About to just give up

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brandonsivek

Guest
I knew my eel was dying, and he finally died today. Along with my hammer coral, my xenia is dying, my feater duster died, and there is algea everywhere that I can not get rid of. About ready to save myself the headache and post all this crap on craigslist. All my water readings are fine, but the only two test I dont have are phosphate and Alk. Unfortunatly, I got laid off from my job so I cannot go out and buy these test kits. Wish I could start all over and save myself the time, money and trouble. Sorry, I had to rant.
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
Dont give up, just shorten your lights a little. Maybe that will help with the algea. Atleast dont sell the stuff. In a few months you might regret that decision.
 
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smartorl

Guest
What other inhabitants in the tank? Any other corals?
Eels are predators and therefore excrete high waste. I am not sure how large your system was but your eel could have been a part of your problem.
If I were you, don't do anything hasty. I have done it in the past and regretted it when I have to spend the money all over again!
I would do a large water change, get those powerheads churning the surface pretty heavily and do some smaller water changes every few days and give the tank a chance to stabilize itself.
You may find with the eel out of the system that alot of the problems will take care of themselves.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
I would just like to say that i understand all the people that want you to hang in there. all i can say is this hobby demandes 110% of your heart and soul. you are the only one who truly knows if you have lost that fire. if so just walk away you can always come back.
 
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smartorl

Guest
Joe is right, I just don't know that I would sell my stuff again, tear it down and store it for a little while if you can. So much thought goes into picking our equipment and it's so expensive to replace. Selling it, you only get maybe a small fraction of what it's worth unless you have a really nice show tank and someone with deep pockets.
 
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brandonsivek

Guest
Thanks so much for the support guys and gals. I stepped back, took a deep breathe and did some things today. Did a large water change (40 gallons in my 125) and upped my carbon that I am running. Cleaned all the filters really good, and sucked up as much algae as possible. THEN, I found my Starry Blenny dead behind one of my rocks. Now I have no fish in my tank. Maybe this is a good thing, try to get the tank back to normal. I was thinking today of the things that could have caused this. I had a Tiger tail Cucumber, and I have not seen him lately. Maybe he is the cause for this, IDK. But I am just going to stick it out, and try to get the tank back to normal for now. I am going to do some water tests tonight so I will post those results up in a little while. Thanks
Thanks again everyone!
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Did you soak food for the eel in iodine? If so, to error on the side of caution, I would test the iodine levels to be sure they are good.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
If you have no fish now, do you have any coral? If not this is the perfect time, if things are as bad as you say, to cook your rock and you can do it right in your tank. This will eliminate the problems you have outlined above.
If you want to do this we can help with telling you the process.
 
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brandonsivek

Guest
Well, I only tried to feed him once before he died and he wasnt interested in it at all. I DID however, dose the tank with Iodine. I was told by someone I THOUGHT I could trust at the LFS. Have known her for about a year now. I guess thats another test kit I need to buy, but I dont think I saw that test kit when I went there. I would have to look again. I only dosed it once. Guess I will need to test that now, getting very frustrating!
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
I would not worry about testing the iodine at this point or any point in the future. Aggressive water changes will take care of any problem there. And for information purposed in the future, if you have a good water change schedule your iodine requirements will be taken care of that way. No need to dose Iodine IMO. And if you followed the directions on the Iodine bottle doubt you would have overdosed anyway.
 
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brandonsivek

Guest
Yeah, I followed the directions Spanko, so I am not worried about that. Its just really strange to me that everything died when all my reading were okay. I dont know, guess I never will.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Done any cleaning with cleaning products around the tank lately? Painting in the house? Fire in the fireplace with the flue closed before you caught it? See what I am getting at, some bad juju floating into or in the air around the tank? Do a water change recently that could have been contaminated? Etc. Etc. Etc.
 
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brandonsivek

Guest
Well, I was thinking about that, and the only thing I can think of was that I used Windex on some paper towels to clean the outside of the tank, but who knows, it probably wouldnt take much of that getting in the tank to mess up some things. We dont have a fireplace, wish we did though. And of course, I asked my Wife if she had sprayed any febreeze in the room with the tank and she said no, but of course, I will never know the truth behind that!
 
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smartorl

Guest
Maybe I'm thinking the wrong person but didn't your eel stop eating and look like something was stuck in his throat?
 
mkroher

mkroher

Member
I dunno.. isn't Windex just ammonia with fragrance? Wouldn't the ammonia get denitrified? Besides, I don't think a mist of Windex with all of that water volume can be a problem.. unless someone has the unfortunate experience to counter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonSivek http:///forum/thread/384075/about-to-just-give-up#post_3363768
Well, I was thinking about that, and the only thing I can think of was that I used Windex on some paper towels to clean the outside of the tank, but who knows, it probably wouldnt take much of that getting in the tank to mess up some things. We dont have a fireplace, wish we did though. And of course, I asked my Wife if she had sprayed any febreeze in the room with the tank and she said no, but of course, I will never know the truth behind that!
 
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smartorl

Guest
It may be sound silly but any overheated teflon in the kitchen? That is a biggie believe it or not. I had a friend lose three parrots and eventually her tank over burnt teflon.
 
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