clean tank does not always mean happy tank

pewter_jean · 05/27/2006, 11:19 PM

I did a little cleaning around the tank tonight. My NOBODY is not happy!!!
I pulled out the power heads and cleaned them up. Cleaned the filters, and a couple of rocks that had some gsp that weren't doing so well. I guess they didn't make it thur the alk drop problem I had. so I decided to scrape the junk off the rock. The hammers didn't like me doing that so they started spitting out their junk the skimmer went nuts. and now is throwing all kinds of bubbles back into the tank. All the fish are hiding except the sailfin (he to big to fit anywhere) he is laying on the bottom all white and stressed out. I hope they will be ok until morning.
I tried to put the bubble catcher on the skimmer, but neither one of the brackets fit on my tank, so when it fills up, the wieght of the basket forces the pump off the skimmer and I have to put it back together again. I fought with it for over 3 hours tonight. I tried to put different hoses on, they don't fit.(or I'm not strong enough to force them on) something like that.
Did I do to much at once. It didn't seem like it at the time?

Markk96 · 05/28/2006, 08:56 AM

Do you run carbon at all? I always run carbon after I clean my tank.

pewter_jean · 05/28/2006, 09:27 PM

well everyone made it, maybe. I haven't seen bodies, but my firegobies didn't come out to eat tonight. Maybe I will see them tomorrow. The wall hammer didn't look to happy today either. He didn't open to the full size he normally does. Give him a couple days to pout and he will probly be good. They got cyclop-eeze tonight. That will cheer them up.

DrBDC · 05/29/2006, 07:53 AM

Sometimes things get ticked off messing around in there but after a bit they get out of thier frump.

Sk8r · 05/29/2006, 08:17 AM

Test the water for nitrate/ammonia. Sometimes (particularly if y' feed to try to cheer the fishes up) you get a spike after a filter cleaning. When I ran a giant wet/dry, our orders were to change only one pad at a time, and that worked really pretty well.

Best of all to ditch all filter media and rely on a sump/skimmer/live rock to do it, which has no cleaning except the skimmer cup and no consequent spikes.

05/27/2006, 11:19 PM	#1
pewter_jean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Highland,Il Posts: 1,586	clean tank does not always mean happy tank I did a little cleaning around the tank tonight. My NOBODY is not happy!!! I pulled out the power heads and cleaned them up. Cleaned the filters, and a couple of rocks that had some gsp that weren't doing so well. I guess they didn't make it thur the alk drop problem I had. so I decided to scrape the junk off the rock. The hammers didn't like me doing that so they started spitting out their junk the skimmer went nuts. and now is throwing all kinds of bubbles back into the tank. All the fish are hiding except the sailfin (he to big to fit anywhere) he is laying on the bottom all white and stressed out. I hope they will be ok until morning. I tried to put the bubble catcher on the skimmer, but neither one of the brackets fit on my tank, so when it fills up, the wieght of the basket forces the pump off the skimmer and I have to put it back together again. I fought with it for over 3 hours tonight. I tried to put different hoses on, they don't fit.(or I'm not strong enough to force them on) something like that. Did I do to much at once. It didn't seem like it at the time? __________________ Love your family, Laugh with your friends, Live each day to its fullest Rena

05/28/2006, 08:56 AM	#2
Markk96 Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 4,974 Blog Entries: 1	Do you run carbon at all? I always run carbon after I clean my tank. __________________ "Are you guys ready?" "Let's roll." Current Tank Info: Former 200 Gallon Oceanic Tank. 2 250W SE XM bulbs on Lumenarc Mini Reflectors. 2 Tunze 6100's and a Tunze wavebox. Now a JBJ 28 Gallon HQI Tank.

05/28/2006, 09:27 PM	#3
pewter_jean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Highland,Il Posts: 1,586	well everyone made it, maybe. I haven't seen bodies, but my firegobies didn't come out to eat tonight. Maybe I will see them tomorrow. The wall hammer didn't look to happy today either. He didn't open to the full size he normally does. Give him a couple days to pout and he will probly be good. They got cyclop-eeze tonight. That will cheer them up. __________________ Love your family, Laugh with your friends, Live each day to its fullest Rena

05/29/2006, 07:53 AM	#4
DrBDC Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ballwin, Missouri Posts: 10,358	Sometimes things get ticked off messing around in there but after a bit they get out of thier frump. __________________ Some drink at the fountain of knowledge, some just gargle, but most are rabid. Current Tank Info: 180g sps+75 softy/lps on one system tunze's, seio's, mjmods, aquacontroller w/add ons, 2X400 XM10000 and 3X160 vho actinic, 110g sump, 110 frag tank, Geo Beckett and other stuff

05/29/2006, 08:17 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Test the water for nitrate/ammonia. Sometimes (particularly if y' feed to try to cheer the fishes up) you get a spike after a filter cleaning. When I ran a giant wet/dry, our orders were to change only one pad at a time, and that worked really pretty well. Best of all to ditch all filter media and rely on a sump/skimmer/live rock to do it, which has no cleaning except the skimmer cup and no consequent spikes. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.