Advice please. MODS or Pros Help.

squishy

Member
I have a buddy that just moved and reset his tank up. The tank has gone through all the normal cycles all parameters are great he has a few fish in there and a couple of inverts. Fish are coral beauty and some damels, inverts are coral banded shrimp some snails. He reused the same rock and hasn't any new rock so no hitchhikers. No huge algea out break so no false readings. Ph has been great and stable. Have tested for copper and found none. Now for the question... He has added a sea urchin and died within a day. It was pretty much dust. he has added a new fish died within a day, added sails and died within a day. Everything looks pretty much destroyed that dies. The other fish and inverts though going on liveing with no probs. My buddy isn't a newbie and has introuduced fish before. So that isn't the issue. Now before anybody says it he will not be adding anthing untill he gets this resolved.
The tank is 90gallon with about 80lbs live rock. The one thing that I have suspion about is that he has crushed coral for a sand bed.
PS he also does water changes 2wice a month.. Sorry for the long post but this one has me stumped :thinking: What have I over looked.
Thanks in advance. :help:
 

xdave

Active Member
Well I wouldn't blame the crushed coral because it's been used successfully for many more years than the now popular sand bed. Usually when fish are ok but new ones die it's usually 1 of 2 things; the nitrates, which the used rock and cc may now be holding have built up so slowly that the inhabitants aren't bothered by it but knew fish are shocked, or, the new fish aren't being properly acclimated.
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by xDave
Well I wouldn't blame the crushed coral because it's been used successfully for many more years than the now popular sand bed. Usually when fish are ok but new ones die it's usually 1 of 2 things; the nitrates, which the used rock and cc may now be holding have built up so slowly that the inhabitants aren't bothered by it but knew fish are shocked, or, the new fish aren't being properly acclimated.
the fish are being acclimated properly. But the slow release from the live rock is bothering. would that not spike after awhile and be detectable. Thanks for ruling out the crushed coral.
Thanks for the input. I do apprectiate it.
 

rykna

Active Member
I would double check the PH. I had 2 urchins in my 90. I made the unfortunate mistake of dumping a concentrated mix of ph kalwasser mix into the back corner of the tank...which happens to be the favorite feeding spot of the larger urchin "Timmy". 20 minutes latter I was horrified when I saw timmy~He had an open wound about the size of a quarter, look kind of like an acid wound, and all of the spines in that area had fallen off. It only took seconds to put together what had happened. Timmy recovered. I reread living conditions about sea urchins. They are pretty hardy critters except when it comes to PH. High levels of ph will kill sea urchins with in hours.
Hope this helps
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by Rykna
I would double check the PH. I had 2 urchins in my 90. I made the unfortunate mistake of dumping a concentrated mix of ph kalwasser mix into the back corner of the tank...which happens to be the favorite feeding spot of the larger urchin "Timmy". 20 minutes latter I was horrified when I saw timmy~He had an open wound about the size of a quarter, look kind of like an acid wound, and all of the spines in that area had fallen off. It only took seconds to put together what had happened. Timmy recovered. I reread living conditions about sea urchins. They are pretty hardy critters except when it comes to PH. High levels of ph will kill sea urchins with in hours.
Hope this helps

Thanks and sorry to hear about timmy but glad he recovered. I have double checked his ph at different times to see if it was swinging but it is stable.
This truley has me baffeled. The one thing I keep comeing back to is either the crushed coral or the live rock is leaching something into the tank that the other inhabitaints are used to.
 

rykna

Active Member
I do know that crushed coral is no longer recommened to use because the shape of the shells is a favored breeding ground a BAD bacteria. i found this out shortly after investing 75 plus bucks in the pretty crushed coral. I used it for fertilizer, and replace it with live sand.
Let me know how things are going
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
What is the pH, alkalinity and calcium?
8.2 and steady ak is 9 and calcium is 420 all have been double checked and triple checked. His specks are Identical to my tank.
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by Rykna
I do know that crushed coral is no longer recommened to use because the shape of the shells is a favored breeding ground a BAD bacteria. i found this out shortly after investing 75 plus bucks in the pretty crushed coral. I used it for fertilizer, and replace it with live sand.
Let me know how things are going

thanks that is one of my suspects a bateria strain. Could the fish and inverts be immune to that and the new ones aren't. I belive that baterial infections in fish do not affect inverts and vice versa. But I may be wrong.
 

squishy

Member
Is it possible that live rock will leach out nits and copper at different times. say at night or during the day? I am just brainstorming and thinking out loud. I have googled this a hundred times and still can't come up with anything. So now I come to the pros.
What about strot. Is it possible that it could wipe out a tank. Although he does not supplement for that. And I don't have a test kit for that either.
 

ophiura

Active Member
Not really, and copper is not likely to kill fish.
But pH and alkalinity problems can definitely kill things (esp new fish) at night. There are really no additives, etc, that are likely to kill the fish so rapidly. And certainly not if they are not added.
Has there been any painting or anything else in his new place.
 

poniegirl

Active Member
Was the crushed coral disturbed extensively during the move? How long had the system been running undisturbed before the move?
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
Not really, and copper is not likely to kill fish.
But pH and alkalinity problems can definitely kill things (esp new fish) at night. There are really no additives, etc, that are likely to kill the fish so rapidly. And certainly not if they are not added.
Has there been any painting or anything else in his new place.
I will check he moved in about 4 months ago and I don't belive there was some painting. But that is defently an idea. Outside contaminates. :thinking:
Thanks
 

squishy

Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Was the crushed coral disturbed extensively during the move? How long had the system been running undisturbed before the move?
yes very disturbed. the tank was about 1.5 or so before the move.
 

reefkprz

Active Member
Just a question did he switch stores he purchases at after the move? Maybe questionable livestock? (I'm just throwing ideas out)
 
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