NUKED TANK DON'T KNOW WHY

[Joe Tony]

Nothing like what you are going through, no. Did anybody spray anything in the house? Any exterminators spraying things in the neighborhood while you had a window open or anything? No pump or heater failing and spoiling the water?

I did use sunscreen earlier that day before going to the pool, but I always try to spray it away from the tank.

 

[XSidsReef]

So sorry for your loss! Could the cloudiness and odor be from some type of bacterial bloom? That may have just been a result of what was already happening before it.

Maybe something introduced in the LFS water aside from the phosphates was slowly reproducing and the aggressive water changes gave it some kind of boost that let it grow rapidly and suffocate the tank.

I once added some countertop distiller water for a top off when I didn’t have any RO and within a day my display tank became so cloudy I couldn’t see in. Massive bacterial bloom. Before it got that bad I saw that one of the clownfish looked like it was breathing fast. I searched and read a bloom could consume all the oxygen and suffocate the tank. That would also drop the alk and pH as a result.

I did a partial water change, put a bubbler in the display and a UV light in a sump chamber, and prepared for the worst. It took a week to clear up enough to see in. The livestock survived. The macro algae in the tank did not.

Here’s what it looked like 9 days in:

 

[allof fish]

Sorry to hear that. Definitely not phosphates and i definitely don’t think any residual from tap water or everyone would have issues when they put hands in their tanks. The lfs water could be to blame. I would send in an icp to see what everything looks like. Any major contamination it can tell you.

 

[TikiGreg]

equipment failure? check your heater and pumps.

 

[Joe Tony]

Can we have a picture of the aquarium?

So sorry for your loss! Could the cloudiness and odor be from some type of bacterial bloom? That may have just been a result of what was already happening before it.

Maybe something introduced in the LFS water aside from the phosphates was slowly reproducing and the aggressive water changes gave it some kind of boost that let it grow rapidly and suffocate the tank.

I once added some countertop distiller water for a top off when I didn’t have any RO and within a day my display tank became so cloudy I couldn’t see in. Massive bacterial bloom. Before it got that bad I saw that one of the clownfish looked like it was breathing fast. I searched and read a bloom could consume all the oxygen and suffocate the tank. That would also drop the alk and pH as a result.

I did a partial water change, put a bubbler in the display and a UV light in a sump chamber, and prepared for the worst. It took a week to clear up enough to see in. The livestock survived. The macro algae in the tank did not.

Here’s what it looked like 9 days in:

Could it also be the nature of my water changes? I will confess I don't have an RO/DI or distilled water. Typically I use tap water which I dechlorinated, but have checked it for low nitrates and phosphates, and never had any issues before with a spike like this. Maybe the tap water suddenly got some heavy metals? Or something else? I don't know.

 

[Joe Tony]

Im doubtful that the lfs water did anything.

Im also doubtful that its a contaminant from your person.

What is your water change source and how are you verifying temp and salinity?

Damage control would be removing anything that is alive to a holding tub/bucket/tank with a heater and air stone while you figure this out. Coral can be in a bucket with a heater and a light for a long time without issue.

I don't have a thermometer to test it, but I dipped my finger in and it feels normal. For salinity I use a refractometer. I like to keep it at range of 1.026-1.027

 

[Joe Tony]

equipment failure? check your heater and pumps.

My heater seems to be working just fine. Don't have any pumps. Just a powerhead.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

That's definitely an important factor. Could very well be that the city flushed piping with chlorine/chloramines after a hot summer and to prep for fall/winter. Depending on where you are in proximity to where that is introduced into the piping systems, you could have been hit with that in very high concentrations. That's why RODI is so important in being the first safeguard to protecting sensitive corals/fish/inverts.

