School tank

jellygirl · 11/07/2007, 10:13 AM

We have had many problems with the tank at school 2 more snails died! Today I went in to check on everything and one of the royal grammas was floating belly up in the tank. It wasnt dead because it eventually started swimming but now its under a rock and doesn't look so good. To make things worst there is a peppermint shrimp in the tank and it always looks happy and healthy today it was on the back of some rock completely transparent. I was thinking maybe it molted.... I looked for like 10 mins throughout the tank trying to find the new and improved shrimp but i cant. Could this mean that is the shrimp just dead or is it just hiding and i cant find it? Well any advice about the royal gramma and the shrimp like... what they typically do when they molt? Thanks

Jellygirl

scbadiver · 11/07/2007, 10:27 AM

After a molt they normally hide for a few days until the new shell hardens. Very typical behavior. I wouldn't be woried yet.

jellygirl · 11/07/2007, 10:31 AM

Worried yet.... thanks I am worried though about the royal gramma the poor thing looks like its going to die.

Ritten · 11/07/2007, 10:44 AM

Can you give us specifics on your system? Water parameters, equipment, age of tank, etc.

jellygirl · 11/07/2007, 11:20 AM

Well its the school tank that i volunteered to help and give advice on. 55g with T5 lighting, hangon the back filter thats about all for equipment... The tank has been up maybe 6-8 weeks. The guy that the tank belongs to doesn't really have any knowledge of saltwater he just wanted a nemo tank. The tank about a week after the tank was up he added 5 damsels. 2 1/2 weeks later we have
1 yellow tang
2 royal grammas
2 clowns
1 emerald crab
snails and hermits
the tank had some feather dusters but they died
We have a very basic testing kit the Ph has been 7.8 but the guy used a buffer so it could be higher. ammonia was .5 nitrite 0 nitrate about 20.

Craig Lambert · 11/07/2007, 11:29 AM

I'm afraid you have a number of issues with the tank. First off it is over stocked and sounds as it has little if any filtration. Is there any live rock in it? Any powerheads for water movement?

The first thing I would do is some large water changes to reduce the ammonia. (It will kill all the fish).

This material should have been read before the tank was set up.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1031074

jellygirl · 11/07/2007, 10:46 PM

Id say around 30 lbs of rock and no powerheads.

sruiz · 11/07/2007, 11:03 PM

Get some power heads to get some circulation going around. How do you guys do water change. My guess is you don't have an RO system. And go buy some Amquel, for your tap water. Make sure the filter pads are clean and not full of junk. IN the future after your tank is established, you can throw them away and just use live rock(but not now).

sruiz · 11/07/2007, 11:46 PM

When using the Amquel, make sure you read directions carefully, it makes it hard to breath for fish. So make sure to take lids off if you have any.

jellygirl · 11/08/2007, 12:05 AM

Amquel? is that something that you put into tap water? The guy at school hasnt done any water changes he has be doing top-offs like weekly with TAP water(which i advised him not to, but didnt work) The filters pads were pretty nasty but i changed them the other day so we are good on that. where would a shrimp that has molted typically hide out?

Apostle · 11/08/2007, 06:59 AM

My advice would be to take all the fish back to the LFS while he's not looking at trade them in for a couple of good books.

Once he's read them he can start again. Otherwise he's gonna end up with 11 dead fish.

jellygirl · 11/08/2007, 09:27 AM

well one of the damsels died today the guy said he called the LFS to come and check the tank and the nitrates are really high. idk what the guy was thinking i told him this would happen ol' well there is really anything else i can do to help the tank

sruiz · 11/08/2007, 07:54 PM

Just as I had thought. Talk to your classmates, like Apostle said he needs to buy some books or get online, you really need to tell anyone that if they want to touch that tank or put anything in they need to get on this site PRONTO. My advice to you is to find someone that has a Good Water filter at home, fill up some 5 gallon jugs and keep them in hand. NO MORE TAP WATER. If no one has an RO system, at least go use a public water machine, usually only .25 per gallon.(you might want to do a water check on that water too, like phospates,etc..), I'm glad to hear you chagned the filters pads too, that was contributing to your high amonia and nitrates. And its probably a good idea to change it because I'm guessing they have carbon in them. Keep it fresh with the pads.
About the shrimp, those guys are really good at hidding. I would not worry about looking for him. He should come out as soon as his shell is hard.
I'm sure you guys at school are really excited about the tank, but if it does not get the right treatment it will end up looking bad then you guys will really feel like you failed and might even stop treating it correct. I'm sure you guys don't want that. What you need to do Jellygirl is absorb as much information as you can, and implement it to your class. TEach them what you learn here.
My final advice to you is take all the fish back to the fish store and take credit for Live Rock, it might help if your teacher gets involved he might be able to get a special by telling the store that its educational. And let it sit for 2-3 weeks. Then add only 1 fish, start over again, and things should go a lot smother.

