1journeyman
Active Member
Have you had your water from your tap tested? Sounds to me like there is something in the pipes getting into your tank.
Instant Invert Death
- Thread starter adam2817
- Start date
adam2817
Member
I have about 1.5 inches of sand on the bottom. I didn't get an odor, but that old rock is now landfill. I tested the tap water for copper, thats all. Nothing more.
I use Seatest's Fastest for my water testing. No accidental contamination unless I did it. I'm the only one who messes with it.
As far as my drinking this STUFF, I have 2 carbon filters on my drinking water, it's a separate water filter. :joy:
I use Seatest's Fastest for my water testing. No accidental contamination unless I did it. I'm the only one who messes with it.
As far as my drinking this STUFF, I have 2 carbon filters on my drinking water, it's a separate water filter. :joy:
unleashed
Active Member
what are all of your other water parimeters such as ph ,salt gravity, ? have you added iodine to your tank at all?is it possable the LR was contaminated?also when using tap water are you treating with water from chlorine, chlorimide ? if your not treating your water before adding it that would be a very good reason.i only use tap water in all of my tanks but I treat it before adding to main tanks.
latino277
Member
I'm 80% sure that the problem your having is because to the tap water... a similar thing happend to me when I 1st start and it turned out to be something they (my Co-op) started adding to the water.
all in all you should try to get the salifert test kits. they really are the best!
all in all you should try to get the salifert test kits. they really are the best!
unleashed
Active Member
if your using tap water at least use prime to remove amonias chlorine and chlorimine..they most likely died from chlorine burn .which will effect your fish in a slower manner.oh yeh if you only have fish and LR in your tank at this time you can direct dose the tank itself prime is formulated to be used up to 5X's reg dose for extreme cases.
ophiura
Active Member
Originally Posted by unleashed
if your using tap water at least use prime to remove amonias chlorine and chlorimine..they most likely died from chlorine burn .which will effect your fish in a slower manner.oh yeh if you only have fish and LR in your tank at this time you can direct dose the tank itself prime is formulated to be used up to 5X's reg dose for extreme cases.
I disagree with chlorine being the cause of this. It does not explain previous failure of the tank, nor does it explain why the fish are fine. Additionally, chlorine does not remain in a system for long nor is it at fatal concentrations in most cases unless you do a 100% water change with no dechlorinator and immediately add the animals within 24hours. The fish would show rapid signs, IMO, of chlorine poisoning.
It is not likely at all in any way that your Eheim provided too much circulation and prevented bacterial growth on the LR. That is just not how it works. The Eheim has substrate for biological filtration, but ALL SURFACES IN THE TANK from the glass, to live rock (or dead rock), sand, gravel, whatever...grow this bacteria. The only way that you can decrease the population of bacteria is to have a relatively low bioload with little food going in. The bacteria population is controlled by the amount of ammonia in the system. Not that one filter is more effective. If your LR was in saltwater, it remained "alive." Whether it was right to remove it or not is open to question. If it is a heavy metal situation, it might have been the right decision.
I agree that the red slime was caused by water quality issues and lack of circulation in the tank. Possibly lighting as well.
My guess is that something was in your tap water that eventually accumulated to the point it became toxic. Up to that point inverts may have died off slowly, but you would see little in the way of worms, copepods, etc (things that reproduce in tanks). Larval forms are far more delicate - lower concentrations of metal would kill them rapidly. So when the tank was initially set up, you may have seen, like most, lots of copepods and other critters from the rock and their numbers would have declined as time progressed. Eventually, the concentrations would reach a point where they became toxic to most of the inverts. You would see things like snails on their backs still alive but almost paralyzed and unable to try and right themselves.
If heavy metal is suspected, you should do several water changes and may also wish to add a heavy metal resin such as that produced by Kent and the polyfilter as well. But it can be an uphill battle. You may also wish to get a test done of your tap water by a company that will test it for things like copper and iron (some places that sell water purification systems or something will do this).
