water change and now looks like everything is Dying

[Musicians Reef Too]

Another question for you what test kits are you using?

Using a few different test kits, API and the Red Sea Marine Lab primarily; everything is corresponding with each other.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I would ask someone here if they wouldn't mind testing with salifert kits as well and maybe someone with a hanna meter could test your water as well.

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

Any idea what caused the ammonia spike?

We have a few ideas. First we thought that the problem was in the xenias we added about a month or so ago. For some reason pulsing xenias have never done well in this tank. We brought home a handful of stalks, and slowly they've been decaying, so since there was such a quantity of them, it's possible that the decay traveled throughout the tank. We also purchased a large green Sinularia around the same time, which was doing great in the tank up until about a week ago; it started wilting and then turned pitch black out of nowhere. There were a few contributing factors it seems.

Nonetheless, everything else was doing fine. However, when Jaynie realized that the ammonia was high in the tank she decided to do a massive water change, and in the process she hastily added the wrong bucket of premade salt water; instead of adding the heated water, she added a recently mixed bucket of water that was still cold. When she realized her error, she then added a second heater to the tank and rapidly brought the water temperature up...obviously a bad move that wasn't thoroughly thought through at the time. It was all downhill from there. Piece by piece we continued to lose corals due to the shock of the temperature change.

So now, the current situation is that we've salvaged whatever corals were left in tact by moving them to our smaller tank; they're doing well there and hopefully will continue to do so until the large tank is under control again and we're able to transport them back to where they belong.

Basically, we're now cycling the tank over again with fresh water (fresh as in new and clean, not actual fresh water ) and fresh coraline covered live rock. The fish are being held for us until everything is under control again.

Thank you for everyone's care and concern.

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

I would ask someone here if they wouldn't mind testing with salifert kits as well and maybe someone with a hanna meter could test your water as well.

Mr. Softy brought over his test kits also, and we had Aqua Hut test the water as well...

 

[georgelc86]

I never been to AquaHut or know people there but no disrepect, isnt AquaHut the same cats that told Jaynie that DE filters out ammonia. I wouldnt trust them.

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

I never been to AquaHut or know people there but no disrepect, isnt AquaHut the same cats that told Jaynie that DE filters out ammonia. I wouldnt trust them.

At this point it's past the point of testing anyway. The tank crashed, everything decayed, it's obvious there was/is a problem. So many different people tested the water with so many different testing sources, so at this point we've already identified the problem; the thing to do now is to FIX IT! :irked: Thanks for your input though, George :splitspin

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

glad to hear some progress there.

you guys mentioned hastily mix water-so, was the water still cloudy (disregard to the temperature for the moment) when t was poured to the DT?

right after pouring of this cold hastile mixed water, did the xenia withered and mushroom tug in, let say within half a minute?

another note, if your 24g is back in action, make sure you don't keep Jame's RBTA-it's too big for your setup.

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

glad to hear some progress there.

you guys mentioned hastily mix water-so, was the water still cloudy (disregard to the temperature for the moment) when t was poured to the DT?

right after pouring of this cold hastile mixed water, did the xenia withered and mushroom tug in, let say within half a minute?

another note, if your 24g is back in action, make sure you don't keep Jame's RBTA-it's too big for your setup.

Well, the water wasn't hastily mixed. It had been mixed already, just not heated. It was in haste that we grabbed the wrong bucket of water to add to the tank; the only problem with the water was the temperature, there was no cloudiness when it was added to the tank. The xenia and sinularia had begun to die off prior to the water change, which we believe is what caused the ammonia to spike. The cold water, and then the change back to warm water after throwing the heater in the tank, is what caused the corals to stress and begin to decay.

The tank's actually a 29 gallon, but you're still right. :tongue1: Jaynie's already gotten in touch with James and asked that he relist the RBTA to be auctioned off; otherwise, we'd like to donate him to Mr. Softy for all of his assistance in this. James, you can decide what you'd like to do.