sruiz · 11/08/2007, 07:59 PM

Almost forgot, if you take care of your tank someday it could look like my old 55(my avatar picture) check out my photo gallery and you can see more pics.

sruiz · 11/08/2007, 08:03 PM

Just thouht of a really godd idea. Tell your teacher that he should charge everyone that is late 1.00 (if everyone agrees) The pot can go towards a Protein Skimmer.

jellygirl · 11/09/2007, 08:38 AM

Thanks for all the advice. This tank is in the office at school and it belongs to the assistant principal...well it doesnt really belong to him because the school gave him the money but he calls it his and picked out everything for the tank. I have gave this dude so much of my own advice and showed him threads on here backing up what i say he just will not believe anything i say. I guess he feels the LFS is credible bc its a fish store when really they are just trying to make a quick dollar. I tried to get him to go to a city near by and buy RO water and he said no he doesnt have anymore money that he spent all the school gave him and he will just have to use tap water, and that he has been using it the whole time and everything is ok so it will be ok. Im just really tired of wasting my time and advice on someone who is stuborn and doesnt want to listen to me. But like i said thanks alot for the advice and now that i have my own tank at home im probably going to have a million new questions about that....lol

monkeydude · 11/09/2007, 08:59 AM

sometimes people cant be helped. He will end up spending more money doing it the wrong way and having to keep replacing everything.

jellygirl · 11/09/2007, 09:10 AM

Exactly... We are in the process of getting a 68g for a science class here i just really hope we dont have these problems. This teacher lives a little more in reality than this guy though. It really sucks for the fish though in the office and me I was so excited about this tank and put a lot of time and thoughti into it.

11/07/2007, 10:13 AM	#1
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	School tank We have had many problems with the tank at school 2 more snails died! Today I went in to check on everything and one of the royal grammas was floating belly up in the tank. It wasnt dead because it eventually started swimming but now its under a rock and doesn't look so good. To make things worst there is a peppermint shrimp in the tank and it always looks happy and healthy today it was on the back of some rock completely transparent. I was thinking maybe it molted.... I looked for like 10 mins throughout the tank trying to find the new and improved shrimp but i cant. Could this mean that is the shrimp just dead or is it just hiding and i cant find it? Well any advice about the royal gramma and the shrimp like... what they typically do when they molt? Thanks Jellygirl

11/07/2007, 10:27 AM	#2
scbadiver Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: St. Charles, MO Posts: 1,327	After a molt they normally hide for a few days until the new shell hardens. Very typical behavior. I wouldn't be woried yet. __________________ Robbie "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss Current Tank Info: 240 reef. 3 250w MH.VHO actinics.135sump/fuge.all DIY

11/07/2007, 11:29 AM	#6
Craig Lambert Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,897	I'm afraid you have a number of issues with the tank. First off it is over stocked and sounds as it has little if any filtration. Is there any live rock in it? Any powerheads for water movement? The first thing I would do is some large water changes to reduce the ammonia. (It will kill all the fish). This material should have been read before the tank was set up. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1031074 __________________ "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend all day in a boat drinking beer." Current Tank Info: 75G Tank, 29G Sump, 100lbs LR, AquaC EV-180, Iwaki MD-20RT return Tunze nano streams 4X54 t-5/Icecap Ballast & SLR's 2x110 vho actinic

11/07/2007, 11:03 PM	#8
sruiz Reef'R Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Searching... Posts: 1,381	Get some power heads to get some circulation going around. How do you guys do water change. My guess is you don't have an RO system. And go buy some Amquel, for your tap water. Make sure the filter pads are clean and not full of junk. IN the future after your tank is established, you can throw them away and just use live rock(but not now). __________________ Don't forget your water change.

11/07/2007, 11:46 PM	#9
sruiz Reef'R Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Searching... Posts: 1,381	When using the Amquel, make sure you read directions carefully, it makes it hard to breath for fish. So make sure to take lids off if you have any. __________________ Don't forget your water change.

11/07/2007, 10:31 AM	#3
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Worried yet.... thanks I am worried though about the royal gramma the poor thing looks like its going to die.

11/07/2007, 10:44 AM	#4
Ritten Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,164	Can you give us specifics on your system? Water parameters, equipment, age of tank, etc.

