Ferguson1977
New member
I started a tank cleaning and water change today at 4PM on my 65 gallon. I started off taking two pieces of live rock out that were covered in bubble algae and replaced it with a dry rock I had. It was on the bottom so it mixed the sand a little. When I moved the rocks, I needed some space to place frags so I put in a frag rack I have. I was scared to use this rack because one of the magnets has a tear in the coating and I can see the metal (brass/copper colored). I was in a pinch, therefore I covered the exposed area in thick super glue and used it. It was in the tank for about 2 hours.
So, I'm taking my time, picking algae off of frags, cleaning glass, etc. Around 7PM I got around to pumping the water out of the tank. I did other things for about 50 minutes and was about to start filling the tank back up. That's when I noticed my wantanabe angel sitting on the bottom and he was turning black. I started checking my other fish and my orange back wrasse was swimming funny, my blue spot jawfish was black and barely breathing, my swissguard was stunned and my kole tang was pale. My 2 cardinals were fine. I immediately filled the tank and got the pump running. This took maybe 10 minutes and by now my wrasse and angel were upside down and taking their last breaths. I hoped the fresh water would get through them but they were barely breathing and died.
It did seem to help the other fish though, it didn't take long for the kole to get its color back and swimming all over the tank. The jawfish is still dark but is breathing, moving and sitting straight. The basslet is also hovering in a cave so hopefully they are recovering. I also added some fresh carbon about 5 minutes after filling the tank to absorb any toxins.
I cannot determine what the cause was here, so would like some opinions. All corals look great, only fish were affected. I did test the old tank water for nitrates and they are 1ppm so I don't think I caused a big spike by disturbing the 1" sandbed I have.
Lack of oxygen seems the most logical but I am surprised my fish were affected in only 4 hours of no circulation. I was in and out of the tank constantly so there was some water disturbance. I also do weekly/biweekly cleaning/water changes that take 2-3 hours sometimes and never had an issue before.
As far as the metal from the magnet, lets say my glue didn't cover the exposed area....the part that was exposed was hairline and about 1/4" long. How possible is it that it poisoned my tank in the 2 hours it was in there?
Any other possibilities?
So, I'm taking my time, picking algae off of frags, cleaning glass, etc. Around 7PM I got around to pumping the water out of the tank. I did other things for about 50 minutes and was about to start filling the tank back up. That's when I noticed my wantanabe angel sitting on the bottom and he was turning black. I started checking my other fish and my orange back wrasse was swimming funny, my blue spot jawfish was black and barely breathing, my swissguard was stunned and my kole tang was pale. My 2 cardinals were fine. I immediately filled the tank and got the pump running. This took maybe 10 minutes and by now my wrasse and angel were upside down and taking their last breaths. I hoped the fresh water would get through them but they were barely breathing and died.
It did seem to help the other fish though, it didn't take long for the kole to get its color back and swimming all over the tank. The jawfish is still dark but is breathing, moving and sitting straight. The basslet is also hovering in a cave so hopefully they are recovering. I also added some fresh carbon about 5 minutes after filling the tank to absorb any toxins.
I cannot determine what the cause was here, so would like some opinions. All corals look great, only fish were affected. I did test the old tank water for nitrates and they are 1ppm so I don't think I caused a big spike by disturbing the 1" sandbed I have.
Lack of oxygen seems the most logical but I am surprised my fish were affected in only 4 hours of no circulation. I was in and out of the tank constantly so there was some water disturbance. I also do weekly/biweekly cleaning/water changes that take 2-3 hours sometimes and never had an issue before.
As far as the metal from the magnet, lets say my glue didn't cover the exposed area....the part that was exposed was hairline and about 1/4" long. How possible is it that it poisoned my tank in the 2 hours it was in there?
Any other possibilities?
