Everything Dead within an Hour

[Nano_Tuners]

In the course of an hour, all of the fish in my 32 just suddenly died inexpilcably. An hour or so ago, they were all swimming around fine and doing great. The corals and the inverts are fine.

Lost about 300$ in fish (A paired group of mocha storms and ORA mandarin I was successfully fattening up) just like that with no explanation. Tested the water, it’s fine so I’m guessing either all of the oxygen suddenly disappeared (no bacterial bloom or anything) and they somehow suffocated, or there’s suddenly stray voltage in the tank. Don’t have a volt meter but the only things in there are an axis return pump and a Helios probe

 

[RockRash]

Sorry about your loss. Hopefully someone will be able to help figure it out.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

That sounds like stray voltage or some other error with your equipment in my opinion. Anything I can think of off the top of my head that would be biological wouldnt happen so quickly without the fish showing obvious signs...an hour is really short...maybe a boxfish or dead cucumber can nuke a tank that quickly, but even that would seem really quick...(Im not saying you had a boxfish or cucumber).

 

[billyocean]

No lanthanum chloride for p04 reduction or anything right?

 

[Nano_Tuners]

I started testing water until i realized all the inverts and corals were happy, so its not ammonia. Nitrates are 1.4

Im almost certain it is an oxygen issue. I just installed a simple chaeto reactor in the rear chamber a few days ago that ive been leaving the lights on 24/7. Maybe with PH swings it elevated the Co2...

 

[Nano_Tuners]

No lanthanum chloride for p04 reduction or anything right?

no Lanthanum

I did put some chaeto and a grow light in the rear chamber last weekend, maybe that oxygen caused issues

 

[BristleWormHater]

That's so sad :crying-face:
I hate losing livestock in my tank (unless it's a bristleworm)
This really sucks, stay voltage would be my guess too.

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

Only 3 fish in a 32?

 

[BristleWormHater]

Only 3 fish in a 32?

And... that's what you are concerned about. Some people man

 

[Nano_Tuners]

That's so sad :crying-face:
I hate losing livestock in my tank (unless it's a bristleworm)
This really sucks, stay voltage would be my guess too.

I'm gonna grab a voltage meter off amazon and keep the crime scene in tact until I can test it
hard to see how it wouldn't affect snails/crabs/an urchin or corals before the fish though

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Only 3 fish in a 32?

this was a very strange comment to leave...yeah...so?

 

[mch1984]

I agree with the stray voltage. It would almost have to be void of oxygen for that to be the case. You would have noticed gasping and they would have struggled before dying

 

[00W]

I'm gonna grab a voltage meter off amazon and keep the crime scene in tact until I can test it
hard to see how it wouldn't affect snails/crabs/an urchin or corals before the fish though

Stray voltage will not affect fish.
They are not grounded.
You can stick your hands in the tank and now you are grounded and can feel if there is enough voltage to feel.

 

[Nano_Tuners]

@Jay Hemdal does it sound like the addition of cheato and a refugium light could throw things off so severely w/oxygen levels? I know leaving it on 24/7 has some PH effects on oxygen/co2 exchange but I didnt figure it was a big deal

 

[OrionN]

Without overflow or protein skimmer, it is likely O2 issue, although leaving light in the chaeto reactor would increase O2 since plant producing O2 with light.
Coral and algae in the main tank produce O2 with light. They use O2 at night. Did you have a protein skimmer that was removed when you add the Chaeto reactor?

 

[Nano_Tuners]

I agree with the stray voltage. It would almost have to be void of oxygen for that to be the case. You would have noticed gasping and they would have struggled before dying

Thats what Id have thought. Literally eating like pigs and acting normal 60-90 minutes before all this.

 

[Nano_Tuners]

Without overflow or protein skimmer, it is likely O2 issue, although leaving light in the chaeto reactor would increase O2 since plant producing O2 with light.

its got a skimmer in the rear, needle wheel

Im wondering if the lid on the biocube is preventing gas exchange? Theres only two little holes in the back of the lid otherwise its pretty much sealed off... I was just telling a friend how its pretty much been zero evaporation and the ATO hasnt even kicked on in a week

If i dont just say screw it and shut the tank down, ill add a permanent airstone to the back

 

[00W]

I would lean towards no oxygen or ammonia poisoning.
If you measured ammonia and got none I'd look back to an hour or so before the event.
Anything heinous in the house?

 

[Nano_Tuners]

I would lean towards no oxygen or ammonia poisoning.
If you measured ammonia and got none I'd look back to an hour or so before the event.
Anything heinous in the house?

I dont even have an Ammonia test kit anymore, but the inverts and corals are happy so im ruling out ammonia based on that. Literally everything coralwise is open and happy with dead fish floating around them

No chemicals or fumes or anything.

 

[BristleWormHater]

I'm gonna grab a voltage meter off amazon and keep the crime scene in tact until I can test it
hard to see how it wouldn't affect snails/crabs/an urchin or corals before the fish though

Coral's internals are inside their calcium carbonate skeletons, calcium carbonate is an insulator. Invertebrate exoskeletons are made from chitin and calcium carbonate, both are insulators. I don't think they would be affected by the voltage, at least not in the same way fish are. That's my guess.