Caught my tank crashing. What happened?

[ENVY]

Normal day, woke up at 9 am. Nothing unusual with my fish. Took a nap at 2 pm and woke up at 4 pm. Went to go look at my tank, I noticed my Sailfin Tang was very white with blotches and breathing hard. I inspected the other fishes noticed they were breathing hard. Also, saw my Kole tang was dead. I quickly netted most of the fish since their reflexes were really slow. I threw them into my 40g breeder. The fish seem like they are recovering ok but took awhile.

Stock list in the tank:

2 Ocellaris clownfish
3 Blue Green Chromis
Sailfin Tang (4 inches)
Foxface (4 inches)
Starry Blenny
Kole Tang (3 inches)
Porcupine Puffer (5 inches)
Yellow Clown Goby
Blue-spotted Puffer (3 inches)
No corals.

The tank is a 75 gallon (Have a 150g I am currently plumbing to upgrade within the next month or so...). The age of the tank is about 8 months old.

Have been dosing nopox daily for over a month for high nitrates and to help get rid of green hair algae. About 5 days ago I put ReefHD Reef Flux/ Fluconazole into the tank. Also been using API Marine AlgaeFix. Been dosing all of them appropriately according to the manufacturer's instructions. Have a powerhead dedicated pointed up to create surface agitation.

Levels seem normal:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 to 80 ppm
Ph: 7.8
I do 20-35% weekly water changes. to help control the nitrate


Does anyone have any ideas what went wrong? I included a picture of the sailfin tang. It was the only thing I did before panicking trying to catch everyone else.

 

[Dimmy007]

Have you added any new fish recently?

 

[HB AL]

Maybe all the different stuff you added caused some detrimental chemical reaction, toxicity in the water, a lack of oxygen, etc... it's safe to assume that since all the fishes suffered something is gravely wrong with the water in the tank. At least you had another tank to put the fish in. Hopefully you or someone figures out what went wrong but for now I would do a nice size water change like 75% and add some gac to the tank. Good luck, hope you figure out exactly what caused the crash, oh and report back so we can all learn from it.

 

[SeaDweller]

Yeah it may be possible all of the chemicals you put in caused some bad reaction. Also, how much NOPOX are you dosing? Did it cause a bacterial bloom? Your pic of the sailfin makes the water look murky, which is why I asked. Bacterial bloom means less oxygen available.

 

[geekengineer]

I'm just curious is the water whitish and you can't see from one end of the tank to the other. I had something like that happen with just adding one fish after had started the tank maybe 3-4 weeks later. I couldn't figure out what was going on with my tank. I got frustrated and gave up on my tank because of it since every time I try to add a fish I get bacteria bloom from hell.

 

[ENVY]

Have you added any new fish recently?

Last addition was a Starry Blenny about a month ago

Maybe all the different stuff you added caused some detrimental chemical reaction, toxicity in the water, a lack of oxygen, etc... it's safe to assume that since all the fishes suffered something is gravely wrong with the water in the tank. At least you had another tank to put the fish in. Hopefully you or someone figures out what went wrong but for now I would do a nice size water change like 75% and add some gac to the tank. Good luck, hope you figure out exactly what caused the crash, oh and report back so we can all learn from it.

I agree it's along those lines. I am just very curious about what happened. It would be nice to document in case someone else has this issue or just learn from my mistakes. I'm not the only one dealing with GHA and high nitrates. I am sure this will happen to someone else. I did not use anything exotic in my tank. Just used 3 major control methods widely recommended.

About the water change, I broke down my tank. Going to speed up the 150-gallon tank I'm upgrading too. I love my fish. Even though its paranoia, I can't let my fish back in the tank with any of the same water, sand, etc. I know it would be fine but my fish truly became family members.

Yeah it may be possible all of the chemicals you put in caused some bad reaction. Also, how much NOPOX are you dosing? Did it cause a bacterial bloom? Your pic of the sailfin makes the water look murky, which is why I asked. Bacterial bloom means less oxygen available.

