Installed new sump woke up to dead fish

[JAWSIII]

I have a 65 gallon that was previously running with a Aquaclear 110, Fluval 407 and a reef octo HOB. The tank has been up for about 9 months and I have a mix of fish and corals. My nitrates were always a bit of a struggle even though everything else was ok. I decided I wanted to build my own sump for space and budget purposes.

I found a seller who made precut acrylic kits for a 20 high and I purchased it and a return box and overflow box and all the hoses etc.. I used 100% silicone to install all the baffles and allowed 6 days to cure. All of my livestock were doing very well

I installed the new sump last night during the super bowl and everything seemed great ( a few of the fish were acting stressed, but I did change a few rocks around). I woke up today and my shoulder angel and vlamingi tang both dead. My BTA doesn’t look great either.

I added about 12 gallons of fresh made seawater to account for the sump. The water that I added was a little chilly. It lowered the overall tank temp 3.7 degrees from 79 to 76.7. I didn’t add anything else except some fresh GFO and Carbon to the sump. The only new addition (and the reason this all started )was a new XPORT BIO PLATE that was throughly rinsed in RO water before placing it. I even boiled the hose I used for the return pump just to be xtra safe.

I’m thinking either change in temp plus stress of moving some rock. OR maybe the silicone wasn’t fully cured after 6 days and caused some kind of poison. The only other thing I just remembered was that I did use pvc cement to attach the overflow hose to box but I did so 5 hours before and it was completely dry to touch.

any ideas?? Or similar experience

I’m sick to my stomach that I lost these fish. And hopefully there are no more lost. My lights are not on yet.

 

[threebuoys]

I feel for you. Have you rechecked all of your water parameters? Can you provide?

I know you understand, I just can't imagine anything other than a significant change in water chemistry or the introduction of some type of toxin that would have resulted in death so quickly.

 

[StlSalt]

I don't think it was temp. My tanks just recently dropped from 78 to 72 and back to 78 over the course of 12 hours and neither my fish or coral even seemed to notice. That's a 6 degree change.

 

[Alexreefer]

Could we maybe get some params, ammonia spike?
I hope you don't lose any more fish and hopefully not ur bta either.

 

[Greybeard]

Ugh. Sorry for your loss.

Temp dip doesn't seem that significant to me. I'd look elsewhere.

Type of silicone sealant? Many brands have anti-fungal or anti-mold ingredients that are known hazardous.

You pulled a canister filter... possible that the bulk of your ammonia was being processed in the canister? I'd test for ammonia.

Best of luck!

 

[shakey]

I had a friend that had the same thing happen to him. We always assumed it was the PVC glue or cleaner? I'll keep an eye on this thread to hear some of the more experienced thoughts.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Can you post a pic of the silicone? I am guessing it wasnt the reef safe version and had mold inhibitors. Carbone and a large WC would be a good course of action. Removing the sump might also be wise as it seems like they are related.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sorry to hear
My best guess is either:
-Silicone wasn’t fully cured and/or aquarium safe (why I like to use aquarium sealant)

- removal of old filters diminished available bacteria and caused an ammonia/nitrate spike also depleting oxygen
First step is to test the tank water for ammonia-nitrate-ph-pho’s and verify salinity

hopefully you’re not using api test kits

 

[Dkmoo]

My vote is on pulled canister and the temporary reduction of ammonia processing capacity causing a spike

You probably won't be able to detect the spike now bc chances are you still had some capacity remaining in your rock/sand. It was just that it wasn't fast enough last night to process the ammonia fast enough and a temporary spike happened, but by now it would have all been processed already, esp since you now also have 2 less waste producing fish.

 

[JAWSIII]

Think I discovered the issue. The DAMM SILICONE SAYS MOLD FREE FOR 10 years. So I am guessing that it has mold inhibitors added.

would running large amount of carbon be enough to remove the toxin? Will it continue to be an issue?

so mad at myself.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Jaws sorry about this. It’s the silicon. Run carbon, and poly filter. you have to take the sump off line. You can possibly clean all silicon off your new sump and redo it with aquarium silicon. Good luck. Do a massive water change.

 

[Uncle99]

Water changes, turn the tank over during the next few days and yes, fresh carbon for 7 days, then refresh carbon again.

I have some concern with the changeover that you had an ammonia spike.

 

[Greybeard]

Think I discovered the issue. The DAMM SILICONE SAYS MOLD FREE FOR 10 years. So I am guessing that it has mold inhibitors added.

would running large amount of carbon be enough to remove the toxin? Will it continue to be an issue?

so mad at myself.

Glad you found the problem...

If it were me, I'd pull it. Seriously. I bet that junk leaches out of that silicone for years.

I know, it's a nightmare, but I'd yank that sump, scrape the silicone out with a razor, scrub it down with citric acid or some such to really get it clean, and re-seal with aquarium safe silicone. Chewy sells Aqueon branded tubes marketed for aquarium use at a reasonable price.

 

[Shufflepig]

Found this on the safety data sheet for the product.

 

[MERKEY]

Think I discovered the issue. The DAMM SILICONE SAYS MOLD FREE FOR 10 years. So I am guessing that it has mold inhibitors added.

would running large amount of carbon be enough to remove the toxin? Will it continue to be an issue?

so mad at myself.

Oh man sorry to hear this,

I wouldn't leave that in......

Who honestly can tell you when that stuff would be done releasing toxins into your tank.
It's a pain but I'd redo the sealant.

I am really sorry you are going through this.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

You cannot water change and carbon your way out of mold inhibitors. If you could, I could collect on that guarantee. Its not worth the risk in any way...
You will need to cut it out and re-silicone it with the mold-free stuff.

 

[JAWSIII]

Yep. Just pulled and put back canister. I am soo mad at myself!!! What an expensive dam lesson. After reading the back of the silicone it even says NOT FOR UNDERWATER OR AQUARIUM USE!! I’m such an idiot!!! I hope this doesn’t nuke my whole tank. I can’t afford it.

 

[Shufflepig]

Hopefully you caught it soon enough to prevent further loss. We all make mistakes trying to better our tanks. Just very frustrating. Hang in there!!

 

[Dkmoo]

Yep. Just pulled and put back canister. I am soo mad at myself!!! What an expensive dam lesson. After reading the back of the silicone it even says NOT FOR UNDERWATER OR AQUARIUM USE!! I’m such an idiot!!! I hope this doesn’t nuke my whole tank. I can’t afford it.

Sry mate, we've all been there are one point. Learning is part of the journey in this hobby.

The anti mold stuff probably also did a number on the invisible part of your tank (the micro fauna) so will want to keep an eye out for that too. Hopefully ur canister still has enough live stuff to soften the impact and reseed the tank.

 

[zalick]

So sorry.... You are not alone in doing this. I made a sump about 12 years ago using what was supposedly safe silicone, per the forums, and it nuked my tank overnight. 100% silicone does not mean no other additives.

I now only use silicone designated as aquarium safe now even if it costs a little more. Not worth it to take any chances IMO..