Hello everyone, ima be honest with y’all I’ve had my fluval eco 13.5 for about 2 weeks and I had a clownfish, royal gramma, yellow watchman goby, 12 corals, 5 Nesarus snails, 2 Cerith snails, 3 giant turbo snails, 5 crabs, and a normal small snail. Everything was running perfect for a new tank, every coral was popping like crazy and my girlfriends cousin who had a reef tank for a few years and has one now actually said my tank is the only tank he’s seen run that good for a new tank. So anyway everytime I put my hands in the tank my Nemo would come to me and bite me and it would actually annoy me and kinda hurt. So I decided to take him out and I guess I jacked my whole tank up because almost all my corals died, my snails, crabs died(except for like 2). And my fish won’t come out at all and it’s been about 4 days and nothing popping now I had to get rid of like 5 of my corals and I’m concerned about what to do next. Someone please help!!!
Everything is dying
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Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Contamination from your hands?
What's your water parameters?
What's your water parameters?
I did a water change and I put in clean purigen, carbon and chemipure. I also bought cycled water with my tank and live rock and I wait a few days and everything was okay so I slowly added stuff in and it did amazing so I figured it was okay.
tehmadreefer
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2 week old tank with all that in it? Ya, everything is going to die...
I would suggest start over by reading how to properly start a reef tank.
You will be thankful down the road.
I would suggest start over by reading how to properly start a reef tank.
You will be thankful down the road.
ZaneGreay
Active Member
Watch brs hybrid method or brs 52 weeks of reefing
Copingwithpods
Valuable Member
Going to have to agree with the above, it didn't crash from the fish removal that was just a coincidence. Simple case of too much too fast.
Lots of red flags here, 5 nassarius snails is not only too many for a 13g but way too many for a new sandbed with no microfauna. 3 giant turbo snails is also overkill given they are huge waste producers. Consider your crabs, snails and corals as part of your total bioload, not just the fish.
Put simply your rocks and sand were not ready for that much waste. To compound the problem now that everything is unhappy keep a very watchful eye on any cuc deaths during this time as your system will most definitely react negatively to one of those making your problem exponentially worse. Specially be careful with the snails as they bury themselves and die they become impossible to spot and remove until it's too late.
Lots of red flags here, 5 nassarius snails is not only too many for a 13g but way too many for a new sandbed with no microfauna. 3 giant turbo snails is also overkill given they are huge waste producers. Consider your crabs, snails and corals as part of your total bioload, not just the fish.
Put simply your rocks and sand were not ready for that much waste. To compound the problem now that everything is unhappy keep a very watchful eye on any cuc deaths during this time as your system will most definitely react negatively to one of those making your problem exponentially worse. Specially be careful with the snails as they bury themselves and die they become impossible to spot and remove until it's too late.
Aggro
Active Member
So I’ve been in your shoes before have used water from previous tear downs and such and have never had a problem and I never cycled them but the system was also already running so it already had the bioload needed to sustain. One thing it could be is possibly rock was contaminated if it was wet rock or one of the many fish came in contaminated. I’m guessing you didn’t qt and fish or whatnot. I’m by no means a pro have a little knowledge from research I’m currently doing these are my thoughts.
Chefwheredyougo
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when you test ammonia and get your high reading, dose prime. In the morning find someone to take all your livestock until your tank is properly cycled. If not, you're about to learn a very expensive lesson, very fast.
Zionas
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That’s too much livestock for a tank of your size, at your current stage. When I read 12 corals, you’re overdoing it. If I were you I’d only do the Royal Gramma + YWG or the pair of Clowns, not 4 all at the same time.
To the OP, IMO your tank might even be too small for all 4. Maybe just 2-3 fish, 3 at most.
To the OP, IMO your tank might even be too small for all 4. Maybe just 2-3 fish, 3 at most.
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Sometimes it takes a few days to a week or so for these mistakes to become a problem. And when they do things can go downhill fast.
See if you can off load some of the livestock. Do a few water changes and then buy a bottle of bacteria. Dose a little more than recommended for a few days.
See if you can off load some of the livestock. Do a few water changes and then buy a bottle of bacteria. Dose a little more than recommended for a few days.
Johny Cash
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I would like to add to some of the great suggestions, theories above,
your beneficial bacteria wasn't sufficient enough to turn ammonia into nitrate, even though you got the cycled water or LR, unfortunately beneficial bacteria takes time to colonize, maybe it would of been enough for a fish or two but with that many livestock just couldn't handle it. There is no short cut to cycling and creating that balance with proper time, most new tanks cycles 6-8 weeks sometimes even more.
I am sorry to hear whats happening but too fast and too much at the same time.
your beneficial bacteria wasn't sufficient enough to turn ammonia into nitrate, even though you got the cycled water or LR, unfortunately beneficial bacteria takes time to colonize, maybe it would of been enough for a fish or two but with that many livestock just couldn't handle it. There is no short cut to cycling and creating that balance with proper time, most new tanks cycles 6-8 weeks sometimes even more.
I am sorry to hear whats happening but too fast and too much at the same time.
Coreys reef adventure
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Who ever sold you cycled water is ripping you off, you don’t cycle water, you cycle the rock and sand/crushed coral. Go to your lfs try to find some bacteria in a bottle, start putting in twice the recommended amount, find someone to take your coral and your fish, and let your tank cycle. It’s exciting to watch your coral grow, but when you don’t know what you’re doing you’re going to make mistakes, and unfortunately you’re going to have to pay for it.
Since you don't have nearly enough bacteria built up on that rock to process that bioload you will need to export it somehow. Easiest way to keep evrything you still have with your small tank is to do water changes. If you did not do a large water change already (70-80%) do it now. Then 5gallon water changes every 3-5 days for a few weeks. beneficial bacteria levels will eventually build up.
Just make sure you get the salinity right and keep the temp within 3-4 degrees with the new water.
And please get rid of some of those snails. I have 2 snails and 2 hermit crabs in 120gallon tank.
Just make sure you get the salinity right and keep the temp within 3-4 degrees with the new water.
And please get rid of some of those snails. I have 2 snails and 2 hermit crabs in 120gallon tank.
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