Obsessive Compulsion + Lack of Sleep = 500$ Worth of Live Stock

[rdnicolas]

Hi I have been working on my first reef tank before I get my larger tank going.

I just learned the most expensive lesson of so far.

I've been having a troublesome time with Bryopsis and hair algae running rampart in my tank until I found a wonderful link with using Tech M to elevate Magnesium levels. The treament went well and I had all kinds of algae dying. One downside is that I had 1 Coral Die from the treament. The coral was probably 30$ so I figured it was a small price to pay for having no algae in the tank.

So Last night around 12am I figured it was time to do a water exchange and get the water parameters back to normal. Everything by the book. All is well....

Until I noticed 95% of my livestock dead the following morning. I couldn't figure out what went wrong until I realized that it was zero oxygenation. So the livestock practically suffocated to death.

I was relying soley on my Deltec M600 skimmer to provide oxygenation. I found for the size of my tank that It was adequate and put away the airstones that I was using with an old Prism skimmer.

One important characteristic of this skimmer is that sometimes when you plug it in the motor won't spin properly and won't pump. Im not an electrical engineer but their manual explains it as something to do with the type of motor they are using.

Well other times I've been careful to check this but last night I missed it. Well the inevitable happened and I had no oxygen in my tank. approx 500$ worth of livestock. Gone. Sucks big time.

The sailfin tang almost single handedly erradiacated my valonia outbreak and I was especially happy for that. Let alone it was my prized fish. I think I'll miss that fish the most.

Moving forward I see algae making a comeback. By the way the only fish that survived were a couple mollies I purchased to help keep the algae levels down. There is also one zebra striped damsel that is alive, at least for now (not looking too good). I think they were the only ones that reacted appropriately by coming up and sucking air at the surface.

Here's the body count from most prized downwards:
Sailfin Tang
Yellow Tang
1 Rabbitfish
2 Oscelaris Clowns
1 lobster
1 Cinimmon Clown
1 lawnmower blenny
1 goby (the white one with pink/orange spots)
1 Yellow tail damsel
2 emerald crabs
3 shrip

I think want to concentrate on buying livestock that will keep the algae down. I'll probably buy another sailfin but later down the road. I'm thinking replacing the blenny and goby should be the first thing to do.

Also considering the results. I might just add a whole bunch of mollies until the large tank is up and running. Any suggestions?

[Joe Reefer]

I suspect your diagnoses is incorrect. How much water did you change?

[michika]

What kind of water did you use ofr your change? What about salt, which brand and what level of salinity did you aim for?

[rdnicolas]

Originally Posted by Joe Reefer

I suspect your diagnoses is incorrect. How much water did you change?

I replaced 30%

[rdnicolas]

Originally Posted by michika

What kind of water did you use ofr your change? What about salt, which brand and what level of salinity did you aim for?

I did change from Instant Ocean to Red Sea Coral Pro. I use tap water and aquaclear for declhorination. I used 1.023 b/c I don't have a auto top off and typically top it off myself after I get home from work.

[Jason McK]

According to Delbeck and Sprung Skimmer contribute little to the O2 levels in the tank. Surface tension is where most O2 comes from

J

[Zylumn]

Its very sad about your losses. Reintroduce new livestock slowly. It looks like you are on the right track ensuring the longevity of your next inhabitants.
Kevin

[rdnicolas]

Originally Posted by Jason McK

According to Delbeck and Sprung Skimmer contribute little to the O2 levels in the tank. Surface tension is where most O2 comes from

J

Maybe, however I found this not to be the case in my tank. I usually have lots of bubbles mixing into my tank water. The fish also seemed to have calmer breathing than my last setup.

[Joe Reefer]

Did you double check the salinity of both tank and new water?

[rdnicolas]

Originally Posted by Joe Reefer

Did you double check the salinity of both tank and new water?

Yep I have 1.023 in the tank right now.