Tank crash help

[Jacobdlaw610]

Just added a gfo and carbon reactor two days ago used less than a 1/4 cup of both gfo and carbon as a starter. Flushed with ro water. Today I added a new filter sponge in sump and washed it in ro water before install. I look in tank and all snails are dead both clowns are dieing and coral banded removed his large claws and all corals are closed up. Went through parameters and amm .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phos 0
Copper 0
Ph 8.4
What could be happening

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

I also tried turning power off to see if it was electrical but didn't seem to make a difference anyone have advice or a suggestion

 

[jeffaquarius]

Did you add ro/di water in large volume before this happened? What is your salinity and temp?

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

Salinity is 1.024 and just did a pw change

 

[jeffaquarius]

With amm at .25 I would not expect a 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate but you did the right thing for pwc.

 

[huma-huma]

It seems as though your tank may not be cycled. Or atleast cycled completely. The fact that you are showing ammo and no trites or trates tells me that your tabk isnt converting ammo, which is the cause of your problem. Id keep doing pwcs to reign in the ammo until you can get things sorted

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

It's a crappy ammonia test kit it always says .25. The tank is over two years old. Could adding gfo and carbon have caused a crash.

 

[jeffaquarius]

I would have not used the same amm test kit for 2 years if I knew it would give me false readings. It is also possible that your other test kits are unreliable. It is unlikely that nitrate is 0. If it is accurate then another possibility of tank inhabitants dieing is they are exposed to sudden changes of water parameter such as temp, salinity, PH and etc.

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

I have API for ammonia and Red Sea for all my other tests so they are accurate thanks for bashing me and not answering my question about gfo huge help there buddy

 

[jwh0818]

I have API for ammonia and Red Sea for all my other tests so they are accurate thanks for bashing me and not answering my question about gfo huge help there buddy

He wasnt bashing you at all. You will find if no one answers your question then they likely dont know.

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

I appreciate the GOOD help and constructive criticism that I do get that's why I still come to this forum.

 

[jeffaquarius]

As I mentioned shocking your fish is a possibility when adding new equipment. I once used an old media bag that I rinsed well but somehow my fish showed some sign of uncomfort.

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

As I mentioned shocking your fish is a possibility when adding new equipment. I once used an old media bag that I rinsed well but somehow my fish showed some sign of uncomfort.

You mentioned nothing of new equiptment. Thanks for your help. I will go with the gfo and carbon possibly dropped my phosphates to fast

 

[jeffaquarius]

New equipment requires adjusting volume of water and as I mentioned water parameter is one possibility. Sorry if you are offended of an indirect suggestion to get a more reliable test kit.

 

[Mebbid]

I would have not used the same amm test kit for 2 years if I knew it would give me false readings. It is also possible that your other test kits are unreliable. It is unlikely that nitrate is 0. If it is accurate then another possibility of tank inhabitants dieing is they are exposed to sudden changes of water parameter such as temp, salinity, PH and etc.

I have API for ammonia and Red Sea for all my other tests so they are accurate thanks for bashing me and not answering my question about gfo huge help there buddy

I appreciate the GOOD help and constructive criticism that I do get that's why I still come to this forum.

That is actually incredibly sound advice. No matter what brands you have if they are old then they might need to be replaced. The fact alone that your ammonia kit ALWAYS reads .25 means there is something wrong with it. I would seriously consider taking a sample of your water in to a lfs and getting it tested from different kits. For the record, API kits are generally accepted as an unreliable test kit and can give you bad results. They have always worked fine for me but other people have had issues.

Aside from that, how often do you top off your water and how much do you add at once?

What is your total equipment list on the tank?

Are you running a sump / refugium with macros?

 

[Daniel Fishy]

I added to much carbon before stripped the water and my corals shriveled up I did lose two the rest took about 5 weeks to completely reopen. I would add gfo and carbon in smaller increments or do one then wait a couple weeks to add the other. IMO to much change in the water to quick it will recover.

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

That is actually incredibly sound advice. No matter what brands you have if they are old then they might need to be replaced. The fact alone that your ammonia kit ALWAYS reads .25 means there is something wrong with it. I would seriously consider taking a sample of your water in to a lfs and getting it tested from different kits. For the record, API kits are generally accepted as an unreliable test kit and can give you bad results. They have always worked fine for me but other people have had issues.

Aside from that, how often do you top off your water and how much do you add at once?

What is your total equipment list on the tank?

Are you running a sump / refugium with macros?

I have refugium with macro
Coralife skimmer
Ato
5 gallon water change every 7 th day

I have plenty of sps and lps everything grows and look great.
Once again I added gfo and carbon reactor and 2 days later the crash happened

 

[jwh0818]

I have refugium with macro
Coralife skimmer
Ato
5 gallon water change every 7 th day

I have plenty of sps and lps everything grows and look great.
Once again I added gfo and carbon reactor and 2 days later the crash happened

Then I would assume that taking out the carbon reactor and gfo would help fix it

 

[huma-huma]

It's a crappy ammonia test kit it always says .25..

you cant even count this ammonia test at all then. So in reality we dont know what the ammonia levels are at. Not saying its impossible but i dont see adding gfo and carbon as the reason why your tank crashed. Gfo removes phosphates and carbon pulls out impurities and chems. Nothing there that i would think could swing your ph or other parameters.

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

Got a Red Sea kit just now ammonia is 0