Michika's 28g long nano-esque tank!

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Where in the city are you, Catherine? With the roads the way they are, you certainly don't want to be running around all over the place. Maybe we can direct you to the nearest best place for dry goods and plumbing.

[michika]

I am in Calgary now. I went to the plumbing place suggested in my Calgary thread and got what I needed. I also sent off an email to Reeflow about my leaking pump, they said they will send out a replacement seal kit, but won't give me an ETA.

Even more SPS have RTNed in the hour I was out. I am fully expecting to loose everything at this point in time. I am putting out a post in the Calgary forum to see if anyone will take my still living SPS and house them for a few weeks until I can get things back to where they should be.

[michika]

Okay, so I have accepted the disaster, and I am moving on. I'll post up today's parameters later this afternoon.

What I did;
- took out about 1/4 of a 5g bucket of skeletons.
- added Prime to the water to combat the ammonia
- added in new nitrate, and phosphate sponges

What I am going to do:
- water changes at 5g a day to avoid shocking the system any more
- keep feeding the fish a variety of foods to try and keep their immune systems strong.
- add more rock to the system. Even though I only have 4 more gallons of total water volume, my tank looks empty with my existing rock.

So after all is said and done I'm now searching out and making a list of what I would like to re-stock my system with in the future. I'm thinking I probably won't be adding anything until at least the new year so I have some time to plot it all out.

I know I would like to aquire more clams, some dersa, crocea, and squamosa. I also know that I would like to replenish my SPS collection, and possibly add a few softies for contrast.

Provided all my fish survive this unexpected disaster, I won't be adding anything. I will most likely add additional clean up crew members though.

On Friday, or Saturday I will try and post some photos of before, during, and after the disaster.

[michika]

Today's parameters:

SG: 1.025
pH: 8.1
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0.75 Still
Smell: Better, but still a bit funky

I'm going to have a water change done on the tank today, I'm hoping for 5-7g.

[michika]

Photos of the disaster.

Just after I got all the fish, rock, clams, and corals into the tank. This is prior to turning the Snapper pump on, and bringing the sump online.


The sump before it was filled with cheato, reactors, and filter floss.


First moments of the overflow in use.


Noticing something is wrong with the SPS, and the two clams in the right hand corner.


FTS of the beginning of the disaster.


The first of 3 pails of dead skeletons.


Aquascaping and remaining SPS. More RTN.


The tank today. I have what can only be described as the beginning of a cycle.


The tank o-death in its full glory.


I'm doing what I can to just keep things under control at this point in time. It really sucks....

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Oh wow....:s I've been trying to think of why your ammonia spiked like that. Was there maybe lots of sponge on the rocks that died after exposure to air? PUZZLING.

Either way, wow...I'm sorry for all that loss! The bucket of skeletens was tragic.

[michika]

I'm still trying to figure it out. It just kills me to not know. I am so glad I pulled out the buckets separately, becuase if they all came out in one bucket at once, I probably would have cried.

There probably isn't any harm in leaving the remaining skeletons in the tank is there?