32 BioCube of Death

[Whiskeyboy84]

like the title says we have a 32g biocube with 30lbs of sand for a 2-3” deep sand bed about 5lbs of live rock and the entire filter compartment is filled with bioballs.
Salinity is 1.026
Nitrate phosphate are zero according to my API test kit and my Ammonia is raised to 0.5

We have about 9 snails one Tiger conk that is dealing with the turf algae issues we had after cycling the tank.

We had had 0 ammonia before we added any fish and we added 5 fish the first try all at once and had an ammonia spike then that wiped out our live stock I did a 75% water change and we re-cycled the tank for two weeks once again had LFS check water sample was given the green light and we added a single yellow watchmen Goby he lasted two days but my thoughts now are we could not find him on the first day so the second day I disturbed the aquascaping which disturbed the sand bed could this have been what caused the toxic release or do my problems lie elsewhere!!!

 

[mahindra.dev]

#reefsquad

How long did you cycle the tank? Do you still have ammonia? I dont think you will release ammonia due the the depth of your sand bed. But i want other more experienced reefers to comment.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

We originally cycled the tank for 30 days with microbacter added daily

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

How old is the tank?

Rodi water?

How long between the two events?

 

[Greybeard]

OK... so... mid depth sand bed, no problem there. 5lbs of live rock, that's not a lot. I'm not a big fan of bio balls, but they do add to the bio filter area, and with very limited live rock, it's probably a good idea. Long term, you might think about a lesser volume of marine pure or some other form on bio media. Bio balls just seem to trap a lot of debris, for me. Other's opinions will differ, of course.

5 fish at once, to a newly cycled 32g tank, test kits reading Ammonia... I'd like to hear the type/size of those fish, but it sounds to me as if your bio filter was not fully established, or at least not sufficient to be able to handle the increase in ammonia production. Ammonia can and will kill quick. No skimmer? Water circulating pumps? Is the surface being disturbed, somehow? Quick, mass fish deaths always make me want to look at oxygen exchange, as well. I don't know about newer ones, but the older bio cube came with a pretty small pump.

1st rule in marine aquaria, nothing good in this hobby happens fast. Adding 5 fish, even small fish, to a small, brand new aquarium is just too fast. Add one, or two, wait for the tank to stabilize at that stocking level for a while, and add one or two more. Slow and steady. Sure, you see folks starting with a half dozen, or even a dozen fish... but it's typically a larger volume of water.

Are you certain that the tank had some established bio filter? Normal break in period, dosing ammonia, or some sort of food to help establish the bacteria population? Dr. Tim's or some other bacterial starter culture?

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

The Tank is now 3 months old there was two weeks between incidents! The water is pure RODI.

The system originally housed two clowns and a diamond Goby but the clowns literally ate the Goby but they lived in the tank for about two weeks with no issues. Now this is my daughters tank in her room and after her clowns ate the Goby she didn’t want them anymore so they stayed in the tank for another week and then I put them into my 200g tank in my living room. The tank sat empty for two weeks except for the snails and it developed turf algae so I added a tiger conk to handle the turf algae. Then this is where we go wrong we added another Goby, two Damsels, royal grama and a six line wrasse. All died over night two weeks later we added the single yellow watchmen Goby and he died in two days! All water flow is handled by the biocube’s single pump as it advertises to be an all in one and doesn’t provide for a Skimmer so we are not running a Skimmer or any other powerheads within the display

 

[jayala12]

I have a biocube 29 and have 5lbs in the back chamber. 5lbs in display is not enough live rock . Just my opinion

 

[Comic_Reef]

I would add to the above post about livestock by not only recommending adding slow but also making sure to add multi-tiered fish. For example 5 top water fish would already be too much as they would all be occupying the same space and thus would become stressed quickly in a tank of that size. When adding, try to add 2 open water species, 1 rock dwelling species and 1 sand dwelling species.

Also every time an inhabitant dies he/she is going to throw a ton of nutrients into your system unless removed quickly. Multiple inhabitants dying will cause a snowball effect.

