Happyfeet October 23, 2009 Author Share October 23, 2009 I had some issues this week. Lost some hermit crabs, lost both emerald crabs, and I think I lost the pistol shrimp. I had a sudden problem with cockroaches coming in through a wall (evidently the neighbor is completely infested) I'd been spraying the cockroaches in the kitchen when ever I saw them for the past couple days. I didn't realize this but, some of the spray goes airborn and made its way to the tank. All the Chromis are alive, but they are definetly not themselves, they are hanging out in the rockwork and are very calm. The yellow goby doesn't seem to be affected by it at all and is doing just fine. The hermit crabs are in a stupor, not eating or moving, but they react when you pick them up so they aren't dead yet. I think the snails are dead, but again they might be doing what the hermits are so I haven't removed them. The feather duster is on his last leg, he pitched his feathers this morning and was hanging out of his tube, reacted to touch so he is still alive. I feel really bad, and it's a lesson learned. Going to leave the tank alone for a good while and let everything balance out and hopefully the chemical will run its course with out claiming anymore lives. I did a 3 25% water changes today and will probably do another one tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla October 23, 2009 Share October 23, 2009 Are you running any GAC/Carbon filters? I would advise this in addition to your water changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret October 23, 2009 Share October 23, 2009 I agree 100% with zoozilla! The best thing you could do is to run a carbon filter. I have a Two Fishes one that I am not using. You can borrow it if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyfeet October 23, 2009 Author Share October 23, 2009 I agree 100% with zoozilla! The best thing you could do is to run a carbon filter.I have a Two Fishes one that I am not using. You can borrow it if you want. If you have a carbon filter I could barrow that would be great! I got mine out before I left but the motor isn't running =( I'll be home today around 5'ish. Pming you a phone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret October 23, 2009 Share October 23, 2009 If you have a carbon filter I could barrow that would be great! I got mine out before I left but the motor isn't running =(I'll be home today around 5'ish. Pming you a phone number. I have the media container but I don't have a pump for it. Make sure you have a MJ400/600 or something in the 200 gph range handy. I don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyfeet October 26, 2009 Author Share October 26, 2009 I ran carbon all weekend. I don't really have anyway of telling if the raid is still in the system though. I guess I'll know when all the params read normal the tank is "better". The raid seems to have killed all my algae that converts Nitrite. My ammonia reads 0 and my Nitrite just keeps rising. Hopefully the tank will be able to reestablish itself. I know for sure one of the Chromis died and the pistol shrimp died over the weekend. I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret October 26, 2009 Share October 26, 2009 Do a few 25-30% water changes as well. If you have toxins in the water, running carbon and doing large water changes are your best mechanisms to the get the tank back to normal. Make sure the parameters are the same between tank and new saltwater, at least as far as salinity, temp and pH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 October 27, 2009 Share October 27, 2009 Sorry to hear about your crash. Good luck gettting things back in order! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 27, 2009 Share October 27, 2009 How old was this system? Isn't it very new? Could it be that it wasn't fully cycled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami October 27, 2009 Share October 27, 2009 Sounds like you're going through a cycle again. Have you pulled the dead animals out of your tank? You want to make sure that your ammonia level stays down. That should be a key concern once you've got the insecticide out of the water. Try to stay below 1 ppm using water changes as necessary to cap the ammonia build up. You may have to change the carbon out a couple of times to feel comfortable that you've removed any pollutants. As the cycle continues, you'll see a spike in nitrite followed by a spike in nitrate. Nitrobacter bacteria will convert the nitrite to nitrate. Hopefully things will settle quickly. A key, though, is going to be to make sure that you take any dying animals out of the tank as soon as you find them. Decaying flesh will cause your ammonia levels to climb and, if they get much above 1-2 ppm, those levels will begin to kill of other sensitive animals leading to a cycle of increasing ammonia. It very well could be that some raid got into your system. It's hard to be sure, though. The MSDS sheets indicate that both the active ingredients (permethrim and pyrethrum) and the hydrocarbon solvent in Raid is insoluble in water which gives me pause. It is 1-5% alcohol, though, which is soluble in water. Still, the manufacturer advises you to cover and turn off aquariums when you spray around them. I HAVE heard of people causing problems with their aquariums when using cleaning solvents containing ammonia (such as window cleaner) too close. This would make a little more sense to me as ammonia IS readily soluble in water. In any case, watch and manage your ammonia levels. Remove dead animals as soon as you're able. Change your carbon out a few times just to be safe. Keep change water handy and use it to keep your levels in check. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyfeet October 27, 2009 Author Share October 27, 2009 Everything died BEFORE everything spiked again, The tank was literally wiped clean. So yes its starting over and I'm in a new cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyfeet October 27, 2009 Author Share October 27, 2009 Also Ammonia has stayed a steady 0-.25 but never rose higher. The problem right now is Nitrite rising. Sorry for short answers I seem to have got the flu last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 October 27, 2009 Share October 27, 2009 I would replace everything in the tank... perhaps even give the tank a cleaning with an acid and strip the silicone inside the tank and redo it. Pesticides have a tendency to build up as a poison and I'm not sure that they'd come out of the rock, substrate, and anything else soluble in your tank, no matter how much you treat it and change the water. It's a lot of money to lose on a tank, but I think that the peace of mind of knowing that I was starting over with a clean tank is worth it. Think about it - if everything died and you removed it and the tank is still cycling again, that means that it wiped the bacteria out, too, and it's got to recolonize. Even if it does manage to get back to living, how do you know that the pesticides will not continue to kill off your fish and inhabitants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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