Anunexpected event

srt8

srt8

Member
So yesterday I had something happen I need some clues on.I have a 75 gallon reef and 4 small fish.Any way I work a lot of hours on second shift,my tank looked fine when I left for work at 2 Pm when I got home at 3 am it was horrible,I had a coating of slimey yellowish algae on my glass the water was yellowish looking,the fish were stressed with my bangai cardinal actually looking on his death bed,I did a emergency 10 gallon water change with water I had available,10 minutes later the fish were looking and acting 90 percent better.By this time it was 4am and I had to go to bed to be at the bank by 10 to refi my home,when I got up the water looked much better,when I got back from the bank I had time to do another 10 gallon change and had to leave again so no time to test. The only thing new was a jawfish added yesterday, could him digging my sand bed cause this? I mean it looked bad,yellowish tint cloudy water.and slime coat on glass. I think I saved everything but I'm trying to figure out what happened. Has anyone ever heard of a digging fish releasing toxins in water? I was just looking for answers,no time to test just immediate action.other than the new fish added I did dose a small amount of two part,reef fusion1 for calcium and reef fusion 2 for carbonate for the first time. Because my calcium and Carbonate checked right at cutoff the day before so I thought I would try to bring them up slightly.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
How deep is the sandbed and how long has your tank been running?
Yes, if your sandbed is old and there is a lot of old detritus and something disturbs the sandbed, you can have problems arise - and even kill your entire tank off because of it. Hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
Make sure you are running some clean, fresh carbon for the next week or two.
 
srt8

srt8

Member
Yes,I bought the tank used and moved the sand too. I cleaned it some on setup with a gravel Vac but I'm sure it's still pretty dirty underneath,it is around 3 inches thick in back and deeper in front with some new sand added for preparing for the jawfish it could be 5 or 6 inches in some spots.Being new at the time I didn't know or I would of thrown the old sand out,I've had the tank running for about 45 days maybe a little longer.the guy I bought it from had it 10 years.
 
srt8

srt8

Member
It did remind me of some kind of acidic sulfide/sulfer look, I have two bags of chemi pure in my filter I will take them out and put in new.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SRT8 http:///t/393853/anunexpected-event#post_3505031
Yes,I bought the tank used and moved the sand too. I cleaned it some on setup with a gravel Vac but I'm sure it's still pretty dirty underneath,it is around 3 inches thick in back and deeper in front with some new sand added for preparing for the jawfish it could be 5 or 6 inches in some spots.Being new at the time I didn't know or I would of thrown the old sand out,I've had the tank running for about 45 days maybe a little longer.the guy I bought it from had it 10 years.
Definitely sounds like a nutrient issue with the old sandbed. Run your carbon and see if you can somehow maintain your sandbed without stirring up the underlying layers. With a jawfish in the tank, he may dig multiple holes - which will cause one of these "upsets" every time he does it.
 
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