Reefgardner Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 So everything has been great and I HAD a great harmonious vibe in my tank. Small outbreak of cyno (yes, I feed too much). About a week ago, I cut down on my feedings and cut down on my lights and per other posts, I tried to manually remove as much as I could Monday evening. Thin plastic tubing was too thin, kept getting clogged with sand. So I got as much as I could with a Turkey baster, stirred the sand a bit, only at the surface. Last night I got home and I lost almost everything. Yellow Tail Damsel, Striped Doty, Neon Goby, 1 Pep Shrimp and one small snail - all dead Only livestock that remains (for now) is one Pep Shrimp and 3 Nas Snails. The 3 mushrooms and 2 Anthelia looked fine, however Xenia was completely shrunk to about 1/3 normal size and changed to a dark purplish color, normally more opaque. Moved the Green Star Polyp a bit higher and is starting to come out, it has been struggling since I put him in about 3 weeks ago. Immediately tested my water Salinity 1.026, a bit high, normally runs at 1.025 ph 8.4 amm .25 -.50 I expected a small spike with 3 dead fish in tank all day long (API kit, hard to distinguish) nitrite 0 nitrate 0 temp 81 a bit high, normally at 80 My only guess is that I somehow poisoned the tank, really not sure how. However the only explanation I can come up with considering the water tests. Sorry so long a post, that's my venting for today. I guess what I really need to know is what do I do next? How long do I wait before trying to introduce anything? Is there something else I should be looking for? Thanks and good morning to all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Sorry for the losses. My guess would be hydrogen sulfide poisoning from too much disturbing of the sandbed at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 H2S gives off a very pungent rotten egg smell and you would see some bubbles rising from the sand bed when you stirred it. H2S is produced in anaerobic conditions so it would have to be a deeper sand bed that has been sitting dormant for a while without any detritivores sifting through it to oxygenate it. Ty, do you have any papers that discuss H2S poisoning in a tank? Like the dissolved concentrations necessary to cause death in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgardner Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 My sand bed is 4 months old and about an inch and a half or so deep. I only stirred up a bit on the top in the front portion of the tank while trying to remove the cyno. Is there a standard "pause" time I should consider before trying livestock again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Can you give us more details about the tank? Skimmer, LR, filtration? How old is the tank? The coral should be fine, I'm more concerned as to what caused the fish death. Stirring the top layer of sand should not have caused a huge spike in ammonia unless your tank was unable to process it (new tank?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 What additions have you made to the tank recently? Have you added any liquid additives or medications to the tanks? Added any equipment or live rock to the tank? Sprayed any chemicals near the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 +1 we do need some more info Kudos for posting some test results though! We have all dealt with tank crashes and livestock death so you're definitely not alone there. If you think that post is long winded....look at some of mine. Anyhow. How old is the tank first off. Cyano isnt necessarily a sign that anything is wrong at all. It's fairly unavoidable, especially in tanks under a year old, and will come and go with time. Usually in my experience it requires little to no intervention, though manual removal can tend to help the aesthetics of it. Secondly...In the day or two prior to everything dying...did anything else change besides the sand stirring and cyano removal? Anything at all? Clean the house with any chemical cleaners (like countertops or wood surfaces, stuff can get on your hands), changes in feeding at all (any new foods), check all of your pumps or any magnets in the tank (magnets can swell and crack and muck up the water), ect. You get the idea. Think about anything that could have possibly changed or contaminated the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Hmm. So what can kill fish quickly? A rapid decrease in pH. Salinity drop - Natural seawater has a salinity of 35ppt or 1.0264, so you're good there. Unless you did a big water change with water that hasn't fully mixed. That might kill the fish. I believe fish can live in salinity levels as low as 1.015 long term. Below that for a period more than an hour or two and they will die. You would have had to change 50% or more of the water at once though. Rapid decrease in oxygen levels - Normally associated with medication or water clarity chemicals. Chlorine / Bleach / Ammonia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new55galSALT Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Check your heater as well as checking for stray voltage I lost my lionfish and all other fish I had in the tank due to a heater malf. and stray voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I've never checked for stray voltage before. Wouldn't one get a nasty shock if there was stray voltage running through the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 H2S gives off a very pungent rotten egg smell and you would see some bubbles rising from the sand bed when you stirred it. H2S is produced in anaerobic conditions so it would have to be a deeper sand bed that has been sitting dormant for a while without any detritivores sifting through it to oxygenate it. Ty, do you have any papers that discuss H2S poisoning in a tank? Like the dissolved concentrations necessary to cause death in the tank?No papers... just hearsay and conjecture. [emoji14] I'm just throwing out guesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgardner Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 29 gallon tank 4 months old, 30 lbs live rock, 30 lbs live sand, HOB filter (up to 50 gal) heater and two circulation pumps. No skimmer yet, I have a very small load. Last edition was the Goby about a month ago. Last 5 gal water change 2 weeks ago. Other than me messing with the tank on Monday nothing out of the norm, no signs of stress, at all. I did add a larger power head to see if additional flow would help with the cyno. Only ran for about 30 seconds, as it was way too powerful. (It is destined for my 75 I'm setting up). Nothing else out of the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Could be related to a pH swing, or the H2S, whatever was the causing factor will be a mystery, but I can almost guarantee the rapid death of all the vertebrates is related to 02 depletion. In the future a skimmer can really help in these situations. Even if it's not running effectively it will still be a good source of water/gas exchange that can help keep the water oxygenated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I've never checked for stray voltage before. Wouldn't one get a nasty shock if there was stray voltage running through the tank? I've had stray voltage coming from a heater. You'll get a heck of a shock when you put your fingers in the tank while the heater is on. The usual cause is a crack in the glass of your heater. Could be related to a pH swing, or the H2S, whatever was the causing factor will be a mystery, but I can almost guarantee the rapid death of all the vertebrates is related to 02 depletion. In the future a skimmer can really help in these situations. Even if it's not running effectively it will still be a good source of water/gas exchange that can help keep the water oxygenated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk The question is what could cause it? Cyanobacteria produces oxygen during photosynthesis. Maybe if the tank was low in oxygen and you removed the cyano then the oxygen would drop really low. So what would cause the O2 to be low? The only thing I can think of in a tank this new is bad water movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 How long was this new power head in the tank for? Where did it come from? If it was used and hadn't been well rinsed, it could have come in with some toxic residue that dissolved into the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I don't know how you would have readable ammonia they day you found your fish dead. It seems to me that there is a lag time and that whatever caused your ammonia readings caused your fish death. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 How long was this new power head in the tank for? Where did it come from? If it was used and hadn't been well rinsed, it could have come in with some toxic residue that dissolved into the water. +1....and if its new, did u rinse it prior use. some brand they use some lubricants to protect it from rusting...korallia does as example...i lost some fish years ago when started in this hobby by that incident... if that is a case, it takes roughtly overnight or a day to affect the animals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new55galSALT Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I've never checked for stray voltage before. Wouldn't one get a nasty shock if there was stray voltage running through the tank? I never got shocked unless my arm was touching my light completing the circuit ...wearing shoes and just touching the water my shoes acted as insulation once I touched the light ⚡ ⚡ I'd get shocked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena95GT Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I got shocked from a pump in my tank. Didnt hurt too bad just was a small jolt i felt in my fingers anytime i put my hands in the tank. I suppose itd depend on how much voltage is leaking out (hoping i used the proper terms) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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