missing anemone and cloudy water

[jfarris]

Our anemone looked fine last night when we went to bed. (it is a bubble tip) We noticed this morning the tank was cloudy but we did a ten gallon water change last night so we thought things must not be settled yet. Well, now the anemone is missing, there are funny looking fragments of stuff and the tank is cloudy. What I need to know is how is this going to affect my fish, since I didn't get it out before it melted?? Are my fish going to die? And what about the coral? I'm so upset!!!!

What do I do??

 

[uberlink]

I'd certainly do another significant water change right away. I would imagine that thing has released some toxins into the water, though not 100% sure. However, it will almost certainly spike your ammonia as it decomposes.
What are your water parameters right now? (Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity). Also how big is your tank?
What kind of lighting do you have? Is it weak for an anemone? (Just curious to see if we can figure out why he didn't make it.)

 

[jfarris]

I have a 55 gallon tank, with corallite lighting, as well as Actinic, we have strong lighting for our corals which have been doing beautifully up until this (I'm really crossing my fingers that it doesn't hurt my coral). I do have two powerheads but the anemone was on the sand, not near the powerheads and there were no remnants on the powerhead. But here goes.
pH is 7.8 to 8.0 closer to 7.8 I think. Hard to tell.
Ammonia= between .0-.25
Nitrite=.25
Nitrate=5.0-10
Salinity = 1.023
We know the ph is too low, we're going to get a ph buffer today - anyone have any recommendations for a good one?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[eaglephot]

You should not be seeing ANY levels at all! You need to do a water change ASAP to get your ammonia, nitrite etc. down to 0.

 

[jfarris]

I don't understand why when we take our water samples to the pet store to be tested, they tell us everytime, that our levels are fine, that there is always a little bit of (nitrite, nitrates, ammonia)in the tank.
Why are my corals doing so well? Are they not affected by all of this?

 

[amber1983]

First thing that came o my mind is that your anemone might have been gotten to close to a powerhead, do you have powerheads in your tank?

 

[uberlink]

On your ph, are you running a skimmer? That can help with lots of things, among them oxygenating your water which can help with ph. Also, are you running a fuge? If not, you might consider adding one. You could grow macroalgae in there and run your lights at night, which will help keep your ph up and stable.
Sorry for the loss of your anemone. Really too bad! Good luck with your other critters.

 

[jfarris]

We are running a skimmer. I'm not certain what a fuge is (please excuse my ignorance)but we have two powerheads. I can't tell that it got sucked into one, and it wasn't near them but I guess you never know. What is a fuge?
We have two filters, an emperor 280 and 400. We did a ten gallon water change last night and the anemone looked just fine.

 

[uberlink]

Originally Posted by JFarris
We are running a skimmer. I'm not certain what a fuge is (please excuse my ignorance)but we have two powerheads. I can't tell that it got sucked into one, and it wasn't near them but I guess you never know. What is a fuge?
We have two filters, an emperor 280 and 400. We did a ten gallon water change last night and the anemone looked just fine.

Sorry! A 'fuge' is a refugium, a small second tank or hang-on unit through which your water circulates and in which you can grow macroalgae and keep various beneficial critters like pods, clams, etc. Often people find that a refugium that is lit during the night-time hours and full of macroalgae helps to stabilize and maintain high ph. Also reduces nitrates.
Are the numbers your quoting above the numbers this morning after your anemone disappeared?

 

[jfarris]

Yes, I tested them after the anemone disolved.