Tank Crashing Fast

Hi Everyone,

I'm a college student and have been away from home for about a month. I come back every month to do about 30-40 percent water change for my 55 gallon tank. I don't have much critters in there, 2 clown fish, 3 anemone, 3-4 corals, hippo tang, 3 cleaner shrimp, yellow goby, and a pistol shrimp. I came back today and things were literally floating everywhere. 2 of my cleaner shrimped died and ALL 3 of my anemone are bleached white.

I freaked out and immediatedly did 50 percent water change, but when i measure the water it was still horrible. Ammonia was over 1.0 and nitrate was over 100ppm.

I have a hunch it's my 2 step RO system. I have a feeling i've been using the wrong kind of membrane for my RO syste. Can any one tell me what i should do next and more important give me some advice to what they use for their RO system (replacements membranes). PLease help! :-[

Thanks Everyone!

 

how old was the system? what type of lighting ? if not old enough, that could have done in the nems. which in turn , they would have released toxins that would wipe out the tank. who looked after your tanks while away? what other than top offs did they do? test the water?

if it is the water, what system and gpd is it? that would determine the membrane or anything else.

 

Hi Divot,

I've had the system running for over a year now. While i'm away my brother and dad "take care of it" mostly just feeing them, but i think they they overfeed the inhabitants too much. As for lighting, I have 6 HOT5s. I got my water check at the fish store today and check it with my very own test kit. At the fish store they told me my ammonia was well over 1.0 ppm, nitrite was at 0, and nitrate was at over 100ppm. I just did another 50 percent water change.

Divot, can you tell me which brand of RO filter is best for removing ammonia and other harmful chemicals?

 

I'd do another 50% WC tomorrow . and get a bag of nitrate sponge or similiar product in that tank/sump/wetdry also. if your gone for 1 month at a time, I would have your family change out nitrate sponge and carbon every 3-4 weeks. also have them do a 10% WC every 2 weeks. to keep your tank alive. clean out your skimmer "complete" breakdown and clean inside and out.. do you have bioballs?

 

I wouldn't think it would be your RO system but i could be wrong. If you're suspecting it, have you tested the output to see if the ammonia is spiked straight out of the system? If so, then you know what the source is.

 

I would also siphon through the sand in the WC. with high amonia you probably have a lot of decaying food in there. Just do some of it, not all. I would also get some ammo-lock.

 

Hmmm, there are so many possible causes for your crash.....an RO malfunction is one of the less likely ones. IMO, either something died un-detected, leading to an ammonia spike, or else (more likely) the over-feeding that your family is doing may have led to food rotting in the water over time. This would eventually also cause a spike in ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, which would eventually kill off your livestock. It would likely result in your anemones dying first, and then taking the rest of your tank with it.

Your steps from here: multiple water changes. Large ones. Get some ammonia detoxifier (such as Seachem Prime) which will detoxify any ammonia and nitrites in your system. The water changes will remove the nitrates, as would a nitrate sponge. In the mean time, watch your anemones very closely. If they start to look mushy like they are decomposing, get them out ASAP.

In the future, if you are going to be away for long stretches, I would strongly recommend a refugium filled with chaeto or some other macroalgae. This would suck up any excess nutrients from over-feeding and help prevent recurrence of this. I'd also make sure to have a very good protein skimmer that will help remove toxins on a routine basis. Finally, if you are worried about your RO system, test it for TDS, ammonia and nitrates. If any are present, or if your membrane needs to be replaced, do this ASAP.

Edit: oh, one other thing. It is possible that your RO system is not removing chlorine/chloramine if it is only a 2 stage system or if the carbon filter is old. If you are concerned about this, add some Seachem Prime to your new water before you add it to the tank. This will remove any possible chlorine/chloramine before they can damage your livestock.

 

I highly doubt it is your RO system. Something probably died, which resulted in more waste in the tank, raising ammonia levels, killing other things etc. If I was in your position, I would break the tank down, save the equipment and wait until you're out of school to start back up again. Can you really give the tank the time and attention it needs? Are you actually getting any enjoyment out of it? This is just my opinion. If you want to keep the tank up, maybe just have hardy fish and corals in there. Pre-portion food as I guarantee you that your dad and brother are most likely over feeding. Remove the anemones as they are sensitive animals and require care and proper conditions.

This tank is going to need some serious care to get back to normal. Good luck with it.

 

you could purchase though pill bottle trays labeled with everyday of the week on them:

[sun][mon][tue][wed][thur][fri][sat]

^how did I do with my text art.. lol

and put what food/amount you want to feed on those days.. keep it in the freezer.. foool proof.