To update on our progress, Mr. Softy came over this afternoon and actually just left a little while ago. He replaced all of our LR with his own coraline-covered LR, and took most of our fish and corals to keep until we are up and running again. We drained all of the water out of the tank, mixed up the sand, and are basically starting over again.

The 12 gallon is still doing well, and will hopefully continue to do so now that we lightened its load by having John house some of the corals.

I think that's it for tonight...it's been a long day. Thanks so much, John, for all of your help; we appreciate everything!

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

By the way, Wingo, how's your boat? :tongue1:

 

[dickenscd]

Jaynie,

Don't give up. I will give you some corals after you have completed the cycling of your tank. Meanwhile, please stop by my office or give me your address so that I can refund your donation to MR for the RBTA.

Personally I feel keeping small tanks is much more chanlleging than keeping big tanks. Onetime I was almost absent from this hobby, I had no water change or test of my 240G reef tank with 270G sump for several years, some corals including the RBTA still grew very well.

Once you have learned how to solve the problems of a 29G tank, big tanks like the one you saw in my office or at Atlantis can be piece of cake.



James

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

By the way, Wingo, how's your boat? :tongue1:

Still at James' lot. I know he is going to kill me(I can feel the force already) for not taking it away. There some other finer logistics I have to work out before I can move it to my place

 

[Jaynie1028]

Thanks James. I would like to go bigger but at this time really dont have any room for it in my apartment. We are looking into buying a home and when we do so we are going to have a big tank installed into the wall. So I just have to make do with the 29 for now.

As of right now the 29 gallon is doing ok. Took all the bio balls out, running No carbon, No chemi pure. Just the filter and skimmer. Along with 15 pounds of live rock. Mr.Softy has about 30 pounds of my rock that he is filtering for me. There was all dead corals on it and was making the water worse by the day. In the mean time he put in about 15 pounds of his own liverock and about 15 pounds of dead coral skeleton bones that are covered with purple coraline to help filter the system. The ammonia is running at about .5 to 1 still. But Im sure after a week of just letting the system cycle it should go down. Im not doing any more water changes at this time. Just letting it do its own thing. Is there anything else I can do to help it move along? Or bring down the ammonia at all faster?

thanks

 

[georgelc86]

IMO Jaynie, I would leave the tank to sit for a week or two without the water change to allow to bacteria to multiply. I think if you do the water change and remove some of the ammonia that the bacteria is feeding off of it would limit the size of the population.

 

[Jaynie1028]

so you think i should do water changes still??? Im going on a cruise for a 8 days. leaving a week today.

 

[georgelc86]

do a 5 gallon change and say bye bye to the tank for the week. By the time you get back everything should be gravy.

 

[georgelc86]

Let that all sit and just focus on your live stock for the time being. They probably miss you. They are saying hey why she even looking at that tank we are all over here. That tank is empty, why she want to stare at rock all day.

 

[Jaynie1028]

HAHA, I know. Ok I will leave it alone. thanks. No carbon and now chemi pure right?

 

[Musicians Reef Too]

Still at James' lot. I know he is going to kill me(I can feel the force already) for not taking it away. There some other finer logistics I have to work out before I can move it to my place

Ha ha, yeah I bet, it's not exactly as easy as taking home a coral :tongue1:

 

[Jaynie1028]

Just a little update. Seems the Ammonia is staying the same or coming down just a little. It was at 1. Now its between .25 and .5. So I guess its on it way to getting better. MY 12 gallon aquapod is at .5. I have been doing 7 gallon water changes for the past 3 days. It was also at 1. When should I stop doing water changes and kinda just let it work its way out like the Bio cube? I havent touched the bio cube since Sat and its slowly coming down. Will the aquapod come down also on its own?

thanks

 

[nanoreefer22]

Jaynie,

If theres nothing in the tank at this point besides LR and LS, just let the tank level itself off. Do water changes every week instead of everyday until things get back to normal.