Clownfish Concern post Bacteria Bloom

[MareR]

So recently my 55 gallon went through the dreaded bacteria bloom. It started last thursday, I think anyways, completely overnight. Daily water changes. And water Changes when it first appeared every 5 hours. I was pretty paranoid about losing fish. Turns out....all for nothing considering my snowstorm and diamondback are now the only survivors....RODI unit water no tap nonsense. Levels today after another water change are:
Ammonia .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 7.4

I have a new black regular degular clownfish, he was doing fine at first, swimmin' around, the diamondback goby is fine, the snowstorm clownfish is fine....they are the only survivors of the bloom....**** YOU BACTERIA FOR KILLING MY FISH dangit lol and now he's laying on his side in the sand. I'm a bit concerned....Should I be worried? The water is definitely pretty clear again thanks to a UV light I have, and I have had it just constantly running for the last day and a half and I'm wondering if I should just....cut my losses restart? But again the diamond goby and snowstorm are fine. Confused.

 

[P-Dub]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[MareR]

So recently my 55 gallon went through the dreaded bacteria bloom. It started last thursday, I think anyways, completely overnight. Daily water changes. And water Changes when it first appeared every 5 hours. I was pretty paranoid about losing fish. Turns out....all for nothing considering my snowstorm and diamondback are now the only survivors....RODI unit water no tap nonsense. Levels today after another water change are:
Ammonia .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 7.4

I have a new black regular degular clownfish, he was doing fine at first, swimmin' around, the diamondback goby is fine, the snowstorm clownfish is fine....they are the only survivors of the bloom....**** YOU BACTERIA FOR KILLING MY FISH dangit lol and now he's laying on his side in the sand. I'm a bit concerned....Should I be worried? The water is definitely pretty clear again thanks to a UV light I have, and I have had it just constantly running for the last day and a half and I'm wondering if I should just....cut my losses restart? But again the diamond goby and snowstorm are fine. Confused.

Update on my clownfish-guess he decided to scare the hell outta me lol he's swimmin but I'm still concerned about the post bloom effects....What should I keep an eye out for?

 

[P-Dub]

Keep the water well oxygenated! Bacteria blooms are a big strain on available O2 levels.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Increase oxygen with airstone as it is the one big item it takes away from livestock.

 

[MareR]

Increase oxygen with airstone as it is the one big item it takes away from livestock.

Airstone okay got it. Thanks so much

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So recently my 55 gallon went through the dreaded bacteria bloom. It started last thursday, I think anyways, completely overnight. Daily water changes. And water Changes when it first appeared every 5 hours. I was pretty paranoid about losing fish. Turns out....all for nothing considering my snowstorm and diamondback are now the only survivors....RODI unit water no tap nonsense. Levels today after another water change are:
Ammonia .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 7.4

I have a new black regular degular clownfish, he was doing fine at first, swimmin' around, the diamondback goby is fine, the snowstorm clownfish is fine....they are the only survivors of the bloom....**** YOU BACTERIA FOR KILLING MY FISH dangit lol and now he's laying on his side in the sand. I'm a bit concerned....Should I be worried? The water is definitely pretty clear again thanks to a UV light I have, and I have had it just constantly running for the last day and a half and I'm wondering if I should just....cut my losses restart? But again the diamond goby and snowstorm are fine. Confused.

How long has the aquarium been set up?
What are you using to test ammonia and pH?
Your ammonia is high and your pH is very low.

Jay

 

[MareR]

How long has the aquarium been set up?
What are you using to test ammonia and pH?
Your ammonia is high and your pH is very low.

Jay

Been up since June no problems till now, had a falco two Lil clowns the diamond goby. I use the api test kit. What should ph be? My zoas seen okay btw. Oh and I had a red fairy wrasse.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Been up since June no problems till now, had a falco two Lil clowns the diamond goby. I use the api test kit. What should ph be? My zoas seen okay btw. Oh and I had a red fairy wrasse.

The API kit is notorious for giving bad readings, it is possible that your 0.25 reading is actually zero. The low pH is probably from the bacteria taking up oxygen out of the water and producing carbon dioxide. That forms carbonic acid that drops the pH of the water - aerate the tank really well to help combat that. I like to see a pH above 7.8, 8.0 is even better.

