Tank crashed after sump install

[dirtrider29]

Hey everyone this is my first post here on the forum and unfortunately its about a problem I've had. My names Dan I'm from long island and have a Red Sea Max c250. I've recently built a sump out of my old 29 gallon tank with glass baffles. Before I built the tank I cleaned it out with bleach water and let it sit for about 30 min before rinsing it out . I plumbed everything up with 1" PVC pipe and PVC cement.I then started the syphon on the overflow and turned the pump on. Within minutes my two clownfish swam to the top right oh the tank and hid. About an hour later my yellow tank died and shortly after my goby died as well. I knew something was wrong and quickly shut the sump off and did a 20 gallon water change and had to leave my house. When I came back both clownfish died and I had no clue what went wrong. I tested my levels and everything was normal but m pH had dropped to 7.4. I have no clue what could have happened. If anyone could let me know what they think happen I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

[xclusive252]

I'm gonna say the bleach had a big part of you didn't rinse the 29g good. PH lvls dropping also due to bleach. Do a few big water changes and test the water lvls again. Might want to run carbon also.

 

[jvu61]

I'm gonna say the bleach had a big part of you didn't rinse the 29g good. PH lvls dropping also due to bleach. Do a few big water changes and test the water lvls again. Might want to run carbon also.

+1
sounds like you did not get all the bleach out of the tank. also what did you use to cement the baffles' in.

 

[dirtrider29]

I have chemi pure elite in the tank right now and used ge II silicone from home depo . I let the silicone dry for two days before running the sump.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

I only use bleach for filter socks. Why would you use it to clean a tank/sump when vinegar does a great job and safer?

 

[jvu61]

I think that ge II has the mold inhibitors in it in fact I think it may say on the tube not for aquarium use. I spend the few extra bucks and get it from my lfs or online in that way your are 100 % sure it is safe for our use.

 

[dirtrider29]

Should I test the chlorine levels in the tank. Also when do you think it would be safe to add fish again. I am getting rid of the sump either way because it was too loud and took up too much room and looking for a protein skimmer I can use with my RSM 25 . Any suggestions with skimmers i am looking for as well.

 

[j0hnnyb0y13ave]

My friend u could throw that sump in the garbage.. No joke just did the same thing 2 weeks ago and nearly destroyed my reef.. Killed two fish and couple coral but was able to turn it around cause I caught it quick enough and took sump off line and did crazy water changes.. I'm still battling hair algae from it and yes all level will look fine but the mold resistant stuff in the Ge silicone is undetectable and will continue to kill everything until all silicone is removed and water changes r done.. Good luck and hope everything works out

 

[jvu61]

I really think your problem is a combo of both things being the sump and bleach. you can still use the sump if you remove all the silicone from it and soak it in white vinegar . do not use the kind for salad dressing. I would also do a 30 to 40% water change every day for the next week or so. you should be ok after that. Test your water to be sure the tank does not go into a new cycle and that all parameters are what they should be. if they are ok you should add fish slowly to see if they live.

 

[dirtrider29]

Alright thanks a lot everyone. Now does anyone know of any protein skimmers that would work with my setup without using a sump? Not happy with the results I'm gettin out of the stock one.

 

[greybolt03]

I used to own a RSM 250 and did the sump add. Here is a great forum to get info for those tanks

http://reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?forums/red-sea-max-owners-club.180/

 

[pecan2phat]

Unfortunately there are not a lot of good skimmers out there for all in one tank setups. This is the one that I use, better then stock but not the cure all:

http://www.reefdynamics.com/RED-SEA-MAX-250-2-PUMP-NANO-SKIMMER-p/nrs-rsm250.htm

 

[cono]

look into lifereef

 

[Dan_P]

Hey everyone this is my first post here on the forum and unfortunately its about a problem I've had. My names Dan I'm from long island and have a Red Sea Max c250. I've recently built a sump out of my old 29 gallon tank with glass baffles. Before I built the tank I cleaned it out with bleach water and let it sit for about 30 min before rinsing it out . I plumbed everything up with 1" PVC pipe and PVC cement.I then started the syphon on the overflow and turned the pump on. Within minutes my two clownfish swam to the top right oh the tank and hid. About an hour later my yellow tank died and shortly after my goby died as well. I knew something was wrong and quickly shut the sump off and did a 20 gallon water change and had to leave my house. When I came back both clownfish died and I had no clue what went wrong. I tested my levels and everything was normal but m pH had dropped to 7.4. I have no clue what could have happened. If anyone could let me know what they think happen I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

Was the pump new?

 

[dirtrider29]

No the Pump was used already.

 

[Will]

I'd say it was the bleach....Same thing happened to me a long , long time ago cleaning out a sump with bleach. As soon as I hooked the sump back up , my Damsel was dead within 10 min and some of my corals also were in bad shape....I'll never do that again..