tank problems

[randy123]

So last night I brought up the new sump. This morning, all the corals in the tank are closed and look extremely unhappy. The fish are acting strangely and one may be dying. I'm not sure what do blame it on, so here is the list of suspects:

1) silicone for sump baffling - cured for almost 2 full days and used one without mildew additives that I have used successfully in the past

2) dirty piping - tried to rinse it all out...maybe i missed some?

3) flow changes for return pump being brought up - stress?

4) pvc cement-cured to 2 hours, although maybe some remained in liquid form and got mixed with water somehow?

5) The sewer drain - the emergency drain for the house was blowing out sewer gas this morning - it was rank! This my my suspected cause, but I don't want to rule anything out until I am sure. I poured vegetable oil down it and it is good now.

Symptoms:

1) My tang looks disoriented...I've noticed this in my bicolor too..I have 4 fish that are all sitting in a corner and staring at the wall

2) My bicolor is breathing heavily and has faded color-other fish have normal coloring and are respirating normally

3) Corals all closed

4) Mystery Wrasse looking and acting 100% normal...him and 2 other fish are at least eating.

5)Water took on cloudy look, but i believe this is microbubbles from the new piping

6)Problem seemed to start up over night...sump was running for 6+hours before I noticed any problems


What I am doing about it:

1) Happily I had a new reactor that I was about to fill with NP pellets...now using it to run 1 kg of carbon

2) Running the skimmer- set it up hastily and pulled out a full cup of foul smelling crap...only tea colored, but still, for only being operational for 6 hours, it is a lot

3) 100 gallons of saltwater ready for water change in about 12 hours

System Info:

1)About 160 gallons water volume
2) ph 8.3, SpG 1.025, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate-0
3)Just finished transferring all contents from old tank to new tank a week or so ago-everything was going beautifully before last night. I was running below the overflow line without a sump for about month. Tank bacteria population inherited from old tank with 90 pounds of live rock from the old setup. Have been dosing with "Stability" as a precaution.

Anyone have any ideas? A few of my fish have been perking up, but I'm still worried, especially about the bicolor...

[daniella3d]

ammonia 0? hmm carbon, water change, i don't see what else to do beside maybe add some Seachem Prime as this would neutralize any heavy metal or ammonia in case there is some, even though your test says 0. It only take a very small trace of ammonia to kill fish with the temperature and ph we use in saltwater.

[randy123]

add some Seachem Prime


Yeah, I did that too...I am at a loss...the only thing I can think to do is wait and see what happens..

[BlueTang<3]

A little too cocky with the paddle maybe? :wink::wink: I had to


What kind of corals are you keeping 1 kg or carbon in a reactor seems awful aggressive and might strip too much out of the water.
It seems strange i will be following this as i am adding a frag tank soon so i hope i dont mess with my balance.

Good Luck :biggrin:

[wingedfish]

pvc glue should be ok after two hours, however, the primer is a toxic soup that would cause issues if you went wild with it. it should be used sparingly on female fittings.

I read somewhere, "The solution to pollution is dilution"....

[randy123]

What kind of corals are you keeping 1 kg or carbon in a reactor seems awful aggressive and might strip too much out of the water.

I have sun corals, hammer coral, xenia, clove polyps, and a few button polyps.

Yeah the carbon is aggressive, but I will keep it going until whatever this is goes away. Old carbon can release its absorbed materials (or so I've heard) so when the problem is solved this carbon is going in the garbage and I'll scale it back. This ordeal has convinced me to keep a seperate reactor for carbon though. I'll but a new one for the pellets.

My tank is also designed to overskim...so too clean water is a worry later down the road...I'm wondering what to do for keeping filter feeders..I have had xenia for some time, and my experience is that stuff dislikes clean water..

[randy123]

pvc glue should be ok after two hours, however, the primer is a toxic soup that would cause issues if you went wild with it. it should be used sparingly on female fittings.

I read somewhere, "The solution to pollution is dilution"....

I only used cement. I would say I used a generous amount, but its not dripping everywhere or anything...I've never seen the stuff stay liquid for more than a few seconds when working on piping..but my one overflow box did have some water in it and one joint may have got wet before it set (replaced a plug in the bulkhead with an adapter)...thats what really worries me

[randy123]

Things have settled down now. The best I can figure is that the fish were freaked out by the noise (and possibly flow) of the new "quiet"one 6000 return pump. I swapped it out for a 3000 (much quieter) and they went back to normal behaviour. My poor bicolor must have had underlying issues...although he looked healthy and robust only a few days before:sad: I haven't seen him for 2 days. The long term plan is now to get another 3000 and have twin return pumps. The 6000 can be sold to someone who doesn't mind enjoying their reef while wearing earmuffs...