johnnybv March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 I ran my 200 gal tank with fish and corals sucessfully for 3 years. Corals & fish were both thriving. Simple filtration, sump with drip plate going through very dense stoney material, Accu C skimmer, and Aqua 57w UV. Saturday I decided to add about 150# of sand. I used a dry marine sand, my rock was plenty cultured so my thoughts were it would seed the sand and things could only improve on the nitrate side. I also changed 25% water with a new salt. I had been using Reef Crystals, but found a great source for another brand from Marine enterprises that supposedly was the best salt you could buy. It boasts that it does not contain any EDTA. It also says when transitioning from another salt to only do 5% changes for a while. The lack of EDTA changes the chemisty of the water dramaticlly. I did not read this until after the water change.... About 2 hours after the sand and water change, I started to get that wonderfull pile of Zenia smell. And all the corals and other inverts basically turned inside out. I have removed what I can, but left some corals to use as monitors to imporvments. As of now my test corals have continued to deteriorate, and the smell persists throughout the house. I spoke with the manufacturer of the salt, and they said everthing should straigten out in a few weeks, I just stressed out the corals. They are beyond stressed, and I belive the sand has something to do with this also. I added and ORP meter tonight, preliminary readings are around 155, very low. All other tests are fine, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH, KH, phosphate... Anyone have any ideasn what the H-E-double hocky sticks happened?? What can I do to bring the ORP readings up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 A salt change can bring this on but usually only causes the corals to bleach. While thoroughly rinsing the dry sand before putting it in, did you notice any smell? Who processed the sand and is it in fact intended for aquarium use? Manufacturer? Is it a crushed coral? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 welcome to the boards it seems to me it could be a combination of the both. i used bioessay salt then switched to oceanic. my tank acted like it was cycleing again even though the parameters were all were they were suppose to be. stuff started hiding and dying. as far as the sand was it washed? there might have been something in it. also was it put in all in one day, or over time? just some more question so we will be able to help better, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 2, 2005 Author Share March 2, 2005 the sand was added all at one time. It was designed for marine use, and I thouroghly washed it, and did not notice any smell. It appeared to be very clean, and white, and is intended for aquarium use. The manufacturer is Estes, I have contacted them, but they have not returned my call. Any thoughts on the ORP reading of 150? I keep koi as well, and when ORP readings drop we add a little potasium permaganate, can I do that in the marine enviornment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D33rex March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 Yes my roomate did the same thing, there is nothing to do but wait....probably want to turn off as much water flow as possible to let it settle. Soft corals should be alright but the long term sand blasting will kill most any hard coral...trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 Turn all power heads OFF. Keep unit running on sump pump and skimmer and make 10% water changes every other day for one week. Your corals may appear bleaching, DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY. If you do, call me I will pick them up before you take them out of your tank. The corals are in stress and will recuperate slowly, but there is a chance that some may die although 50% chance it could happen. NEXT time make sure you don't dump all sand at once, is that what the manufacturer recommended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 Ater you see signs of stabilization, PM me. I'll help you with a couple of "cheer up" frags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 2, 2005 Author Share March 2, 2005 Thanks guys, the smell of death is rank! Water changes are in order, anyone used potasium perganate to improve water quality? We use it in koi ponds, but my thoughts are it would finish off the corals. ORP reading settled out at 148 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 Johnny Do not add any more chemicals to your tank until the system stabilizes. Just go ahead with the water changes until you correct/balance your system. IMHO is the best/safe option you got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 Water exchanges are a great way as long as the water is clean and clear. Sure the make up water isn't the problem? Remember this ........ The solution is dilution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 2, 2005 Author Share March 2, 2005 Make up water is RO and have been using it for many years. It seems that the sand is the problem from what I have read in the posts. I did add it all at one time, can anyone explain what happened? Whats IMHO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 IMHO In My Humble Opinion. HTH Hope That Helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns March 2, 2005 Share March 2, 2005 You can lower your salinity just a bit and the water will have a higher oxygen content- Oxone will also bring oxygen up and get rid of the smell some - a powerhead in the sump with the little air intake hose attached will also help areate the water a bit more- I would not recommend using any other chemicals on the tank. "Nothing good happens fast" is an old reefers moto. Small water changes each evening might be in order esp if you have any of your old salt left. Watch amonia in this situation as it is the most toxic thing in the tank, and would call for more water changes if it is registering much above zero. If you drip kalk keep doing it to both maintain PH and it acts as a bit of a purifyer latching onto heavy metals and other nasties. Good luck- keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 3, 2005 Author Share March 3, 2005 AS expected ammonia is going through the roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi March 4, 2005 Share March 4, 2005 Please get to a good Marine LFS and buy POLYFILTERS NOW! It just may save your tank. Where are you located? There may be a WAMAS member near you that can help. Please update your profile with your location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarosh March 4, 2005 Share March 4, 2005 In order to conserve your losses, you may want to place your current healthly corals out in foster homes. Either in a seperate tank, or other memebers tanks. Just ask you'd be surprised how Wamas memebers will try to help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craby March 5, 2005 Share March 5, 2005 How deep is the sand bed now? Was it a bare bottom tank before? Can you siphon some of the sand out (maybe 50% or more)? If you can, I'd try that and set the sand in a big tote w/ some of your water change water (that you usually pour down the drain) w/ some of your LR (Live Rock) & a PH (power head). The new sand did not have any live bacteria, and is not really alive yet. The live rock in the tote will seed the sand and bring it to life. You can then start slowly adding the live sand back to your tank. Also, as Michael has said in previous posts, it's a good idea to go out & get like a 3" diameter pvc pipe that can reach the bottom of your tank, and pour the sand down this pipe when adding it. This mitigates the sand cloud & keeps it off of your LR & corals. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 9, 2005 Author Share March 9, 2005 Tank is looking better, I did move most corals to a foster tank, but at last visit they didnt' look so good, only time will tell. To answer a few questions....the sand bed is about 4-5". I live in Bristow, near manassas. I did pour the sand in slowly from a 1 gal container that was submerged, so the sand blasting was at a minimum. Of all the posts I have got lots of suggestions, but as of yet no one has been able to tell me what went wrong. Was it the salt, the sand, the water change, the new frags from the WAMAS meeting (just kidding) or a combination of all. I have an ORP meter running and it has gone from negative to 181 and continues to rise. I have cut back on the water changes, and am using amquel to help bind the ammonia. The fish are back and eating, after I add the amquel...ammonia is tested twice a day, and has been as high as 4 ppm.Somesone mentioned poly filters, is that just a piece of fine filter material or a whole cartridge type filter? Thank you all for your help! and support. Everything is replacable. I just wish I had a couple pictures of the entire reef before I lost it. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns March 9, 2005 Share March 9, 2005 OK I do not want to be known as the Purigen rep- but for cases like yours where you have a sudden event- and some temporary overcrowded condition - I would recommend a synthetic filter media like Purigen- It absorbs amonia, nitrites and nitrates. It darkens considerably as it absorbs. It can be rechaged by placing in bleach, rinsed, dried and used for up to about a dozen times. It whitens back up when bleached. I have used amquel in growing rotifers but am not sure I would use int in a permanent tank- I always wondered... OK you bind Amonia into some chemical form... but then how do you get that new binded chemical out of the system. In PHyto growth and feeding rotifers you strain the rotifers out of the water before feeding them to the tank so you are not getting much if any of the binded amonia, or amquel into your system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi March 9, 2005 Share March 9, 2005 I agree with the Puregen treatment. And, as the club Polyfilter rep, I would suggest Polyfilter AND Puregen (yes lots of chemical filtration.) Here is the poop: http://www.poly-bio-marine.com/polyprod.htm For all the reefers out there, PLEASE keep PolyFilters and or Puregen or Boyd's Chemipure on hand. When you really need it, you need it ASAP and you need it on hand. I do not continuously filter with either, put I have all 3 on hand for when disaster strikes (that is when not if, at least for me ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 10, 2005 Author Share March 10, 2005 Great Info! Where can I get all three of these items? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL March 10, 2005 Share March 10, 2005 marine scene in herndon creatures and critters in woodbridge wally's aquariums used to have them but its been 6 months since i have been there. these are all for poly filters. dont know about the others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi March 10, 2005 Share March 10, 2005 Any SW LFS will have PolyFilter and may have PureGen. You can mail order them @ Thatpetplace.com or other internet places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv March 13, 2005 Author Share March 13, 2005 Anyone have some live sand to help get my bio back? Somewhere near manassas. thanks john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now