tank crashed!!! help!!

[dbelli]

my 2 yr old 90gal tank has crashed. major algae issues. everything dying or dead. lost all corals including mushrooms, all fish except for a jewel damsel, all inverts including starfish. only things alive are the damsel and a sea apple. have cleaned tank and done water change. scrubbed all rock to remove algae. tested water.
ph=8.2
nitrite=0
nitrate=10
ammonia=0
only have a api test kit. could i possibly have a phosphate problem? what would cause this? any help would be appreciated!!!

 

[salt life]

your sea apple could be the problem, don't they release toxins in the water when stressed? not the best thing to have in a home aquarium, better left in the ocean. I would take your water to a fish store and let them test it, your water params seem fine so have them test all the other stuff.

 

[dbelli]

nearest lfs is 40 miles away. have had the apple for a long time.never had problems before??

 

[salt life]

Originally Posted by dbelli
http:///forum/post/2979728
nearest lfs is 40 miles away. have had the apple for a long time.never had problems before??
then you can order the test kits from online if you want to test the other stuff, and I was just saying it could be that because they release toxic gases when they get stressed and can kill everything. your water params. seem fine so that's why I threw that out there...

 

[dbelli]

thanks!! what about phosphates? with the high algae spike i'm leaning toward that. but would that kill everything else? i'm lost here.

 

[reefaholic33]

I'm betting on the sea apple, they do release a toxin that will wipe anything out very quickly. I've never had one and never will, even though they are really interesting, but from what I have heard if they aren't 100% happy they will do this. As to what might have caused him to do it (if in fact he is the reason) I can't help you with. As for your phosphates IMO that is not what did it. Sorry for your loss.

 

[bmkj02]

Originally Posted by reefaholic33
http:///forum/post/2979988
I'm betting on the sea apple, they do release a toxin that will wipe anything out very quickly. I've never had one and never will, even though they are really interesting, but from what I have heard if they aren't 100% happy they will do this. As to what might have caused him to do it (if in fact he is the reason) I can't help you with. As for your phosphates IMO that is not what did it. Sorry for your loss.
+1 on the Sea Apple. They are very nice and cool looking but I wont get one for this same reason. Same with cucumbers. I had one and one day I saw him spitting a bunch of stringy stuff and I got rid of it the next day after I looked online what it was.
What color is this algea? Could be a case of Red Slime that hit. That happened to me once and I lost everything in 1 day and no sign of it coming.

 

[soulsigma]

Sea Apples
Even though I am a newbee, I took the time to research a diverse of things pertaining to the marine hobby and would like to share with you why you should jus say no to nucs, cucs, and the sea apple was one of them because I just knew I was going to have one in my 75g tank until I uncovered they are some of the most colorful and controversial sea cucumbers in the hobby drinking co The sea apples aka death in a Colorful Package is a title that has been used several times to describe a marine invertebrate with axiomatic coloration. Axiomatic coloration is defined as a specific set of conspicuous colors and/or patterns of marking on an animal to make it easily recognizable in order to warn potential predators that the animal is poisonous, foul-tasting or otherwise potentially dangerous. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and Poison arrow frogs (Dendrobates spp.) are two of the best known examples of such coloration patterns. patterns of these species make it very Among marine invertebrates, perhaps the best known example are the spectacularly-colored dorid sea slugs (better known as simply nudibranchs in the hobby) which sequester toxic compounds or stinging cells from their prey. In each case, the brilliant and easily recognizable color easy for a potential predator to remember that taking a bite of these animals is a highly unpleasant experience. Such chemical defenses are wide-spread among marine taxa, and many invertebrate and algal species defend themselves by producing foul-tasting chemicals that are avoided by most predatory species.Now before someone jumps my case let me clarify that not all colorful species are toxic or distasteful, and not all toxic or distasteful species are colorful. For example, some species of very colorful marine sponges appear to be completely undefended whereas some blandly-colored and cryptic species are highly defended with nasty or toxic chemicals. One example of a species that lacks obvious bright coloration is the marine alga, Desmarestia, which concentrates sulfuric acid in species vacuoles throughout their cells. In fact, this alga can contain up to 16% of its body weight as concentrated sulfuric acid baggies. This concentrated sulfuric acid drops the pH of macerated algal tissue to < 2.0, and acts to both make the alga highly distasteful and to actually dissolve the carbonate teeth of potential grazers such as urchins. Field and laboratory studies with these algae and artificially acidified foods have shown that containing concentrated sulfuric acid is a great way to discourage potential predators from feeding on these algae. In the aquarium industry, however, death in a colorful package

