Shadow's 16G Disaster. Fumigation Poisoned the Tank and Crashed It.

[FlowerMama]

I know it's freshwater, but those are the priettiest shell colors on your CUC? What are they called? They're so rich red.

[Tamberav]

I know it's freshwater, but those are the priettiest shell colors on your CUC? What are they called? They're so rich red.

 

Freshwater has the BEST snails!! Check out these freshwater nerites. They don't climb out of the tank either and eat algae like a boss. SW nerites need to get a clue!

 

 

[FlowerMama]

oh wow, those are incredible. I've never seen those in freshwater. Maybe because when I was doing freshwater the town I lived in had lfs but snails was never a big thing, all I ever saw were the black and then the all yellow.

[Snow_Phoenix]

On 6/13/2014 at 12:38 AM, Tamberav said:

lol.. I caught my clown yesterday swimming all weird and I thought something was wrong and was about to freak out when..... a buncha bubbles came out her butt.. I guess she had been swallowing air and she couldn't swim down until it "passed".

 

LOL! This post really made my day! Tam, you're so funny.

 

On 6/13/2014 at 7:00 AM, 1stimereefer said:

I know it's freshwater, but those are the priettiest shell colors on your CUC? What are they called? They're so rich red.

 

Blood Red Ramshorn snails and Malayan Thorned Trumpet snails (MTTS). First variety eats algae and decaying plant matter, second variety stirs and aerates the sand.

 

On 6/13/2014 at 7:18 AM, Tamberav said:

Freshwater has the BEST snails!! Check out these freshwater nerites. They don't climb out of the tank either and eat algae like a boss. SW nerites need to get a clue!

 

 

 

Those Nerites are amazing! I so far have a pair of zebra nerites, a tiger dwarf nerite and a red onion nerite. They are excellent algae eaters. Three of them just arrived yesterday by post, and they've already cleaned the algae film on the front of my tank.

 

On 6/13/2014 at 7:40 AM, 1stimereefer said:

oh wow, those are incredible. I've never seen those in freshwater. Maybe because when I was doing freshwater the town I lived in had lfs but snails was never a big thing, all I ever saw were the black and then the all yellow.

 

FW has more interesting snails, IMO. I love collecting them. Here are a few teaser pics of my FW snails (please excuse the algae on the glass):

 

 

 

Blood Red Ramshorn and MTTS.

 

 

 

Tiger Dwarf Nerite.

 

 

 

Red Onion Nerite.

 

 

 

Orange Rabbit Snail from Sulawesi. This cost some $$.

[FlowerMama]

Wow, that last one looks like an elephant in the front. Very awesome. Is he comparable to a saltwater conch?

[Snow_Phoenix]

Wow, that last one looks like an elephant in the front. Very awesome. Is he comparable to a saltwater conch?

 

Yep, and it grows between 3" to 5". Very beautiful and interesting species. I wanted to get a pair, but I could only afford one for the moment. Still, I love it when it siphons through the sandbed.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, I guess it was only time before it happened. The tank is on the way out. In a really, really bad way. Most remaining corals are either dying or dead already - I wager there's some copper residue trapped in my tank somewhere. I'll be housing whatever corals and livestock (fish and inverts) at my LFS tomorrow onwards for the next week or two. I'll be throwing out all my sand, adding fresh sand, soaking the LR pieces (except for that one shelf piece that has my clams on it) in DI and then saltwater, and resetting the tank. The 30G will then function as a mega QT, and I'll pull all the livestock back in once it's finished re-cycling.

 

I'll probably keep it running for another month or two and then set up the 15G - which hopefully by then, I'd have sold of all my corals/have a few scanty pieces left. I'll also be rehoming my Tomato pair, my Daum's Reef Lobster and my Tribal blenny. Everything else stays until the transfer to the 15G is made. It might take a while since I'm super low on cash. And I have medical bills to pay on Monday. I feel so stressed out.

 

Will be shifting all my rocks to several basins tomorrow and let it stew for a few days. I honestly don't know what else to do. I have to scrub the tank down and get rid of the contaminant - somehow. Or better yet, find the source of it.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Okies, I've just decided it's not worth resetting the tank. Instead - I'll swap out my tanks, meaning I'll clean the 30G up and reset it as a freshwater tank, and switch the 12G back to a marine tank. I'm close to giving up entirely. I must be a masochist to go through so much pain over one silly little tank.

[Tamberav]

I wonder where the copper is coming from. Did you test your tap water? I would think the water or maybe a rock is leaching it.

 

I think a 30g freshwater would be beautiful. I love how tetra's school in larger tanks.

