Tank crashing??

[Rmckoy]

Not to be that guy … but sounds like api test kit results .

I’d strongly suggest picking up another test kit such as salifert to confirm ammonia and phosphate levels


So the way the nitrogen cycle works . For there to be nitrates it has to process ammonia and nitrite . Which in this age of tank it’s already done .
whether the tank has been stocked too fast at once or everything died at the same time is the only way to explain ammonia at that high concentration .

leads me to ask … what are you using to export nutrients ?
Water changes ?
How often or how much at a time ?

type of salt and how you’re measuring salinity ?

 

[ians pico]

What did you cycle with? Did you add anything that would cause an ammonia spike? Any new rock? Anything die in the tank that you didnt remove?

The blenny was the only fish I had in there, my hermit crab and nerite snail seem to be fine. I used turbo start to cycle the tank, this is my 5 gallon tank so the only thing I can think of for the ammonia spike would be the blenny dead overnight ?

 

[DE FISH]

Api is no good for nitrate below 5ppm and and po4 below 0.25 I’d suggest salifert at least for both of these more so a Hanna checker for po4. Is your refractometer calibrated with calibration fluid ?

 

[Rmckoy]

I agree with the other two, you shouldn’t be seeing ammonia but what caused the ammonia? Sounds like nothing out of the norm for your routine. You said you saw the blenny dead in the morning but you also said you tested yesterday. Did you test after you found the dead blenny and all this happened yesterday? Or did you find the blenny this morning? What I’m trying to get at is: did you by chance overfeed by accident and the bio filter wasn’t established enough to handle it or did something bigger happen like a mechanical failure to a heater or something and the ammonia is the aftermath of the blenny dying. Either way the tank shouldn’t be at that high of ammonia. I’d do water changes to get it down. Sorry to hear about your situation. That sucks…

Best advice on this thread !
As I also commented time alone . The only thing that could cause heavy ammonia concentration is a mass death or stocking too fast overwhelming the biofiltration .

 

[ians pico]

Not to be that guy … but sounds like api test kit results .

I’d strongly suggest picking up another test kit such as salifert to confirm ammonia and phosphate levels


So the way the nitrogen cycle works . For there to be nitrates it has to process ammonia and nitrite . Which in this age of tank it’s already done .
whether the tank has been stocked too fast at once or everything died at the same time is the only way to explain ammonia at that high concentration .

leads me to ask … what are you using to export nutrients ?
Water changes ?
How often or how much at a time ?

type of salt and how you’re measuring salinity ?

I buy my saltwater from my LFS and test salinity with refractometer. I have a 5 gallon tank and I do 1.5 gallon water changed per week after target feeding mysis shrimp

 

[Harold999]

man, imagine if there was someone like you on your heels anytime you messed something up or missed something.

If you don’t know how to be kind, don’t bother trying to help people. You’ve got a lot of growing up to do.

People killing fish&corals because they didn't take the time to learn some basic essentials before starting a reeftank, there is no excuse for that.
I'm caring for the animals, there are wáy too much being killed in this hobby because of our stupidities. To be honest i'm sick and tired of this.
LFS should only sell animals to people who know at least some basics.

 

[ians pico]

Best advice on this thread !
As I also commented time alone . The only thing that could cause heavy ammonia concentration is a mass death or stocking too fast overwhelming the biofiltration .

@Reefer5640 so if it were to be that I had stocked the tank too fast for the bioload to handle, would it be best to add more biomedia or add bacteria to recycle?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I buy my saltwater from my LFS and test salinity with refractometer. I have a 5 gallon tank and I do 1.5 gallon water changed per week after target feeding mysis shrimp

Hi,

With a 5 gal recently cycled tank, it's not impossible for Ammonia to climb rapidly once a fish dies.

To recover, I'd do a big 3 gal water change, and then double dose Fraction/Prime to detox any remaining ammonia while the bacteria get themselves in order.

As others have suggested, dump the API kits and use Salifert kits.

Good luck
Graham.

 

[Ergot]

You should definitely get yourself a reverse osmosis system with DI filter and mix your own instead of buying depleted and possibly/probably pest infested water from a fish store while you’re working out this issue. They have cheap and effective ones on Amazon.

 

[Rmckoy]

I buy my saltwater from my LFS and test salinity with refractometer. I have a 5 gallon tank and I do 1.5 gallon water changed per week after target feeding mysis shrimp

Being only 5 gal . It doesn’t take much to go south .

