Starfish Toxitity????

[hermit]

Well, here I am on Monday morning after experiencing what I consider to be the worst tragedy that I have encountered in any of my tanks. If any of you are intrested in hearing the history of this problem please read my other posting titled "Micro Reef Questions"..
Instead of restating everything from that post, can someone please explain to me how to measure the toxic material that a starfish emits when stressed or dying. To give you the short story of it... Everything in my tank recently died due to a red thorny starfish which decided to die on me.
All my other levels (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, salt, and temp are all well within standard parameters)... I am running carbon in my old filter during this to try to help with this toxic stuff whatever it may be...
PLEASE HELP... Well actually it is too late for me but I thought it might help someone else avoid this travesty...

 

[clayton]

I am not sure about all this, but the toxins are proteins and will naturaly break down, but I do not know how long this will take. If it is an enzyme which it may be, then heating the water will denature it. This may also work for other toxins. Without knowing what it is they produce you would have trouble identifying it, but you may be able to send a sample off to a lab.
If you check a biology book it will tell you what temperature enzymes denature at but you would have to heat the water outside of your tank and filter.
good luck