EMERGENCY- Tank just crashed....

[Lbrewer34]

Had something like this happen to me this fall. I slacked off on my water changes doing large changes every 3 weeks instead of weekly. My skimmer went out and since I was focusing on college and not the tank i didn't notice for a few days. Lost all my corals except ironically for the pulsing xenia, which i put in as my "early alarm" coral. My best guess for my loss was the combination of small variants and when the skimmer went out it pushed the tank over the edge killing every thing off in a few days. Here's what I did to get the tank back in order.
1. Big water change, 30-50%
2. No long intervals between changes. I try yo stay to a weekly schedule but don't go over a 2 weeks.
3. Keep a closer eye on levels. I'm still bad about this, I try to do it every other week or so, but even now I've put it off for about a month.
4. Run carbon. I ran carbon before, but usually put an entire package (usually 1lb) and change it out every few months. I cut the amount in quarters and change it out every 2 weeks to month.
5. Sugar dose. I wouldn't recommend this without a skimmer, but for me, the additional carbon source has done wonders for controlling my nitrates. The only down side to this is that sometimes I forget to dose for a few days, which causes the nitrates to spike quickly. I see this in diatom and algae bloom. Hope this helps some,
Lee

 

[Katchupoy]

Have you checked for stray voltage?

Seems to me that I've read somewhere (on one of the dozens of forums that I visit) that it can cause these exact issues.

Then again, I could be confused ... I'm just a newbie.

Brian

Brian, you have a point there, but did also checked that angle and everything is clear. I also have the GFCI and if there are any stray current it always goes off first the second i touch the water. And it saved me several times already... One was a faulty T5 wiring I did, and another one is a faulty receptacle going out because of salt creep. But this time, everything is A ok with regards to stray voltage.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Katchupoy]

Trido, I will do another major water change tomorrow... I need to buy water this time since my RO wont be able to catch up with me... thanks for all your suggestions. I think Im too late with my beloved candy canes.... and my 12" diameter frog spawn colony is crumbling into pieces when i try to move it the temporary holding tank... there goes my mother colony center piece...

 

[mojoreef]

Hey Cesar I am up for coming over and helping if you wish, not to far away. Shoot me a PM


Mike

 

[jrgilles]

I DO have a spare pH station you can borrow. I live near I-90 and I-5. I have a station and probe.

I work 9:30 to 5 though. If you want to get this during the day, I can put it in a box on my porch. Let me know ASAP though, so I can set it out before I head off to the work. Text my phone 206-713-7809 if you still need this, and I will set it out and give you address, etc.

If I don't hear from you, I will be around this evening and all weekend too

 

[jrgilles]

actually, forgot my stepson is off school today. I have set the pH meter, probe and some 7.00 and 10.00 calibration solution out on my dining room table. So if you need it, he can pass it off to you. Anyway, text my phone if interested and good luck.

 

[Katchupoy]

Thank you Jrgilles, i no longer need the PH monitor since I was able to prove that my theory is wrong. Bought a PH test kit last night and it tested 8.0. So ALK dump is not the culprit (I think). And no need to dose/drip vinegar too to reverse the high PH since there is none.

I believe, everything now is a bit late, I already did several major water changes last night. Moved all LPS to a smaller tank with 100% new salt mix.

I believe at this point in time, the damage has been done. All I can do is wait. I really like those corals. The sad part is I will need to start from a frag again.

 

[Katchupoy]

Hey Cesar I am up for coming over and helping if you wish, not to far away. Shoot me a PM


Mike

Thanks Mike.

 

[jrgilles]

OK, sorry to hear about the crash.

Let me know when it get stabilized. I can cut you a candycane frag and I'm sure some others will help you out to get restarted. Sorry this happened.

Did you test dKH and Ca? one of those could be the culprit if you had a snowstorm in your tank.

r

 

[Katchupoy]

@jrgilles

Ever since I stopped dosing a long time ago, I stopped checking parameters too. Less hassle worry free for me. Keep it simple.
This approach only works if you have softies a few LPS. Also works when your not worried about growth. No skimmer to maintain. No sand to vacuum.

Now Im blaming myself, why did I ever start dripping KALK again.... maybe to make my 3 pcs sps happy?

I guess lesson learned. Dont do KALK but instead use calcium chloride (home depot ice melter) and alkalinity (baking soda) instead...

Also, for corals spawning..... I researched.... and found out that Hammer and Frogspawn and Torch spawns eggs and not cloud like clams do.

 

[Aquanaut]

I noticed you have a number of BTA. I have witnessed the spawn of a jumbo RBTA back in the day and it overwhelmed my 125g system then, and caused similar havoc. I'd run a carbon reactor and skimmer to pull out the noxious pollutant in addition to water changes.

 

[Katchupoy]

Aquanut, never heard RBTA spawned before. I know that they just split, and thats how they multiply. I will take a note of that and research further more. Thanks for the heads up. If thats the case, I will need to put these babies on their own tank... Another excuse to add another tank? lol.

Thanks.

 

[Aquanaut]

Yeah! it's the craziest thing to witness a smoking RBTA spewing out volumes till you can't see much of anything. And causes hammers and similar corals to recede their tissue that is being burned by the irritation. That was when I still had LPS/Hammer's/Derasas under VHO's and no real SPS till halide in the following years.

 

[jrgilles]

omg. I had no idea RBTA's would spawn. Is that detrimental to the tank? Or do you just water change and run carbon and it is ok?

 

[Aquanaut]

All tank systems are unique and super filtration whether chemical export or skim are part of it. And when conditions are natural then all "life" will do the natural thing "procreate". Heh, even the turbo snail have their own smoking section...lol, mine are +8yrs and large.

 

[Crack31]

Dosing a gallon plus kalk in a day could result in a huge alk spike.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Cesar, I am not a fan of dosing for too many reasons to list. The following really caught my eye:

"and my 12" diameter frog spawn colony is crumbling into pieces when i try to move it the temporary holding tank"

I suspect that besides whatever caused the cloud, your mineral balance is off. The coral skeletin should be much stronger than that. Perhaps your calcium suplimentation or Mg put things out of wacck. Try simple saltwater changes for awhile. Most tanks DO NOT require any dosing. The ones that do are PACKED with SPS and other rapidly growing colonies that are depleting th system faster than water changes replenish. Dosing violates two concepts.
1. Keep it Simple
2. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Hope things come back and don't give up hope...

Yer pal,
Mike

 

[Katchupoy]

Mike,

You are definitely correct... I was really surprised last night when moving my torch, used a tong, and the tong crushed the skeleton system as it is nothing. Powdered pieces.
I agree with you, that I have huge imbalance. And I am blaming myself since ive been neglecting the tank for the last few years, since been busy with work. life and other hobbies..

The irony was, I was trying to catch up with it in the last few days, taking pics, and video... not knowing that it will be the last... How sad...

Some samples...

 

[Katchupoy]

Ok update on my tank.

Casualty report as of today.

35 heads of candy canes dead. (90%), There are 3 heads that I think is 40% chance of survivality.
50-60 heads of branching hammer dead.
13 heads out of 100+ heads of frog spawn dead.

LPS is mostly hit,
RBTA is ok
Neon green Nepthea is doing fine,
Green sinularia still closed, but no sign of degredation.
Duncan (LPS) is showing recovery.
The rest are ok.

 

[tamarindthai]

Cesar,what ever you need,just give me a call. Tank get well soon,my friend