[FlowerMama]

Sounds like a good plan. Sorry you've had so much misfortune.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I wonder where the copper is coming from. Did you test your tap water? I would think the water or maybe a rock is leaching it.

 

I think a 30g freshwater would be beautiful. I love how tetra's school in larger tanks.

 

That did occur to me since I've been topping up with tap for the past week. I'll be bringing a sample of the water to the LFS for further analysis. Could be some copper debri got itself lodged in the filter (I use filtered tap for top offs when I run out of DI) or some funny rock leaching it as you said.

 

I'm definitely transferring all my Danios, Platys and tetras to the 30G. The big move will be sometime tomorrow.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Sorry you've had so much misfortune.

 

I hope so, and no worries. Sometimes I think that the reason things go so badly in life is because the world is trying to train us to become a more resilient species as a whole. Of course, I could be getting a tad philosophical over here, but don't mind me.

 

 

Overall, I sat down, thought really hard about it and even slept over it and decided a few key things. Problem #1: I have a huge shelf LR piece that has both my clams and a toadstool leather wedged/melded into it. Due to the dimensions of the 12G, I won't be able to fit this giant rock into that tank, which means I'd either have to sell off the rock piece as a whole (tried poking around for a buyer but no one was keen) or break the rock into a smaller piece. Problem #2: Breaking the rock via hammering and chipping will stress both the coral and clams out to the point of no return.

 

So I decided on a few things - keep the clam-rock, get a tank bigger than the 12G (preferably with a 'longer' dimension) but smaller than the 30G, pull over the lights from the 30G and HOB filter from the 12G planted I currently have, and wa lah! New tank + light fixture + refugium/filter combo.

 

This basically means I'll have to clean out my 30G first, including the sump, rinse out the sand thoroughly or just get some fresh sand, transfer all the FW livestock to the 30G, put all my marine livestock at the LFS, wait until Wednesday when I'm selling off my skimmer + motor pump, get some extra cash to pick up a 15G tank, cycle the tank using my old LR pieces and fresh sand, re-add marine livestock, pull over T5s and HOB filter for the 15G, use my old LED fuge light + Wavepoint LED to supplement the lighting of the FW 30G, clean out the 12G, set up the 12G as a mini turtle paradise for both my terrapins.

 

This whole swapping tanks around will take 3 days, but the cycling will take up to a month. I'll be dosing Prime to lock down ammonia in the FW 30G though. So far my FW livestock are more hardier and resilient.

 

Lot of work cut out for me.

[Tamberav]

Are you sure you want to keep the clams? Idk how much they cost there but I paid a pretty penny for mine. I would think keeping two in a 15g might be challenging. I have no experience with clams in small tanks though.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Are you sure you want to keep the clams? Idk how much they cost there but I paid a pretty penny for mine. I would think keeping two in a 15g might be challenging. I have no experience with clams in small tanks though.

 

Well, I'm about to find out in a week or two. All livestock is currently at my LFS for safekeeping. I've already set up the new 15G tank. My mum suggested I sell off the entire 30G setup and maintain the 12G as a FW planted - I agreed. I've already put up ads for the 30G setup, 12kg of cycled/cured LR, and my cooling fan on local forums and groups. Few biters so far.

 

I miss my fishies though. Can't wait to bring them back home.

[FlowerMama]

Yeah, it's quite a change. So glad you have an lfs that can hold your fish. How helpful that is right now.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Yeah, it's quite a change. So glad you have an lfs that can hold your fish. How helpful that is right now.

 

I know. I hope they're doing okay though. They're currently in an ex-shark tank (which is a good 300G), along with my inverts. I've put the Tomatos, Tribal Blenny and lobster on sale though.

 

Right now I feel so undecided. I want to just sell off the 30G setup, but my friends are talking me into getting a Flowerhorn and a Cuvier Bichir for that tank. So far I've filled it up with FW and am re-cycling the whole setup for a quicker sale. But my decision is waning, somewhat. I feel so fickle-minded. I gather that one/two big fish is far easier to keep compared to schools of pint-sized fish. But I could be wrong.

 

I probably would have to sleep on it all over again.

[FlowerMama]

Definitely think it through- do what's right for you for what you want to do/know can do. You're in a big state of flux right now w/ equipment here n' there, fish here n' there, make sure you're doing what you know you can handle and with which you can be happy. If you make a change and you're not feeling it, you'll lose interest and you don't want to be saying later, darn, I should have kept them or this, etc.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Definitely think it through- do what's right for you for what you want to do/know can do. You're in a big state of flux right now w/ equipment here n' there, fish here n' there, make sure you're doing what you know you can handle and with which you can be happy. If you make a change and you're not feeling it, you'll lose interest and you don't want to be saying later, darn, I should have kept them or this, etc.