is most often applied to the strikingly-colored group of sea cucumbers known as Sea Apples. Let me first explain what a sea apple actually is. These commonly imported suspension feeding sea cucumbers belong to the genus Pseudocolochirus. The most common species found in pet shops is the Indonesian Sea Apple, P. axiologus although the more colorful Australian Sea Apple (P. violaceus) has become a much more common import recently as well. Both species are obligate filter-feeders and have obvious rows of tube feet which they use to attach themselves to some substrate in an area of high flow. The high flow allows them to expose their feeding tentacles to the greatest amount of passing water in order to collect suspended organic particles on which to feed. These attractive animals remain relatively small, and a full grown animal would probably average about 10cm (4") in length. However, they are also capable of greatly inflating their bodies with water under certain conditions. When disturbed, unhappy or otherwise stressed by local conditions, a sea apple can react in one of two ways: 1) they can shut down and collapse their body to the minimum possible size, or 2) they can inflate themselves to more than double their normal size (some can reach the size of a volleyball) and either ride the current, or gallop around the aquarium (at least it seems like galloping for a sea cucumber). Quite often when people see a fully engorged sea apple at the local petshop, they assume that the animal is healthy, but more often than not, this is an indication of stress for the animal.

 

[dbelli]

okay, i'm convinced about the apple. now, how do i get rid of it? if it is stressed, i don't think that the lfs will take it. I would feel guilty as heck if i just take it out and dispose of it, although i suppose that is the answer here. any comments?

 

[dbelli]

Originally Posted by bmkj02
http:///forum/post/2980070
+1 on the Sea Apple. They are very nice and cool looking but I wont get one for this same reason. Same with cucumbers. I had one and one day I saw him spitting a bunch of stringy stuff and I got rid of it the next day after I looked online what it was.
What color is this algea? Could be a case of Red Slime that hit. That happened to me once and I lost everything in 1 day and no sign of it coming.
i've had the red slime and treated that. this is brown and a lot of green slimy and covering everything . as i said, i had to take out all my rock and scrub it to get it off, but it keeps coming back.

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by dbelli
http:///forum/post/2980350
i've had the red slime and treated that. this is brown and a lot of green slimy and covering everything . as i said, i had to take out all my rock and scrub it to get it off, but it keeps coming back.
I definitely agree with everyone regarding the apple.
As far as the algae goes, that's probably not what crashed your tank. Do you have the tank set up near a window? Overfeeding can cause an algae bloom. Overlighting can cause an algae bloom. Try cutting your lighting schedule back to about 4-5 hours/day and maybe begin feeding every other day rather than every day (once/day).
Before doing the above, however relocate the apple. Perhaps a few small water changes to counteract the effects of the apple's toxins. Get your water tested. Then keep up on the water changes every 1-2 weeks. Those are my thoughts.
Very sorry about your tank. Good luck.
Lisa

 

[salt life]

Originally Posted by dbelli
http:///forum/post/2980348
okay, i'm convinced about the apple. now, how do i get rid of it? if it is stressed, i don't think that the lfs will take it. I would feel guilty as heck if i just take it out and dispose of it, although i suppose that is the answer here. any comments?
I wouldn't dispose of it, it didn't do anything wrong other than what it is meant to do when it gets stressed, if you got it at a fish store then bring it back to that one, there dumb enough to sell them to people so you can bring it back without feeling bad.

