Everything is dead..

[Sashaka]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The excitement of keeping a saltwater tank with awesome and exotic creatures can quickly turn into painful heartache when things go suddenly wrong. Reefers who have been keeping saltwater tanks for years have ended up in no-win situations for various and sometimes unknown reasons. Don't lose hope! We all get better at this game the longer we are in it. Research and ask questions. We're here to help.

 

[russell13]

Sorry to hear this. Could be a combination of both the Nem getting chewed up by the pump and that stressed out the sea apple and made it poison the tank. In my experience Sea apples should be kept with very peaceful tankmates if at all. I got one free with a used tank and after doing some research decided to give it to my local fish store. Didn’t want to take the chance of something like this happening. I would still check all of your parameters just to be sure.

If you’re going to start over I would pull all the rock, cure it, maybe bleach it depending on the shape that it is in and completely start over. Sometimes set backs like this givE us the opportunity to rebuild in a better way and take advantage of the knowledge we have gained.

 

[Chris444]

Ok, so for sure I have learned few things from what has happened, sadly the hard way.
It's sad that I have been lied from my LFS that this is easy to care and will be a good addition to my tank(they knew the tank is only 3months old).
I will make some big water changes run carbon, uv sterilizer. Hoping it will help. I will also clean the rocks.
I am suprised that the Xenia, condy anemone and snails and crabs all survived and they look fine.
Next time I will want to add something to my tank I will do even more research and well not really listen and believe my LFS.
I have no idea what happened to the cucumber as it had plenty of food provided, the parameters were all fine and it was looking good the day before.
Any further advice what I could do is more than welcomed.
Thanks for all the help and good words.

 

[samnaz]

Unfortunately LFS can’t always be trusted. In the future, whenever you have a question no matter how silly you think it may be, ask US, not the LFS. We would never lie to you to make money ;-)

 

[RJinPV]

Ok, so for sure I have learned few things from what has happened, sadly the hard way.
It's sad that I have been lied from my LFS that this is easy to care and will be a good addition to my tank(they knew the tank is only 3months old).
I will make some big water changes run carbon, uv sterilizer. Hoping it will help. I will also clean the rocks.
I am suprised that the Xenia, condy anemone and snails and crabs all survived and they look fine.
Next time I will want to add something to my tank I will do even more research and well not really listen and believe my LFS.
I have no idea what happened to the cucumber as it had plenty of food provided, the parameters were all fine and it was looking good the day before.
Any further advice what I could do is more than welcomed.
Thanks for all the help and good words.

All of us have had experiences with an LFS giving the hard sell or not really caring enough about the advice they are giving us (at least I have). If there are other LFS stores available to you, hopefully you can find one that is more interested in your tank being successful rather than the immediate sale. R2R is a good resource since there are plenty of people here that are willing to share experiences with each other.

 

[Chris444]

All of us have had experiences with an LFS giving the hard sell or not really caring enough about the advice they are giving us (at least I have). If there are other LFS stores available to you, hopefully you can find one that is more interested in your tank being successful rather than the immediate sale. R2R is a good resource since there are plenty of people here that are willing to share experiences with each other.

The next store is about 45minutes drive away from me but I have heard a lot of good opinions about it so I might choose it. But still research,research,research

 

[RobW]

I actually have 2 great places that I go to. One is less than mile away. The other is about 15 miles away. They're both awesome!

 

[jpcrash1]

Good for you not giving up. Start with easy critters first, then work your way up as tank matures.I have never seen a sea apple in any lfs near me. They might have tried to get rid of it on you.

 

[GThompson]

The next store is about 45minutes drive away from me but I have heard a lot of good opinions about it so I might choose it. But still research,research,research

Thank God one of my lfs watches out for their customers. I’ve told them what I wanted and they will say “ no you don’t “ and explain why. Plus they offer a 14 day warranty on s/w fish. The big store chain doesn’t do that. Hope you get it all worked out. Good reviews on Dr Tim’s for starting the aquarium over. Good luck

 

[JBKReef]

Where are you located at Chris? The best LFS in my area was one my wife just stumbled upon, they had not done a good job at marketing.

If you're close to some of the reefers on here they might be able to point you in the best direction and/or even better maybe join up to a local reef club for a wealth of knowledge.

 

[KorD]

My condolences to your tank, I can not tell you anything better then everyone before me stated on getting back up and running. I also do not believe berating someone because of a mistake.

I will honestly come out and say over the years I have had tanks, I have done a lot of stupid stuff, I did not have a place like R2R in the beginning but just the LFS and a couple people I knew.

Things I have learnt over time was to take it slow, research is knowledge, take one certain types of critters or corals one at a time, know your system inside and out (I tweak and tinker with my system as much as I could during the setup and cycling).
I am constantly trying to improve my tank day by day to make it run as one simple eco system.

Keep your head up, and don't be scared to ask any question.. I ask a lot of dumb stuff all the time

 

[New&no clue]

Hi, I’m new too and learning more each day. One thing I would say, and I don’t know what your situation is so it might not apply, but maybe you shouldn’t give up on your LFS just yet. My LFS has one really awesome lady in it who is so helpful and constantly telling me I can’t do what I want, and it has one guy who is okay, but he definitely wants to make a sale. My point is you may have just talked to a bad sales guy, but there might be other employees there who are really helpful. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent in yours and if you know all the people. I’m literally in mine once to twice a week just to ask questions. Also get lots of options, don’t just trust one person, because it seems there are 100 ways to do the same thing and none are right or wrong just different and what work best for that person, that tank, or that situation.

