Huge ammonia spike

[Karen00]

You will also want to keep an eye on your nitrates. If your fish don't seem to be suffering then you're probably seeing total ammonia (which was mentioned) so most likely more of nh4 (ammonium, non-toxic) vs nh3 (toxic) making up your total ammonia reading. The total ammonia definitely should be dealt with because nh4 can be converted to nh3 under the correct conditions (like a rise in ph).

 

[Azariah]

Day 2 update: 10% water change. Added a Pure reef balance ball. Ammonia much closer to 0.8 than 1.2, water clarity significantly improved, small feed for the fish and removed any uneaten food within 5 minutes, cleaned skimmer, ordered Seachem Prime Concentrated Conditioner arriving tomorrow. My clowns have swam a lot closer to the centre and away from the glass which I believe is a good sign. Feeling a lot more optimistic everyday that goes by and the fish survive.

Pictures of my Zoa coming out a lot more and a growing new head near the bottom left!

Water clarity of tank has massively improved

 

[Azariah]

Day 3:
Ammonia is now between 0.4/0.2 which was a huge drop.
Nitrites 0.5
Nitrates between 20/50

Decided to do another 10% water change and added the Prime concentrated conditioner to that batch as it says to add to new water.
Again turned off the pump first, syphoned out the water, then put net over the return pump to catch loose debris and waste and turned pump back on.
Added a single Pure reef balance ball.

If my tank does survive this does that mean that is has a much better bacterial population as a result and hopefully will be more sturdy? Or is this wishful thinking?

 

[Saberfal]

Glad to read things are going the right way now!

Your tank will 100% survive this so don't worry.

You will have to do some more water changes to get the nitrates down.

The bacterial population isn't more sturdy or anything. You're just helping it get back into balance.

As long as you add new critters slowly over time and dont have some feeding mishap it'll be just fine.

As your tank ages and gains more biodiversity it will become more robust as well.

Also remember that water changes can be a big help in reducing nutrient levels, however it's a dilution process. So a 50% water change is going to at best remove 50% of say nitrate.

 

[Azariah]

Day 9: AMMONIA IS BACK TO 0!!!
Water is looking clear and clean. All livestock have survived. I did a small 10% water change per day and also then added 1 PURE reef balance ball as well to the tank.
I reduced feeding massively and only every other day to avoid overfeeding
Thanks for all the advise and I hope this thread helps someone in the future.