Help!! I have grave yard in my tank.

[land locked]

Help!! Every thing is dieing. Ammonia0, Nitrate5-10, nitrite0, alk 7, mag 1125, phospate 0, ca425, salicate0, iodine 0.01, Ph 8.2 Borate alk whatever that is is 5, salinity 35. I have tested for everything and it is all good. The only thing we did different is change the refugium to a large horse throuth. It is the big long black kind horses and cow eat and drink out of. Could it be leeching chemicals? There is no manufacturer name to contact to find out. We also added a new pump the outdoor kind for ponds. My blood red shrimp died and several snails have dropped and are upside down. Many other snails are burrowed deep ion the sand bed. Most of the fish seem unefected, although two blue green chromis are missing. I am sure more are dead just can' find them. What should I do?? What caused this??? Please help.

 

[ccCapt]

Is that "container" new? What is is made from? From the sound of the problem, inverts dead, it may be leeching copper of some sort. I wouldn't take the chance using it.
All your tests look fine (mag is a little low, but that has no affect on health).

 

[blazeyreef]

salinity 35???

 

[Innovator]

salinity 35???

That would be parts per thousand and considered average natural seawater. I am also inclined to believe the trough is suspect. Was this a new or used trough and how was it cleaned? FYI, most used farming equipment should have a test run before hooking up to a main display.

 

[land locked]

It is hard black plastic. I will try to get it changed today, Now the few corals I have are looking like they are trying to die too. I am so upset!!

 

[land locked]

You don't think it is the pond pump?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Is the pump new or used?

Also, was the trough new or used?

I agree with the guys, sounds like something coming into the water from the trough.

Sorry about your losses though.

 

[pitt420dude]

Oh no!!! So sorry landlocked.

 

[cmor1701d]

I doube the pump would cause any problems. It is most likely the trough. Was it new or used?
Did you clean it before using it? Even if it was new it could have been stored next to some chemicals that got onto it.

I would remove it from the system immediately and clean it thoroughly.

Sorry to hear about your losses.

 

[melosu58]

I doubt if it was the pump. You might just have to go through the process of elimination. Start with the trough (cleaning) and move on from there. What are you using to test your water? Can you take your water to an LFS to double check your results.

 

[land locked]

The tank and trough are both new. We are changing things over now. More snails are gone but the fish are still ok coral is looking BAD!

 

[roka64]

What's the temp and when you added the trough, did you use cold water or pre-mixed heated water? Other than that I would tend to agree it could be treated with mildicide or some other chemical.

 

[loyalrogue]

First step in any situation like this is an emergency water change(s).
Don't be afraid to do a 100% water change.
Obviously there is something toxic in the water that must be removed before you have any more losses.

After (or during) the water change remove the suspect item.
Get your tank back to the exact state it was in before the die-off began.
Then you can start the process of figuring out what might have caused the problem.
Check with the mfg of the trough to see if they use any additives or coatings.
Some plastic containers are coated to keep them from sticking together when they're stacked for storage/shipping.
Always wash, scrub and rinse well any unknown containers before using on your tank.

I once placed my hands in a tank after doing a round of water tests.
I must have spilled some test chemicals on my hands and not noticed.
Within 10 minutes I started to have a massive die-off.
The only thing that saved the remaining fish, inverts and corals was a 100% water change.
Thank God I'd recently hit the lfs and had the containers of water onhand and ready to go.

 

[melosu58]

You might want to run some carbon in there also. I would if it was me.

 

[pitt420dude]

Yep, fresh, new activated Diamond brand carbon does wonders for removing chemicals. A local, knowledgable LFS employee knew some Pitt Grad students who once compared the ability of different brands of carbon to remove dye. They said that Diamond worked the best by far. I don't work for them or anything, just FYI.

 

[loyalrogue]

Excellent suggestions.

Best of luck to you, land locked, and your critters.
Let us know how it goes and what you find out.

 

[land locked]

Update

Ok, here is what we have done so far. We took every recommendation. FIRST, Got rid of the *-#-% trough, I knew we should have stuck with the pond liner idea, we thought this would be easier. We just wanted a bigger refugium, because we enjoy it as much as the tank. Second: Changed water 75% two days ago. 25% last night and plan a 25% for tomorrow. We got the carbon stuff suggested and put in around the filter. Cleared out the 15 dead snails. About 4 conehead ones survived. One shrimp (blood fire) died. I had 4 very small corals they were about $7.00 each all good beginner coral and two survived. All in all, financially not a big loss but emotionally I was devastated.
Plan is to continue with every other day water change 25% for about another week. The carbon stuff said it is good for 3-6 months max, will change sooner. Any other suggetions?
The fish are fine. They to are all beginner proof too. royal gramma, blenney, gobie, chromis, and cardinal. All the crabs, hermit and others are all fine. Weird how selective??? I appreciate all of the fast responses and sympathy.
My husband took plans to the glass (it will be acrylic) shop to have a custom refugium made. That is the reason we went with the trough in the first place. We only have a long skinny area. Moral of the story; cheap is not best.
I did learn to watch your inverts, because I knew something was up I just did not have the experience to run with my gut feelings. They were acting odd. I could have caught it at least a day sooner.
Thanks again to all!!!

 

[fijiwigi]

My husband took plans to the glass (it will be acrylic) shop to have a custom refugium made. That is the reason we went with the trough in the first place. We only have a long skinny area. Moral of the story; cheap is not best.
Thanks again to all!!!

I love looking at refugiums as well. An acrylic refugium is a great idea because you can see all the stuff inside it. I bought my Fuge/sump from Glass holes.com no space in the site name I put a space otherwise its censored Probably because if you take away the GL its a problem Gl*******s.com LOL
After you get a quote from your local glass shop I may be worth a shot to check out some online vendors they build refugiums all day long where a local glass shop probably never has.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...The carbon stuff said it is good for 3-6 months max, will change sooner.

Carbon may "say" it's good for that long, but it's worthless after 2-3 weeks. Many articles say it's worthless after a week or less. It is so porous, it goes "bacterial" and it gets clogged up losing its efficiency. Also, in your case, you want it sucking out as much nasty stuff as you can, so I'd replace it weekly... if not twice a week for a while.

Glad to hear you're going acrylic. Not sure if the pond liner idea wouldn't have caused you issues either.

 

[cmor1701d]

A poly filter is also a good way to remove contaminants. Agreed that carbon should be removed after 2 weeks (max).