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Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 10:31 AM
Tank has been running great I have an aquapod 24 gallon I did my weekly water change lasy night I scrapped more sand then normal to get rid of the red and green coloring in it. I ended up using the last of the instant ocean salt. This morning everything looks like it is dying. Frogspawn and candy cane and zoos are the only really expensive stuff I have and it looks bad.
I have tested everything
ph 8.6
nitrate 4.0
nitrite 0.0
alk 2.5
pho 0.0
ammonia 2.5

I know nitrates and ammonia are high what do you do?

should i do another water change?
Ideas I need to get to work but want to fix this 1st if I can

Tank has been running about 6 months ammonia has read 0 for a long time

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 10:35 AM
my wife said at 5:00 this mornig frogspawn was out and looked good so this spike just started

buffalobunch
07/16/2007, 10:38 AM
I would do another water change. It sounds like stirring up the sand made your ammonia and nitrates spike. Water change will bring down both. It also may be that your ph is a little high and the alk is a little low. What additives are you using? Has your tanks ph and alk always been at these levels?

bajabum
07/16/2007, 10:45 AM
Something died, or your sand is anaerobic. Ph is from ammonia probably. Get the ammonia out quick either chemicaly or water change. The nitrite spike that is coming will do even more damage. Unfortunately you used the last of your salt. If you had a gallon of saltwater you could take everything out you want to protect and deal with the tank issue.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 10:58 AM
went and got some salt

Can i put coral in a bucket of salt water and a pump temporarily?
Do I just do A water change?
What chemicals should I buy to help this?
I live 1 mile from petco and petsmart so they must carry it

buffalobunch
07/16/2007, 10:58 AM
Yes you can take everything out and put it in a bucket for the day. Stick a powerhead in there and take care of getting water change done. I also have 20g of sw that has been made up for a week. You are more than welcome to come and get it if you need more water.

oct2274
07/16/2007, 11:03 AM
don't do anymore water changes! it slows your cycle.......You should not have put corals in a tank that was cycling. You might want to have someone watch after those for you till your cycle is over. If you insist on having corals in your tank while your tank is cycling, use something like Amquel+ or Prime to keep your ammonia in check. Both of these are supposed to not interfere with the bacteria that help cycle your tank. You need to also raise your alk, your ph will fall on its own. Keep calcium, alk, and ph in check. NO MORE WATER CHANGES UNTIL YOUR TANK IS CYCLED!

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 11:06 AM
my tank has cycled has for a long time
I am just trying figure out what to do now.

Thanks Buffalo
I will move everything into the bucket and then go get another bucket and make more water changes.

buffalobunch
07/16/2007, 11:07 AM
He said the tank has been running for 6 months. I agree with bajabum and something either died or some anaerobic bacteria was released from sand. Get the corals into fresh water and out of tank. Water changes are the only thing that is going to remove ammonia and nitrate. I prefer to not put chemicals into a reef tank even if they say they are reef safe.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 11:11 AM
Thanks Buffalo

How much water change can I do?

24 gallon tank

oct2274
07/16/2007, 11:13 AM
those two chemicals work fine, i've used them many times in more than one aquarium. If your tanks ammonia was 0 until you stirred the sand than water changes are ok too. If you move stuff to buckets, don't leave the stuff in there long. The ammonia will end up being higher in there than they were in the aquarium because there will be absolutely no bacteria in there to deal with the ammonia which will build up very quickly from the corals.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 11:13 AM
Thank s for your hlp everyone
I am off to get a new bucket and the store for more water.

If anyone has ideas or think of something I need call me on my cell 602-570-8116

agian thanks

sir_dudeguy
07/16/2007, 11:17 AM
don't do anymore water changes! it slows your cycle.

agreed w/the rest....This is not another cycle. Its just a spike, caused by either something dead or the sand like others have said. If you had read the very last sentence in the first post, you'd have seen that its been going for 6 months :) And another vote for no chemicals if you can get by w/out them. Only water changes will tell if you're gonna need them or not.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 11:43 AM
I am back from the store

How gallons can I safely change at one time?

sir_dudeguy
07/16/2007, 12:04 PM
In a 24 gallon? I'd say do like...5 gallons or so?? Should be a good starting point. Could prolly even do less if you wanted.

buffalobunch
07/16/2007, 12:07 PM
you could safely do a 50% water change

Doglover_50
07/16/2007, 03:07 PM
I think you could start small like Mike suggested, However, I'd try what buffalo mentioned because of the very risky waste products thave have/could show up. You could start with a large WC like 50%. I bought a used 12g and 24g JBJ nano up from the valley, only brought 40-50% of the water, so started with large WC and no problems..

I think in an established tank with rock, I'd start with one large WC like this. Then follow up smaller changes if needed. When I've been gone on vacations I have several times done 30% WCs (have fish and inverts and corals in the tanks), no problems.