 

I agree with you whole heartedly. Even my mum said the same thing. I'm definitely not tackling a bigger salty tank anytime soon though, and I'm firm on that. Which is why I've got a buyer in line for my skimmer, and another one looking to purchase my cooling fan. I'm still letting both the 15G salty and 30G fresh to run on its own - ammonia or not. Figured it's best to keep both tanks empty for a little while. In the meantime, I'm doing loads of reading on random SW and FW fish types.

 

How are your tanks progressing along btw? I haven't swung by yours and Tam's threads these past few days, but I'll do so when I'm a bit more free.

[Tamberav]

It's a pain not to want more and more from this addiction! I told myself no more tanks but then I set up a betta tank lol... and now I'm playing with a 0.5 gallon reef pico.

 

2g vase planted betta thing, it needs trimming already.. plants are overtaking....!

 

[FlowerMama]

It's a pain not to want more and more from this addiction! I told myself no more tanks but then I set up a betta tank lol... and now I'm playing with a 0.5 gallon reef pico.

 

2g vase planted betta thing, it needs trimming already.. plants are overtaking....!

 

 

Goes to show you always have maintenance for even the smallest tanks. If ever feel blah about maintenance then it's not a labor of love anymore, then I know it'll be time to give it up.

 

I agree with you whole heartedly. Even my mum said the same thing. I'm definitely not tackling a bigger salty tank anytime soon though, and I'm firm on that. Which is why I've got a buyer in line for my skimmer, and another one looking to purchase my cooling fan. I'm still letting both the 15G salty and 30G fresh to run on its own - ammonia or not. Figured it's best to keep both tanks empty for a little while. In the meantime, I'm doing loads of reading on random SW and FW fish types.

 

How are your tanks progressing along btw? I haven't swung by yours and Tam's threads these past few days, but I'll do so when I'm a bit more free.

 

Well, have diatoms and some algae in my 60g but Gena had the same algae on her rocks from KPA (which is weird because I didn't have it on my rocks in the 34 and they were also from there) and she said her's went away on it's own. That's what I'm hoping for. I have some snails in there so hoping it'll take care of the algae and I know it looks awful while the diatoms are there. I have fed the nems several times, some still have not sunk their feet down and I don't know what the deal is, as some have been in for over a week so that's bothering me. I'm going to test my parameters and do a 20% water change tomorrow. Can't use the WP-25 on low as it takes the nems out of the water right now since they haven't secured yet. I'm sure that would help my diatom and algae situation. Skimmer is working great.

 

Gertie is doing fine in her mantis tank, it's more clear since I put the little skimmer in there, just emptier since Gertie ate her sister and the yellow damsel. I haven't tried to feed her by hand in a while. I'll try tomorrow. Royal Gramma is doing what she did before, hides some- I make sure she's gotten some food. I'd hide too if I saw the other fish get caught.

 

Evolve 8 has cyano, darn cyano. I know the little clam apparently benefits more from light than phyto in the water though, but I still worry, as everyone seems to worry about their clams all the time because you hear those stories, been good for 1.5 yrs and then woke up today and it was a goner. I have to scrape off some gsp tomorrow that's getting on top of my zoas- midas zoa I think is a goner now. I did though soak my Hydor Koralia in vinegar & water and it took off all the coraline algae- it was mostly pink and barely moving water anymore- now it's back to it's prime. I need to get a fish in there for some nitrates for the clam. Frogspawn is doing great in there but not in my 34- too strong a flow I think. It's always something. I know for sure, I will not do more tanks. If anything, one day I'll sell the freshwater 55 but it'll be as the fish die naturally.

[Snow_Phoenix]

It's a pain not to want more and more from this addiction! I told myself no more tanks but then I set up a betta tank lol... and now I'm playing with a 0.5 gallon reef pico.

 

2g vase planted betta thing, it needs trimming already.. plants are overtaking....!

 

 

Wow, Tam - that small tank actually looks amazing. I love the plants - but I think there's some tannin leaking into the water from the driftwood out back. You can soak the wood in warm water overnight to get the worst of the tannin out before replacing it back in the giant jar/cup/tank/thingy.

 

Love the natural feel around it though!

 

Goes to show you always have maintenance for even the smallest tanks. If ever feel blah about maintenance then it's not a labor of love anymore, then I know it'll be time to give it up.

