Need Help ASAP!!!!

[Noobtosalty]

The tank at this point is still cloudy as hell... the fish and CUC seam fine..
Should i pull all the coral out and put them in a clean 18 gallon tote? And then leave the fish and CUC in the tank? Should i add a small heater and a power head to the tote? Will 18 gallons of water be ok in a tote for 4 days??I figure the worse can happen is the contents in the tote just be wiped out (which sucks)... I am just really not liking this crap..... I could put a small HOB filter with filter floss and use that in the tote..
I really need help with this guys!!!!

[EllieSuz]

It's not easy to give you advice without directly observing your tank. At this point, if I were you, I'd do another water change before you leave town and let it go at that. Putting all your coral into another container without proper aeration, light, heat, etc. can't be good. Go on vacation, have a good time and let us know how things turned out when you get back.

[Dapg8gt]

You should def be running carbon an if you already were change it out to fresh stuff.. I would add a little extra if possible. Water changes are key. Be positive to make sure nothing's dead in there. clean all your filter socks/sponges tonight an in the morning before you leave. Did you get any bottled bacteria.. I would of made the trip and got some cycle or bio spira as I stated earlier to boost the bio. IMO fresh carbon is a must and water changes. How long was your PH so low? When was the last time you tested it?

[Noobtosalty]

i am running carbon and as stated in previous post's i cant just run down the street to my local pet store....
I was outside tonight getting some fresh air and i was trying to think what had changed in my house in past couple days... And a light bulb went off in my head so i googled it and this is what i found
So recently i moved the car litter box in the same room as the tank and honestly i should have kept up with the litter a little better but i was busy getting ready for my trip...

Originally Posted by Boomer

Well, it is not rocket science

Cat urine is fairly high in ammonia and kitty litter can only remove that ammonia which has been converted to ionized ammonia, NH4+. As NH3 gas, it will rise an travels in the room, gets picked up by air pumps and skimmer inlets and settles out on top of the water. NONE of you have NEVER been a house before with a cat and smelled ammonia ??? It is no different that high room air CO2 lowering your pH. And the dirtier the cat box the worse it is. It is not just an issue in reef tanks but also FW or uncovered RO/DI containers. You NEVER place a tank or water holding container near a cat box. Many have had this issue and some have tested the water for ammonia with cat box near by removed it and tested again with no ammonia. An I use to have cat and had the same issues and that was 2 decades ago. There are quite a few post on boards about it, to include RC

From Nanoreefs:
The approximate distance from the cat box to the tank is about 9 feet, and around a wall.

The ammonia test readings performed in triplicate from the Picotank were in all in excess of 8.0 mg/L.

At about day four I placed a small glass of RO/DI water in a clean drinking glass and placed it on the sink counter for one day. Initial reading for ammonia was zero.

After one day of being exposed to the air in the bathroom with the litter box, I tested the water in the drinking glass. Final reading for ammonia was between 2.0 and 4.0 mg/L!

Just to be sure the test kit wasn't corrupted, I used the same test kit in the same vial (after a rinse) with fresh RO/DI water taken from the same source as the water in the glass. Reading was back to zero.


I would say that gaseous ammonia can dissolve very easily into open tank aquarium water. Very rapidly too. The smell from my litter box was not overpowering, but noticeable. I would recommend anyone who may have a cat litter box in proximity to their aquarium use caution and run a similar test. Especially if you have a protein skimmer air intake nearby.




From Aquaria Central:
Your tank isn't near a cat litter pan is it? i know when trying to cycle one of my tanks i ended up with 8.0 ppm ammonia spontaniously because my ait pump was in the stand and the cat box was only a couple feet away. Ammonia gass dissolves in water very rapidly.



From RC:
IMO all those hang on all the hang on tank constant moniters don't work. I put one in my freshwater tank for PH and Ammonia and the\ said nothing for about a month and the Ph kept reading way too low, despite my Ph test. I decided to test the water and I had a huge amount of ammonia and my PH was still above what it said. i changed both the cartridges and they continued to read incorrectly a few days later, and changed again with similar results. Also, Never, EVER put a fish tank next to a cat box with little room circulation. You will have sky high nitrates and huge ammonia problems. It is what killed my freshwater aquarium. Just my experiencs though.

Comes from this thread... Any thoughts?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1942413

[AliciaP]

Very possible!

[cameronpalte]

You're PH is low and you're other levels are two high. I would say if you can take out each piece of live rock and give it a sniff to see if you smell anything "dying". If you do take it out as something may of died and combined with the new things you added overloaded you're biological system. Also check for leaking electricity "as was said" and do a 50% water change now and right before you leave. I would be careful with any "bacteria" additives.

[Noobtosalty]

Took most of the corals( except small frags which look fine) out last night and set them up in a 18 gallon tote with a heater, power head and a HOB running carbon and filter floss.. DT looks pretty clear... CUC looks good!! 2 clowns look Great!! I might put the zoa's and the mushroom back in the DT before i leave

test this AM

Ph 8.5
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 mg/l
phosphates 0.50 mg/l
temp 78
salinity 1.025

[Sonny n Colleen]

Thanks for keeping us informed! I was seriously considering moving our cat's litter box back in the same room as our QT is. I won't be doing that now after reading this. I would have never suspected the litter box to cause a problem... Hope your situation gets better. GL!

[SaltyWenStirred]

Hope you solved the problem by removing your corals. And thanks for the heads up about the cat litter box.

I have ours in the cabinet under the sink that I use to collect RO/DI. I clean the box every day, but still, I don't want to drink that.

I keep a lid on the bucket that I keep in the sink to collect water for the tank. Anyway, thanks for this. I'm going to run some tests on the water in there.

[Noobtosalty]

Let me know the results.. I cant do any more testing till i get home

[tronyony]

Originally Posted by Sonny n Colleen

Thanks for keeping us informed! I was seriously considering moving our cat's litter box back in the same room as our QT is. I won't be doing that now after reading this. I would have never suspected the litter box to cause a problem... Hope your situation gets better. GL!

Sonny, check your PM

[Noobtosalty]

Well Guys,
I just got Home!! Any i am glad to say that i pulled most of the corals out and put them in the tote. I came home to only losing 1 coral and that was a birds nest. The rest including 3 anemones, All look Great!!! I will be testing water and doing a 20 gallon water change after i finish unpacking... Thanks for all the help Guys

[EllieSuz]

Glad to hear it.

[Noobtosalty]

Well, that makes two of us.. Trust me i would have a better time on vacation if i wasn't thinking about my darn fish tank... But the care takers stopped in every day when i saw there number come up on my phone i got excited and was crossing my fingers they were going to tell me some good news!!!! Which they did and made me sleep a little better each night