7.5ml a day. The picture of the Sailfin was after I threw him into the 40g tank. Luckily, I set the tank up two days before. The water is murky because of the new sand. However, the water was somewhat murky in the 75 gallon tank (where everything happened). I didn't think much of it because of ReefHD Reef Flux says not to run carbon/phosphate remover for the first few days so I shut off my hob filter. Also, I do face a big powerhead at the surface to always create big ripples on the surface. (can bacteria outpace it?) I wonder if there is some unknown reaction with all or some of the additives/chemicals I was using. I tried googling but I can't find anything.

 

[geekengineer]

Well wish you luck sorry I'm not much help I just would be curious if you find out what happened. I was stumped about what was going on in my tank at the time as well. I guess if I decide to start a new tank and have the bacteria bloom problem again maybe it wouldn't hurt to have that Triton lab test done to see if they find anything.

 

[HB AL]

I'm just curious is the water whitish and you can't see from one end of the tank to the other. I had something like that happen with just adding one fish after had started the tank maybe 3-4 weeks later. I couldn't figure out what was going on with my tank. I got frustrated and gave up on my tank because of it since every time I try to add a fish I get bacteria bloom from hell.

Gotta admit after 30+ years I’ve never heard of a “bacterial bloom from hell” or any bacterial bloom after adding a fish especially every time a fish is added, not being an butt just have never heard of this or encountered this, safe to assume something was seriously wrong with the setup.

 

[HB AL]

Well wish you luck sorry I'm not much help I just would be curious if you find out what happened. I was stumped about what was going on in my tank at the time as well. I guess if I decide to start a new tank and have the bacteria bloom problem again maybe it wouldn't hurt to have that Triton lab test done to see if they find anything.

If you start a new tank and get the bacterial bloom again I would go buy a lottery ticket, all kidding aside there’s so much good info on the net nowadays I would start reading it. Wish the net existed 35 years ago it would made thing so simple.

 

[Gary Inwood]

Last addition was a Starry Blenny about a month ago



I agree it's along those lines. I am just very curious about what happened. It would be nice to document in case someone else has this issue or just learn from my mistakes. I'm not the only one dealing with GHA and high nitrates. I am sure this will happen to someone else. I did not use anything exotic in my tank. Just used 3 major control methods widely recommended.

About the water change, I broke down my tank. Going to speed up the 150-gallon tank I'm upgrading too. I love my fish. Even though its paranoia, I can't let my fish back in the tank with any of the same water, sand, etc. I know it would be fine but my fish truly became family members.



7.5ml a day. The picture of the Sailfin was after I threw him into the 40g tank. Luckily, I set the tank up two days before. The water is murky because of the new sand. However, the water was somewhat murky in the 75 gallon tank (where everything happened). I didn't think much of it because of ReefHD Reef Flux says not to run carbon/phosphate remover for the first few days so I shut off my hob filter. Also, I do face a big powerhead at the surface to always create big ripples on the surface. (can bacteria outpace it?) I wonder if there is some unknown reaction with all or some of the additives/chemicals I was using. I tried googling but I can't find anything.

might have something to do with the fact you turned off your filtration and there was to much of a build up chemicals.

 

[AquaLifeStudio]

I'm thinking depleted oxygen... adding chemicals to the tank and turning off your filter pump was not the best idea. I do not believe that one circulation pump was enough for that amount of fish in that space.

I tested this with my powder brown and one clownfish. I shutoff my skimmer and return pump so I could do some replacement work with my return plumbing. I wanted to see how long it would take for the oxygen to deplete to the point that one or both fish would appear under some amount of distress.

This took just over one hour for both to start bobbing for the surface. This impromptu experiment was performed with absolutely no surface movement in approximately 20 gallons of water. I immediately added a small air stone and they both perked up quickly and returned to normal.

