Help - trying to recover from a crash

SicZ06 · Nov 23, 2019

Help me #reefsquad ...

Ill save the story but my tank crashed and I lost my fish and most my corals. Tank is 10 months old. I am trying to recover and I just feel stuck....I am feeding some food for my lonely shrimp and reef roids daily. My numbers keep dropping. I have some tropic marin all in one - would that help? My tank started to go down hill and ive never really used it...My skimmer isnt running as good as it used to - I assume because there isnt enough waste? Should I add some cheap fish to help?

My tank info = RS 250

4 days ago = ph 8, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, 78 degrees, 1.026 Cal 385, ALK 7, Phosphate ULR PPM .02

Today = ph 8, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, 78 degrees, 1.026 Cal 400, ALK 6.6, Phosphate ULR PPM .02

Seriously I'll do whatever you tell me lol I just want to get my tank going in the right direction. Thank you

Saltyreef · Nov 23, 2019

Your parameters are swinging not being consumed. You need more waste but need to be careful of algae feeding off it first before your bac can.

Bbfishb81 · Nov 23, 2019

All I can say is add bacteria and hope it settles soon.

SicZ06 · Nov 23, 2019

Bbfishb81 said:
All I can say is add bacteria and hope it settles soon.

Like a bottle of the stuff to start a tank? thank you

Flippers4pups · Nov 23, 2019

Sorry this happened to you. Take your skimmer off line for some time to help with nutrients. Skip some water changes as well.

Be patient and keep your water parameters stable and it will recover.

Your numbers don't look bad at all except for some nitrate. Doing the above will help.

Bbfishb81 · Nov 23, 2019

Yes. You dont have to worry too much about over dosing with bacteria. If you use too much, it's just wasting it. But it shouldn't make it worse if it doesnt help.

LAReefer4Life · Nov 23, 2019

Sorry for your troubles. Definitely frustrating situation for you.

I know you want to save us the long story but more information would be very helpful.

What were your inhabitants, how did they pass? just walk us through your challenges from when you noticed the problems to current. Any pertinent information would help steer you in the right direction. Also what is your ammonia level?

willieboy240 · Nov 23, 2019

Stop reef roids and feeding the tank.

SicZ06 · Nov 23, 2019

pathot984 said:
Sorry for your troubles. Definitely frustrating situation for you.

I know you want to save us the long story but more information would be very helpful.

What were your inhabitants, how did they pass? just walk us through your challenges from when you noticed the problems to current. Any pertinent information would help steer you in the right direction. Also what is your ammonia level?

Ammonia is zero. I got hit with two separate issues - first I went on a fishing trip and like an idiot, I replaced ATO water, but didnt plug it back in. I came home to 1.031. That killed my flame angle and started the down turn / then a clown died. Last, my skimmer went wild and flooded / luckily my wife came home and unplugged it so I lost maybe 5 gallons but thats it. This took out everything that was left. One of my issues is, I dont have enough live rock and sand for natural filtration. I have been slowly adding more sand and ordered more reef saver.

SicZ06 · Nov 23, 2019

willieboy240 said:
Stop reef roids and feeding the tank.

will do thank you

SicZ06 · Nov 23, 2019

thank you everyone for your help - I felt like tossing in the towel but love it too much.

willieboy240 · Nov 23, 2019

Just do constant water changes. Get things back into parameters first. Then let the tank settle down. Skimmer wouldn’t hurt to pull out junk or run carbon if you think there’s junk in the water. But water changes is key.

LAReefer4Life · Nov 23, 2019

Well you definitely need more beneficial bacterial. I'm not sure of your setup but can you add bio balls or ceramic ring media into your sump. Create more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow. This is huge priority for you. Before I go further into it. Looks like you have something funky growing on your rocks, whats going on there? Also your water source, are you using RODI water?

LAReefer4Life · Nov 23, 2019

Another quick recommendation that will really help you determine whats going on is an ICP test. I'd also get that done for better peace of mind.

Dine · Nov 23, 2019

SicZ06 said:
thank you everyone for your help - I felt like tossing in the towel but love it too much.

can we get a full tank shot, a list of equipment, total gallons, how much rock/sand, and what changes you made before your trip? the parameters dont look that off and honestly im surprised you would have a tank "crash" with just a gradual salinity swing (you didnt even go that high...). did any fish survive other then the shrimp? id almost lean towards disease...somethings not right but with the info youve given us im not sure i see a culprit

Flippers4pups · Nov 23, 2019

Dine said:
can we get a full tank shot, a list of equipment, total gallons, how much rock/sand, and what changes you made before your trip? the parameters dont look that off and honestly im surprised you would have a tank "crash" with just a gradual salinity swing (you didnt even go that high...). did any fish survive other then the shrimp? id almost lean towards disease...somethings not right but with the info youve given us im not sure i see a culprit

I would tend to agree with you. 1.026 to 1.030 over time shouldn't have killed them. Suddenly, yes possibly.

Dine · Nov 23, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
I would tend to agree with you. 1.026 to 1.030 over time shouldn't have killed them. Suddenly, yes possibly.

i assumed it was somewhat gradual due to evap? fishing trip could be a few hours to a however long so im not clear on the timeframe. 5g vs 500g evap would cause different swings. i think we can solve this just need some more info

Saltyreef · Nov 23, 2019

Tank is 10 months old. ( issue 1)
1.026 to 1.031 is a huge salinity swing in a short amount of time that could have easily caused the already stressed fish to further succumb to this swing.
Some fish are more resiliant than others as my clown lived in 1.030 salinity for 5 years before i bought a refracto.
It is completely possible there was a silent killer as well that exploded out of control when the salinity increased. Only more test fish would solve that question.

Flippers4pups · Nov 23, 2019

Saltyreef said:
Tank is 10 months old. ( issue 1)
1.026 to 1.031 is a huge salinity swing in a short amount of time that could have easily caused the already stressed fish to further succumb to this swing.
Some fish are more resiliant than others as my clown lived in 1.030 salinity for 5 years before i bought a refracto.
It is completely possible there was a silent killer as well that exploded out of control when the salinity increased. Only more test fish would solve that question.

Thinking disease or parasite. I've QT'd delicate wrasses at 1.020 and just allowed evap to bring salinity up to 1.026 in a weeks time with no I'll effects.

Saltyreef · Nov 23, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Thinking disease or parasite. I've QT'd delicate wrasses at 1.020 and just allowed evap to bring salinity up to 1.026 in a weeks time with no I'll effects.

But i wonder if you increased the salinity to 1.026 overnight if it would have been the same story.