• The water in the aquarium has gone bad.

  • Jason9385

On Friday, I came home from work and the corals had all shrunk, and the fish and shrimp seemed to be stressed too. Then I noticed the water was cloudier, so I did a water change; the pH was 7.8. By Friday evening, the water really started to smell. I replaced the carbon with new, and after a night, it didn't help. The clownfish died, and the skimmer is producing such junk that it's nauseating. It's clear there's a bacterial bloom, but how to stop it? I haven't added any chemicals yet. I left for the weekend for work. When I came back, it was the same with the live rocks. I did another 20% water change, but nothing changed overnight. What should I do? The reef is dying! The SPS corals are already exposed; I just want to save what's left.

Andrew7823

It's hard to say what could have happened... but in such cases, the water needs to be changed in large volumes, 50% confidently, and somewhere Lev wrote that 90% is needed to save the inhabitants. Maybe the power was turned off while you were away and the aquarium overheated? Are all the fish and inhabitants still there? Someone might have poisoned them... It would be good to do tests right away... maybe something will become clear...

Chad4168

I have already done everything, the tests are fine, the temperature was consistently 26-27 degrees. The light did not turn off, there is an uninterruptible power supply. Everything was in place before the outbreak. Yesterday, I lifted all the stones and siphoned everything, rinsed the stones a bit from the deposits in clean water. I didn't notice any dead fish. Today, if it doesn't pass, I will drain 2/3 of the aquarium and change 70-80%, but the question is: will the fact that the water is fresh and not matured affect the living creatures in such a volume?

Cheryl9296

I found links on chemistry, but I don't know if I can browse them and which one is better.

Chad231

It's better to replace about 45% of the water with fresh water, and take 45% from the sailors in Donetsk, using the live water from their aquarium; this way, the aquarium will be less sensitive to the almost complete restart. This happened either due to strong overheating of the aquarium or because it was without light for two days or more.

Gene1948

The main thing is to stabilize the parameters in fresh water: temperature, salinity, and good aeration. What tests have you done? What ammonium level? And what does it mean that everything was siphoned? It might be pointless to turn everything back in such a situation; it could worsen things... Set the foam filter on wet foam...

Jessica

The temperature was normal, the light was not turned off, I left on Saturday afternoon, and it all started on Friday morning.

Katherine

it is done Ammonium did not measure, filtered the soil

Caroline1599

Ammonium needs to be measured first and foremost!!!!!! Read about the nitrogen cycle in aquariums; you might find the reason, I really hope you do! You can get information from at least the book "The Reef Aquarium," page 61. In the sea, you cannot make sudden movements!!!! And if you do, you need to understand very well why; this is not a reproach, it's real advice. The sea is a big mystery for us; I have read several times on RC about the loss of reefs after 3-5 years of their existence... we all make mistakes!!!! I hope that respected experienced marine aquarium enthusiasts will not leave this topic aside; advice and opinions here will not be superfluous!

Amanda

I will buy an ammonium test today; I have never measured it before, mainly nitrates and nitrites.

Devon107

What equipment do you have? And don't stir up the sand and stones!

Wesley

Hanging filter (carbon and anti-phos), Deltec MCE 300 skimmer, flow pump, and that's it!

Brian6895

I just checked your topic..... You forgot to mention that you turn off the pump at night... as well as the flow...

Melissa2062

It is necessary to remove the coal and antifos. It is advisable to give the animals to someone for temporary care, as they will not be doing well right now... the substrate should not have been siphoned... and moving the stones as well... You have only made the situation worse!

Travis572

Earlier, the jeb was 180, I turned it off, and when I installed the deltek, it worked continuously. I started stirring the soil, already arranged for temporary storage, will they bring any disease with them? I have a 100-liter aquarium, can I run it for a while? And about the light, it’s currently on for about 6 hours, should I turn it off completely?

Jacob4800

You didn't mention this in your topic, so I got worried! If there's a chance to get some water from someone else's aquarium, at least 30%, or better more, I would definitely recommend starting a 100-liter aquarium. I think there's no need to turn off the light; the process of stabilization and maturation, in my opinion, won't happen without light... but that's just my opinion...

