Folks, he lives in Pembroke Pines, don't let the 505 area code scare you. I've already spoken to him and don't have any idea what might be going on.
 
What do you mean by parameters were a "little" off. What are your readings?

Once things start dyeing, parameters can change rather quickly.

Without knowing a cause, water changes and lots of carbon are about the only "quick fix" you may want to try until the problem can be isolated.

"New" water can also be a shock on a system. Aged water is much better. Maybe pick some up at the LFS rather than using freshly made from home. Just a thought.

Sorry to hear of your losses and good luck. Keep us posted.
 
dont have time to run to LFS yer. Carlos is goona let me put eel and what not in his sump for now. i have no carbon to run. Everybodys in bucket right now.

My
nitrates -20.0 ppm
nitrite - 0.50 ppm
ammonia - 0.50 ppm
P.H. - 8.2
 
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how much water change did you do?
theres a formula to do this if you need massive water changes.
some people have taken out over 50% of their water and sometimes that can be a big mistake.
ill try an see if i can find an article for you.

also coral fragger is right, what are your params???
 
didnt do a water change. everything was in the proccess of dying so i just put them in new water. no idea what im doing.. never had a crash before. crals are on the iffy side. shrroms look to be the only thing doing "ok".
 
As good as your intentions were, putting them in 100% new water might actually cause more harm as clockwurk just mentioned. What's done is done at this point.
 
i think your bioload is too much for that small tank. eels poop alot. 1 fish might have died from the small ammonia spike and shocked your tank, and then it slowly got worse.
 
rodger i think thats where there problem is. i just started using RO?DI water for the water changes now after my "Tap-Water anyone?" thread. i think something might have gotten into my water becuase its under the sink with everything else. i know i didnt drop anything in it but there are 2 other people in this house that might have and didnt say anything. yes i tested for ammonia its at .50 ppm. iv never had a problem with my bio load i keep a close watch on it becuase i know its a little much for only a 30 gal never had a problem with my ammonia before..
 
My guess is same as bawla and Rogger. Small tank, maybe not enough live rock, too big of bio load for the tank. I don't see a skimmer in the picture either.

If it were me, I would put the live rock back in the tank without any of the live stock. Add some more rock if you don't have close to 40 lbs already. Let the tank finish its cycle and start putting live stock back in slowly after reevaluating the amount of live stock you can safely house. And consider skimmer if you don't have a HOB one that I missed in the picture.
 
ya i have a skimmer. its a HOB. theres about 35 lbs of LR in the tank. im in the proccess of setting up a sump/fuge right now. the sump
 
Do you have any prime at home? It neutralizes Ammonia and Nitrite as well as removes chlorine. I keep a bottle at home for Hurricane season...but if you are using tapwater...what are you using to remove chlorine? If you are using prime, you can use up to 4x the recremended dose just a little FYI...
 
a little update..

Eel is doing ok still found the goby he's fine. hermet fine SS star fine. everything else is dead. cant tell on the corals yet.. GSP closed.. Xenia closed. Ric's are fine. Zoa's closed.

Im not sure of what to do with the tank right now. im running a little carbon that dex had left over and put in a little prime but im not sure what else to do. do i need a water change? how much? do i need the tank to sit for awhile? can i keep using the water/sand if a chemical went in the water on accident like i think? is carbon enough to get it out? the chemical can be anything from ajax,windex,lysol to soap.. again never had a prob with the bio load before. onlything kinda new is the eel but i have a 75 gal that im setting up to fix this prob if it is a bio load issue.. how long can my fish stay in these buckets? do i NEED to relocate them for awhile?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11114461#post11114461 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by invertigator
make sure the temp in the buckt is ok. If the AC is on and you dont have a heater in there it will get cold fast.
Click to expand...

thanks forgot about that. will add it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11113532#post11113532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chef Reef
i just started using RO?DI water for the water changes now after my "Tap-Water anyone?" thread.
Click to expand...

(assuming your purchased an RO/DI unit)
When you started using the RO/DI, did you discard the first several gallons of water it produced? The RO membrane is filled with a preserving solution that is NOT safe for your tank. It needs to be flushed for a while before you can safely use the water.

If some of that preservative made it into your tank, it could explain the dieoff that triggered your high amm readings.
 
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