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Sudden Multiple Deaths! Please Help!

13K views 29 replies 4 participants last post by  Pasfur 
#1 ·
Please help! I am panicking. At around around 6pm my tank was fine, everybody was swimming around happy except for one mexican turbo snail that appeared to have fallen over onto his "back". I moved him next to the rock and went to lay down. At around 8:30pm, my husband woke me up and told me my tank was cloudy and my two firefish gobies were dead, my coral banded shrimp was dead, my pulsing xenia was shriveled up to nothing, and we thought all the snails and the two serpent starfish were dead. We've moved what we can get a hold of at the moment (there's a lot of live rock to work around) and the snails appear to be recovering, as do the starfish. My yellow tang has since succumbed to whatever this is and is barely hanging on in the quarantine tank with the snails and starfish. We're taking out the rock to get the rest of the inhabitants: a kole tang, two ocellaris clownfish, a pajama cardinalfish, and four green chromis. I also have a mushroom leather toadstool that doesn't appear to be affected but the polyps aren't extended. The problems that we think may have contributed are the temperature is close to 84 degrees when it's normally not over 81 or 82. And the protein skimmer wasn't working-my husband found that when he found the cloudy water-he said the impeller wasn't turning but he thinks it was running before the water got cloudy. The water parameters are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, pH may be 8.4 or 8.8-it's so hard to tell the exact number with the cards, copper 0, calcium 380, specific gravity 1.023. The tank is 150 gallons and has been set up for over a year. We do regular water changes. Does anybody have any idea what has happened? Please help.:BIGweepy:
 
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#29 ·
Actually, I just finished doing some tests and I'm not really impressed.
Nitrates-30
Ammonia-0.25
pH-8.0 maybe 8.2
Phosphates-0
Calcium-360
Nitrites-0
Copper-0
SG-1.022
Temp-78.2F
What is causing the drop in pH and how do I bring it up? I read somewhere Arm & Hammer but how much? Can I use Purple Up to boost the calcium? Is a KH test the same thing as alk? I'm sorry for the barrage of questions-if I don't ask when I'm thinking about them I'll forget!
As an aside, yesterday, after only 24 hours, the protein skimmer was half full of greenish-looking gunk which normally doesn't happen in a whole month. I emptied it and today the stuff in it is basically clear-hopefully this is a good thing. Oh, one more question-is it possible that something we didn't know we had died and caused this problem in the first place? I only ask because the ammonia is 0.25 after a 90 gallon water change. On the bright side-the water is crystal clear and the remaining fish (and one snail) seem to be doing really well.
 
#30 ·
I'm curious about the ammonia. Have you ever had a zero reading with this particular test kit?

I don't see a pH problem. 8.0 to 8.2 is not bad. Your calcium and alkalinity are both a little on the low side, so a slight adjustment to both should correct the pH. I would use a 2 part buffer to accomplish this, or Kent Marine Super Buffer DKH and Liquid Calcium. I do not recommend Baking Soda because it is just not as good of a buffer long term as a commercial grade. A good buffer will contain carbonates and bicarbonates, as well as other buffering ions, not just sodium bicarbonate.

I have never used Purple Up, but do not see a reason for you to try it at this time. Lets get the basics fixed first.

I'm happy to hear the skimmer is producing. This is a good thing. Hopefully we are starting to see some nutrient removal and will see this ammonia level settle down soon.
 
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