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URGENT: Crashed Tanks- What next? How to clean them up safely?


JoeR

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As I’m sure we all know, Florence hit the Carolinas this weekend. Although the damage isn’t as bad as it could have been, the power outage still took a toll on both my reefs. The power is still not on in my apartment, my building has a blown transformer I was told. 

 

My roomate just got back to our place and sent me pics of the tanks and said everything looks to be toast. He said it smells kind if bad- im guessing this is mostly the shellfish- aka clean up crew and clams. And that it’s black. I told him just to put plastic wrap on the tank just to keep the smell at bay for the time being.

 

My question is WHAT DO I ASK HIM TO DO WITH THEM? I have no idea how to handle them safely and appropriately. If the power was back on, I would ask him to do a WC but I don’t think there’s a point. I’m very worried some of the inhabitants may be toxic and I REALLY don’t want to put him at risk. What do I do? How do I safely take care of this situation? I feel really bad that he has to take care of them.

 

 

Thanks so much in advance for any help or experience

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Tank looks green to me. Algae blooms smell if water is standing still and it looks like you have lots of zoanthids still alive? 

 

Look into local laws. I know in nyc, there is a huge fine for apartment owners that do not have generators.  I Think after sandy they were getting 10,000 per day from them until they turned them on.  I have no idea if you live un a major city or if you have anything like that, but it's worth looking into.  

 

If it is indeed dead, which I dont think so.  The tank looks small. You can tell him to empty some water out and just carry the tank to the backyard to get the smell out of the house. 

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Fwiw, I once for a little experiment grew zoanthids in a bowl of stagnant water, about a half a cups worth of water with saran wrap over it and just a small gap to keep air exchange.  Iirc, they stayed alive until I got tired of it a few months in.

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Don’t know what kind of Zoas you had in your tank but, to avoid palytoxin (PTX) poisoning, use gloves. Something to cover your eyes and mouth is also advisable. 

Just to be sure. 

Unless, you really, really hate your roommate. 

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It's hard to tell but looks like the zoas may still be alive.  Is there a way to aerate them, like a battery powered pump?  The tanks will probably crash without circulation but it doesn't mean everything is a total loss.  Even a good stir or turkey baster to aerate could help.  What to do really depends on if everything is dead or not.  If there's a way to safely do a water change, that might be a good first start before you can re-evaluate.  How long will it be before you can get down there?

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Thanks for everybody’s help! 

 

@Lula_Mae I have a battery powered air pump BUT I do have plenty of zoas and one nuclear green paly that I’m worried about palytoxin. I don’t want to get it in the air- if that’s even a possible issue?

 

@A Little Blue I don’t have any gloves that would fully protect from the water, so I would have to ask him to get some. What are the chances it will be toxic to breathe?

 

@patback I don’t live in a huge city like NYC but I live in Wilmington, it’s a fairly large city. I don’t think the zoas look dead either but I’m sure my clam and snails as well as some sps  are dead. I want to get clean water in it and the air pump on but I’m really worried about the potential toxicity.

 

thanks again people

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Just now, JoeR said:

Thanks for everybody’s help! 

 

@Lula_Mae I have a battery powered air pump BUT I do have plenty of zoas and one nuclear green paly that I’m worried about palytoxin. I don’t want to get it in the air- if that’s even a possible issue?

 

@A Little Blue I don’t have any gloves that would fully protect from the water, so I would have to ask him to get some. What are the chances it will be toxic to breathe?

 

@patback I don’t live in a huge city like NYC but I live in Wilmington, it’s a fairly large city. I don’t think the zoas look dead either but I’m sure my clam and snails as well as some sps  are dead. I want to get clean water in it and the air pump on but I’m really worried about the potential toxicity.

 

thanks again people

I'm not sure how much issue palytoxin would be from live zoas, although I am sure they are stressed.  I wonder, if you have spare buckets, could he mix up some fresh saltwater and drain some water out of the tank, inspect for anything that looks alive, and put in a bucket of saltwater with aeration for now?  If you have Lugol's and could do a Lugol's dip that may help with the stressed corals.  And once anything looking alive is out of the tank, drain it and maybe stick the rocks in some fresh saltwater to keep them wet.  I'd probably dump the sand.  I dunno, I am just spitballing here.

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Just now, Lula_Mae said:

I'm not sure how much issue palytoxin would be from live zoas, although I am sure they are stressed.  I wonder, if you have spare buckets, could he mix up some fresh saltwater and drain some water out of the tank, inspect for anything that looks alive, and put in a bucket of saltwater with aeration for now?  If you have Lugol's and could do a Lugol's dip that may help with the stressed corals.  And once anything looking alive is out of the tank, drain it and maybe stick the rocks in some fresh saltwater to keep them wet.  I'd probably dump the sand.  I dunno, I am just spitballing here.