For perspective: I came to this conclusion on a 3500g reef tank and I WAS using RO/DI (the source was within the system itself). It was corrected in time.
if your using tap water at least use prime to remove amonias chlorine and chlorimine..they most likely died from chlorine burn .which will effect your fish in a slower manner.oh yeh if you only have fish and LR in your tank at this time you can direct dose the tank itself prime is formulated to be used up to 5X's reg dose for extreme cases.
I disagree with chlorine being the cause of this. It does not explain previous failure of the tank, nor does it explain why the fish are fine. Additionally, chlorine does not remain in a system for long nor is it at fatal concentrations in most cases unless you do a 100% water change with no dechlorinator and immediately add the animals within 24hours. The fish would show rapid signs, IMO, of chlorine poisoning.
It is not likely at all in any way that your Eheim provided too much circulation and prevented bacterial growth on the LR. That is just not how it works. The Eheim has substrate for biological filtration, but ALL SURFACES IN THE TANK from the glass, to live rock (or dead rock), sand, gravel, whatever...grow this bacteria. The only way that you can decrease the population of bacteria is to have a relatively low bioload with little food going in. The bacteria population is controlled by the amount of ammonia in the system. Not that one filter is more effective. If your LR was in saltwater, it remained "alive." Whether it was right to remove it or not is open to question. If it is a heavy metal situation, it might have been the right decision.
I agree that the red slime was caused by water quality issues and lack of circulation in the tank. Possibly lighting as well.
My guess is that something was in your tap water that eventually accumulated to the point it became toxic. Up to that point inverts may have died off slowly, but you would see little in the way of worms, copepods, etc (things that reproduce in tanks). Larval forms are far more delicate - lower concentrations of metal would kill them rapidly. So when the tank was initially set up, you may have seen, like most, lots of copepods and other critters from the rock and their numbers would have declined as time progressed. Eventually, the concentrations would reach a point where they became toxic to most of the inverts. You would see things like snails on their backs still alive but almost paralyzed and unable to try and right themselves.
If heavy metal is suspected, you should do several water changes and may also wish to add a heavy metal resin such as that produced by Kent and the polyfilter as well. But it can be an uphill battle. You may also wish to get a test done of your tap water by a company that will test it for things like copper and iron (some places that sell water purification systems or something will do this).
For perspective: I came to this conclusion on a 3500g reef tank and I WAS using RO/DI (the source was within the system itself). It was corrected in time.
adam2817
Member
Well, it seems as if you folks may be right on track. When I first set-up the tank, Iw as in a different town with different water supply. I have had nothing but problems since I moved to his location. Also, thats exactly what happened to my snails. They would fall off anything they ere on, look as if they were still alive, tryig to right themselves. Almost crawling out of their shells. then.............RIP...So, it seems here, like it's my local tap water. Lets see what the RO?DI does. Thanks again for the advice. Will keep you all informed. An more suggestion, just let me know.
1journeyman
Active Member
You know, it's almost scary to think how much care our little pets get.
I drink tap water, but only RO/DI water for my tank.
I'm eating grilled cheese for dinner, while typing up a list of seafood to buy at the store tomorrow to made frozen meals for my tank....
I drink tap water, but only RO/DI water for my tank.
I'm eating grilled cheese for dinner, while typing up a list of seafood to buy at the store tomorrow to made frozen meals for my tank....
adam2817
Member
I did the first WC today. Was about 30 Gals. The RO is starting to refil as we speak. Question though, seems the heater I bought POPPED and the water smelled burned. I dumped it and started over again. Waste of 15 gals but better than dead fish. Think I should do anything else? Thanks
mpls man
Active Member
You know thats funny, i did the exact same thing to my salt mixing tank and it smelled the same way, the only thing was i used the water and lost 3 fish because the lfs said it would not make any difference, so what i did was clean out the tank and start all over, no problem as of yet.
adam2817
Member
IT WORKED! IT WORKED! That was it. The water! I can't believe it! I put in about 8 snails, 5 hermit crabs and a cluster duster. Everything is doing fine!.. I am so glad. Thanks to all of you who advised me on thie thread. 1 question though. Water changes. I am getting conflicting stories about frequency of them. I have been told every week, every other week, and once a month. What do you all think. 72 Gal tank. Thanks again
