Need Help ASAP

djcanis

Member
Ok so I think I paniced and really screwed some things up... I got home from work and realized that 2 of my fish have been missing for day... I got a little worried cause the GF hasn't seen them in days. So after searching and slightly moving some stuff around still had no sign of them. My levels havent changed. Well, long story short, 100lbs of LR are now sitting in tubs in the living room, all my corals are in tubs as well, no sign of the fish and the tank is disgusting dirty and cloudy...
WHAT THE HELL DO I DO???
 

king_neptune

Active Member
first thing....dont panic. you are still probably looking good. keep some powerheads in the tubs. keep heaters on as well. dont let the temperature fall. you can keep your LR this way for months if needed.
got some pics of what your currently looking at? it would help go a long way with diagnosing potential problems and what needs to be done next.
also what stocklist do you currently have. how many tubs? how is it all divided ect.
 

djcanis

Member
30lbs LR wen into my sump, 70 is in a giant rubbermaid with powerhead and heater. Corals are in random assorted tupperwear containers across the living room, as for stock, 2 true percs, hippo tang, royal gamma, 6 line, da??? goby (cant think of it now), lawnmower blenny, sally light foot, asorted hermits and snails. Will get a pic up
 

bigarn

Active Member
You stirred things up by removing the rock and corals. Put the rock back in and do a 50% water change and run some carbon if possible. Check all parameters before putting the corals back in.
 

nigerbang

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigarn
http:///forum/post/3067214
You stirred things up by removing the rock and corals. Put the rock back in and do a 50% water change and run some carbon if possible. Check all parameters before putting the corals back in.
Agreed..
Never a good idea to remove things like that.. Tends to stir up alot of nasty stuff and produce Ammonia...
With a decent CUC fish that perish dont last long with crabs..
 

king_neptune

Active Member
ok. keep the temps stable on the bins. dont let them fall or you lose your stock. would be a good idea to put them in with the rubbermaid bins with LR/heater/powerheads. right now your concern is stabalize everything.
next dealing with the tank...and a quick cleanup of what you have remaining in it.
and please dont do this again without asking first.
 

king_neptune

Active Member
your missing fish are potentially inside the filter sock, might be a good idea to check down in the sump where everything caught. and a water change is a great idea...however do it right the first time...dont rush it.
 

djcanis

Member
Have ammo lock, dont know if I can make up 45gal of water that quick, how long should I let it run in 5gal buckets after mixing if its at temp and sg? I have a canister in there now just running carbon, thinking about digging out my old hob's and running those... Also, my corals are in containers with no powerheads, how oftern should I be changing the water in those? Most of my pieces are pretty little, they woudl get destroyed if I put them in a big tub with a powerhead...
 

djcanis

Member
checked all the plumbing in the sump first, before moving rock, no sign of anything, missing a flame angel and green chromie. checked all around the cabinet and stand, nothing, and the water looks a lot less cloudy in the pics...
 

bigarn

Active Member
The fish are evidently a lost cause ... The most important thing now is to take everyone's advice and stabilize the tank. Don't panic, it can be done.
 

king_neptune

Active Member
for the frags....drill ventilation holes in the tupperware containers. enough to keep water circulating through them...but not so much that you damage them from too powerfull of flow, now you can place them in with the main rubbermaid...the heat source and extra water will preserve them long enough for you to do your emergancy maintanance.
another possible solution is to make a quick frag rack and hang it near the top of the bin. placing them away from the strongest current. water volume, flow, and heat is wahts going to save them...or at least maintain them long enough to survive.
as for how long you have to keep things like this....a 45gal water change...give it at least 24hours before you add it to the tank. keep it circulating, and under heat as well. you need to fully dissolve everything. like i said..no rushing this...get it done right the first time.
your gut telling you to dig up your HOB was a great idea...as much filtration as you can spare.
 

djcanis

Member
Im mixing water now, goonna have about 25 gal all said and done to change out... How long should I let it run in the tubs? I have powerheads running and heaters in the tubs with the fresh water. Once its at temp and sg, how long should I wait?
 

djcanis

Member
the water change, I got 12 in a rubbermaid, a 5gal and 2 4gal buckets. Dont have room in the rubbermaid with the rock for the frags, should I sacrifice some rock, let it dye off and cycle it in a tub later on so I can get the coral in the bin?
 

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by DJCanis
http:///forum/post/3067234
the water change, I got 12 in a rubbermaid, a 5gal and 2 4gal buckets. Dont have room in the rubbermaid with the rock for the frags, should I sacrifice some rock, let it dye off and cycle it in a tub later on so I can get the coral in the bin?
depends on what is more important...either way...the frags are a gamble, the LR is a garontee.
if it were me...id be going to get more tupperware. place your nasty water in with LR, in one of your new tupperware bins..Walmart sells 35gallon rubbermaids for like $20 bucks.
.since the LR is gonna be alot more durable to the pollutants, it should be fine sitting in that nasty water you turned up.
now you have room for the frags to sit in the other bin with the SEMI deascent water.
as for your water....a garbage can(Plastic) at walmart shouldnt set you back too much...or evin another rubbermaid...i have a few of those 35gallon ones myself, and they come in handy. try to mix all your changeout wter at once and in the smae containter...not mixing it amongst several containters.
24hours at least. remember your fish and frags arrived in the mail after sitting for 2-3 days in a tiny amount of water. so you spending a day..or better yet 2days to make sure all the salt has disolved is really ok.
just keep on top of things and you should come out of this with minmal losses.
 

deejeff442

Active Member
just trying to understand?
you couldnt find the fish so you took out the lr and stired up the substrate?
why dont you just put the lr back in the dt?
do a 50% water change and return the stock.
as long as the water tests fine just put it back together .
cloudy water wont kill anything.
unless i am missing something?
what is the big black thing in the tank,looks like a powerstrip?
 

djcanis

Member
big black thing is a canister filter running carbon.
The crab stirred up the body of the angel, so I got that out, it was pretty rotten.
Fish seem to be doing ok, since I dont have heaters for the coral, they're in the bathroom with the heater running, its like 90 degrees in the room, water is holding at 77.
The tank is starting to clear, but not much, I still cant see more then 8 inces or so deep
My 6 line was in the corner of the tank surrounded by this big bubble looking things, never seen anything like it before... Any ideas?
deejeff - correct, been missing a couple of the fish since monday, didnt know if they were dead as my levels never changed. Cant see into the tank to put the LR back in let alone any of the corals. Pretty stupid I know, I am working on getting 40 or 45 gallons to do a 50% water change. Have 2 hob and the canister running to clear the water at least enough to get the rock back in.
 

oceansidefish

Active Member
I have had fish die in everything from a nano to my 120, never in any of those tanks did it even leave a blip on a map...
 

pete159

Member
you really overreacted to a minor thing.
next time just do a water change and keep and eye on ammonia levels for a spike.
 
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