Shrimp Help!

I have a 36 gallon FOWLR tank. I don't think I have too much the tank but here is a background and maybe you can figure out what is wrong:

1 Maroon Clownfish
1 Flame Angel
1 Bicolor Blenny
1 Skunk Shrimp
1 Blood Red Shrimp
1 Blue Leg Hermit

For a few months now I have been fighting algae and no matter how much I clean up each day it would be back! I knew my nitrates and phosphate was high and had trouble with the algae. I'm using my old wet/fry filter system and each month I exchange 1 bag of API Phos-Zorb and put it in the wet/dry. Every 3-4 days I would add API Marine Algaefix and turn off the skimmer for about 24 hours because the skimmer goes nuts with API products. I was still having the algae problem!

About 1 month ago I received a shipment of 33 lbs of dry Fl. reef rock from one of the sponsors here and removed about 80% of the rock that was in the tank for over a year with this dry rock to start with a new aquascape. I didn't cure the rock before because heard that this rock is clean and shouldn't leach anything into tank. Prior to adding the rock I had the rock in a plastic tub and rinse the rock and soak it almost everyday for 3 days to clean them and remove all the dust that was in there while traveling from Florida to California. I was hoping with all the live bacteria on 20% of rocks I left in the tank, wet/dry and substrate I would be ok.

I noticed for the 24-36 hours after this the skunk shrimp wasn't too active and didn't eat and wasn't his spunky old self. I figured it was probably the shock of all the changes in aquascape but everybody else in the tank was doing great. After that time frame the skunk shrimp was back to his old self again! For first 7 days I did 3 different water changes just in case! I get the saltwater from the LFS I have been going to on/off for almost 20 years and at that time I also purchased API Tap Water Filter (I LOVE IT!) so I can use it for top offs since I don't have a RO/DI system.

After the 7 days, I add Seachem Laboratories Denitrate & Seachem Laboratories PhosGuard in 3x6 pouches and added them to the overflow box. Since then I haven't really seen any algae so I figure either it's coming and hit me like a tidal wave or I'm finally controlling it with everything I have been doing??? I know it will be back!

My aquascape isn't set in stone and maybe one a week I move a few of the rocks around to change things around until I find the look I really like and want to keep. When I do this, I also get my reach in tong and stir the substrate a little bit to maybe get rid unwanted junk. When I do this I notice the water get cloudy but that's normal.

Since the first 7 days I do a 25% water change once a week along with all the stuff I mentioned before and it seemed everything is going great but over the past weekend the skunk shrimp died which my kids were heartbroken because Skunko (Kid's named him) he was so active and all over the place to find him dead one morning was out of nowhere. Yesterday I noticed the water was a little cloudy so I figured it was from the the night before when I moved some rocks around but found it odd that it was almost 24 hours later and usually only takes 1-2 hours to clear out. My blood red shrimp (Oscar) who is always hiding and only comes out when it knows its feeding time was just basking on the rocks out in the open which is very odd for him. When it came time to feed them he didn't even bother to eat. Such a beautiful shrimp that is always in hiding all of the sudden out in the open

I knew something wasn't right, so I ran to the LFS to get saltwater to do an emergency water change thinking something isn't right in the water. The time I came back which was under 30 minutes he was holding on to one rock with one leg and I knew he was on his last leg (joke!) I put him in fishy heaven to put him out of his misery.

The shrimps would molt maybe 1-2 times a month without me adding any iodine but noticed the BRS hasn't molted since the new rocks?

Sorry for the long and boring story but I was just trying to give you some history to maybe you might see what is wrong that I'm not figuring out? Could the rocks be leaching something into the water now after almost a month and the invertebrates couldn't handle it? All the fishes are fine that I see so far but I'm just trying to figure it all out.

I know you're all gonna curse me out when I tell you that I don't have a test kit and I would take a sample to my LFS once a month and all they tell me things are good.

Any advice or help? I'm thinking ammonia???

 

Ammonia most likely killed the shrimp. Your best bet was to keep the rock you had and keep battling the algae, eventually you will be the victor.

