What just happened! Everything is melting

Jah2707

Jah2707

Member
I just did a 5 gallon water change on my 40 gallon tank. I made sure the temperature and salitity was the same. When I got down to the bottom of my bucket I noticed some blueish granule type things. Then when I went to mix another bucket of water for the next water change I realized the wire that goes to the pump was cut almost into. It had been leaking electricity into the water change water!! Now That I look at my tank everything this looks like it is melting. What do I do! I am mixing some more water right now with a different pump but should I do a water change with just mixed saltwater? My crabs are freaking out and mushrooms are about an 1/8 of there original size. I already pulled out my some of my lps and put them in my other tank.

Please help.
 
I knew someone would need some parameters. I just did some
pH8.1
calcium 410
nitite 0
ammona 0
nitrate 10

temp 81

Anyone know what could be killing everything in my tank and how do I stop it! It looks like my frog spawn is puffing out like really big.
 
As big a water change as you can and add fresh carbon and Poly-Filter or Cuprisorb. I would use the carbon and Poly-Filter/Cuprisorb aggressively ( reactor, canister filter,..etc.)

I would continue to do water changes until things looked better/normal.
 
ok ok I have carbon going and I am getting ready to do a ten gallon water change with very fresh saltwater. My skimmer is going crazy. It is a back pack and it is filling up right away!! I moved most of the corals into my bigger tank. Sould I try moving the shimp and fish also? Will the temp shock kill them?
 
If you have another tank i would move everything until that tank gets stable.If your skimmer is goin nuts then there is something in the water.

Make sure you test the make-up water,there could be something in the bucket you are using.
 
Re: What just happened! Everything is melting

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11883178#post11883178 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jhuggins
I realized the wire that goes to the pump was cut almost into.
Click to expand...
Was the copper wire exposed, underwater? I'm wondering if the new water was full of copper. If so, it might explain the stress on your inverts -- you don't mention fish, so I'm assuming they didn't react violently like the invertebrates did.

I would definitely move your inverts to another tank with clean water, and run some carbon, cuprasorb, polyfilter, whatever you've got on hand -- all the little inverts in the rock will be reacting as well and you want to take steps to prevent a die-off that could lead to a crash.

I'd go to the LFS tomorrow if it's at all possible, get a copper test kit and cuprasorb or polyfilter to soak up any Cu you find. Best of luck, my fingers are crossed for you :)
 
Thank everyone for your help. It is the same bucket I have used for months now. wow copper wire crap crap crap. I do have a fish. It is a watchmen golby but it hasn't came out of it hole. I even tried to feed it and it is still hiding. I moved all of the main coral out now but I can't move the shrimp because I have a marine betta that would love to make a snack out of him. I think I am going to hold off on the water change and go buy another bucket.
 
sounds like you ran a current through your tank. I did the same when my heater broke. My polyps were stunted for 2 weeks and since I have lost two of my tangs, which is somewhat indircetly related.

Get a grounding probe and make sure you dont have any more current running through your tank.
 
The pump with the bad cut wire was not in the tank. It was in the bucket of new saltwater. I was stirring it. It must have released copper and other junk in the water. It is amazing how much damage five gallons of water can do. My cap looks completely dead, recordias are goo, mushrooms are still an 1/8 of there size and the frog spawn I left in there is showing its skeleton and you can only see a little bit of its head. My shrimp is about dead it is all shriveled up. Can copper really do that much damage in a little less then three hours?
 
1. You did not electrocute anything. Electricity doesnt work that way. You could have a lightning bolt hit a bucket of water, then proceed to pour the water into the tank and it will experience zero electricity. Put another way, a bucket of water does not hold any electricity like a battery

2. If a circuit really was being completed through the water, my best guess is that it caused the copper wire to diffuse copper into the water VERY RAPIDLY. In spite of the fact that you don't mention anything about any fuse being blown, this is probably still my best guess. That, or somehow the cord was heating up the insulation material to such a degree that it somehow poisoned the water with who-knows-what the cord's made out of. To test if your water is full of copper, take a cup of it to the bank and say you'd like to exchange for nickels, and based on how many nickels they give you, it should be pretty simple math. <<just kidding about that last part. You have my deep sympathy man, I would feel terrible. Hope for the best.
 
I'm not sure but I wouldn't think that copper would make a skimmer go crazy. Is it possible that there was some kind of residue in the bucket? What kind of salt and/or buffer were you using?
 
What are the bluish granule type things you describe?

Stray voltage from a cut wire would have probably electrocuted you as soon as you touched the water. So I do not believe that was the case.

I am not aware of anything bluish that should be put into a reef tank. Soap or copper most likely.

Skimmer going crazy could be soap in your tank.

If that is the case, a full breakdown and scrubbing with 100% water change is the order of the day.

Does anyone else have access to your water change bucket?
 
ask randy farley holmes did i spell that correctly? anyways, being a chemist he might know what I'm trying to describe about the copper diffusing into the water with the aid of electricity. It's teh whole basis behind anodized cookware
 
Thanks for all of the replies.

widmer - bucket of water does not hold any electricity like a battery - yeah I knew that much but I didn't think about copper diffusing in water.

dp reefer - that is what I was thinking. I know it killed my shrimp so I also thought copper but I guess if inverts were dieing that would also cause the skimmer to go crazy. (it is still going crazy this morning.) I have a couple different kinds of salt. (big sale last year) I will check and see which one I used.)


airinhere - the bluish granules were like blue salt or residue in the bottom of the bucket. I don't know about being electrocuted but I do know that when I tried to use the pump again it didn't work so I put my hand in the storage water container to shake the pump a little bit I definitely got hit by some stray electricity. It felt like some was stabbing my hand at the same time punching me in the chest. Then when I pulled the pump out of the water one part of the wire was cut in half and the other part was showing.

I asked my wife about using the bucket but she said she didn't use it for anything. (I have written with big black marker "reef" on everything that is used in my tanks.)

Well I am still lost. This morning it looked like my kenya tree was still in there. It is usually about 8 by 6 inches but the stalk was the only think left. Everything else has just melted away.

I am going to throw that bucket away and the pump!
 
I wonder if the voltage (you did indeed get shocked, lucky to still be alive) coupled with the high salinity caused a massive copper diffusion into your new salt water mix. That large of a copper dose would certainly make your corals and inverts go crazy trying to survive. Those that died would cause the skimmer to go off scale as their bodies break down and proteins are released into the tank.

Good luck.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11884422#post11884422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dp reefer
I'm not sure but I wouldn't think that copper would make a skimmer go crazy. Is it possible that there was some kind of residue in the bucket? What kind of salt and/or buffer were you using?
Click to expand...

The copper wouldn't directly, but if it is making his softies melt, all of that protein and mucus would make a skimmer go crazy.

Copper as an element is the new penny color we are familiar with, but in chemical compounds it is often blue. The blue granules in the bottom make me think of copper sulfate crystals. If this is the case, enough copper was released into the water to actually make it crash out and precipitate.
 
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The Bak-Pak skimmers go crazy when you add large quantities of fresh saltwater to your tank. Mine does the same thing when I do a large water change, say over 10%. It is not taking out any imputities. When doing water changes you need to shut off your skimmer first or move the collection cup up higher.
 
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