Chemiclean RUINED my tank
- Thread starter roferro
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Just Jared
Active Member
That’s a bit of a silly question. Carbons remove a wide range of impurities. If you have poor water quality, especially after the addition of chemicals, water change and carbon would be the fastest way to make improvements until you find a resolution or cause.
If I may… Why not?
paulgriffin971
Active Member
Since you didn't say what your PH was before the chemiclean, I'm thinking:
Not enough aeration during the chemiclean treatment which caused your PH to fall, which then killed off all of your fish. When I use chemiclean I make sure my PH is correct, aerate with the airstone for a couple hours first, and then dose the chemiclean. Never ever, ever had an issue with chemiclean---it's the same stuff to treat staph infections and pink-eye in humans--so it's absolutely harmless to anything in your tank except cyano and "bad" algae. It's almost like comparing allergy eye drops to regular tap water.
Now that it's over, cycle the tank again before you add ANY chemicals except for carbon. You want all your parameters to get back to where they should be, and make sure the algae blooms aren't just temporary.
The carbon will help rid the tank of any unwanted chemicals that could be lingering in there. Change it out every few days(like every 5 days) during the re-cycle, but don't use too much for the water volume of your system. A new bag of 1/2 cup or thereabouts every 5 days is just about right for your size tank.
Not enough aeration during the chemiclean treatment which caused your PH to fall, which then killed off all of your fish. When I use chemiclean I make sure my PH is correct, aerate with the airstone for a couple hours first, and then dose the chemiclean. Never ever, ever had an issue with chemiclean---it's the same stuff to treat staph infections and pink-eye in humans--so it's absolutely harmless to anything in your tank except cyano and "bad" algae. It's almost like comparing allergy eye drops to regular tap water.
Now that it's over, cycle the tank again before you add ANY chemicals except for carbon. You want all your parameters to get back to where they should be, and make sure the algae blooms aren't just temporary.
The carbon will help rid the tank of any unwanted chemicals that could be lingering in there. Change it out every few days(like every 5 days) during the re-cycle, but don't use too much for the water volume of your system. A new bag of 1/2 cup or thereabouts every 5 days is just about right for your size tank.
roferro
New Member
Thank you all for the replies and help. I will study all these replies and see what the best option is. Might have to restart the tank on a bigger one since thats what I been aiming on.
For those asking I have a 30 Gallon tank and yes the cycle indeed has been really disrupted.
For those asking I have a 30 Gallon tank and yes the cycle indeed has been really disrupted.
A lot of people tend to hurry and find the product on the shelf that “cures” the issue. I think you rushed it, if might’ve let the ecosystem play out the fishes would be alive still
SteveMM62Reef
Valuable Member
Sounds like you Overdosed the Chemiclean. Did you use the Little Scoop Spoon that was in the Package? Never had a problem with ChemiClean. BTW, when I had Blue Plating Sponge in an Aquarium, I never had Red Cyanobacteria.
I use Carbon filters, but have read a lot of negative posts on its use. Just trying to get more info. Have used carbon since I was about 8 almost 60 years ago. But on fresh water tanks not salt
Since this is about water clearness I observed an interesting reaction. I recently cleaned my skimmer by running a bleach wash through it for about 2 hours, and rinsed it in tap water for about the same period. I must have had a residual amount left, because my water became crystal clear. I am tempted to add a drop with every water change. Any comments ( about 15 gallons a change )
Lavey29
10K Club member
Lights off doesn't bypass the ugly stages but makes it much more manageable because your tank develops biodiversity over the dark period.
Lavey29
10K Club member
Sorry for your struggle. Everything in this hobby is a learning opportunity and as you re set, use this as part of your learning curve. Band aid chemicals fixes should be a last resort not a first option. Nothing in reefing happens quickly. Patience is critical and allowing mother nature to do her thing in your tank versus man made bandaid solution that often can lead to other unexpected consequences.
