Well, that just turned out really bad.

[digital-audiophile]

So the install day came for our basement floor install. We are renovating and had the carpet torn out and laminate installed.

I had offers of babysit help (and I appreciate it )but since I had an empty 40G sitting around I figured I would set that up as a temp tank.

On Thursday I transferred my fish and corals into the temp tank using existing tank water and kept it moving with a couple koralias and a stealth heater to maintain temp. I also put on a coralife PC strip light I had just for the short term. The live rock went into rubbermaid garbage cans with powerheads and heaters.

The installers came Friday and did the job in one day ending around 6:00. I checked in on the temp tank and everything seemed fine so I decided that I would wait until Saturday to get everything set bck up.

That is where my mistake was

Saturday morning after breakfast and coffee went down to look at the temp tank and smelled the death before I saw it.

The death count is at:
6 SPS Colonies
1 Cleaner Shrimp
5 Chromis
1 Hippo Tang
1 Sixline I had this guy for almost 4 years
2 Aussie Black clowns

The Survivors:
All zoos rics and mushrooms
Buble Tip Anemone
All my frogspan & trorches
Purple Tang (thank God!! I had him the same length of time as my sixline)
Sand Gobie
1 Chromis
Neon Goby
2 Clams


So I'm still not sure what went wrong.. to me it is surprising that sensitive creatures like the clams and 'nem survived yet there were fish losses.

Anyhow.. just a rant I guess.. I've moved tanks so many times now I thought I had it down to a science.. but I guess you learn something ne everytime.

[OCDP]

Oh man, I am so sorry to hear Greg.. that's terrible! I wonder what went wrong in such a short amount of time ?

[christyf5]

Wow that totally sucks, i'm sorry to hear that. That is odd that the more "sensitive" critters survived. Maybe an ammonia spike?? Oxygen issues??

Sometimes this hobby can be so frustrating.

[Delphinus]

Oh geez Greg I'm really sorry to hear that. I wonder what happened. It's like something kicked off some kind of chain reaction. Good luck with everything!!

[mark]

oh no.

Though using tank water, since no LR for filtration, could all the livestock caused a ammonia spike?

[digital-audiophile]

I did use some live rock in the temp tank as well as the rock that the softies are attached to.

I tested the tank water and the params were normal. Just one of those things that happen I guess and never make sense.

I'm just glad it is done and there should not be another reason to move the tank again in the near future.

[fishoholic]

Sorry to hear that, it sucks losing corals and fish

[Slick Fork]

Yikes,

Sorry to hear about that. Now I"m scared, I'm moving everything into temporary accomodations while I wait for my new tank from Golds.

[Lance]

That's terrible! So sorry for your loss. Hopefully all goes well for you here on in.

[spreerider]

fish can be lost from stress alone, maybe the tank change stressed them then infighting insued