an entire can of fish food in 5 gal pico reef

ShannyG · 10/14/2014, 11:08 AM

Hello all,
I am new to saltwater and have been having excellent luck with a 5 gal pico reef I built for my 4 yr old daughter. That is, until she dumped an entire jar of fish food into it Sunday morning. I quickly filled a bucket with saltwater and transferred everyone (snails, hermit crabs, one little goby, live rock and 3 corals) installed the filters in the bucket and re-established the tank. I lost all my live sand and algae on the glass in the process. I kept the original filter media and just gave it a thorough rinsing as I didn't want to lose that beneficial bacteria.
It seems everyone has survived,, although I am going to lose the bubble coral and maybe a juvenile hermit crab who hasn't been acting 'right' since the incident. Is there anything else I can do? I am overfeeding the tank since there really isn't anything for the reef custodians to eat (I noticed the snails have all come down off the glass and are cruising the new sand and rocks) and doing small water changes several times a day. I am starting to see a slight spike in ammonia/nitrite levels, which has further doomed my bubble coral.
I should mention I have excellent water; deep well, lots of minerals, no chlorine. It will promote algae growth fairly quickly, but I worry my little pets are going hungry in the meantime.

LJA · 10/14/2014, 12:32 PM

My Son did this once to a 10g. Nuked everything into a green mess.

Water changes, siphon out all the gunk you can, and more water changes.

something like Purigen and GFO would likely help a lot

toothybugs · 10/14/2014, 12:35 PM

Can you pull the bubble in to a bucket with the light over it and let the cycle pass in the aquarium?

Depending on where you are, you may find either an LFS or one of us to hold things for you in the meantime.

jrp1588 · 10/14/2014, 12:47 PM

I recommend a padlock for the aquarium and a leash for the daughter. haha. It sounds like you've taken the proper course of action.

ShannyG · 10/14/2014, 01:51 PM

Thanks all. I dumped out the whole tank, put in new live sand and new water. The thought of trying to get all that food out seemed...daunting. I know my water is aquarium perfect right out of the tap so other than the fact that I have lost a lot of beneficial bacteria/filtration from the established sand I am hoping to pull almost everyone through.
Weirdly, the fish seems least affected by all the upheaval.

power boat jim · 10/14/2014, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShannyG

Thanks all. I dumped out the whole tank, put in new live sand and new water. The thought of trying to get all that food out seemed...daunting. I know my water is aquarium perfect right out of the tap .

I wish I had a tap that dispensed salt water

Good luck with the rebuild.

jrp1588 · 10/14/2014, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by power boat jim

I wish I had a tap that dispensed salt water

Good luck with the rebuild.

I don't, that would be terrible for washing dishes, drinking, and bathing. haha

10/14/2014, 11:08 AM	#1
ShannyG Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 212	an entire can of fish food in 5 gal pico reef Hello all, I am new to saltwater and have been having excellent luck with a 5 gal pico reef I built for my 4 yr old daughter. That is, until she dumped an entire jar of fish food into it Sunday morning. I quickly filled a bucket with saltwater and transferred everyone (snails, hermit crabs, one little goby, live rock and 3 corals) installed the filters in the bucket and re-established the tank. I lost all my live sand and algae on the glass in the process. I kept the original filter media and just gave it a thorough rinsing as I didn't want to lose that beneficial bacteria. It seems everyone has survived,, although I am going to lose the bubble coral and maybe a juvenile hermit crab who hasn't been acting 'right' since the incident. Is there anything else I can do? I am overfeeding the tank since there really isn't anything for the reef custodians to eat (I noticed the snails have all come down off the glass and are cruising the new sand and rocks) and doing small water changes several times a day. I am starting to see a slight spike in ammonia/nitrite levels, which has further doomed my bubble coral. I should mention I have excellent water; deep well, lots of minerals, no chlorine. It will promote algae growth fairly quickly, but I worry my little pets are going hungry in the meantime.

10/14/2014, 12:32 PM	#2
LJA Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 702	My Son did this once to a 10g. Nuked everything into a green mess. Water changes, siphon out all the gunk you can, and more water changes. something like Purigen and GFO would likely help a lot

10/14/2014, 12:35 PM	#3
toothybugs In Memoriam Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: The smallest county in Illinois Posts: 1,986	Can you pull the bubble in to a bucket with the light over it and let the cycle pass in the aquarium? Depending on where you are, you may find either an LFS or one of us to hold things for you in the meantime.

10/14/2014, 12:47 PM	#4
jrp1588 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 1,864	I recommend a padlock for the aquarium and a leash for the daughter. haha. It sounds like you've taken the proper course of action.

10/14/2014, 01:51 PM	#5
ShannyG Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 212	Thanks all. I dumped out the whole tank, put in new live sand and new water. The thought of trying to get all that food out seemed...daunting. I know my water is aquarium perfect right out of the tap so other than the fact that I have lost a lot of beneficial bacteria/filtration from the established sand I am hoping to pull almost everyone through. Weirdly, the fish seems least affected by all the upheaval.