Help! No idea what is wrong!

[monica]

I put this in reef tanks also, but I thought I would ask here also! I can't figure out what is wrong! My snails I just put in will not move and my scarlet crabs won't move. I think the snails are dead already. I have a 75 gal. with a blue hippo, royal gramma, and a clown fish. I have 100lbs. lr and dsb. It cycled and was growing all the purple on it and doing great. Then it grew brown stuff over the lr and I can't get my crabs or snails to move to eat it! My PH is 8.3, Alk is 3.2 maybe a little less, Ammonia is .25, Calcium is high, Nitrate is 30, Nitrite is 0, Salt level is 1.024. I don't think any of that is bad. Any ideas? I think all my time and money is going down hill! I can't start all over! I also have two sally lightfoots who are doing great. A horseshoe crab who is great. My cleaner shrimp died. Thanks for any advice!

 

[beth]

.25 ammonia is bad news. Is this a new tank? You should not add inverts to a tank with ammonia in it, as this will kill them.
If this is a new tank, it is way overstocked. This tank is not cycled with that ammonia level, and having all those organisms, including the fish, is extremely problematicat this point. You will need to do water changes to dilute the ammonia toxin. Do you have a protein skimmer running?

 

[monica]

Thanks! I do have a protein skimmer running. I have had the tank running for a very long time. Over a year. The ammonia and everything was fine till now. I just came back from having my water tested and they said everything was perfect and they have told me before when it wasn't so I think I can trust them. BUT something is wrong so I guess my reading is probably right! Thanks again! Any advice on getting this ammonia down to nothing would be great!

 

[lnarobbins]

I think the quickest way to bring down your ammonia and nitrates is with a water change try a 50% change then test the water if your still not happy then try a nother big change the brown algae IMO is from the high nitrates I don't know for sure though.
hope this helps
Alan

 

[sdmarriott]

Have you made any changes recently (other than the new snails and crabs) or are you missing any fish? You need to figure out why your ammonia is so high. A tank that has been running for a year should have no ammonia. Did the lfs get the same ammonia reading as you did? It sounds like something has occurred to throw your bio filter out of balance or your test kit might be old. JMO.

 

[monica]

Sorry it took me so long to reply back. Busy night! Anyway, It is quite a long story, I will try to make it short. I added cucumbers, sallylight foots, cleaner shrimp, and feather dusters. My cucumbers made some white stuff go all over the tank and my feather dusters couldn't open and died. Then a little while later my cleaner shrimp died. My fish are fine. (Strange, but I'm glad of that) The lfs said my water is perfect so I thought maybe I read the test wrong. But something is wrong in there. It doesn't make sense that my fish are great and my snails and crabs die. Thanks so much for any help!!!

 

[sdmarriott]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I've read that cucumbers can release poison when they feel endangered (like stuck to a powerhead intake). I wonder if the white stuff that your cucumbers released could have poisoned your inverts. A major water change might also be in order to dilute whatever the cucumbers released, if that is the problem.
If the lfs says your ammonia is okay you probably should test again to see if you get a different reading (your test kit could be bad). I am fairly new to the hobby, so please do not take any major steps based upon my comments - wait for someone more experienced to offer a solution.

 

[finland]

SDmarriot might be on to something with the cucumber. I have heard that they can poison a tank when they feel threatened. Also, you mentioned that you just added the snails and crabs. Did you acclimate them slowly to your water conditions or did you put them in quickly. Just another idea to think about.

 

[souljah]

If I were you monica I was purchase these 2 products....
1. Cycle for Saltwater fish
2. Prime
These 2 products drastically lower your
Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate when its at
dangerously high levels.
I have witnessed these products save so many
tanks I've lost count.
I've watched these 2 products totally turn around a dying 60 gallon tank within 2 hours.
that tank has now been up and running for 2 years
I've used these products myself and have 3 tanks that are all going on 2 years also.
I highly reccomend these products, they can be found at your LFS