Crashing!!!!

[jrthomas40]

my tank appears to be crashing all of my corals are dieing, zoos are not opening and are starting to look "dirty"....snails are also dying and my shrimp have come up missing....i have been doing small water changes and 1 big water change...but everything is still going down....what do i do i have done everything i know how...i have tested my water everything is fine except my ammonia is a little high....calcium is low but ph and dkh is fine...i need help and fast

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
my tank appears to be crashing all of my corals are dieing, zoos are not opening and are starting to look "dirty"....snails are also dying and my shrimp have come up missing....i have been doing small water changes and 1 big water change...but everything is still going down....what do i do i have done everything i know how...i have tested my water everything is fine except my ammonia is a little high....calcium is low but ph and dkh is fine...i need help and fast
How old is the tank jrt? and where do you think the amonia is coming from? What size tank do you have?

 

[jrthomas40]

the tank is about 8 months it is a 90g and i have no idea where it is coming from but it has got to be coming from something that has died in the rock work or something is terrorizing (sp) my tank causing my corals to respond...but i really dont know

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
the tank is about 8 months it is a 90g and i have no idea where it is coming from but it has got to be coming from something that has died in the rock work or something is terrorizing (sp) my tank causing my corals to respond...but i really dont know
hmmm, nothing major died? You have not added anything new or major to cause another cycle, my bet is that something definately died in the rock, DO you run CARBON? i would run some fresh carbon and do a 10 gallon water change. i know its a pain in the ass, but you need to get rid of that amonia, you know corals cannot stand any amonia.

 

[jrthomas40]

no i havent added anything new...i went away for the weekend 2 weeks ago and left the tank to my girlfriend to feed and add water to the sump and when i got home everything was going down hill...the only thing major that has come up missing is my cleaner shrimp...and i dont have any carbon but i have been doing about a 5-10g water change every other day

 

[jrthomas40]

i tested the ammonia yesterday and it was at 0 but the coral are still doing poor...my hqi are probably 6-8 months old could that be the reason for the decline of my tank??

 

[jhebi]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
i tested the ammonia yesterday and it was at 0 but the coral are still doing poor...my hqi are probably 6-8 months old could that be the reason for the decline of my tank??
Maybe it could be the low calcium....Did you try to raise the calcium and water changes was the salinity level stable.

 

[rbrockm1]

it sounds like all your inverts are the ones dieing. i would look for a copper level as well

 

[jrthomas40]

no copper has ever been added to the tank and i mixed some new kalkwasser a few days ago to put in there but still going down...i am sad now i have thought about taking everything out which isnt very much now just a toadstool i have had for a long time and some zoos and mushrooms but even those are looking bad...taking it all out and doing a 50-75% water change and add some biozyme and increase the filtration...but it may be to late for everything

 

[rabbit_72]

I have no answer for your problem as I am by no means an expert, just love reef tanks. But I know how you feel. My tank crashed about 8 months ago and had never recovered. I am now looking for help, too.
So sorry for your loss.

 

[shrimpi]

how is your flow? sometimes the intake on powerheads needs to be cleaned or all the junk from the water kinds blocks it up and lessens the amount it can suck... therefore lessening the amount it can push out.
In my experience, if the water flow isnt good enough, debris will sit on surfaces... like your zoas, and zoas will quickly respond to the detritus on them (unhappy) this could also cause food to rot in your tank in the 'dead spots' you have, thus causing the ammonia to rise.
This might not be your issue exactly but it seems pretty close to your prob.

just my opinion thats all. Small changes that occur in the tank, with or without your doing can make a big impact on your critters. Esp. if the person who cared for your tank fed too much- vacation catastrophes are very prominent.

 

[wilsonreef]

you said your girlfriend watched your tank while you were on vacation? She isn't mad at you for leaving her behind while you were on vacation is she? LOL, JK .....

 

[jrthomas40]

nah she wasnt mad...lol...i have 1 koralia #4 and a mag 7 return pump....just had to take out 3 of my toadstools and my trumpets and put them in the garbage tonight ...next the only thing i will have left is zoas and they are closed up probably dying

 

[ridomart]

Did someone clean the glass, maybe some type of chemical got in.I know your not suposed to clean the glass by spraying windex, something on that order?

 

[jrthomas40]

nope no one did that either...i dont know what started the decline cuz i did water changes about every 2 weeks (20g)...kept reef esentials and iodine every two weeks...but maybe it was something inevitable

 

[sjimmyh]

If I were in your situation I would do a complete water change and run carbon.
Here is the logic. Remove whatever is in the tank thats hurting your stuff. THis is the water change. Would you get another cycle? Most likely no as long as you didn't let your sand and rock dry out. I have done this before with no visible cycle. Besides, even if it did go through a small re-cycle I would wager it would be less damaging that what is causing your crash.
Run carbon to romve anything that may be entering the tank. Sure, carbon won't remove all toxins... but it removes more than anything else we use and most toxins common to tanks are at least lowered with carbon use.
Your specs looked ok. At least nothing that would cause a rapid die off. The ammonia you had was most likely cause by the dying animals in the tank. The fact that it went away is actually very good. This means your bacteria bed is still working.
Only thing that really set off a bell was the iodine. I know this is something you have been regular at using, but if it isn't being skimmed or used up it can build up in the tank. Like copper this would kill a lot of stuff. Do you test for iodine? Do you add Iodine or Iodide? Iodide is not very toxic.

 

[jrthomas40]

i add lugols iodide i belive it is...and a larger water change would probably be a better solution...last time i changed about 30 gallons but didnt want to do much more than that because i didnt want to freak out my fish....my blue regal stayed in hiding after that for about 3 days came back out with cloudy eyes...he is fine now and as are the others but i probably lost about $300 worth of corals and snails....i wanted to replace about 90-95 percent of the water but was told not to cuz that could do more damage but i think it would be ok if i left about 20+ gallons and added some biozyme to help replace the bacteria

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
i add lugols iodide i belive it is...and a larger water change would probably be a better solution...last time i changed about 30 gallons but didnt want to do much more than that because i didnt want to freak out my fish....my blue regal stayed in hiding after that for about 3 days came back out with cloudy eyes...he is fine now and as are the others but i probably lost about $300 worth of corals and snails....i wanted to replace about 90-95 percent of the water but was told not to cuz that could do more damage but i think it would be ok if i left about 20+ gallons and added some biozyme to help replace the bacteria
In all my experience with tanks (about 15 years and four tanks of my own and about 75 in a LFS) I have no evidence that the water column holds the majority of your bacteria bed. If you read about it you will learn that these bacteria colonize surfaces in your tank. They will die though if you dry them out. (little side note... you cant buy "dry" nitrofying bacteria, its impossible for them to live dry. What you are buying is most likely heterotropic bacteria which are sludge cleaners breaking down detritis and protiens, carbs, etc into ammonia which can then be consumed by the true nitrofying bacteria.)
The vast majority of the surface area is going to be the sand bed and the rock. Keep it damp and you wont kill it during a water change. (at least not unless its a very prolonged water change and you manage to starve it) If you have the water made before hand it shouldnt take very long to do.
The important thing is to do your best to ensure your new waters pH, SG and temperature are very close if not exactly the same. I have no data showing fish and animals going through a Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity (as long as pH was the same), Trace element, etc. "shock". Could you create one? I suppose if you really tried to, but normal salt mixes and your tank are going to be close enough even if you are switching to a high calcium salt mix that you don't need to worry about this, IMO.