Wow that was a depressing - Page 2

#11 12-09-2003, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beverly

Sounds like something that happened to a guy on RC. He moved his sandbed and folks there think it was the sulfate stirred up from the anaerobic part of the bed that caused the wipeout.

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I would say that from my experience, it was probably sulfate. How deep was your sandbed? Did it smell anything like roten eggs? Was the bottom of the sand bed muddy dark milky brown? Were there any grey/black areas of sand under the surface of the sand? Did you stir the sandbed down to the bottom, if so it could also be methane posioning if you had a deeper, organic loaded sandbed...

Beverly · #12 12-09-2003, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnderWorldAquatics

I would say that from my experience, it was probably sulfate. How deep was your sandbed? Did it smell anything like roten eggs? Was the bottom of the sand bed muddy dark milky brown? Were there any grey/black areas of sand under the surface of the sand? Did you stir the sandbed down to the bottom, if so it could also be methane posioning if you had a deeper, organic loaded sandbed...

Well, I don't know much about that guy's sandbed and his resulting die off. I did not experience any die off when I moved my tanks. My sandbed was about 3". When it was in the pails with a bit of water, yes, it smelled like rotten eggs. The water in the pails was ghastly murky brown which is why I did my best to leave the water in the pail and only remove the sand

Yes, there was a grey ring around the sandbed about halfway down. Yes, when moving the sandbed, I scooped it all up at once, mixing top and bottom and everything inbetween. But, again, I say I had no die off in the tank at all. Surprised even me.

Aquattro · #13 12-09-2003, 02:56 AM

I think if we want to blame the sand, it might be from O2 depletion. If enough organics were released from the sand, and the pumps weren't running properly, it could cause a problem by using up the O2 in the tank. I seriously doubt that sulpher is to blame here.

Skimmerking · #14 12-09-2003, 05:12 PM

What type of containers did you use maybe there was some thing in the tubs that you had there ....

Just a thought...

Seriak · #15 12-09-2003, 05:44 PM

Here's the update. My last fish died last night and he looked to be doing so well.

My Anenomes are looking a little worse for ware. My corals are starting to perk up a tiny bit.

As for my sand bed. I varied it throughout the tank from 1" to maybe 4-5". I did stir it up as I re-scapped it during the move.

Remember that Imax movie about the reefs. That is what my tank looks like now. A complete waste zone. Not looking good at all.

Oh! And I do not remember it smelling that bad!

robbyville · #16 12-10-2003, 12:10 AM

Firstly, I'm extremely sorry to hear about your loss. Not a pleasant way to spend a weekend.

Is there any chance that this could have been caused by an electrical surge?

andestang · #17 12-10-2003, 02:33 AM

Sad to hear man

Hope you figure it out

Reef_Ready · #18 12-10-2003, 05:12 AM

Sorry to hear that Seriak. I had the same thing happen to me a while back. I'm convinced it was hydrogen sulfide as UnderWorld pointed out.

Seriak · #19 12-10-2003, 01:15 PM

I don't think it is possible on the electrical surge part. I am thinking that it had to have been the Hydrogen Sulfide coming out of the sandbed like some of you said. There is no other explanation for it.

I appreciate all of your sympathy and theories. I will be a lot more careful in my future moves.

On a happier note. I haven't lost one coral or anenome yet.