 

 

Well, have diatoms and some algae in my 60g but Gena had the same algae on her rocks from KPA (which is weird because I didn't have it on my rocks in the 34 and they were also from there) and she said her's went away on it's own. That's what I'm hoping for. I have some snails in there so hoping it'll take care of the algae and I know it looks awful while the diatoms are there. I have fed the nems several times, some still have not sunk their feet down and I don't know what the deal is, as some have been in for over a week so that's bothering me. I'm going to test my parameters and do a 20% water change tomorrow. Can't use the WP-25 on low as it takes the nems out of the water right now since they haven't secured yet. I'm sure that would help my diatom and algae situation. Skimmer is working great.

 

Gertie is doing fine in her mantis tank, it's more clear since I put the little skimmer in there, just emptier since Gertie ate her sister and the yellow damsel. I haven't tried to feed her by hand in a while. I'll try tomorrow. Royal Gramma is doing what she did before, hides some- I make sure she's gotten some food. I'd hide too if I saw the other fish get caught.

 

Evolve 8 has cyano, darn cyano. I know the little clam apparently benefits more from light than phyto in the water though, but I still worry, as everyone seems to worry about their clams all the time because you hear those stories, been good for 1.5 yrs and then woke up today and it was a goner. I have to scrape off some gsp tomorrow that's getting on top of my zoas- midas zoa I think is a goner now. I did though soak my Hydor Koralia in vinegar & water and it took off all the coraline algae- it was mostly pink and barely moving water anymore- now it's back to it's prime. I need to get a fish in there for some nitrates for the clam. Frogspawn is doing great in there but not in my 34- too strong a flow I think. It's always something. I know for sure, I will not do more tanks. If anything, one day I'll sell the freshwater 55 but it'll be as the fish die naturally.

 

Wow, so you're on a busy track yourself. The flower nems will probably need some time adjusting - were they light-acclimated? Sometimes they're a tad finnicky in new tanks, but once they settle down, it should be fine. And I remember reading how Gertie ate Geneva. Sorry for your loss.

 

As for the Cyano, did you try cutting back from wet food? I noticed that I had Cyano popping up once due to incessant feedings of Repashy, which were high in HUFA and lipids - that somehow seemed to feed the Cyano. Once I cut down on those elements, the Cyano itself vanished on its own. You could try reducing the photoperiod as well, but I think reducing wet stuff (frozen cubes) will rid the problem quicker. This is just based on my personal experience though.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Meanwhile, in the 30G, I decided to put my water to the test. Even though I cleared off the tank, filled it in with fresh live sand and locked the whole thing down with prime, a friend talked me into getting a baby kamfa. So here's my baby kamfa, Romeo.

 

He's already been chowing down on ghost shrimp, and so far has been quite mellow for a 2" luohan.

 

 

 

There's also a 2" pleco in there somewhere, but he's in camo mode. If everything works out well, I'll be adding a pair of bichir babies - an albino bichir and an ornate bichir sometime tomorrow. Apparently if you introduce them young and give them plenty of live food, they won't squabble. Will be adding plants, driftwood, rocks, caves, ornaments etc. in the upcoming weeks. Little at a time.

 

Funny thing is that I don't see any ammonia spikes. Yes, I'm locking it with Prime, but even before dosing, I noticed there were no issues. Of course it's a little too early to tell, but hmmm...I wonder if acclimating the bacteria in my biosphere is the prime cause behind it. Either way, I shall observe and see. And do a bit of experimenting.

 

Also, here are some teaser pics of the 15G:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the perks of using cycled/cured live rock from an established tank. You get no cycle at all. Testing capacity of biofilter by adding 1 hermit crab and 30+ Nass snails. Parameters in check with no issue.

 

At this rate, my fishies can come back home sometime next week. I'll be dropping by my LFS tomorrow evening to sell off my skimmer though, and to check on my livestock. Hopefully they'll be fine.

[Tamberav]

Wow, Tam - that small tank actually looks amazing. I love the plants - but I think there's some tannin leaking into the water from the driftwood out back. You can soak the wood in warm water overnight to get the worst of the tannin out before replacing it back in the giant jar/cup/tank/thingy.

 

Love the natural feel around it though!

 

 

Thanks! It is/was a bit brown. That is a piece of lava rock but it is brownish because I overdid it on the liquid fertilizer. Probably why my plants doubled in two weeks.

 

My 10g freshwater has been set up for idk.. 8 years maybe? It STILL has tannins lol... I do a water change every 6 months to get rid of the tannins. That tank is auto pilot otherwise.

 

 

So here's my baby kamfa, Romeo.

 

I don't know anything about freshwater fish, is that a cichlid? Very pretty. I like how everyone names their fish, mine don't have names besides Ivy I am bad at names.

