300 Gallon Tank Crash - All dead less than 48 hrs

[Mikeltee]

I cant believe he is blaming you. That would be enough to not give a darn about the ordeal. What's weird is some made it and some didnt. Heres a theory as it happened to me.

One day I came home and all my fish were dead expect for the hippo. The 2 clowns were on the sand breathing heavy. Dead a few hours later. The pulsing xenias were fine which if something was out of whack, they would be the first to go. Cause of death you ask? The Hippo freaked out and swam around frantically and it gave them all heart attacks. I've seen him do this before, but only for a second or two. He was scooped out and donated to my LFS and I have never owned another since.

Edit: I would suggest getting rid of whichever one you think could be the offender. In my case the hippo didnt have enough room to stretch his fins. Maybe one of yours feels cramped.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'd grab a water sample and have a trusted pet store test for you focusing on ammonia, ph, salinity.
Is there something on tank that adds water automatically (ATO) ? Also anyone clean office using sprays, furniture polish, etc ?
While temperature can play a role, something may have failed and not running, or a change in chemistry ( this is where water sample may help determine)

 

[Mikeltee]

Why would 3 be 100% and the rest dead if it were parameter related or poison? If they were showing signs of recovery sure... that doesnt seem to be the case though. And if it was parameters or poison it wouldnt correct itself automatically and the others would be dead by now.

 

[fishguy242]

sorry to hear with all the dead fish,ammo will be high today...leaning torward loose elec, cleaning supplies,even sucked in thru skimmer? cold is not going to kill too big of tank to fall that quick,

 

[grassguy]

When doing the water changes have you topped off with ro water? If not, salinity can increase gradually and some fish will make it while others will not even though all other parameters are fine. I would test salinity first, as this sounds like a fish only tank.

 

[hizbaby]

as the day has gone on, more info has been gathered .... tank temp was 68 when arrived at office BUT! also power supply for the tank was OFF, apparenly from water having leaked and shorted out the power supply, which I have been told also serves as creating some level of heat in his system. when they arrived and found the temp low, they added hot water (ro, of course, have a 150 gallon ro tank system on property that services his tank here, his tank at home, and our two tanks at home), which is how the wrasse was saved from the low temp ... so knowing all this, I am STILL puzzled as to why the 3 survived, and the rest did not, ... equipment ( which is of various types and ages are for the most part well over 5 years old, all running to powerstrip of some age also) failure HAS to be the culprit be it from voltage in water or oxygen issue ..... STILL PUZZLED .... and feeling AWFUL that this loss has happened and while on the last 48 hrs of the 2 plus months of our watch ....

 

[JumboShrimp]

When you say “power supply,” do you mean (in addition to heaters), you lost power to anything and everything that would have supplied flow / surface agitation or oxygen in any way?

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

If power was out to the tank. the oxygen level of the water would reduce drastically and continue to decline as the fish and other creatures used up the available oxygen. Once fish started suffocating, the ammonia levels would also rise. The power outage is what killed the fish, not the temp. I've received fish shipped where the bag water was in the low 60's, and have had them acclimate just fine.

 

[K7BMG]

Yes I don't think it was temperature related as well.
You did not elaborate on what was off.
Have to assume it was everything.
Clearly no Apex or email alerts were off.
So sorry

 

[hizbaby]

When you say “power supply,” do you mean (in addition to heaters), you lost power to anything and everything that would have supplied flow / surface agitation or oxygen in any way?

if the events happened in the manner i've been told, and getting those details has been hard to get, then YES to no power in tank from no earlier than 6 pm friday to no later than4 pm sunday, that's the Maximum time frame.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Regardless of what did it I feel for you. I cant even imagine it

 

[hizbaby]

Yes I don't think it was temperature related as well.
You did not elaborate on what was off.
Have to assume it was everything.
Clearly no Apex or email alerts were off.
So sorry

no apex, no auto anything, VERY old school set up,

 

[hizbaby]

Regardless of what did it I feel for you. I cant even imagine it

thanx ... it hurtz like ran over my own dog ...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Again sorry to hear and GLAD and I mean GLAD it did not result in a fire. A drip loop and power supply with GFCI to shut itself off is warranted.
At least you found the likeable root cause and can reset it safely the right away to avaoid future issues. I would highly recommend if no controller, a wifi camera where one can check on the tank without running to the office

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

So it sounds like oxygen depletion. It can happen faster than you think.