Tank Is Crashing Please Help!!

[Ditchplains2]

Thanks Jnarowe

Definitely feels much better, I was really in a perilous state the week or so prior with what had happened. I'm really looking forward to having a nice healthy aquarium again. I'm getting my cleanup crew Monday, so should be nice to see the rocks get a good once over by snails and crabs. Hopefully, everyone will be good house guests and no squabbles over shells as I had to toss all my extra shells.

Some things this experience has taught me.

Always, always have a QT tank up and ready 24-7 just in case of an emergency.

Always watch your probes, occasionally these high tech pieces of equipment can and do fail, so make sure to keep a good test kit on hand.

Make sure to watch any dying or dead in habitants, and keep your rock structure open and movable in the event you need to pull out a sick or dying creature.

Also too watch your additions, I added a blue Linkia perhaps a bit too early in my setup. I got overly cocky from having kept an orange Linkia for a number of years, and that fooled me into thinking I had establish enough flora and fauna to keep another healthy.

Lastly, DO NOT USE ANY UNKNOWN CONTAINER OR NON FOOD GRADE CONTAINER FOR WATER CHANGES. OH BOY THIS WAS A MAJOR LESSON, UGH!

Thanks everyone

 

[jnarowe]

All good lessons we wish we hadn't learned!

So in the end, you feel it was the water change container?

 

[Ditchplains2]

Jnarowe,


Agreed, and I sure wish I hadn't! lol


Well, to be honest I am not sure, I moreover feel like it was a combination of events. I the dying blue Linkia, started to the aquarium to show signs of high nitrates, perhaps even ammonia, I am not sure because I didn't test for it.
The water change following that with a possible contaminant may have pushed this process of restarting the cycle into high gear, this is milky water and abnormal baterical bloom. I was adding Polyp Lab's Reef Baterica 4 month ago in the beginning of my cycle of my dead live rock along with some new pieces when I cooked them, perhaps this strain of bacteria is very strong and can grow quickly if given the right environment. It could have been a protozoan too or a type of dinoflagelate. I am not sure what was growing in my aquarium that looked like gelatinous goop. I will say that the eventual die off of my corals, anemone crabs and snails didn't help in the pollution of the aquarium.

Now it's been a week or so, and I am keeping my new LR in QT tank with vigilant water changes, I am hardly seeing any slime, a few particulates of it, its not totally gone, but its dying off. Less and less is showing up. I hope this will not all come back and blow up in my face when I refill my aquarium. Who knows really. I should have had the slime analyzed at an aquarium facility but I never did.

I'm just going to be patient here and ride it out, keeping up with 50 to 75% water changed every couples of days and see what happens.

I can't be sure I just can wait.

cheers
David

 

[Ditchplains2]

Closing this thread.

I just wanted to thank everyone involved in this thread who offered advice and imparted wisdom in my moment of panic. I don't normally panic but this situation had me stumped. I have finally gotten my tank back underway, and I will be resuming my tank build thread shortly. It's looking very healthy now as a BB tank, with 4 larges pieces of LR and currently one zooanthid colony. I have found the use of filter socks and BB to be a key ingredient in my tanks recovery well and tons of water changes, and a good scrubbin with vinegar and rags.

Ok I hope to see ya'll over at my tank build thread.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32537

cheers
David