 

 

 

Funny thing is that I don't see any ammonia spikes. Yes, I'm locking it with Prime, but even before dosing, I noticed there were no issues. Of course it's a little too early to tell, but hmmm...I wonder if acclimating the bacteria in my biosphere is the prime cause behind it. Either way, I shall observe and see. And do a bit of experimenting.

 

Freshwater is weird, I set up my 2g and added my betta, 1 nerite, and 3 cherry shrimp all in 1 day. I did use plants from my 10g but otherwise everything was new. I overfed because my betta is a brat and won't eat anything but nutramar ova and live worms. I still saw no cycle and the shrimp are thriving, the female is carrying eggs, so I can't imagine anything being wrong with the perimeters.

[FlowerMama]

Wow, Tam - that small tank actually looks amazing. I love the plants - but I think there's some tannin leaking into the water from the driftwood out back. You can soak the wood in warm water overnight to get the worst of the tannin out before replacing it back in the giant jar/cup/tank/thingy.

 

Love the natural feel around it though!

 

 

Wow, so you're on a busy track yourself. The flower nems will probably need some time adjusting - were they light-acclimated? Sometimes they're a tad finnicky in new tanks, but once they settle down, it should be fine. And I remember reading how Gertie ate Geneva. Sorry for your loss.

 

As for the Cyano, did you try cutting back from wet food? I noticed that I had Cyano popping up once due to incessant feedings of Repashy, which were high in HUFA and lipids - that somehow seemed to feed the Cyano. Once I cut down on those elements, the Cyano itself vanished on its own. You could try reducing the photoperiod as well, but I think reducing wet stuff (frozen cubes) will rid the problem quicker. This is just based on my personal experience though.

 

The clam is the only thing in there aside from a couple of snails since there's no fish, the only thing that went in was some phyto or oyster feast so that's what happened. It went over the edge apparently and now it's hard to stop that from recurring. I'm not feeding the tank otherwise but in an 8 it only takes so little. When I had the tailspot and 6line in there, I never had cyano. I only put it in w/ a dropper in the back chamber. I'm going to get a fish some time soon though for it, i'll order it the same time I get something for my 60 since shipping one fish is not economical w/ shipping.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just a quick update; my current three tanks (excluding the terrapin tank):

 

 

 

30G basic FW tank with a pair of Opaline Gouramis, 1 Albino Senegal Bichir, 1 Ornate Bichir, 1 Jewel Cichlid, 1 Flowerhorn Cichlid (kamfa), 1 common Pleco, 3 Albino Mbuna Cichlids, 3 Yellow Lab Cichlids. Guppy fry and freshwater ghost shrimp are for food only.

 

 

 

15G Saltwater tank featuring minimal corals (less than 10 pieces), 30+ Nass snails, 2 Astrea snails, 1 Blue legged Hermit crab, 2 Brown Legged Hermit crabs, 1 Green Brittle Star, 1 Cleaner Skunk Shrimp, 1 Blood Fire Shrimp, 2 Crocea clams, 1 Spotted Mandarin (tester fish). Will add my Nescafe Clown pair and Occy x Percula pair next week. Unfortunately, my LFS lost my YCG - as in he's missing. I think he was sucked down one of the outflows and since all the pipes in the shark tank link to the entire shop, he could be anywhere. We've spent hours clawing through LR containers, coral display tanks, various aquariums and even rear chambers but to no avail. LFS has sworn to give him back to me if they locate him though. My Saron shrimp has also gone missing as well. My Bicolor Blenny on the other hand didn't make it in the overnight QT tank that I set up for him before bringing him to the shop.

 

12G heavily planted setup with tetras, danios, loaches and platys, Also includes nerites, MTTS, MTS, BR and RR snails.

 

As for the stocking plans of my 15G, I'll concentrating solely on fish. I'll probably get a mated Pictus blenny pair, a Hi-Fin goby/pistol pair as well as another YCG if Cosmo is not found. Yes, that's a lot of fish, but the bioloads on these guys are tiny compared to the clowns and mandarin. Right now, I'm focusing on keeping everything balanced and running.

[FlowerMama]

My sister just had to turn away from saltwater. They're having twins next Tues (I'll be an Auntie for the first time- double!!!) and so they just switched their 190g saltwater to fresh planted- they have a friend across the street or something that's been doing planted for years so they have a great resource. You just gotta do whatya gotta do. I always loved neons and they got a bunch of those. helpful for her she gets a discount for being a manager over Petsmart so she probably just had to order her own fish. I love some of those sites w/ those contest winners in dramatic scapes that look like desert or canyons, rivers, etc, you know the ones. That are probably like impossible to create.