Robert5335

I assume there was a general overload and a subsequent disruption of the nitrogen cycle, leading to an increase in ammonium. Or someone has died. It is quite possible that someone buried in the sand or caught in the pump is not visible. I agree with the advice to replace up to 90% of the water, but before that, rinse all the pumps, filters, and tubes.

Laura3615

I will move the livestock to the functioning aquarium today, only the rocks will remain. I will remove the coal with anti-phosphate and leave only the current and the foam filter. I will do a water change of 50%-90%, I haven't decided exactly how much yet. Thank you all for the advice!

Brooke

I would check if there is any copper in the aquarium. Maybe a wire has been exposed somewhere in the equipment. Last Saturday, 12 volts from the cooling fan got into the sump. In the morning, the situation was almost identical to yours. The rocks seem dead, and all the small creatures have completely died. The fish were not harmed. It was just that a small copper contact dissolved overnight.

Heather2018

There are no exposed wires, but there is one thing: I have a wire from the fan, or rather from the thermostat, going into the water, like a temperature sensor. It might be because of that, but everything seems to be insulated. I'll call the device's author now to find out.

Laura7633

No one but me has access to it; I feed it half a cube of Artemia once a day and alternate with dry food, sometimes giving shrimp. There were 4 fish, one hermit crab, 2 shrimp, and an ophiuroid in the aquarium, and among the illegal ones, there are algae-eating snails. The stocking density in the 150L tank is not high, and the soft and hard ones were content with what was left from the fish! Overfeeding is excluded. The death of the hydrobiont - only the illegal ones - which were 1 cm long, is quite possible!

Theresa5149

In general, the situation today is as follows: The surviving livestock is in another aquarium. I did a 70% water change. There are only rocks and substrate now, the foam filter and the current pump are working. The murk hasn't cleared. I turned off the light completely. What should I do with the rocks? As I understand, they are no longer alive? They smell like sewage. Can they be restored, or should they be permanently killed as dry reef rocks? Now the substrate is sand, which is also unclear, all covered in silt.

Richard

Wash the substrate. Suck it out (if the fraction is up to 1mm) with a wide siphon into a large container, then drain the water from there, rinse, and that's it. As for the stones... I was told recently about the stones I'm currently using; they spent a month on the upper deck of a barge in the sun two years ago. One can only imagine what the guys went through during unpacking. They kept them in the container for a very long time. However, I recently started using them, and everything is just perfect. Your case is different. I think it's not worth turning them into S.R.K. (dry reef stones). Give them a chance.

William

Full penning. Add flow. Maybe the neighbors were doing repairs? Maybe something useful was touched by hands after painting? Check all the softness (especially the sarcophagiton) for signs of rot. Since you can already stir the stones, examine them carefully for large mollusks. Throw the stones into clean water. Observe for a day and do an ammonium test - if it spikes, don’t dry the stones, but keep them in a container with good flow, and then we'll see. Overall, you should have contacted me right away or your sailor friends.

Pamela

Were there many small hydrobionts? What is the foam column currently displacing? In my opinion, there is no point in substitutions - rinse the stone in this volume of water and place it in new water or live water from other aquariums. Rinse the sand. There can be many reasons for what happened, and without online monitoring of parameters, the real causes may remain unknown.

Chad9037

Max, where did you put your phone? I was talking to Alexey. We shouldn't have disturbed the stones and substrate, we should have waited for everything to settle down, but now it's too late! Anyway, I'll transfer the stones today into a 100-liter tank with new water, let's see what happens. Regarding the softness, the sarcophyton is fine. A friend of mine currently has all the corals and fish with the strombus! Only one discocoma has rotted, I threw it away yesterday!

Tammy

Yes, there were many illegal ones, small shrimp, brittle stars, worms, snails, you can't keep track of them all! Now the foam has calmed down and is producing a lot of oil. And yesterday it was still producing wet foam.

Catherine6534

So, how's it going with the aquarium?