What are your parameters?

 

+1 to civccars. Most likely ammonia. By adding the new rock you removed most of the nitrifying bacteria which will now have to be re established. A test kit is vital to understanding what is going on in your tank. There are some great threads in the new member forum that were a big help to me with understanding the nitrification process and also good treads in the algae section. We all get algae issues and finding the underlying problem and patience is the key to winning the war. Someone else my want to chime in here but perhaps some Dr Tims or similar product could help to accelerate the process of re seeding your new rock. Good luck!!

 

I agree with others in that possibly ammonia and removing a good bit of your nitrifying bacteria at once most likely caused a problem. I also would consider the possible effect of putting so much in at once (the denitrate and phosguard) may have also had an effect. In a tank your size, a 3x6 pouch is a good amount of phosguard (I can't speak to the denitrate because I've not used). I would keep up with the water changes (smaller and more frequent). If you have something like prime that helps remove ammonia, that may help. I agree with dienerman that adding some beneficial bacteria may also be helpful (I like microbacter 7). I'm sorry for your losses

Once you get stable, I have found a new product that so far has helped me immensely in terms of getting phosphate down. It's called ultralife liquid phosphate remover and control. I just use it as a maintenance because I did find out what was causing my excess phosphate which you do need to do for the long term well being of your tank. I wouldn't be concerned about nitrates so much in a FOWLR. I suggest that may want to consider taking out the bioballs in your wet/dry - with a good amount of live rock, you don't need them and it's just one more area where detritus can build up and cause excess nutrients - if you consider that - make sure you remove them very slowly and I would wait until your new rock has established itself.

HTH!

 

UGH!

It's funny that I have almost a brand new bottle of API Quick Start in the cabinet that has the live bacteria I needed for when I put the rocks in and after each water change.
UGH!UGH!UGH!UGH!

Even though I use the API Tap Water Remover I still use about 1/2 cap full for every 1 gallon of water.

I'm kicking myself now for not using the rocks that I pulled out of tank and little by little putting them in the wet/dry filter system.
UGH! UGH! UGH!UGH!UGH!

I have in my shopping cart at Marine Depot a bottle of MicroBacter7,
UltraLife Liquid Phosphate Remover & Control, along with a few other items. Best part for me is that they will price match and give me an extra 10% and I'm about 25 minutes from their place and save on shipping plus I get it same day.

I'm thinking of maybe cooking my old rock and using that for the wet/dry.. I would love to get a nice sump but I have no room under the cabinet since it's a corner tank so space is limited. You have to see how much DIY projects I have done just to store or place things for the tank.

With the MicoBacter7 do I need to use it everyday and gradually using it less as time goes on like I read in reviews or can I stick with the API Quick Start???? Either way I'm ordering a bottle!

I want to thank you all and to the members here at this site for helping. I'm grateful to found this site and plan to be here for a while.. Ory

 

the microbacter will give you instructions for when trying to build your bacteria up, that is correct that you start with more in the beginning and then taper off - you can then use it for maintenance. I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the API quick start.

using the rock in your wet dry is a good idea just be cautious when taking out the balls and again, just go slow with any changes.......

we've all been in a situation that we wish we would of or wouldn't have

 

Sounds like you are putting together a good plan. We ve all been there with the frustration. Don't beat yourself up. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Back in the day (20 yrs) everybody used wet/dry filer systems and I had a tank for about 10 years. Moved so I was forced to shut everything down until about 16 months ago when I decided to get back into the groove.

I need to be patient and just take my time. The 10 year break really made me realize how things have changed and everything is more hi tech now.

I will eventually change the bio balls for live rock but I will do it little by little.. Great idea!

 

wet/dry systems are still ok to use - especially on a fish only system. It's just that it can contribute to higher nutrients if not cleaned regularly - since you're struggling with nutrients, that's why I suggested removing the bioballs over time.....

I got back into the "reef" world after 15 years or so, I was amazed at all the changes. My original reef had vho lighting and that was "high tech" then lol - welcome back to the hobby!