 

[reef’r]

One time my tank was looking absolutely pristine. Things were growing great, water was crystal clear, this was a 40g AIO tank and my first reef. At the time I was dosing Kalk through my ATO and had it unplugged the night before, either was filling it or doing a water change on the tank I can’t remember, either way I woke up the next morning and before leaving for work noticed I forgot to plug the ATO back in. So I did and it filled up the small return chamber and tripped off. When I got home the tank was done, fish were still alive however the water was near white, and a thick mulm was covering everything. I have no idea if it was a kalk OD, or some type of bacterial. I shut the tank down and started again

 

[XSidsReef]

There can be all kinds of things in the tap. The water here is very hard, and they use chloramines to clean it, so I’ve been using purchased ocean water. A local store sells distilled water that nearby labs use for calibrating their various equipment, so I was using that for occasional top offs in my 13.5 gallon when out of RO. Home distilled was not so great. I learned that some things can come along with the vapor, including chloramines. Just set up a RO/DI recently and using that now.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Unfortunately it’s difficult to guess what went wrong without testing for possible causes. I’d start with tap water and tank water testing then go from there. Sometimes coincidences happen that make it seem like one thing, but is another. Like an electrical short, bio contamination from livestock, or other unknowns. The best I can offer is to start again using best practices. I hope you figure it out and continue to keep reefing though. It happens to most of us, and you aren’t alone.

 

[Joe Tony]

Unfortunately it’s difficult to guess what went wrong without testing for possible causes. I’d start with tap water and tank water testing then go from there. Sometimes coincidences happen that make it seem like one thing, but is another. Like an electrical short, bio contamination from livestock, or other unknowns. The best I can offer is to start again using best practices. I hope you figure it out and continue to keep reefing though. It happens to most of us, and you aren’t alone.

Based on the other comments I got, I am now starting to think it was the tap water. I live in Colorado and we endured a really long heat wave with air quality advisories. It is entirely possible the city or state dumped way more chlorine in the water than my dechlorinator knew what to do with. I am going to continue reefing, but there may be a setback, as I live in an apartment right now, which complicates the whole RO/DI thing.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Based on the other comments I got, I am now starting to think it was the tap water. I live in Colorado and we endured a really long heat wave with air quality advisories. It is entirely possible the city or state dumped way more chlorine in the water than my dechlorinator knew what to do with. I am going to continue reefing, but there may be a setback, as I live in an apartment right now, which complicates the whole RO/DI thing.

If only chlorine that's no big deal. The dechlor works extremely well on that. Chloramines (Chlorine + Ammonia) could have done it. Dissolved ammonia in high amounts will absolutely do what you experienced.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Could it also be the nature of my water changes? I will confess I don't have an RO/DI or distilled water. Typically I use tap water which I dechlorinated, but have checked it for low nitrates and phosphates, and never had any issues before with a spike like this. Maybe the tap water suddenly got some heavy metals? Or something else? I don't know.

How are you dechlorinating it?

 

[The Farmer]

What type of container did you use for your water change?

 

[Joe Tony]

How are you dechlorinating it?

Seachem prime

 

[Joe Tony]

What type of container did you use for your water change?

Just a bucket, same one I've used for all of my water changes this whole time.

 

[Joe Tony]

If only chlorine that's no big deal. The dechlor works extremely well on that. Chloramines (Chlorine + Ammonia) could have done it. Dissolved ammonia in high amounts will absolutely do what you experienced.

Could the heat wave have somehow triggered high ammonia?

 

[Joe Tony]

If only chlorine that's no big deal. The dechlor works extremely well on that. Chloramines (Chlorine + Ammonia) could have done it. Dissolved ammonia in high amounts will absolutely do what you experience

If only chlorine that's no big deal. The dechlor works extremely well on that. Chloramines (Chlorine + Ammonia) could have done it. Dissolved ammonia in high amounts will absolutely do what you experienced.

I'm still taking it as a lesson to only use RO/DI going forward.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Was the Prime bottle sealed in a way that you know it was not altered? Customers reportedly sometimes buy products, use them, replace with water, and return for a refund.