Another example:

In what became one of my two greatest screwups while in this hobby; I lost a moorish idol, a wrasse and a longnose hawkfish to depleted oxygen (in 40 gallons of water) when a return pump was left off by mistake for nearly 24 hours. This time though I had an mp10 that was active with at least 50% of full power and it clearly wasnt enough. I could have saved them had I not been so mentally numb from a long day at work and would have caught the issue before it got too late. I didnt even lose all my fish in that tank either; an algae blenny, a clown fish pair and royal gramma were still alive and seemingly unfazed. That idol was with me for 6 months and was absolutely awesome. It was just a few days before I could have added him to a QT setup. I was heartbroken.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Learn from the mistake and over do it when it comes to oxygenating the water. I run a 900 gph circulation pump intended for a much larger tank in my 22.5 gallon QT setup. In addition, I also combine a sponge filter with a large air pump and a HOB filter. If one thing fails, there's a backup.

In my main display of 200 gallons of water, I have a trio of MP40 pumps running various programs but I have them often running @ about 100%. Two of those three pumps have a battery backup on them. The vectra L1 pump is turning over a measured 555 gallons per hour (after running through my plumbing and three manifold driven reactors of gfo, bio pellets and carbon). A skimmer helps quite a bit too and is only useful to the tank if the return pump works, which I have a battery backup on it as well.

 

[geekengineer]

Gotta admit after 30+ years I’ve never heard of a “bacterial bloom from hell” or any bacterial bloom after adding a fish especially every time a fish is added, not being an *** just have never heard of this or encountered this, safe to assume something was seriously wrong with the setup.

That's what I am afraid of is I had something really wrong with my setup, but I wish I understood what the flaw(s) were.

 

[MauiMarineAquarium (MMA)]

This sounds like a case of stress out puffer. Remember when puffers get stressed out they release a toxin that almost always kills the life stock in a aquarium if undetected. And fish usually die with in hours.

 

[MauiMarineAquarium (MMA)]

Definitely run some carbon and get the toxin out of the water. If you have a skimmer running, that should also be going bananas.

 

[HB AL]

Where do you live? I was gonna offer some assistance get things back on trac.

 

[ylreefer]

Normal day, woke up at 9 am. Nothing unusual with my fish. Took a nap at 2 pm and woke up at 4 pm. Went to go look at my tank, I noticed my Sailfin Tang was very white with blotches and breathing hard. I inspected the other fishes noticed they were breathing hard. Also, saw my Kole tang was dead. I quickly netted most of the fish since their reflexes were really slow. I threw them into my 40g breeder. The fish seem like they are recovering ok but took awhile.

Stock list in the tank:

2 Ocellaris clownfish
3 Blue Green Chromis
Sailfin Tang (4 inches)
Foxface (4 inches)
Starry Blenny
Kole Tang (3 inches)
Porcupine Puffer (5 inches)
Yellow Clown Goby
Blue-spotted Puffer (3 inches)
No corals.

The tank is a 75 gallon (Have a 150g I am currently plumbing to upgrade within the next month or so...). The age of the tank is about 8 months old.

Have been dosing nopox daily for over a month for high nitrates and to help get rid of green hair algae. About 5 days ago I put ReefHD Reef Flux/ Fluconazole into the tank. Also been using API Marine AlgaeFix. Been dosing all of them appropriately according to the manufacturer's instructions. Have a powerhead dedicated pointed up to create surface agitation.

Levels seem normal:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 to 80 ppm
Ph: 7.8
I do 20-35% weekly water changes. to help control the nitrate


Does anyone have any ideas what went wrong? I included a picture of the sailfin tang. It was the only thing I did before panicking trying to catch everyone else.

If I had to take a stab at this I'd say its a, combination of all 3 chemicals being used simultaneously.

Did you have a skimmer running when using NO3 po4 x? Due to the increasing bacterial activity the oxygen level wo drop, a good skimmer is needed to ensure enough oxygen is entering the water.

Also the reef flux I believe is not helpful for GHA, but you might want to double check on that. The API is fine and won't cause a drop in oxygen as far as I can tell.

I would suggest in future though just using 1 of the 3 methods at any one time and leave a few days before switching between any. I'm also having a GHA issue right now and just using NO3 po4 x. Yet to see how it performs but I'm still having to get in there at the weekly wc and do my bit to with a toothbrush.

I know GHA is a pain in the xxx but it's always best to try solve each problem with a single solution at first. And if that isn't working change. I'd be very wary of mixing solutions to rectify a single problem to be fair