Arego
Well-Known Member
It's not the chemiclean. Too many people use it, something else contributed to the perfect storm.. very unfortunate.
I take a different approach and won't ever use anything to eradicate algae.. as the system ages enough it will balance itself out. Take your time and don't get that reactive for patches of algae. Even then there are many non dosing related fixes that may have helped if it didn't just go away by itself in a few weeks. In any event hope you get it sorted.
I take a different approach and won't ever use anything to eradicate algae.. as the system ages enough it will balance itself out. Take your time and don't get that reactive for patches of algae. Even then there are many non dosing related fixes that may have helped if it didn't just go away by itself in a few weeks. In any event hope you get it sorted.
Carbon will absorb chemiclean (the antibiotic erythromycin which is sold as a salt form with cetyl sulfate - this is actually a detergent and enhances solubility, but causes foaming).
I have used Chemiclean and also measured oxygen levels using an oxygen sensor (Control Company) and observed no oxygen depletion (saturating dissolved oxygen (DO) at 35 ppt salinity and 25 °C is reported as 6.9 mg/L. I observed 6.8 mg/L everyday after dosing). I think oxygen can be depleted in cases where there is a large amount of cyanobacteria (thus it's always best to manually remove as much as possible).
I personally don't like using Chemiclean since it wipes out most gram-positive bacteria and can lead to a bacterial imbalance, especially in new systems with low bacterial diversity (gram-negative bacteria predominate in established marine systems that are generally not affected since they are intrinsically resistant). However, even in an established system, where one has cultivated hundreds of species of bacteria - almost always inadvertently through introduction of livestock or intentionally using live rock , the use of chemiclean can destroy months or years of work building bacterial diversity.
I have used Chemiclean and also measured oxygen levels using an oxygen sensor (Control Company) and observed no oxygen depletion (saturating dissolved oxygen (DO) at 35 ppt salinity and 25 °C is reported as 6.9 mg/L. I observed 6.8 mg/L everyday after dosing). I think oxygen can be depleted in cases where there is a large amount of cyanobacteria (thus it's always best to manually remove as much as possible).
I personally don't like using Chemiclean since it wipes out most gram-positive bacteria and can lead to a bacterial imbalance, especially in new systems with low bacterial diversity (gram-negative bacteria predominate in established marine systems that are generally not affected since they are intrinsically resistant). However, even in an established system, where one has cultivated hundreds of species of bacteria - almost always inadvertently through introduction of livestock or intentionally using live rock , the use of chemiclean can destroy months or years of work building bacterial diversity.
You'll here varied opinions on carbon.... all worth consideration. I don't run it typically but will throw a bag in my HOB for a few days once or twice a year. No Skimmer , Canister or Sump leads me to believe my metals in the system could be higher than most. Of course It may be all for not, as much of this could be in the substrate. That is recently newly replaced on a tank move, so I'm actually going to send out an ICP test to see.
No carbon typically for 25 years as I worry about HLLE. Tang is 18 years and healthy as ever....
MaxTremors
2500 Club Member
Pretty sure they were talking about organic carbon causing a bacterial bloom, not activated carbon. Like the carbon from carbon dosing (vinegar, vodka, sugar, nopox, etc), not the charcoal/activated carbon that is used as a water clarifier. Organic carbon is also introduced in fish foods and in new tanks when there isn’t a mature, diverse biome, it can cause a bacterial bloom, but blooms can happen when there is too much of any nutrient/food source and not a diverse population of bacteria competing for it.
roferro
New Member
I was advised to change the type of saltwater I use since I use some with a lot of nutrients that arent needed for my tank (mostly softies). Do a 5 gallon water change with it, change out my entire filter media since there might still be some chemiclean on it, and add some bottled bacteria.
Im thinking the aquarium just restarted its cycle due to the killing spree and I’m just going to give it time now.
Im thinking the aquarium just restarted its cycle due to the killing spree and I’m just going to give it time now.
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