Omg I got home most of my fish dead!!!??

[Soren]

And febreeze. Wow am I embarrassed.

Oh no... I feel bad for you. Sorry for your loss!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Did the febreeze get into your tank somehow? Febreeze and those candles are both poison (to you and to the fish) but I would think it would have to really get into the water to cause death

 

[nashvillian]

I doubt it was the candles. We pretty much have a Bed, Bath and Beyond seance going on 8 ft from my tank.
I do remember some kind of crazy reaction happening with Purigen to my uncle back in the 90’s where something similar happened, but I forgot the catalyst

 

[gentlefish]

Sorry to hear. Toxins make it high on the list with sudden death of fish and inverts . I had it with toxic Dino’s.
carbon to absorb toxin
Water change.
If there is suggestion that toxin could be tank born - UV sterilizer
Hang on in there....

 

[Kal93]

I doubt that it was the candles, but if Febreeze was sprayed near your tank, some particles could have drifted into it. I'd look into stray voltage, reduced oxygenation, or corrosive metal

 

[arking_mark]

I own a RSM 130d as well. Great tank!

I've had 2 pumps fail on it over the last 7 years. Do you have powerheads? Is the flow in the tank providing good oxygenation?

 

[CaseyWagner]

It won't be the magic eraser either. They're inert and do their cleaning by microabrasions.

 

[Nhjmc]

Thank u

Oh no... I feel bad for you. Sorry for your

Thanks yeah I had no idea burning one yankee (scented) candle 5-10 feet away and lightly spraying febreeze in one room away would ever kill my fish guess I know now.

Oh no... I feel bad for you. Sorry for your loss!

 

[Jeffcb]

Totally freaking out right now dude got home from work and four of my six fish and all my sexy shrimp dead my nitrites are zero nitrates are low my salinity is on point my temperature is right my PH is fine I don’t know what happened all the corals look great my tank is 14 months old I added a new purigen last night rinsed it real good first what the heck!??? Ughhh I’m devastated.

What did you rinse the purigen with?

 

[Thales]

Which magic eraser? Some are not tank safe

 

[Nhjmc]

I own a RSM 130d as well. Great tank!

I've had 2 pumps fail on it over the last 7 years. Do you have powerheads? Is the flow in the tank providing good oxygenation?

Yes. I’ve done every upgrade to tank possible (on a budget that is) i.e. upgraded Red Sea circulation/return pump (with rfg tip), jebao wavemaker, in tank media basket, tunze 9001 skimmer, one AI Hydra 26 HD, removed hood added net cover, BRS titanium heater with ink bird temp controller. It’s not an apex but have upgraded over 14 months on a budget. Honestly wasn’t looking to even get back into saltwater hobby (20 years ago had a 55 fowlr) but came across a barely used RSM 130D for cheap so said why not (I must of been drunk).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Toxic poisoning which will not show up on test kits. Only safe magic eraser is the original (non-scented).
Parafins from candle fumes will do it.
As suggested- Good water change and I recommend chemiPure Blue as a carbon replacement.

 

[Fernthereefer]

If I have to guess, I would call the yankee candles the culprits here.

1) While the ingredients are undisclosed, a quick search reveals they use essential oils.
2) Essential oils contain methyl salicylate, a potent toxin for small animals notably (cats, dogs) as well as young children.
3) Methyl salicylate when dosed, can be used as an anesthetic for fish.

For the paraffin, I cannot find info, but toluene, a by product of the consumption of paraffin, could be toxic.

Now, a well aerated tank could have been exposed to it and cause death if prolonged.

Just a guess here, as I cannot find other examples in reef tanks.

 

[gmdcdvm]

Which magic eraser? Some are not tank safe

Yes, some magic erasers come impregnated with cleaning products. I bought a box of 8 of various types not knowing this. When I opened the box it had a strong chemical and air freshner odor. Ended up gifting these to my wife to use at home.

Gerry

 

[Nhjmc]

What did you rinse the purigen with?

Tap water. I live in the sticks my tap water tds is a 9. I don’t use the rodi water I have to buy for rinsing and directions on purigen packet say “rinse well with tap water”. It wasn’t that don’t believe anyway. Culprit... Scented candles and febreeze from what I’ve read anyway. Feel like a total butt head but I didn’t know but not gonna lie. Lesson learned. What sucks is I didn’t spray febreeze next to my tank but apparently it was close enough.

 

[Nhjmc]

Yes, some magic erasers come impregnated with cleaning products. I bought a box of 8 of various types not knowing this. When I opened the box it had a strong chemical and air freshner odor. Ended up gifting these to my wife to use at home.

Gerry

Thank you. I’d read the un scented “non chemical” basic magic erasers we’re fine to use. Pretty sure the candles and febreeze with my open top tank did this.

 

[Nhjmc]

Yes. I’ve done every upgrade to tank possible (on a budget that is) i.e. upgraded Red Sea circulation/return pump (with rfg tip), jebao wavemaker, in tank media basket, tunze 9001 skimmer, one AI Hydra 26 HD, removed hood added net cover, BRS titanium heater with ink bird temp controller. It’s not an apex but have upgraded over 14 months on a budget. Honestly wasn’t looking to even get back into saltwater hobby (20 years ago had a 55 fowlr) but came across a barely used RSM 130D for cheap so said why not (I must of been drunk).

Sorry forgot to add and an ato.

 

[Nhjmc]

If I have to guess, I would call the yankee candles the culprits here.

1) While the ingredients are undisclosed, a quick search reveals they use essential oils.
2) Essential oils contain methyl salicylate, a potent toxin for small animals notably (cats, dogs) as well as young children.
3) Methyl salicylate when dosed, can be used as an anesthetic for fish.

For the paraffin, I cannot find info, but toluene, a by product of the consumption of paraffin, could be toxic.

Now, a well aerated tank could have been exposed to it and cause death if prolonged.

Just a guess here, as I cannot find other examples in reef tanks.

Thank you. Appreciate you replying. I feel like a total butthead lesson learned a hard one but never knew and I’ve burned candles and use febreeze many times over the course of the past 14 months. Won’t be anymore though.

 

[Nhjmc]

Toxic poisoning which will not show up on test kits. Only safe magic eraser is the original (non-scented).
Parafins from candle fumes will do it.
As suggested- Good water change and I recommend chemiPure Blue as a carbon replacement.

That’s the kind I used.

 

[Nhjmc]

That’s the kind I used.

I tipped a small piece off the magic eraser and cleaned my glass. Total time in tank five minutes.