HELP!!! Reef Crisis!

[SYS7EMATIC]

I would say that the tank has slightly more of a bad smell then normal. Then again, that could be my imagination. Honestly, I've never consciously smelled the tanks water when it was healthy so I couldnt tell you definitively if it smelled any different.

Thanks for the advice, i'll give everyone an update in the morning. In the meantime, if there is any insight or advice anyone can give me on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Irvine Man]

you would know, the room would stank. I would just try and relax. just don't blame your girl for this because unless she ****ed in it or dumped something in the tank there is no way what she did last night was part of this. You might want to lessen the time the lights are on tomorrow to help the corals heal, i think that is best for them when they are stressed.

It will be interesting to hear what the conditions are in 8 to 10 hours.

[Gooseman]

It was posted once before and i didn't see if you answered but, ask your girlfriend if she was wearing any perfume that nite she fed them and if she put her hands or part of her arm in there. If she had any perfume on her wrists or fingers or anything else on her hands that could have set it off. Make sure to let her know to always always rinses your hands well before putting them into your tank. Sorry for your loss!

[SYS7EMATIC]

We always feed with a turkey baster. She's the girly girl type, doesnt like to touch the water. Fortunately.

haha.

As for blaming her for whatever happened, I dont. Initially, the over feeding was the only thing I could think of. (still is, but I realize the chances of that being the cause are unlikely.) Even still, I wasn't blaming her per say, I was blaming the excess of food. The only thing I want to blame is whatever caused all of this, that way I'll know how to fix it lol.

[TheFishGuy,LLC]

Could be a bacterial bloom. Bloom will deplete the tanks O2 causing the strange snail activity, drop in pH, coral death, strange smells, etc... Skim heavy. Skim wet. Boost the pH with some calcium hydroxide. Good luck!

[SYS7EMATIC]

hmmm, and that would cause the cloudiness too? Would that also happen overnight?

[SYS7EMATIC]

Well, I woke up and the tang had died. The clownfish is sitting at the bottom of the tank breathing hard. I cant find the 6 line wrasse. Flame angel still looks happy, as does the bubble tip anemone suprisingly. The Galaxea is dead. As is my colony of torch coral. I cant tell if the others are dead. Zooanthids are all still packed tightly away (is that a good sign?) and the clove polyps, although they look like crap are still solid (I guess thats a good sign too?) I still have yet to see the star polyps (they're shrunken away in their little holes or what not.)

Ammonia shot up to .5 ppm. I performed another 25% or so water change. Not sure if there is much else I can do... Any ideas?

[njdevilsfan]

if it were me i would go get some poly filters and run the s**t out of em in as high as flow as possible
also run a ton of carbon
and with all the water changes you are doing keep a close eye on your ph and salinity
sorry for your losses and good luck

[FishyPreacher]

To answer your question about coral death-
Zoos take 2 days to a week to disappear and they become a thin spot on the rock first. They loose their shape.

LPS can pull WAY in and not died so be a little patient on them.

Rics are pretty hardy I had one that got dropped in the rock show up 2 months later unhappy but alive.

[expatgoalie]

How is the skimmate??? any change since the tank started crashing??? Maybe try to run a UV sterilizer at low flow to kill any potential water-borne colonies??? ammonia spike is probably due to fish deaths, IMO I'd get them all out and into QT ASAP and observe them separate from your corals. see if their condition improves...


Sucks to hear man, keep fighting it though.

[john rochon]

honestly, sounds like a classic case of a HUGE bacterial bloom and poor water quality. once this starts it is hard to reverse.
you've overstocked and overfed a small tank and now you can see what happens. yes it can happen overnight.
IMO any thing that looks just about dead or mush I'd remove it.
you can always start over having learnt a valuable lesson from this. I'm not trying to be harsh but I see these posts often.
WATER CHANGES
CARBON
POLY
SKIM
LESS FISH
LESS FEEDING

and you'll be back on track.

[SYS7EMATIC]

There isnt a skimmer... I had been told through various sources that corals would to better in the nano without a skimmer running because there would be more nutrients.

I'm currently running a bag of carbon. I've got to go to class now. I just hope everything is still alive by the time I get back...

[Gooseman]

Dude i am so sorry to hear about your fish ... i couldn't imagine if that happened to mine. Good Luck with the recovery!

[SPStoner]

a few other possibilities.... Check for copper in the water. The symptoms you describe could possibly be copper toxicity, which would effect corals and inverts first, then fish. Not sure how it would have been introduced, but sure sounds like it to me.


Also, any aerosal sprays used in the vicinity of the tank?



I agree that Poly Filters should be used ASAP. They take out a lot of different things and will certainly not hurt.


Good luck.

[SYS7EMATIC]

went out and bought a big *** skimmer which is now running on the tank. Also bought ammo lock, a crap load of carbon, and the filter media that filters out ammonia. The water seems to be clearing up a bit. The corals all still look like hell. Assuming they are still alive, how long would it take for them to recover?

[bph0013]

POLYFILTER ASAP, if it's copper or some other heavy metal it will change the color of the filter so you at least can confirm or eliminate heavy metals as a factor. IMO that's what the problem is. The bag on a polyfilter will tell you what is in your tank according to the color change on the filter, i.e. if it starts to turn green--copper. I would also get a ground probe just to eliminate the possibility of stray voltage as well.

[Irvine Man]

Hey how are things going in your tank today? Any change in tank clarity or are any of your corals responding to the changes? Did you get that polyfilter in there and if so what does it show? Pulling alot of skimmate with the new skimer?

[expatgoalie]

update???

[luke33]

Sounds like a bloom, or sounds like precipitation, before the crash did you add any alk or calc supplements? That could explain the cloudiness. Do you know what your alk is?