HELP!!! tank crashed!!!

[krak256]

i came home from work today and i see all my corals receded and pale and the water is cloudy. one of my acans had a few heads that died. my new picassos that have been in my tank are pale, breathing really hard, and have inflamed gills, but my sixline and clown goby seem to be fine.

I'm making some new saltwater and heating it up as we speak. I plan to do a 20% water change. I also put in some carbon. I'm doing a water test and waiting on results.

Is there anything else should I do? I'm afraid the smallest picasso may die...

Should I have someone hold my corals and fish in their QT? If so, is there anyone in Manhattan that could do this for me?

I can be reached at 646-318-0448.

thanks,
Don

 

[krak256]

what do u think caused the crash? the only thing i changed from the day before is I moved the acan that had a few heads die into a different spot. I also put a plastic mesh over the back chambers of my 14g biocube to prevent the clownfish from jumping over. the mesh was only in the water for a little while... but i used this mesh in my tank before to cover the intake.

any ideas?

 

[Domboski]

Do you run any reactors? Did a fish, snail or crab die? My first reaction is it sounds like fowled water. Don't move your fish out as the stress of moving them may put them over the top. Do a 20% water change as you are and do another in about an hour or two. Keep running the carbon. It may get exhausted quickly and you may want to plan on changing it again after each water change.

Keep a close eye on the water params. If the water doesn't clear up shortly after running carbon and water changes.... something is most likely dead in your tank. If you don't have large snails like conches or large crabs or fish, you most likely will solve the problem with the water changes and carbon assuming your tank is established.

How long has your tank been up?

 

[marrone]

Can you list the following:

Tank size
Equipment, like skimmer and filters
Corals you had/have
How long the tanks been up

It possible a coral could have died and messed the tank up.

 

[krak256]

parameters are:

nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 5 - 10 ppm
ammonia: somewhere between 0 - .25 ppm
ph: 8.4

 

[Domboski]

Your ammonia should be zero. What test kit are you using?

 

[marrone]

It's a very small tank and all it takes is one coral to do to mess up the whole tank. I would do some water changes to bring the ammonia down and run some carbon a a poly filter if you have one.

 

[QUESTIONMARC]

if you need someone to hold your fish or corals.. i have a frag and quarentine tank. just bring them in buckets.. 347.614.1814.. be smart.. if you dont see improvement.. move them to a healthy spot where you have a chance of saving a few things instead of waiting it out and losing everything.. even a local petstore down the block. good luck. im in the bronx. 10465.

 

[krak256]

My tank has been running for about 6 months now.

It's a 14g biocube. i think the only thing that died was the acan, and it was only 2-3 heads. i did have a astrea snail die a couple days ago... but it was picked clean by my cleaner shrimp. i don't think anything large died, or I would have noticed it.

Here is a FTS from last week:

Equipment:
oceanic skimmer
koralia nano
hydor deflector
stealth heater
fuge in middle chamber with chaeto

livestock:
2 picassos
clown goby
sixline
4 hermits
3 snails

orals:
2 acans
pumping xenia
frogspawn
finger leather
feather duster
small gbta
blue cloves
a few zoo frags
rics

 

[krak256]

Your ammonia should be zero. What test kit are you using?

im using the api marine test kit. the reason i give a range is because the result is kinda tanish brown, but it seems to have a slight tint of green.

ugh... now my fragspawn is dropping bits of it's neon green tips

 

[marrone]

It doesn't look like you have any corals that could cause a problem but in such a small tank it doesn't take much for it to crash a tank. If you had things died in the tank you would except ammonia, especially in such a small tank.

Right now the best thing to do is some water changes and run carbon.
You should remove any corals that look like they're dying and try and siphon out any dead corals.

 

[krak256]

the smallest picasso died... im depressed...

 

[Domboski]

sorry to hear it It is one of the risks running a nano.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Sorry about the crash. I understand how you feel.

 

[krak256]

thanks domboski and marrone for walking me thru this. i just did a water change and put in carbon. I'm making more water as we speak for a water change tomorrow. is there anything else i should do? should i remove my corals and fish? the rest of the fish seem fine.

i cant wait to upgrade to a solana. hopefully it wont be as sensitive as my 14g.

how did this crash happen anyway? was it the plastic mesh? and why did 2 acan heads die? did that cause the crash? i find it hard to believe that 2 heads and a snail can crash my system when i do water changes every week, feed every other day, and make sure my hands are clean when they get put into the tank.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Anything could have caused it. I would take a water sample to someone who has different test kits and see what they come up with for readings. Also are you using RODI? What salt?

 

[Domboski]

It's very possible a snail dying in a 14 gallon can cause a problem. Snails are extremely messy when they die and start to decay. Keep with the water changes and monitor the fish and corals. I don't see any reason to move anything out as long as the water params get back in check.

How much live rock and sand do you have in that tank?

 

[prattreef]

How are the Xenia doing? A crashed Xenia colony can foul a tank very quickly as they exude pretty noxious toxins when they die.

Is it possible there was a power outage while you were at work?

 

[krak256]

chief: i am using rodi along with reef crystals

dom: i have about 20lbs of live rock along with maybe 20 lbs of sand? i just know sand is about 2 inches deep.

pratt: xenia are stressed, but still alive. they are pumping slightly.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Did your heater malfunction?