Smitty
Reef pro
I agree with Yote on this one...have the lfs test the water if possible.
Catastrophy Strikes
- Thread starter reefer2b
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
If your star is losing its legs, that's a good sign it's on its way out. It's unlikely that it will be able to survive... Sorry :(
Yes, the starfish died as did most of my crabs. Both in the bucket and those that stayed in the tank. (I had a few I couldn't find) all on the same day too. The snails are the only thing left and I've only lost one. They haven't been coming out though. Seem to be hibernating in their shells; they are still in the bucket.
My ammonia is spiking today at about 1 the highest it's been in 3 days. So maybe this is the actual spike. Which comes next nitrites or nitrates I forget which and then do a small water change?? (never have had a reading on either since I've set up the tank) I've noticed some of the coraline in the tank is turning bright orange both on the rocks and on the glass. Is it dying or just reacting to the ammonia?
I guess as far as learning experiences go this is a good one, but what a PIA.
My ammonia is spiking today at about 1 the highest it's been in 3 days. So maybe this is the actual spike. Which comes next nitrites or nitrates I forget which and then do a small water change?? (never have had a reading on either since I've set up the tank) I've noticed some of the coraline in the tank is turning bright orange both on the rocks and on the glass. Is it dying or just reacting to the ammonia?
I guess as far as learning experiences go this is a good one, but what a PIA.
Smitty
Reef pro
The next stage is the nitrite cycle...then once your ammonia and nitrites are gone, it just leaves the nitrates, then do a water change.
yote
In Memoriam
+1 Smitty
Once the nitrites and ammonia are back to 0,then do a water change.
Once the nitrites and ammonia are back to 0,then do a water change.
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
At 2", it does nothing for nitrate reduction, but everything for collection of detritus. 1" of sand is fine if you only want a shallow sand bed (SSB)
A real DSB is more like 4" or 5" minimum.
Remove 1/2 the sand.
Now just let it sit and stink. It's going to take a few weeks at least. The rocks are all cycling again after being moved twice. You've undoubtedly got dead snails and animals in the sand bed. Those will take awhile to rot and decay.
Just take any remaining live stock to the LFS and let the tank cycle out. It may bounce up and down a few times before it stabilizes. Best thing you can do right now is BE PATIENT.
Give it time to cycle. When your ammonia AND nitrites read 0 for a week straight, then you can test nitrates. Now do a water change to lower nitrates. Do a couple water changes over the course of a week to lower nitrates down under 10ppm.
Go get your live stock but only 1 or 2 animals per week. Stock slowly.
A real DSB is more like 4" or 5" minimum.
Remove 1/2 the sand.
Now just let it sit and stink. It's going to take a few weeks at least. The rocks are all cycling again after being moved twice. You've undoubtedly got dead snails and animals in the sand bed. Those will take awhile to rot and decay.
Just take any remaining live stock to the LFS and let the tank cycle out. It may bounce up and down a few times before it stabilizes. Best thing you can do right now is BE PATIENT.
Give it time to cycle. When your ammonia AND nitrites read 0 for a week straight, then you can test nitrates. Now do a water change to lower nitrates. Do a couple water changes over the course of a week to lower nitrates down under 10ppm.
Go get your live stock but only 1 or 2 animals per week. Stock slowly.
the only "livestock" remaining are the snails. The nassarius are still in the tank and living. They come out every night and climb up the glass just like always. The turbos are still hanging in the bucket, but they stopped moving around, but they aren't dead. I've still been changing bucket water daily. I don't know if the lfs would want them they are all covered in hair algae.
Wes888
Reef enthusiast
never mind. was replying to an old post in this thread...
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Then just sit back and let it cycle for a couple weeks or a month. I'd top it off daily and just forget it's even there. The more fussing around you do, the more you risk screwing it up.
Just sit back for a bit. Give it a month to cycle and settle down. If you find any dead snails, remove them from the tank. Don't even bother testing it right now. It's just a waste of your testing solutions. You KNOW it's all whacked out right now and probably loaded with ammonia and nitrates. So why waste the tests on it?
If you have an algae problem in the tank, now is a good time to turn off the lights and tape some black poster board to all 4 sides of the tank. Don't feed it any light for a month.
Run your skimmer full blast.
Just top it off daily and forget about it. Test the water in the last week of August. You will hopefully see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and less than 20 nitrates. Check the pH, alkalinity and magnesium. Change about 50% of the water if you have nitrates over 10ppm.
Start stocking SLOWLY. Like 1 new coral or 1 new fish every 2 weeks.
Just sit back for a bit. Give it a month to cycle and settle down. If you find any dead snails, remove them from the tank. Don't even bother testing it right now. It's just a waste of your testing solutions. You KNOW it's all whacked out right now and probably loaded with ammonia and nitrates. So why waste the tests on it?
If you have an algae problem in the tank, now is a good time to turn off the lights and tape some black poster board to all 4 sides of the tank. Don't feed it any light for a month.
Run your skimmer full blast.
Just top it off daily and forget about it. Test the water in the last week of August. You will hopefully see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and less than 20 nitrates. Check the pH, alkalinity and magnesium. Change about 50% of the water if you have nitrates over 10ppm.
Start stocking SLOWLY. Like 1 new coral or 1 new fish every 2 weeks.
rc, I don't have a skimmer. not sure about total blackout. I have one coral that is hanging in there, a small one that didn't cost much so I'm leaving it. It peaks out for about an hour then completely hides again. (torch) If it goes I'll try the blackout I guess it won't hurt the nassarius snails would it. At least it doesn't stink like it did last week. It's not to bad even when I'm right next to the tank, which is good since it's in my bedroom. What does the magnesium do? never tested for that.
yote
In Memoriam
Magnesium is used with the calcium and carbonate by coraline algae and stony corals.
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Get a skimmer. Best piece of equipment you can have for a saltwater tank.
dcantucson
Reef pro
+1 Rc
I might do that now. I couldn't before. I didn't leave enough room between the wall and the tank for one, but when I took the water out I moved the tank forward.
