catastrophy

T

t1771

Non-member
I woke up this mornign to find my yellow damsel dead, my clarkii dead (both whom I have had for 3+ yrs), both my feather dusters popped their tops, my mushroom shriveled..yes it goes on... my percula has white cotton around his mouth and my trigger is mia. The tank was perfectly fine yesturday morning, except I noticed maroon hair algae beginning near the skimmer. I just checked paramaters..
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ph 8.2
ammonia .25, which was 0 this weekend!!!

I had rearranged the rocks on Friday and replaced the skimmer impeller, figured it was due since the decapitation 2 weeks ago. Nothing else has changed. I use ro/di h20 from AA, no tap water.

What happenebed?!?! the tank has been up and running for 6+ yrs :confused: :(
 
Oh man, I'm so sorry, that sucks.

It seems like it has to be something else. What has happened with the temp lately? is there any way something was spilled? What about stray voltage?
 
I would think voltage also doyou have a tester? I dont think a spillage unless it was a good amount and a purposeful act would do that... but the ammonia wouls spike due to the deaths get some water changes done and check for stray volyage I am not sure how far you are from me but I have the tunze tester you are welcome to borrow
 
? dont know I am clueless with electricity but scared of electricity and water mix I have gotten a pretty good shock twice so I got the meter it stays hooked up to tank at all times and if there is any voltage at all going in the tank it has this annoying loud shrill that wakes up the dead :) my old skimmer use to set it off
 
Could have been pathogen released from rock move. Pretty nasty stuff released if it
was an older sand bed.
 
etszoo said:
Could have been pathogen released from rock move. Pretty nasty stuff released if it
was an older sand bed.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing.....either that or you injured something moving the rocks around, and it took a few days to finally die. I don't know how big your tank is, but if it is on the smaller size, it wouldn't take something very big to set off the chain reaction.
 
I'm thinking it was temperature related.
My guess is a heat spike killed everything.
 
Hey guys thanks for all teh replies. I am so upset this totally stinks!! I am thinking it may have been heat related. The unusually hot weather yesturday did warm teh tank up quite a bit and fast since it hit mid 80's!! But it could have also been related to movign the rock.. i don't know! Now what do I do? On my way in to work this morning on the train I was thinking about it and I don't really want to sell everything, but starting over seems like so much work. UGH!! :eek:
Any body have any ideas as to what my next move should be?

To answer a few of the questions asked...
my tank is 55 gallon
I do have a dsb, but it's only been about 5 months now
I noticed a brown tink to the water while movign rocks, if that makes a difference
Nothing has spilled, since the resent jumpers i have had the glass closed almost 24/7
As for voltage I have no idea. I got anew powerhead from marine depot about a month ago, but ti was doing fine. I haven't heard any loud noises of any kind.
 
Have you noticed the temps? With a glass top on a hot day it could be trouble. the air between the water and glass really heats up. How is oxygen getting into the water? I think warmer water holds less O2 than cold water.
 
You don't have any Rio pumps on this tank do you? How hot did the tank get? The skimmer is working well....correct?.....lots of small bubbles (therefore oxygenation of the water) are being created in the skimmer?

Any chance a heater might have cracked somewhere?

Any chance you lost power for a few hours overnight?

Do you have the automatic turn-on battery powered air pump on this tank?
 
I didn't loose any power, but the temp did rise yesturday from when i left for work and when I got home. The back of the tank is always open due to my remora pro, so there is ventilation. I def think it was the temperature spike yesturday...
 
once the temp starts to drop do u guys think my featherdusters and mushrooms will be alright or are they more than likely fried?!?
 
I do have a rio but it's not in the tank. the skimmer is working fine, tons of small bubbles. I checked the heaters, I didn't seem to see any cracks, i am assuming i didn't loose power b/c all the clocks were fine this morning (not flashing), i do not have a battery air pump on the tank.
It got HOT! I didn't check the thermometer but I would say 85 ish..where usually I keep it at 78 or 79. So it's a HUGE jump.
Does anyone know what fish look liek if they're killed due to heat?
 
IMO a temp fluctuation from 79 to 85 should not affect that much in the tank. I know of tanks that have that fluctuation daily (not that I would advise this at all).

IMO sounds like something died in your tank and the heat spike was just another stress factor..
 
do a water change to help rid ammonia. If you have "Amquel"...use it. It neutralizes the ammonia...prob from the die off. I agree with the heat....glass on top helps retain it. Wouldn't rule out stray voltage...I would check it. Get some carbon running in there also...will help get rid of the nasties.
 
"It got HOT! I didn't check the thermometer but I would say 85 ish..where usually I keep it at 78 or 79. So it's a HUGE jump." <-----

If you didn't check the temp and you think it got hot, then my guess is your tank probably peaked up beyond 90?. At that temp, the oxygen level is too low to support much life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsors

Acro Garden
All Things Aquatic
Backwoods Reefs
Blue Light Aquatics
Classic Corals
CrazyCorals
Cultivated Reef
Frag Freaks
Frank's Frags
Love The Reef
Mofo Corals
Ocean State Aquatics
On Point Corals
ReefBum
The Coral Farm
Ultimate Corals
Wet Pets Emporium

Corporate Sponsors

GHL USA
Polo Reef by Andrew Sandler
Reef Hobbyist Magazine
Back
Top