Good luck fellow newbie

 

[FishDoc]

I agree with you to an extent but can’t really fault him for scolding someone who just killed a bunch of animals through sheer negligence. That’s not ok in the slightest and he deserves to hear it.
That being said of course we should offer our support to deal with the situation.

OP, my guess is that you listened to and blindly trusted your LFS that the sea apple was a suitable inhabitant in a reef tank, please please don’t do that. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard the most ridiculous things being said by LFS employees.
If you ever see something that looks cool and you don’t recognize it, take 10-15min to browse the web about that particular species, it will save you a lot of heartache in the future.

As frustrated as some may be with those new to the hobby that dig themselves into a husbandry hole through an impulse buy, nothing productive comes from climbing up on an experience “high horse” and making someone feel worse than the likely already do. People need to relax and remember they were there once as well and didn’t always approach each aquarium purchase with extreme skepticism.

 

[MnFish1]

Actually - I was looking up sea apples the other day - because I thought it was unheard of to keep one. They are listed as 'expert only' on several sites - that said there are a few threads saying they have had no problem 'yet'.

Im sorry for the OP - usually they are impossible to find at an LFS though they can be ordered 'online'. I wonder if (which crawling around at night) the cucumber got sucked partly into the pump - released its guts and toxins and fell off.. Either way - its well know that it can wipe out an entire tank. Very high dose carbon is recommended if you keeping a sea apple in a tank and a large skimmer. http://www.saltcorner.com/Articles/Showarticle.php?articleID=64

Im surprised at some of the indignation shown here to the OP - When I read the number of 'experienced' people on this site that lose fish for multiple 'stupid' reasons - no backup equipment, etc. Everyone has made mistakes and everyone will learn from them. Its possible to keep Sea Apples.

 

[BeejReef]

Sorry for your losses. It's tough being new. The internet says a lot of things. I agree that forums seem the best, but then when you're standing there talking to someone who owns or maintains a dozen tanks, it's hard not to believe them. Maybe those people on the internet are just all paranoid ;Nailbiting

I struggle mightily with not having "the eye" yet. I can keep my parameters, maintain the tank, follow advise, and post pictures for help, but I don't have an eye for impending trouble yet. I delicately glued a duncan head onto rockwork so as not to break off a new head. The "new head" was a piece of bubble algae ;Meh I think that's why some livestock is "expert only." It's not just about "expert level" parameters, lighting, or husbandry. It's the eye that sees all ;Cyclops before it happens.

 

[Stuartmercer]

f

 

[KorD]

A good LFS is hard to find. I knew of two in Wisconsin where I used to live that would honestly talk shop with you before selling to something so you have the best of luck with it.
Now that in in Texas. Every shop I have been too is about making the sale knowing you will be back for something else if it dies. I did find a hole in the wall LFS place here I will be giving all my business too now. The guy was awesome, wanted to talk shop, opened his shop to me after hours to sell me something I needed in a hurry (found shop posting something on Craigslist).
This place is basically ran out of a storage stall in a custom vehicle wrap building. He has beautiful corals and knows his stuff. All the corals he sells comes from one of his many tanks he has fragged and grew out. Selection is there but smaller then you typical let's order it from around the world LFS's.

 

[Sashaka]

Sorry for your losses. It's tough being new. The internet says a lot of things. I agree that forums seem the best, but then when you're standing there talking to someone who owns or maintains a dozen tanks, it's hard not to believe them. Maybe those people on the internet are just all paranoid ;Nailbiting

I struggle mightily with not having "the eye" yet. I can keep my parameters, maintain the tank, follow advise, and post pictures for help, but I don't have an eye for impending trouble yet. I delicately glued a duncan head onto rockwork so as not to break off a new head. The "new head" was a piece of bubble algae ;Meh I think that's why some livestock is "expert only." It's not just about "expert level" parameters, lighting, or husbandry. It's the eye that sees all ;Cyclops before it happens.

I had to giggle a bit reading about "the eye" and the bubble algae. I'm an English teacher who teaches Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell Tale Heart." The parallels to Poe's story and your post tickled my funny bone. You were talking about "the eye" and "seeing" what one wants to see (for you, a new Duncan head) when experience and knowledge are what are necessary to see truth. I think the truth is 'the eye' may become more capable of seeing truth, but it never stops growing sharper. In other words, we never stop learning no matter how long we've been in the saltwater hobby.

 

[Dolelo96]

Wanted to check in and find out how everythings going? Hope you didn’t get discouraged. We all make mistakes. I lost all my fish last September to Velvet. 3 years with no losses or disease, then I broke my own rule, to only buy coral & fish from two sources. My lfs and JF. Got caught up in an online auction and bought corals. I dipped them, never thinking that coral dip doesn’t kill eggs. 2 weeks later Velvet showed up on my Whitetail Bristletooth Tang. To make matters worse, I had absolutely nothing to set up a hospital/quarantine. My lfs was kind enough to quarantine them, but by the time we caught them all, it was too late.
Check in and let us know how it’s going!

 

[Silverfish]

Sorry, tough break. Don’t get discouraged. Every last one of these reefers hv made mistakes. Definitely a learning moment though. Research is always good but sometimes you roll the dice and live with the consequences. Best of luck to you.