I did somthing stupid. PLEASE HELP

mlm

mlm

Active Member
I am relativaly new to saltwater tanks but but i have kept freshwater african cichlids fo a long time with much breeding sucess. Anyway I am an avid Scuba Diver and this past weekend I went out to some oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and I thought I would bring home some neat stuff to put in my tank. I brought home various things such as some sponge, sun coral, barnicles, 5 or 6 blenny's and various clams and crabs. I put all of this into a newly cycled 55 gallon tank with 20 lbs of live rock and one maroon clown. Needless to say I came home from work today with a disaster. The tank was very cloudy with "organic stuff" floating all around
and a very high ammonia level. I took out all of the new "stuff" minus one piece of sun coral and the animals that could easily move around. I changed 25% of the water and added some AmQuel instant water detoxifier to control the ammonia and it seems to be working but the water is still very cloudy. Is there anything else that I can or should do?
Please help!
MLM
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Well.....I can tell you why that happened....basically when you put stuff in your tank from the ocean, there is a "die off" period in it that will make you amonia REALLY high......that happens to un-cured live rock as well. Do you have a really bad smell coming out of the tank as well? Do your fish look stressed (I can't remember if you took them out)
Later
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
Yes it did smell really bad but I removed most of it and the smell is pretty much gone.The blennies that I got from the ocean seem to be breathing very hard (I think that they are always like that though) but the maroon clown that I had in there before seems to be doing fine and he is eating. Should I not feed them for a couple of days to help rid the ammonia and is there any specific type of activated carbon I should get.
thanks
mlm
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Well Blennies don't usually breathe really hard, so I'd watch that really closely and as far as feeding don't feed too much, cuz all you need is a nitrate spike as well.
Just go to your lfs and find some type of carbon that is already in a little bag and put it in your filter.
By the way what type of filtration and skimming do you have?
 
flamehawk

flamehawk

Active Member
Use high quality carbon to help polish your tank. Do not use low grade carbon or you will end up with a phosphate problem.
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
I have a Fluval 404 and my skimmer is currently being shpped to me so as of now I have nothing but it will be arriving tomorrow.
mlm
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Thats cool, I'd get that skimmer on ASAP, simply cuz you introduced quite a bit of fish to you tank in a relatively small amount of time....
Be on the lookout for a nitrate spike.
Later!
 
jacrmill

jacrmill

Member
as stated you are having die-off from all the stuff you put in your tank. but youre also having a problem because you add 6 blennies right after your cycle. this is not a good idea, because you are going to have to remove all the good stuff because its all dying off. you just dont have the biofilter for all those fish yet.
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
I have removed all the new stuff I put in except for the maroon clown and one blenny. The water has shown a dramatic change in appearance (becoming way less cloudy)since last night and an ammonia test this morning showed the lowest level on the scale. I think everything is going to be O.K.
Thanks to all that replied,
MLM
 
twoobem

twoobem

New Member
I scuba dive on the oil rigs near the Florida Panhandle. How did you catch the scooter blennys? Can you bring rock back after you leave Federal waters?
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
To catch the blennys (or is it blennies) you put your hand over the barnicle opening and then break the barnicle off and stick it in your collecting bag. Sooner or later the fish will swim out of it or you have to take it out. Either way that is how I did it.
MLM
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
I don't know about bringing the rock back because most of the stuff on the rigs out of Venice, La is barnicle based. I think we are in state waters but I am not sure. I was just told that I had to have a saltwater fishing license to collect things off of the rig.
MLM
 
mlm

mlm

Active Member
Hey twoobem what kind of life do they have on the rigs in florida. I have been intrested in diving rigs out there. How far do you have to go out? Do you have any picyures? I have tons from the rigs in Louisiana.
mlm
 
von_rahvin

von_rahvin

Member
sponges when removed from the wild and not taken the best care of die VERY VERY easily. When ther die they release the toxins. It is the sponges dieing off that "cycles" the live rock. (since i do collect stuff for my tanks and my fathers) You have to be REALLY casrefully. no temperature changes and adjust the sponge to your water over a period of like 4 hrs. This all in the dark. Even then sometimes with the best of care they just die. Buy your sponges it is too bloody hard to remove them from the wild.
 
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