i need help

[kriskatatstrophic]

i have had a 37g for the past 2.5 months i just had it crash and i lost half of my live stock


right now i have my tank half full of water with only sand i have my live rock in a clean garbage pale (never had anything in it besides my saltwater mixing)with a heater and my fish are in the QT
do i have to completely start over?
from day one

and also should i change tanks to a 30 gallon 36x12x16
compared to my 37 gallon 30x12x22

i want a shorter tank better for corals

 

[PRC]

Bigger tanks are going to be easier to take care of. Since I've never dealt with the issue of the silicone problem that you've had, I don't know if you can clean it out and use it again, so I'll defer to somebody else.

I don't understand why a shorter tank is better for corals?

 

[kriskatatstrophic]

lights the light dosnt have to go as deep through the water and my tanks 30 inches not a lot of light fixtures are 30in and i cant hang them because im renting my house and its a tile celling

 

[PRC]

gotcha.

 

[Jmck]

Well, you would be better off to redo your tank from the beginning as you will have to if you buy a new tank or use the same one.

If you use the same one, I would suggest that you use vinegar and give it a few washouts to clean everything off and just do whatever you can to make sure its in perfect shape. I wouldnt downgrade, the more water volume, the more diluted the effects of a mistake become. Its why I can get a way with a number more things in my 60g than I can in my 40g.

Dont let this discourage you. your only 2.5 months in, learn from this mistake and any others you had made and do it from the start :) its only one cycle

 

[kriskatatstrophic]

what do i do with my fish i have two of them left a Christmas wrasse and one clown?

 

[ltljoker]

you could always send them to me for safe keeping:mrgreen::bounce:

 

[lilduud]

do you know what triggered it? just out of curiosity i know it doesnt help much...
what exactly happened?

 

[kriskatatstrophic]

silicone i used for my sump it must have had anti microbial in it which killed my bacteria culture and made my tank toxic ammonia spiked probably the nitrites to if you make a sump make sure you use aquarium safe!!

 

[lilduud]

aww im sorry my friend. im actually about to build one so i will be sure to keep that in mind. as for the fish how large is your QT?

 

[Ulta]

heh, funny story... I love how other users seem to go through similar situations as I do at almost the exact same time that I go through them...

My tank just crashed too =( Something happened while I was gone to California for 2 weeks and caused stuff to die. My sump was also new, I'd say about ~1.5 weeks but I used Silicon that was supposedly "Aquarium Safe"

Like that but in a teal color... Has a lil fish in the bottom left.

Anyways here I am about 2 weeks after I got home from Cali and I think I FINALLY got my head above the water and my Ammonia and Nitrite are diminishing down close to 0. I had already lost most my livestock... =( BUT, my frogspawn is still hanging in there! Along with a few mushrooms whos faces look like wet dripping paint xD AND, I managed to keep all of my fish alive!!! (2x clowns, firefish, chromis, and Flamehawk.)

First thing I used when I still had lower ammonia readings was:

I believe this helped keep my fish alive through the process. What it does is bonds the ammonia in a non toxic form until the bacteria have a chance to convert it.

Then what I did in an attempt to fast track my tank back to where it was supposed to be was add in a beneficial bacteria supplement. Now at first I was putting in small amounts at a time. I would recommend 3x to 4x the recommended amounts if you have livestock in your tank to help speed things along. I finally started dumping that in pretty decent amounts after my ammonia had spiked up to around 5ppm! and got results quickly after it was back down to ~.25 ppm.

Anyways I think I finally got my head above the water on the vicious 'Cycle' and was able to same my fish at least, and possibly a few corals.

I don't know what initially caused your cycle (Silicone or not) but if you can get rid of that you can start the battle on getting your bacteria levels back in place. Keep in mind I was doing 10-30% water changes daily to help keep the toxins diluted. I would suggest some of that beneficial bacteria to all and every time you have a change in bio load or new additions (Like a sump) to add some of that in to prevent a tank crash.

Hope this helps you out and your little friends make it through!

 

[PRC]

what do i do with my fish i have two of them left a Christmas wrasse and one clown?

You obviously have to get your fish out of the tank. I've been telling you this since last night. I really don't know what you're waiting on. If you wait long enough you won't have to worry about getting them out because they'll be dead.

It doesn't really matter what size QT you have at this point...a 5 gallon QT is better than a 37 gallon poisoned tank. Get your fish out of the tank.

If you can't QT them, catch them and call your LFS, ask if they'll babysit them for a few days. More than likely they will.

 

[kriskatatstrophic]

there in a 20 gallon QT half full i have to recycle my 37 so what do i do with my fish in that time

 

[Ulta]

there in a 20 gallon QT half full i have to recycle my 37 so what do i do with my fish in that time

I would say keep them there... You just have to watch the QT tank water params. Water changes often(in QT), making sure your temp and salinity match up good with your QT water so you don't shock your fish. Also could set up some sort of a drip method to do your water changes to slowly introduce the new water in with the old.

Edit: If you can hook up your skimmer to the QT it would reduce the need for water changes as often.