I appreciate it, even if you’re just ‘spitballing’! I have 5 gallons of fresh saltwater there. I can ask him to change the water as long as it’s safe to do so

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3 minutes ago, JoeR said:

I appreciate it, even if you’re just ‘spitballing’! I have 5 gallons of fresh saltwater there. I can ask him to change the water as long as it’s safe to do so

If you don't have long gloves I'd probably have him take it slow and start by scooping out as much water as he can and dumping it (wearing whatever gloves you have).  Not saying he'll get hurt if he doesn't have them but it's a good idea to wear gloves.  My main thought would be to get what's alive out of the tank if possible and keep it alive elsewhere till the tank gets cleaned out.

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5 minutes ago, JoeR said:

I appreciate it, even if you’re just ‘spitballing’! I have 5 gallons of fresh saltwater there. I can ask him to change the water as long as it’s safe to do so

I wouldn't even bother changing it.  I would pull anything alive out and put it right into the bucket of fresh water.  Tell him to shake it up real good first to get some oxygen in there if it has been sealed.  

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I would handle rock with palythoas very carefully. If water is drained halfway, it might be possible to use trash bag as a giant “glove” to handle it. Palytoxin can be airborne but I am far from an expert. Just don’t want anyone to get hurt. 

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12 minutes ago, JoeR said:

Thanks for everybody’s help! 

 

@Lula_Mae I have a battery powered air pump BUT I do have plenty of zoas and one nuclear green paly that I’m worried about palytoxin. I don’t want to get it in the air- if that’s even a possible issue?

 

@A Little Blue I don’t have any gloves that would fully protect from the water, so I would have to ask him to get some. What are the chances it will be toxic to breathe?

 

@patback I don’t live in a huge city like NYC but I live in Wilmington, it’s a fairly large city. I don’t think the zoas look dead either but I’m sure my clam and snails as well as some sps  are dead. I want to get clean water in it and the air pump on but I’m really worried about the potential toxicity.

 

thanks again people

Palytoxin is actually pretty rare in zoanthids.  It is also only in the air if it is forced in the air by something along the lines of boiling.  

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Dont get me wrong, I treat every coral with respect it deserves due to all different t possibilities of what it could do to me, my family or my other pets, but I highly doubt anything bad will happen.  Just use common sense, wear gloves, dont eat it, dont hold it near your face, and wash well afterwards. 

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2 minutes ago, patback said:

Palytoxin is actually pretty rare in zoanthids.  It is also only in the air if it is forced in the air by something along the lines of boiling.  

Lol No boiling required to get toxins airborne. But hey, what do I know. 

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1 minute ago, JoeR said:

All good ideas. I don’t know if he would be able to distinguish between coral that’s alive vs dead though?

What's in the tank?  If it's mostly softies and Lps....tell him if it sloughs off when he touches it or moves water near it, leave it alone.  If it is still a solid mass, transfer it.  Even  if he saves just a few corals, it's a few more saved than there will be from just leaving it stagnant. 

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1 minute ago, A Little Blue said:

Lol No boiling required to get toxins airborne. But hey, what do I know. 

What causes palytoxin to go airborne then?  Only cases I have ever heard of that happening has been due to human ignorance.  

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3 minutes ago, JoeR said:

All good ideas. I don’t know if he would be able to distinguish between coral that’s alive vs dead though?

Hopefully you can remember which rock it was on.... Just handle it with care. If not sure, handle everything with caution. Yes, palytoxin poisoning is rare but I personally heard of more than few that put ppl in hospital. Some by handling, some due to crush, some by trying bleaching or curing rock. 

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3 minutes ago, patback said:

What's in the tank?  If it's mostly softies and Lps....tell him if it sloughs off when he touches it or moves water near it, leave it alone.  If it is still a solid mass, transfer it.  Even  if he saves just a few corals, it's a few more saved than there will be from just leaving it stagnant. 

mostly zoas, a monti and acro, crocea clam and mystery bivalve, one gorgonian, a fiji cup, an acan or two, one lepto, etc. it’s mostly zoas though. 

Just now, A Little Blue said:

Hopefully you can remember which rock it was on.... Just handle it with care. If not sure, handle everything with caution. Yes, palytoxin poisoning is rare but I personally heard of more than few that put ppl in hospital. Some by handling, some due to crush, some by trying bleaching or curing rock. 

It was on a frag plug on a drag rack 

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1 minute ago, patback said:

What causes palytoxin to go airborne then?  Only cases I have ever heard of that happening has been due to human ignorance.  

Ignorance or lock of information.  

It will get airborne if toxins are exposed to air (just that easily). Usually during mishandling or stress. I think tank crush would qualify as a possible trigger for stress. I am not arguing, just trying to make sure no one gets hurt. 

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I have full faith that the zoas will be okay if given some fresher water and some sort of water movement. Depending on species, the gorgonian also.   I lost a few things after sandy and it sucks. 

Especially in your case that it looks like you had some good growth. 

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4 minutes ago, JoeR said:

mostly zoas, a monti and acro, crocea clam and mystery bivalve, one gorgonian, a fiji cup, an acan or two, one lepto, etc. it’s mostly zoas though. 

It was on a frag plug on a drag rack 

Should be easy to locate it than. 

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