I’d invest in a small rodi unit along with a bucket of quality salt .
Mix your own salt water and gain that much more control over your water quality .

being a smaller setup , I would read a few articles and perhaps do larger water changes .
@brandon429 has the science behind cycles …,,

 

[Duncan62]

If you don't know that 2ppm ammonia is heavily toxic you shouldn't have a reeftank. You have a lot of reading to do.

Very nice.

 

[ians pico]

People killing fish&corals because they didn't take the time to learn some basic essentials before starting a reeftank, there is no excuse for that.
I'm caring for the animals, there are wáy too much being killed in this hobby because of our stupidities. To be honest i'm sick and tired of this.
LFS should only sell animals to people who know at least some basics.

So you’re telling me that you’ve never once crashed a tank? And I never asked if the amm was too high, I had a general question looking for help. To be honest this is my first crashed tank and my first dead fish since I’ve been in the hobby for years. Coming from freshwater and this being my first saltwater and after 2 months of a cycled tank and 0 amonia, this happening out of nowhere when my blenny showed absolutely no signs of stress is confusing and I’m looking for advice. You’re the first negative person I’ve met in this hobby honestly and I’m hoping the stress from the hobby doesn’t get to you after while.

 

[Harold999]

Very nice.

Yeah, it's totally fine that fish are being killed on a daily base because of LFS selling them to people who don't even know some essential basics.
This is animal cruelty.

My advice to the OP was to do some reading first.

 

[Duncan62]

People killing fish&corals because they didn't take the time to learn some basic essentials before starting a reeftank, there is no excuse for that.
I'm caring for the animals, there are wáy too much being killed in this hobby because of our stupidities. To be honest i'm sick and tired of this.
LFS should only sell animals to people who know at least some basics.

I'm sure in your aquarium career you've never made any mistakes. Think of what this hobby would be if there were no beginners allowed. If you have enough knowledge to help people you should.

 

[Duncan62]

Yeah, it's totally fine that fish are being killed on a daily base because of LFS selling them to people who don't even know some essential basics.
This is animal cruelty.

My advice to the OP was to do some reading first.

Join PETA.

 

[edchao]

Looks like your tank is going through a second cycle. You can add Fritz 900 TurboStart to speedup that cycle. It's also worth looking into getting some ceramic media to get more surface area to house the beneficial bacteria. Sorry for the lost, good luck.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Hi. I am sorry to hear about your loss. A 5g tank can react fast to anything. First, what type of Blenny was it? Can be a factor if it was a Miller, Lawnmower type as they need a much larger mature system to be happy. If a tailspot or smaller type, could be something else.

Next, when you said you fed weekly, does that mean you only feed the blenny once per week? If so, that is not healthy for those fish. Most fish need food every day at least. Just small amounts.

Next, the ammonia from API are usually poor. If you finished your cycle, doubt ammonia would cause the fish death. However, if you tested after the fish died, then yes, it will show in such a small system.

I have run a 6g for years and any little thing can be very bad. However, if your cuc are still alive, that is good news. Hopefully the hammer will come back.

Did you have anything on your hands? Lotion, soap? It can have a bad outcome in these little systems.

 

[ians pico]

Looks like your tank is going through a second cycle. You can add Fritz 900 TurboStart to speedup that cycle. It's also worth looking into getting some ceramic media to get more surface area to house the beneficial bacteria. Sorry for the lost, good luck.

I added more ceramic media last night, and I was wondering if I should use sea gel stability or more turbo start?

 

[DanC40]

Don't worry about negative post they always gonna be there. We all gonna make mistakes. Best advice is to learn from others mistakes and research. Google is your best friend but even then you may not find all the answer. However the best thing u can do is like others have said water changes. Invest in rodi system they are cheap and u can do a water change whenever. Unfortunately, the animals we care for and die. This leaves us sad and grasping for an explanation. We may or may not find one but we have to make moves to correct water parameters that are present so that the other life stock is safe. Try to get the ammonia down to 0 asap. Cut back on feedings until the ammonia problem is no longer present. Things will balance out eventually.

 

[Harold999]

I'm sure in your aquarium career you've never made any mistakes. Think of what this hobby would be if there were no beginners allowed. If you have enough knowledge to help people you should.

A beginner should know that 2ppm ammonia is highly toxic. Sorry, no excuse for that.
This has nothing to do with common mistakes we've all made.

Hence my advice to the OP to do some reading.