I am currently running a Biocube myself and would recommend the following setup:

Chamber 1 (intakes) - Heater
Chamber 2 - In-Tank Media Basket with filter floss (optional: purigen, chemi pure elite)
Chamber 3 - Return pump.

I would grab yourself a Hang On Back Skimmer as well. While the ones that fit into the back are better than nothing and can be effective, I find that hang on back models tend to be more powerful and elongate the contact time between your tank water and air which can make them more effective. If the look is unappealing, then one that fits in chamber 1 or 2 should make a difference.

Since Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrates seem to be in check, I wonder if your issues could lie more in the realm of pH, temp, salinity or contaminants. A skimmer or airstone will help with pH. A bag of carbon and skimmer should help with unseen contaminants.

Is there anything visually off about the tank?

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Nothing visually is off with the tank matter a fact the snails seem to thrive in it temp is 76 degrees so I didn’t really see a need for a heater the HOB Skimmer is something I will look into and changing from bio balls to marinepure and a bag of carbon is probably coming

 

[Comic_Reef]

A tank this size wont be any good for Damsels either. There are exceptions to the rule, but they have a tendency to be very territorial. I had one in a biocube that literally wiped out 3 other fish and 2 cleaner shrimp in a matter of a few weeks. Thought it was my water until I saw him bullying the only remaining clown in my tank. Wrasses can be aggressive in a tank that size too especially towards peaceful fish like gobies that aren't going to fight back. Very possible the Damsels and Wrasse had a death match in the tank.

 

[Comic_Reef]

Nothing visually is off with the tank matter a fact the snails seem to thrive in it temp is 76 degrees so I didn’t really see a need for a heater the HOB Skimmer is something I will look into and changing from bio balls to marinepure and a bag of carbon is probably coming

While there may not seem to be a need for a heater I would invest in one and get your temps up to 77-78 if possible. It may seem like the temps are staying steady at 76 but biocubes have a tendency to swing in temps if not regulated. The lights will add a few degrees during the day and then drop the temp at night when the lights are off. Its very possible your lights keep you at 76 but the temps are dropping to 70-73 at night. The opposite could be equally true with temps seeming fine in the mornings but spiking to 82-83 during the day. Most fish can be acclimated to higher or lower temps (I keep mine at 79 living in AZ) but they will get stressed quickly if they are experiencing temp swings.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Just checked water again and
PH is 7.8
Salinity 1.026
Ammonia is 0
Phosphate is 0
Nitrate is 0
Temp is 78 we keep our house at 74 so not sure how fast it would bleed down to ambient room Temp overnight

 

[Comic_Reef]

You'd be surprised. If i remove the fan from my tank, it will hop from 79 to 84 in an hour or 2. Lights give off a lot of heat so if its 78 with lights, its probably swinging a bit more than you'd expect. Test the temp a 4 or 5 hours after lights out and see where you are at. Its not definitively your problem, was just an idea since it seems you were having a problem with them dying overnight.

 

[CNDReef]

I have a 29 biocube and have around 20lbs live rock and a box of marine pure spheres in the middle chamber. I’d definitely only add a couple fish at a time and wait 2 weeks before adding more. Pick up a powerhead as well , the stock pump is very weak. I run a mj12 as a return, mp10 at 75% reef crest mode and a jebao pp4 at 50%.
You don’t need that much flow for fish only but at least one powerhead would definitely give you better gas exchange.

 

[Blastonator]

I read through the thread, decent advice is being given but I haven't seen anyone tell you that your tank was not initially cycled. Biospira does not replace a conventional cycle. You need ammonia or something dead to start your cycle. You did that with the 5 fish you bought and your tank is now probably ready for fish. With that said, I'd only put about 5 fish in there and definitely not all at once.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Thanks For all the Great advice guys I will hold off on putting in anymore live stock until I get some new gear for the tank like a HOB Skimmer and a small powerhead I have adjusted the return jet to give more surface agitation and hopefully improve oxygenation for the snails and Tiger Conk for now.