Did a 80% waterchange with probiotic salt..

[Silverking90]

yep, made that mistake I’ve already read a bunch on...which I did that before the water change lol
I used aqua forest probiotic salt for a 80% wc on my 234g tank.
Being new to the hobby and probiotic salt at the same time leaves me wanting to hear everyone’s input on what I should do and what is going to happen.

I did this 80% change yesterday after a month of running Fluconazole for bryopsis. I also changed gfo and carbon in the reactor. Been running biopellets for 3 weeks now. Nutrient levels were high before the water change. Nitrates were 30 and phosphates at 1. Today (June 1St, Friday) one day after the water change nitrates were 8 and phosphates .o8. Water is obviously cloudy, fish look fine. Some corals look fine, others ticked, all nems ticked.
I’ve already read a good deal on this subject but want to know what I should do? Let it settle? Will my nutrients continue to decline until there’s none, effectively killing the bacteria causing in my nutrients to climb back up again? You guys think I’ll be ok since my nutrients were so high prior to the wc?
Thanks everyone

 

[Reafer]

I would just keep up with testing, give it a few days and if the levels are going back up do another large WC. How long has the tank been up?

 

[holyscoly]

i would do a large water change and rinse out any bio media with tank water if you have any.

 

[x2uranium]

Let it chill. Don't keep doing huge water changes fast give it a few days then make more 15-20% Wc-

 

[Rakie]

The golden rule for new reef keepers; Stop doing stuff

Motto's to always remember
- If you think you're reefing slow enough, SLOW DOWN
- Only bad things happen quickly
- If someone says buying a bottle of magic potions or $1000 piece of equipment will solve ALL your problems, you're being scammed

 

[DiZASTiX]

Boy I read this and said to myself: classic case of ask two people get two answers. At least asking four people, you still only got two answers. Let me throw my name into the hat too, and provide that third answer. Remove all affect animals you can or care to save, and place them in a Rubbermaid tub. Add water flow, lighting, 1.026 SG, or an appropriate SG you deem fit, and heater set to appropriate temperature.

Then, let your main tank sit. I recommend observing remaining animals for signs of distress. If any (e.g., browning corals), perform a reasonable water change. If heavy signs of distress suddenly, remove them as well and put in tub. If no signs of distress at all and they're all happy, let them stay. Perform ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate tests on the main tank. Performing nitrite test is for the purpose of determining if the nitrate test is accurate. If there's a lot of nitrite, your nitrate test will be heavily skewed.

I do not recommend GFO use with 0.08 phosphate and a substantially higher nitrate, or you will be phosphate limited. Instead, I suggest ramping up carbon dosing. I recommend adding vinegar. For my 40 gal system, I dose 25 mL vinegar. I'd also recommend keeping the biopellets in place and ensuring their correct operation (i.e., tumbling).

Next, find a bucket or Rubbermaid tub and place anemones and any other animals that are doing poorly. They're not going to do better on their own. Perform water changes for the bucket at least every fourth day, depending on the number of animals. If it's very small, weekly water changes will suffice. You'll want to perform daily ammonia tests on the tub. Remember to top off the tub or bucket at least on a daily basis.

Kindly post a log or better yet, a chart of your nitrate levels, if available. That would be very helpful.

 

[Silverking90]

Thought I’d update. since there was not too much on this topic already online, let this thread serve as something for anyone researching this topic.

So basically I did nothing about the situation and chose to ride it out. I also broke my phone shorly after writing this thread so I never even got to see what y’all wrote...guess that was for the better as you will read.

The second day after this water change the tank was perfect. Water was clearer than ever and nutrients are just what I wanted them at (5nitrates and .02 phosphate). Corals were a little angry after going through this rapid change in nutrient levels but today (about 2 weeks after the water change) they all look great. My sps are starting to recolor and they are recovering great too.
From my experience, I’d actually recommend a large water change with probiotic salt as it obviously started a bacterial bloom (hence my cloudy water) and that dropped the phosphates and nitrates. 2 weeks out they are still the same. I plan to nock out the remaining phosphates with another 20% probiotic water change in another 2 weeks (so the water changes are a month apart). I owe this salt and my “mistake” a ton, some corals were really starting To look bad and so far they all have been looking good and nutrients are much more stable and manageable now.
I’m going to continue 20% probiotic waters changes every month.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

What you did, is what I would have recommended. You should never overreact and make massive changes. Waiting it out to see if there was actually a problem instead of creating one was the way to go. Sounds like things are looking up!

 

[Silverking90]

Yes defiantly