***DON'T stir up the sand when you add water--use a saucer plate, or something like that.

And for future reference, unless you are having diatom bloom or some other huge algae nuisance, just let that red and green stay on the glass at the sand level. It sounds like that very well may have been the culprit--is so, hopefuly you can get it all solved pretty quickly.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 05:17 PM
I have done 4 water changes so far today around 20% each time. Ammonia is still testing high.

The only thing left in my tank besides the rock and fish is xenia. It looks bad and discolored

Should I cut it and throw it away or over time it will come back..

My main question is with it looking like death could that also lead to my ammonia not stabalizing.

oct2274
07/16/2007, 05:42 PM
if the xenia is dying it will definitely add to the ammonia levels in the tank. If you are still aren't able to get the ammonia down you can safely use the products i listed above to help instead of doing never ending water changes. You will want to continue checking for ammonia until you can go a couple of days without dosing. Some ammonia monitors/test will read there is still ammonia when using these products because they are converted into a non-toxic form of ammonia and some test can't tell the difference.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 05:45 PM
thanks Oct2274

I will look online to see if petsmart carries it. Regrettfully no fish store for miles

jenn_jeffery
07/16/2007, 05:47 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10352372#post10352372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Red Sox Fan
thanks Oct2274

I will look online to see if petsmart carries it. Regrettfully no fish store for miles

They *should* carry it. Call ahead first and be sure it's in stock, as what they have on the website is different from what is in store....

oct2274
07/16/2007, 05:51 PM
i get amquel+ from petsmart.

Red Sox Fan
07/16/2007, 06:01 PM
so is it wise to throw the xenia away or to try to get it to recover

sir_dudeguy
07/17/2007, 12:16 AM
I saw a bunch of amquel at the petco on baseline and stapley/cooper today... Dont remember the price though.

Red Sox Fan
07/17/2007, 12:19 AM
thanks got it

I put it in the tank

Hopefully it works No idea how long it will take or if I should do another water change

oct2274
07/17/2007, 12:25 AM
the amquel works almost instantly, if you are still reading ammonia after it has been in there an hour i would say your test either can't tell the difference between ammonia and the non-toxic form or that there might be a problem with your ammonia test. if you are relying on a seachem ammonia badge i can tell you it can't tell when it is neutralized, but a salifert test can.

Red Sox Fan
07/17/2007, 12:38 AM
I am doing a red sea test and it is still showing high and it has been 3 hours since I used it

Advice water change use more or what?

oct2274
07/17/2007, 12:44 AM
i would say the red sea test can't tell it has been neutralized and is reading the the non-toxic after product which i believe is ammonium. Alot of tests can't distinguish the two from one another.

Red Sox Fan
07/17/2007, 12:48 AM
I will take water to a store tomorrow to see iwhat they get

What stores have the best equipment

Thanks for your help

oct2274
07/17/2007, 01:06 AM
i'm not sure who can test on the westside, i think you can does amquel on once or twice every 48 hours btw

Red Sox Fan
07/17/2007, 09:53 AM
Morning thread

Okay woke up and 1st thing before cofee was test the tank.
Nitrite .05
nitrates .0
ammona 3.0

Should I do more water changes
I am going to take a sample to a fish store to have them test this morning.

Should I just wait?

How about QT tank all I have in it is a powerhead Everything looks great in it this morning

Will it be ok for another day in there?

buffalobunch
07/17/2007, 10:05 AM
Your corals should be fine in the QT tank for another day. Either add a small amount( not more than a gallon) of RO water to account for the water that has evaporated overnight or fill QT tank all the way with sw. I think you told me yesterday you had about 7g in it. I believe that the amquel requires a 50% water change every 24 hours. So that's what you should start with and go from there. I think taking your water to the LFS is a good idea, just to be on the safe side. If you can make it to AT or ATR to get your water tested, the information that is available there through the employees is very beneficial. hth

random_ryan
07/17/2007, 10:31 AM
redsox I have some amquel if you need some

Red Sox Fan
07/17/2007, 10:49 AM
It is a beutiful day in the neighborhood
I can look at this experience as a learning curve.
So just before I walk out the door and I am glad It was before. I heard a crash and my 10 gallon qt expoded all over the place. No idea why as it was on the counter.

All coral is back in a bucket Off to work for a little while

Going to get another tank..

The 10 gallon that walmart sells with the lighting and filter is that lighting good enough for a qt tank?
Is the filter good enough for a qt tank?

Should I get that or just the tank only and continue using my powerhead.
Appreciate all advice as I will check this thread in a couple hours.

Ryan thanks for the offer onAmquel Bought some and used it it is not helping according to my test kit

random_ryan
07/17/2007, 10:57 AM
The lighting that they sell with the 10 gallon kit it is not adequate for the coral. HOB filters work good . i wish i could be more help.