Entire tank crashed after move!!!!!

Freakmachine01 · Oct 24, 2017

Hello all. I am a newbie to the hobby, but I got addicted so fast I love it. My tank has been up and doing great for the past year. I have made many improvements and have learned all lot. I moved this past week and after 1 day of moving the tank, everything died. All the corals, All the fish survived. It is so frustrating. I had some beautiful acans, blastos, devils hand, kenya trees, a bunch of zoas and palys. Everything just shriveled up and died.
Any ides of why this happened? And how did the fish survive but none of the coral? All water parameters were good. I have 120g custom, led lighting, 20g long sump w/skimmer.
I am really heartbroken that I have to start over again. This freaking SUCKS!!!!
Is it possible that if my leather died it gave off toxins? Please help, Thanks.

zachxlutz · Oct 24, 2017

Freakmachine01 said:
Hello all. I am a newbie to the hobby, but I got addicted so fast I love it. My tank has been up and doing great for the past year. I have made many improvements and have learned all lot. I moved this past week and after 1 day of moving the tank, everything died. All the corals, All the fish survived. It is so frustrating. I had some beautiful acans, blastos, devils hand, kenya trees, a bunch of zoas and palys. Everything just shriveled up and died.
Any ides of why this happened? And how did the fish survive but none of the coral? All water parameters were good. I have 120g custom, led lighting, 20g long sump w/skimmer.
I am really heartbroken that I have to start over again. This freaking SUCKS!!!!
Is it possible that if my leather died it gave off toxins? Please help, Thanks.

First off, sorry to hear that. Losing livestock sucks.

How did you transport the coral? How long was it in transport? Coral is frequently shipped overnight and losses are usually minimal. Moving the coral shouldn't have caused that much stress. What about your water parameters? You may have kickstarted a small cycle that the coral couldn't handle.

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 24, 2017

Sorry for your loss, that's rough.

The leather releasing it's defense juices could have definitely had an effect on the tank but your fish would have suffered as well.

Moving corals can stress them out a lot and the temperature changes associated with moving could have had an effect on them as well.

Moving can also cause die-offs of beneficial bacteria and release nutrients stored underneath rocks or in the sand bed, so a nutrient spike could be the main culprit.

Freakmachine01 · Oct 24, 2017

Move took about 4 hours. After tank was set back up I tested all temps. I transported everything in 5 gallon buckets, there was a swing of 8 degrees from the lowest temp to the highest. But I brought everything back to the same temp slowly before adding back to the tank.
Yes the fish are all healthy and didn't suffer at all. but all the coral died.

andrewkw · Oct 24, 2017

Did you move and reuse a sand bed without washing it? If yes how deep was it. Without knowing everything I would say that is the likely culprit. 8 degree swing is not ideal but not enough to kill all your corals. Also did you have all the corals in one 5 gallon bucket? Where did all the corals die? In the tank or in transit?

Reefltx · Oct 24, 2017

How low was the temp?
Did you reuse sand & rock?

Freakmachine01 · Oct 26, 2017

All the corals dies in the tank. Sandbed is about 4". I did re-use but I ran RODI through it until is washed clean. Lowest temp was 68. coral was in different buckets, not all in 1.

zachxlutz · Oct 26, 2017

Freakmachine01 said:
All the corals dies in the tank. Sandbed is about 4". I did re-use but I ran RODI through it until is washed clean. Lowest temp was 68. coral was in different buckets, not all in 1.

I'd say the temp swings and the 4" of rinsed sand are the main causes. I'm sure you sent your tank into a new cycle by adding that much rinsed clean sand back in.

brandon429 · Oct 26, 2017

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445

it is hard to move a sb and not stress things, as we tend to underrinse

its that detritus I wanted to trace out, did the rocks have any undue detritus loading pre move>? this is rare

was wondering if they set in move containers with corals and maybe shocked a bit there, guessing.

there is a direct cause, nothing unpredictable happens in reefing though it may not be apparent right off the bat. can we at least eliminate any detritus transfer in the process, rocks included>?