Dead Serpent star in rocks

[Thunderrap]

My serpent star has died and is stuck between the rocks, my CUC is working (albeit slowly) on cleaning it up but I'm worried that it decomposing is going to crash my tank. The tank is 3 months old and I will gladly provide any other information needed but not sure what is relevant. Do I need to pull out the rockwork to get it out?

 

[AcroNem]

What size is your system? If it was me I would attempt to remove it

 

[Thunderrap]

38gal, I tried using some tubing and my coral feeder to get him out but no luck. I'll try using a powerhead to push him out and if that doesn't work then I'll have to start pulling out the rocks without disturbing everything else too much

 

[brandon429]

it will not crash, it might cause a lil algae bloom. Ive lost a decent sized one in a reefbowl/1 gallon before


also going from the seneye thread posts where a tang degraded in tank and the ammonia never moved out of the .00x thousandths.

any ammonia issues would've already occurred. get what you can, nature does the rest nbd.

if it was a smaller reef, disassembly access would be easy. either way its past the breakpoint.
an enduring rule in ammonia: its the now not the later.

right now, your stuff is ok. ammonia is a quick acting tank recycler, never ever ever a slow creep up. the tank simply handles the excess ammonia, then goes back to non excess. bac are that flexible in ability. Dr Tim wrote about stepped-up ability on a post recently to explain quick take-ons like this.

it reminded me of how humans can choose to stack ten bricks an hour or 100, but maybe not 1000 modulation within reasonable limits/ able. handling that rotting echinoderm is a 6 brick job.

 

[Thunderrap]

Thank you so much @brandon429 I got what I could out directing a powerhead in the area and it looks like the crabs and snails are taking care of the rest. That would explain why I saw a jump to 0.25 ammonia the other day and have been seeing a little more diatoms in the tank.

 

[brandon429]

neat trick: post a full tank shot and we'll list 3 or 4 details that show its already back under control even if the tester can't quite indicate that yet

ammonia is certainly predictable. pic assessments r fun

 

[Thunderrap]

sorry for the glare, and before the tang police come knocking at my door I know the tank is small for a yellow. It will be upgraded in less than 2 years.

 

[W1ngz]

I'd get it out if you can, but it's not critical to do so provided you're tracking the ammonia levels. Three months is young, but it should be able to take the hit and keep going.

If you see ammonia rising from one day to the next, stop whatever you're doing and take care of it.

If you see ammonia at .25 or higher, but stable and sustained for more than about 24 hours, you definitely need to act, as it will already be causing ammonia burn in the fishes gills.

If you don't see ammonia sustained, then you need to keep an eye on your nitrates as they will spike soon after. Plan for an extra large water change in the next couple of days in order to head off any algae problem.

 

[brandon429]

that ammonia is now at .00x ppm, its no longer in the tenths or the water w be cloudy. all animals dead, fish hovering at the top vs down low where o2 is lower, and that much sand and rock can process 10x what you're testing it at.


that much rock and sand simply cannot, will not, permit free ammonia in the tenths its too hungry for ammonia molecules


its literally impossible per pic for that reef to have free ammonia in the tenths, or above the thousandths, which is the safe zone for all reef tanks. massive surface area, it wouldnt crash if that tang died wedged in the rocks, still .00x.

 

[brandon429]

also living snails. they will not tolerate it reaching .25 even once


your tank never left .00x

I know api says it did, but seneye didnt

the snails alone are your living proof you never even broke hundredths ppm.

 

[Thunderrap]

awesome, thank you guys so much! Being my first time I just got worried and didn't want to lose everything. How did you know I had an API ammonia test kit LOL

 

[brandon429]

the .25 but honestly seachem or salifert would likely read some low level appearance as well.


these systems are never truly zero ammonia, and your kit is calibrated for zero, thats why it can't read it very well kit to kit. ammonia runs in the .00x or a reef is dead by tomorrow, pretty simple and reliable formula there. That much live rock and sand will require cleaning for detritus packing over time...but you have insurance in the surface area such that even a dead tang will not crash that tank. it would take a lot of death all at once to overcome that much rock. your tank will always show a true ammonia event in ways you do not have to test; smell, clarity, death, snail death, all must occur in any reef where .25 was actually attained.

those kits aren't helpful for low level readings, they're helpful for high level ones that turn the sample dark green/start looking for a dead fish to remove so you dont bloom the algae.

recent ammonia study threads in the chem forum shows all reefs working at .00x conversion rate, free ammonia true levels at .02 are lethal and fish start to die, and anywhere in the tenths ppm is pure tank loss. it is by those inferences we can know what your max real free ammonia level was.