11/07/2007, 11:20 AM	#5
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Well its the school tank that i volunteered to help and give advice on. 55g with T5 lighting, hangon the back filter thats about all for equipment... The tank has been up maybe 6-8 weeks. The guy that the tank belongs to doesn't really have any knowledge of saltwater he just wanted a nemo tank. The tank about a week after the tank was up he added 5 damsels. 2 1/2 weeks later we have 1 yellow tang 2 royal grammas 2 clowns 1 emerald crab snails and hermits the tank had some feather dusters but they died We have a very basic testing kit the Ph has been 7.8 but the guy used a buffer so it could be higher. ammonia was .5 nitrite 0 nitrate about 20.

11/07/2007, 10:46 PM	#7
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Id say around 30 lbs of rock and no powerheads.

11/08/2007, 12:05 AM	#10
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Amquel? is that something that you put into tap water? The guy at school hasnt done any water changes he has be doing top-offs like weekly with TAP water(which i advised him not to, but didnt work) The filters pads were pretty nasty but i changed them the other day so we are good on that. where would a shrimp that has molted typically hide out?

11/08/2007, 06:59 AM	#11
Apostle Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Blackpool, England Posts: 56	My advice would be to take all the fish back to the LFS while he's not looking at trade them in for a couple of good books. Once he's read them he can start again. Otherwise he's gonna end up with 11 dead fish.

11/08/2007, 09:27 AM	#12
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	well one of the damsels died today the guy said he called the LFS to come and check the tank and the nitrates are really high. idk what the guy was thinking i told him this would happen ol' well there is really anything else i can do to help the tank

11/08/2007, 07:54 PM	#13
sruiz Reef'R Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Searching... Posts: 1,381	Just as I had thought. Talk to your classmates, like Apostle said he needs to buy some books or get online, you really need to tell anyone that if they want to touch that tank or put anything in they need to get on this site PRONTO. My advice to you is to find someone that has a Good Water filter at home, fill up some 5 gallon jugs and keep them in hand. NO MORE TAP WATER. If no one has an RO system, at least go use a public water machine, usually only .25 per gallon.(you might want to do a water check on that water too, like phospates,etc..), I'm glad to hear you chagned the filters pads too, that was contributing to your high amonia and nitrates. And its probably a good idea to change it because I'm guessing they have carbon in them. Keep it fresh with the pads. About the shrimp, those guys are really good at hidding. I would not worry about looking for him. He should come out as soon as his shell is hard. I'm sure you guys at school are really excited about the tank, but if it does not get the right treatment it will end up looking bad then you guys will really feel like you failed and might even stop treating it correct. I'm sure you guys don't want that. What you need to do Jellygirl is absorb as much information as you can, and implement it to your class. TEach them what you learn here. My final advice to you is take all the fish back to the fish store and take credit for Live Rock, it might help if your teacher gets involved he might be able to get a special by telling the store that its educational. And let it sit for 2-3 weeks. Then add only 1 fish, start over again, and things should go a lot smother. __________________ Don't forget your water change.

11/08/2007, 07:59 PM	#14
sruiz Reef'R Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Searching... Posts: 1,381	Almost forgot, if you take care of your tank someday it could look like my old 55(my avatar picture) check out my photo gallery and you can see more pics. __________________ Don't forget your water change.

11/08/2007, 08:03 PM	#15
sruiz Reef'R Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Searching... Posts: 1,381	Just thouht of a really godd idea. Tell your teacher that he should charge everyone that is late 1.00 (if everyone agrees) The pot can go towards a Protein Skimmer. __________________ Don't forget your water change.

11/09/2007, 08:38 AM	#16
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Thanks for all the advice. This tank is in the office at school and it belongs to the assistant principal...well it doesnt really belong to him because the school gave him the money but he calls it his and picked out everything for the tank. I have gave this dude so much of my own advice and showed him threads on here backing up what i say he just will not believe anything i say. I guess he feels the LFS is credible bc its a fish store when really they are just trying to make a quick dollar. I tried to get him to go to a city near by and buy RO water and he said no he doesnt have anymore money that he spent all the school gave him and he will just have to use tap water, and that he has been using it the whole time and everything is ok so it will be ok. Im just really tired of wasting my time and advice on someone who is stuborn and doesnt want to listen to me. But like i said thanks alot for the advice and now that i have my own tank at home im probably going to have a million new questions about that....lol

11/09/2007, 08:59 AM	#17
monkeydude Moved On Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: LKN Posts: 101	sometimes people cant be helped. He will end up spending more money doing it the wrong way and having to keep replacing everything.

11/09/2007, 09:10 AM	#18
jellygirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: north carolina Posts: 69	Exactly... We are in the process of getting a 68g for a science class here i just really hope we dont have these problems. This teacher lives a little more in reality than this guy though. It really sucks for the fish though in the office and me I was so excited about this tank and put a lot of time and thoughti into it.