Almost lost all fishes with vinegar!!

[Bacon505]

so i bought out a friend’s tank because it was overrun with aptasia. I had the tank running without sump while i clean out the overflow with vinegar. I totally forgot about it when i turn sump on and all the vinegar went into the display. All the fishes freaking out and starting to float upside down. I quickly took all of them out and threw it in my other tank sump for now.
how long does it take for the vinegar dissipate? Or should i run. Ig bag of carbon. My main sup is a 40g and fitting 4 huge tang in there isnt ideal

 

[Tamberav]

People dose vinegar as a carbon source. I don’t think that using bagged carbon would remove it. My guess is a large amount of vinegar would drop the pH and potentially lead to a bacterial bloom.

Water changes?

 

[Harold999]

I guess the KH is now pretty much zero too (it buffered the vinegar for a moment and then went downhill fast because there was too much vinegar).
I would do a huge waterchange to start with.

 

[Cory]

Vinegar wont disspate. It will get eaten by bacteria though. They will also consume massive amounts of oxygen in doing so and fish can sufforcate for that too. Vinegar wont lower alkalinity but will drop ph very fast.

 

[MaxTremors]

How much vinegar and how big is the tank/sump?

 

[Bacon505]

Its a reffer p500 and about half a gallon of vinegar

 

[ZoWhat]

Vinegar wont disspate. It will get eaten by bacteria though. They will also consume massive amounts of oxygen in doing so and fish can sufforcate for that too. Vinegar wont lower alkalinity but will drop ph very fast.

You can't add fish back until you a get solid pH readings over 24hrs. Above 7.6

You're water is too acidic for them. Instant suffocation

Prob need large water changes

 

[Harold999]

Vinegar wont lower alkalinity but will drop ph very fast.

Afaik acid lowers KH by destroying the carbonates.
Carbonates will turn into salt, CO2 and H20.
As soon as the KH is overrunned the buffer is gone and the ph crashes.

 

[Billldg]

I agree with all above. I would start with a large water change. The bigger the better. I would say at least a 50 percent water change.

 

[Cory]

Vinegar will lower alk all but temporarily because as bacteira consume the acetate, the alkalinity comes right back.

 

[ZoWhat]

Why do you want to fix the soup when it reeeeeeally don't cost that much to throw out the soup and start over?

Spend the cost of a 160g bucket of salt and do TWO 50% water changes 14 days apart


.

 

[Bacon505]

Yeah all the fishes is staying in my sump right now until i do a large waterchange. Its been 2 days now and the water is cloudy. Seem like the bacteria bloom started. Going to do a large waterchange today an add another skimmer to help with the skimming. Probaby going to buy a fish to test out the water before i bring back in all the fishes. 4 xxl tangs isnt ideal in half of a ;0g breeder

 

[Bacon505]

would it be safe to put the fishes back after a 50% water change?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Vinegar wont disspate. It will get eaten by bacteria though. They will also consume massive amounts of oxygen in doing so and fish can sufforcate for that too. Vinegar wont lower alkalinity but will drop ph very fast.

+1

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Water change activate!

 

[Cory]

would it be safe to put the fishes back after a 50% water change?

I wouldn't. Is the water super foggy yet?

 

[Bacon505]

Yeah its really cloudy, i did 60g water change, 40g of it water came from my bigger system and 20g fresh. Its a little bit better but still cloudy

 

[polyppal]

Surely has a bacterial bloom, which with the vinegar is going to drive oxygen levels way down... Id do substantial water changes over the next few days and strong surface aeration of the water

 

[Cory]

Yeah its really cloudy, i did 60g water change, 40g of it water came from my bigger system and 20g fresh. Its a little bit better but still cloudy

Is the skimmer on? Once the water is mostly clear, id putthe fish back.

 

[Bacon505]

the water is all cleared but fish arent doing better putting back in. they seem week and just lay on the bottom of the tank.. I wonder if the water is still bad.