Tank Crashing!!

[Chef Reef]

im not sure, i got it for free and the membranes have been used before but iv had it sitting for about 2 months without using it. could this be the harm? i did not replace the membranes cause the guy said they should still be good for a few more months of use. i trust the guy i got it from he is my father in law after all so i know he wouldnt lie to me on the useage part but could the fact that it sat there for awhile without being used be the problem?

 

[Ding2daDong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11114601#post11114601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeffbrig
(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.

I was thinking the same thing. I had to discard about 90 gallons before the tds was 0.

Do a huge water change with matched ph, temp. Get all the dead out.

hth

-Matthew

 

[Chef Reef]

ok so im out of a PH buffer. used the last of it a few months back. whats a good brand to use? how much is a huge water change? 15 gal? 20 gal? btw i dont have a TDS meter to test it. i think carlos is gonna let me borrow his.

What all do i need to do to make this tank good again?
1. Big water change.
2. run carbon
3. ????? <-- what else?

 

[Chef Reef]

ok so my tank is doing fine now.. the paramiters are going back down almost completely zero. fish and corals are still in hospital buckets. set up my sump finally and am running carbon. did a water change that helped. gonna make sure theres not gonna be an ammonia spike from the LR being outta the tank for about an hour or so..

How long should i wait to make sure theres not gonna be a spike? is there anything else i could do to help the tank? thanks everyone for your help i think the eel and goby will be fine. as far as the corals i haven't seen the GSP yet nor the xenia but the zoa's are starting to come back out. and the rics have been open almost this whole time.

Thanks!

 

[coralfragger101]

The fish are in an even smaller quantity of water now. Start checking parameters on the buckets. Do water changes to keep the parameters in check.

I wouldn't put back in the main tank till Ammonia and Nitrites are at zero and holding and your nitrates are low.

 

[demonsp]

Your SB needs to go. If this is a FO then its only going to collect nitrates. Skimmer needed. I see you use RO now thank god.
You need to take a couple steps back and rethink the whl system.
Just research a Fo tank and see where you can improve. Problem wont go away over night but FO tanks can take alot off abuse compared to a reef tank. GL

 

[Chef Reef]

sand bed isnt going anywhere.. i like the look and am starting corals. have a skimmer .. have 2 of em actualy.. and a sump.. i know how a FO tank works. thanks though.. tank is fine and back under control.

 

[Chef Reef]

sorry had to repost pictures for a different thread..

 

[Wolfmann81]

Is that fish tank sitting on a desk, with the ends of the tank not supported. That is definitely going to break dude, no doubt about it. It will literally break one of these days.

 

[coralfragger101]

I was actually looking at stands today and how they are constructed. I was shocked to find stands that literally only support the ends as well as ones that only supported the sides (the long way).

 

[Wolfmann81]

Interesting, I have never seen that before.

I am sure that is stands/tanks that are specically designed to be able to do that. Any old tank certainly will have some 'eventual' major issues if not supported all of the way around.

 

[coralfragger101]

I'm talking AGA stands and the other one I can't think of at the moment. These were name brand stands at Big Als that did not have support all the way around.

Some AGA's that are longer than 24" ended up being supported at the short sides and then one across the middle of the stand. But that means you only had the ends as well as the middle supported on the long side of the tank.

I was amazed myself but figured there must be tons of folks out there already that have tanks sitting on stands like this with no issues.

 

[Chef Reef]

hmm i really didnt think it was a big deal i had no idea that it could be a problem. hope it stays fine untill there new home is cycled.