 

[nanomantis]

Originally Posted by dbelli
http:///forum/post/2980348
okay, i'm convinced about the apple. now, how do i get rid of it? if it is stressed, i don't think that the lfs will take it. I would feel guilty as heck if i just take it out and dispose of it, although i suppose that is the answer here. any comments?

 

[salt life]

Originally Posted by NanoMantis
http:///forum/post/2981087

what a bad influence, just cause he didn't do his research and bought something that has a natural defense that messes up our tanks, bring it back to the fish store, if you flush it you should feel guilty.

 

[nanomantis]

Originally Posted by Salt Life
http:///forum/post/2981106

what a bad influence, just cause he didn't do his research and bought something that has a natural defense that messes up our tanks, bring it back to the fish store, if you flush it you should feel guilty.
Its more than likely dead. If its own toxins didn't kill it, or the stress that caused the toxins (more often than not the stress is from getting sucked up into a powerhead) I imagine the resulting ammonia spike from everything dying has/will.
But lets throw out the possibility that its still alive. If you bring it back to the LFS and say that it just nuked your tank what do you think they are going to do with it? It would endanger all their fish.

 

[nanomantis]

Originally Posted by Salt Life
http:///forum/post/2981106

what a bad influence, just cause he didn't do his research and bought something that has a natural defense that messes up our tanks, bring it back to the fish store, if you flush it you should feel guilty.
Its more than likely dead. If its own toxins didn't kill it, or the stress that caused the toxins (more often than not the stress is from getting sucked up into a powerhead) I imagine the resulting ammonia spike from everything else in the tank dying has/will.
But lets throw out the possibility that its still alive. If you bring it back to the LFS and say that it just nuked your tank what do you think they are going to do with it? It would endanger all their fish.

 

[dbelli]

that is exactly the way i feel. I don't want to endanger their fish. let me throw this out to you. I actually used to work at my lfs, so I have a relationship with them. They do me a lot of favors, including ordering things for me at their price. Don't want to screw that up. In that light, I did do my research on the apple. however, I have had it for a few months with no trouble, So(my bad) I forgot that they could do this. the algae spike in my tank confused me and until I actually sounded it out on this message board, I didn't think of it. Sometimes it just takes a little help from your friends to help you see the light at the end of the forest.
by the way, I have removed the apple and it is living in a bucket until I figure out what to do with it. things are looking healthier in the tank so hopefully, things are looking up. How soon before I can think about adding to tank again?? one lonely 2 inch fish in a 90gal looks awful. And what should I try first? Damsels?

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by dbelli
http:///forum/post/2981297
that is exactly the way i feel. I don't want to endanger their fish. let me throw this out to you. I actually used to work at my lfs, so I have a relationship with them. They do me a lot of favors, including ordering things for me at their price. Don't want to screw that up. In that light, I did do my research on the apple. however, I have had it for a few months with no trouble, So(my bad) I forgot that they could do this. the algae spike in my tank confused me and until I actually sounded it out on this message board, I didn't think of it. Sometimes it just takes a little help from your friends to help you see the light at the end of the forest.
by the way, I have removed the apple and it is living in a bucket until I figure out what to do with it. things are looking healthier in the tank so hopefully, things are looking up. How soon before I can think about adding to tank again?? one lonely 2 inch fish in a 90gal looks awful. And what should I try first? Damsels?
Do a few large water changes first and run some carbon .I would keep an eye on the lone survivor and just make sure that you have diagnosed the problem correctly.
Just my 2¢

 

[fishstick4sale]

your tank was nuked, nuked meaning something in your tank released toxins and it destroyed everything people battle hair algae all the time some serious cases but that doesnt wipe out their tanks im soooo sorry to hear your loses dont lose faith rebuild and do alil more research on everything u think u might want to throw in your tank sorry to hear though. dont put damsels they r a pain to get rid of and they r bullies when u r 100% positive everything looks and is tested ok throw in a pair of clowns, clowns r really hardy fish. plus u already have a fish in there so go for clowns. +1 veni watch that 1 survivor closely

 

[posiden]

I would think the brown and green algae are present because of all the death. Excess nutrients caused the algae bloom. JMO