Any ideas what the bacteria were feeding on? To bloom, they need some big source of organic material. You didn't dose with alcohol, vinegar or vibrant did you?

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Been up since June no problems till now, had a falco two Lil clowns the diamond goby. I use the api test kit. What should ph be? My zoas seen okay btw. Oh and I had a red fairy wrasse.

First problem you will have is the API line of test kits. These kits are known and notrorious for false readings and have let down many reefers. Hanna and salifert more reliable
Your levels may be higher than API is showing. Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use API kits and have them check water for you

 

[MareR]

The API kit is notorious for giving bad readings, it is possible that your 0.25 reading is actually zero. The low pH is probably from the bacteria taking up oxygen out of the water and producing carbon dioxide. That forms carbonic acid that drops the pH of the water - aerate the tank really well to help combat that. I like to see a pH above 7.8, 8.0 is even better.

Any ideas what the bacteria were feeding on? To bloom, they need some big source of organic material. You didn't dose with alcohol, vinegar or vibrant did you?

Jay

OH DEAR GOD NO lol I just dosed with Prime I have two powerheads for circulation, the UV light, and the Aquaticlife RODI unit. Cheap, but gets the job done in getting me good water. Again what levels should I be at? Again since my zoanthids are actually just starting to open up as if nothing's happened lol

 

[Jay Hemdal]

OH DEAR GOD NO lol I just dosed with Prime I have two powerheads for circulation, the UV light, and the Aquaticlife RODI unit. Cheap, but gets the job done in getting me good water. Again what levels should I be at? Again since my zoanthids are actually just starting to open up as if nothing's happened lol

Poweheads may not supply enough aeration - air stones are better. You need to break the surface tension to drive off the carbon dioxide.
Jay

 

[MareR]

Poweheads may not supply enough aeration - air stones are better. You need to break the surface tension to drive off the carbon dioxide.
Jay

Okay airstone it is. Im also doing ANOTHER water change and this time I've mussed up the sandbed-AND HOLY **** my tank just....WHEW so cloudy and not just from sand but from MUCK in the sand lol. okay maybe I shouldnt feed my fish sooooo often I fed them twice a day cause its just what Im used to with pets and I'm 99% certain that's what caused this mess lol also more cleanup crew I only have a few hermit crabs and a couple nassarius snails....I did everything right-I added a few fish at a time; allowing 2-3 weeks per fish, and same with CUC.....Sigh. sometimes things just go south.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Okay airstone it is. Im also doing ANOTHER water change and this time I've mussed up the sandbed-AND HOLY **** my tank just....WHEW so cloudy and not just from sand but from MUCK in the sand lol. okay maybe I shouldnt feed my fish sooooo often I fed them twice a day cause its just what Im used to with pets and I'm 99% certain that's what caused this mess lol also more cleanup crew I only have a few hermit crabs and a couple nassarius snails....I did everything right-I added a few fish at a time; allowing 2-3 weeks per fish, and same with CUC.....Sigh. sometimes things just go south.

There should not be a lot of detritus/muck in the sand. When I stir the sand in my tanks, I get a light haze and some dust rising up. If you see particles and cloudiness, that is probably from uneaten food and that will fuel your bacterial bloom. Siphoning the surface or trying to use a gravel siphon (hard to do with sand) can help femove that material, then replace the water lost with freshly mixed seawater.

Jay

 

[MareR]

There should not be a lot of detritus/muck in the sand. When I stir the sand in my tanks, I get a light haze and some dust rising up. If you see particles and cloudiness, that is probably from uneaten food and that will fuel your bacterial bloom. Siphoning the surface or trying to use a gravel siphon (hard to do with sand) can help femove that material, then replace the water lost with freshly mixed seawater.

Jay

Right so it probably was over feeding my fish then. I have one sole survivor of this mess-Jack Frost my little Snowstorm.....What a trooper. I feel so bad....All my levels are good today, and my tank is crystal clear, almost a week later....I'm gonna learn from this. Never over feed. I already wasn't stocking too fast, I would add a fish, wait two weeks. I just feel so stupid like this tank was FLOURISHING (for fish not coral I didn't add coral until recently) for a good while and just....disaster. Sigh. Comes with the territory of being new to the hobby, but I thought I had done the research to prep for this....but you can't prepare for everything. Sometimes these things just happen.