Help!

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:04 AM

My 30g seemed to be doing fine last night. All fish were acting normally, corals looked good. Nitrates have been 0, alk 10, ca 435, ph 8.1, salinity 1.024. Last night before bed we noticed that something smelled like eggs in the house and wondered if we had a gas leak but it went away. Woke up this morning and realized it was worse and it the tank. Our cleaner shrimp, bicolor blenny and a bunch of snails are dead. Our firefish and cardinals look like they won't be far behind. We did a 5 gallon water change, number are same as above this morning. We've been using carbon purigen and phosguard. Thoughts????

greech · 03/21/2014, 06:09 AM

How old is the tank? Did you happen to check ammonia last night?

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:15 AM

We didn't check ammonia last night. The tank has been up and running sinceOctober. All fish and corals have been in for about a month. We have a pretty shallow sand bed, 1.5 inches. Not sure if that's contributing

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:28 AM

Also found black almost sand like material floating on the surface. Hydrogen sulfide???

greech · 03/21/2014, 06:31 AM

Don't think the sandbed is the issue. 1.5 inches isnt deep enough to cause problems. The hydrogen sulfide came from something that died. Was everyone accounted for last night? Do you have a sump? If so, are you running a deep sandbed in there?

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:39 AM

No real sump. We do have an overflow but no sand. All fish and shrimp were accounted for. Never really know where all the snails are so one of them certainly could have died and gone unnoticed. Could that cause it? The few that have died in the past have been devoured by peppermint shrimp really quickly.

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:42 AM

The bicolor blenny has been attempting to commit suicide by Vortech power head for a while. We've been joking that he was going to swim in and chop his was off but didn't think he could actually make it. Could he have gotten hit by a blade and caused all this? If so what do we do? He's already been flushed.

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyFish858

The bicolor blenny has been attempting to commit suicide by Vortech power head for a while. We've been joking that he was going to swim in and chop his head off but didn't think he could actually make it. Could he have gotten hit by a blade and caused all this? If so what do we do? He's already been flushed.

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 07:06 AM

Leaving the LFS with water to do a 30% water change. They tested our water and didn't find anything abnormal including ammonia. Not sure where the hydrogen sulfide came from but if anyone has any other suggestions to fix it I would really appreciate it.

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 07:42 AM

Sorry to be the crazy person responding to my own thread over and over, but I'm really hoping my remaining fish are salvageable. Now it smells like asphalt and there's black tar like material where the filter was. Anyone? We're at a loss here.

thegrun · 03/21/2014, 09:51 AM

The egg smell is hydrogen sulfide, something must have died or there is an area in the tank or sump with very low water flow. Run new carbon, aerate the water, make at least a 25% water change and search again for a source of the smell.

MonkeyFish858 · 03/21/2014, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

The egg smell is hydrogen sulfide, something must have died or there is an area in the tank or sump with very low water flow. Run new carbon, aerate the water, make at least a 25% water change and search again for a source of the smell.

Thanks for the advice. The smell actually seemed to be strongest over the filter chamber. Could this just be because the filters have pulled out the sulfide? We've changed them all and done a water change. Smell is improved but still present. How long would it take for a small dead blenny to do this? Is it possible that he died last night and set the whole thing off?

03/21/2014, 06:04 AM	#1
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	Help! My 30g seemed to be doing fine last night. All fish were acting normally, corals looked good. Nitrates have been 0, alk 10, ca 435, ph 8.1, salinity 1.024. Last night before bed we noticed that something smelled like eggs in the house and wondered if we had a gas leak but it went away. Woke up this morning and realized it was worse and it the tank. Our cleaner shrimp, bicolor blenny and a bunch of snails are dead. Our firefish and cardinals look like they won't be far behind. We did a 5 gallon water change, number are same as above this morning. We've been using carbon purigen and phosguard. Thoughts????

03/21/2014, 06:09 AM	#2
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	How old is the tank? Did you happen to check ammonia last night? __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

03/21/2014, 06:31 AM	#5
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	Don't think the sandbed is the issue. 1.5 inches isnt deep enough to cause problems. The hydrogen sulfide came from something that died. Was everyone accounted for last night? Do you have a sump? If so, are you running a deep sandbed in there? __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

03/21/2014, 06:39 AM	#6
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	No real sump. We do have an overflow but no sand. All fish and shrimp were accounted for. Never really know where all the snails are so one of them certainly could have died and gone unnoticed. Could that cause it? The few that have died in the past have been devoured by peppermint shrimp really quickly. Last edited by MonkeyFish858; 03/21/2014 at 06:44 AM.

03/21/2014, 06:15 AM	#3
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	We didn't check ammonia last night. The tank has been up and running sinceOctober. All fish and corals have been in for about a month. We have a pretty shallow sand bed, 1.5 inches. Not sure if that's contributing

03/21/2014, 06:28 AM	#4
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	Also found black almost sand like material floating on the surface. Hydrogen sulfide???

03/21/2014, 06:42 AM	#7
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	The bicolor blenny has been attempting to commit suicide by Vortech power head for a while. We've been joking that he was going to swim in and chop his was off but didn't think he could actually make it. Could he have gotten hit by a blade and caused all this? If so what do we do? He's already been flushed.

03/21/2014, 07:06 AM	#9
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	Leaving the LFS with water to do a 30% water change. They tested our water and didn't find anything abnormal including ammonia. Not sure where the hydrogen sulfide came from but if anyone has any other suggestions to fix it I would really appreciate it.

03/21/2014, 07:42 AM	#10
MonkeyFish858 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 22	Sorry to be the crazy person responding to my own thread over and over, but I'm really hoping my remaining fish are salvageable. Now it smells like asphalt and there's black tar like material where the filter was. Anyone? We're at a loss here.

03/21/2014, 09:51 AM	#11
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	The egg smell is hydrogen sulfide, something must have died or there is an area in the tank or sump with very low water flow. Run new carbon, aerate the water, make at least a 25% water change and search again for a source of the smell.