Speedy And Invisible Killer

[heath]

Is the attachment that you need for your ro/di expensive? I'm thinking that if it is would it be cheaper to buy another ro unit ( used ).. I am sorry for all that you have gone through but, its a good learning lesson for all of us to test our ro water, who would have thought..
I think what sewerat said is well worth a try, if it works you have saved yourself a ton on money..

 

[Kman]

I found that screens unless they are the perfect size not to small or large for the holes I lost most of the substrate through it and it went down the drain. If to fine they just got clogged and didn't work at all if to large i was just putting it down the drain. I have special grade crushed coral and I would lose half of whatever I washed at least.

I found putting less then half full of a bucket and taking my hand and turning it over for a few min, dumping the water out and putting more back in a few times did the trick just fine. Don't be tricked into thinking you can get the water clear because you can't. Freshwater breaks down the sand or crushed coral because the difference of PH and will make the water cloudy. I go by color instead if it is yellow and organic color like detritus then it is not clean.

It is very time consuming to manually wash it but if you want to save cash you can try that. Keep in mind if you have to much sand or crushed coral in the bucket it makes it harder to wash because it compacts. Smaller amounts are easier but will take longer, but you would get a better wash so it is kind of worth it.

 

[jeffopentax]

I think I'll try a bit of proccess A, and a little of proccess B. I have a 50g tank that i can't even give away (i tried!). I'll make a screen to fit the top. I should be able to find the right screen size to let water and crap through but not the sand. Probably be a matter of how many layers of screen to use. If a bunch goes through, it will be in tank, and i can then try rinsing manually. I'll be able to do it outside if it continues to be nice out.


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[heath]

I have faith in you Jeff; I reused my substrate and it is a hellva job washing it but, to me it was worth a try. I have 6 bags and that gets pricey when you have to replace it and still wash the new stuff..good luck..you will have the tank back up and running in no time and then bring your fishes home..

 

[AdInfinitum]

I found that screens unless they are the perfect size not to small or large for the holes I lost most of the substrate through it and it went down the drain. If to fine they just got clogged and didn't work at all if to large i was just putting it down the drain. I have special grade crushed coral and I would lose half of whatever I washed at least.

I found putting less then half full of a bucket and taking my hand and turning it over for a few min, dumping the water out and putting more back in a few times did the trick just fine. Don't be tricked into thinking you can get the water clear because you can't. Freshwater breaks down the sand or crushed coral because the difference of PH and will make the water cloudy. I go by color instead if it is yellow and organic color like detritus then it is not clean.

It is very time consuming to manually wash it but if you want to save cash you can try that. Keep in mind if you have to much sand or crushed coral in the bucket it makes it harder to wash because it compacts. Smaller amounts are easier but will take longer, but you would get a better wash so it is kind of worth it.

Kman has it right! A bit of time consuming elbow grease but that is absolutely the best way to get it done...

 

[curiousphil]

Wow I missed a lot. Why did you decide to empty the tank?? Because of dinos?

 

[jeffopentax]

Wow I missed a lot. Why did you decide to empty the tank?? Because of dinos?

Because it seemed too far gone, and was unable to nail down the exact problem(s). I think my rock was the main problem, and my ro/di unit not running at 100% was another.


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[curiousphil]

Just remember when you start back up, that stability means months and years vs days and weeks. It can take a long time to resolve issues like what you were experiencing. I would say it's not uncommon for people to spend six months to a year getting over something like that, just by being diligent with their maintenance procedures and waiting for the tank to turn around.

Nothing good happens quickly in reefkeeping, and changing many things within days or weeks of each other does not help your tank nor yourself. If this was my tank I would have kept it running, resolved the RO issues so that my water going in was pure, stuck with regular water changes for a few months, and observed the tank to see what happened. Some problems require research and and a bit of ingenuity (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1620464) but by keeping on steadily, changing one thing at a time (remember - over the long term!!! Wait a few weeks between changes) any problem can be overcome. Reef keeping is just a brutal lesson in patience.

Hopefully you find some of that advice useful, and sorry if it's already been said somewhere. I swear I'm not trying to beat a dead horse or add insult to injury! Best of luck.

 

[jeffopentax]

Just remember when you start back up, that stability means months and years vs days and weeks. It can take a long time to resolve issues like what you were experiencing. I would say it's not uncommon for people to spend six months to a year getting over something like that, just by being diligent with their maintenance procedures and waiting for the tank to turn around.

Nothing good happens quickly in reefkeeping, and changing many things within days or weeks of each other does not help your tank nor yourself. If this was my tank I would have kept it running, resolved the RO issues so that my water going in was pure, stuck with regular water changes for a few months, and observed the tank to see what happened. Some problems require research and and a bit of ingenuity (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1620464) but by keeping on steadily, changing one thing at a time (remember - over the long term!!! Wait a few weeks between changes) any problem can be overcome. Reef keeping is just a brutal lesson in patience.

Hopefully you find some of that advice useful, and sorry if it's already been said somewhere. I swear I'm not trying to beat a dead horse or add insult to injury! Best of luck.

Thanks for the advice and i agree. But, you should have seen how f'd my tank was! It was essentially a box of death. I should have taken a picture. Ask reefkeeper how bad it stunk when he was over to take my remaining livestock. I figured it was best to reboot now, instead of fighting a battle I may not have been able to win. Not really fair for the remaining fish to have to live in that mess either. Thankfully, reefkeeper has offered to care for my fish for as long as it takes to get up and running again.


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[heath]

Jeff you didn't comment that the tank had an odor. what did it smell like other than awful..

 

[jeffopentax]

Jeff you didn't comment that the tank had an odor. what did it smell like other than awful..

It stunk only after i had drained it down to about 4-5" to make catching the fish and eel easier. It smelled rotten. Think garbage on a hot day...


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[heath]

ooh, its understandable with the water quality though..thank god that you got the fish out of there when you did..

 

[barebottomcouple]

so sorry to here that Jeff but I agree with your decision to rebuild now...how much time and money do you dump into a dead well?
good luck with reboot

 

[jeffopentax]

Just when I think I have a plan of action, something changes! I've not had a chance to pump out the last few inches of water from my tank yet. Clicked on the lights this morning for the hell if it. What did I see? All kinds of life! Worms and asteria stars everywhere! More pods than I've ever seen in either of my tanks! Seems it would be a waste to take out and clean sand that is so alive. So not sure what my next move should be. Should i take out all the rock (a few large pieces still in there) and fill it back up?


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[heath]

wow, that is a dilemma, you have a couple of choices that I see, save the substrate and take a chance that whatever was in your tank is still there or the other..If you are 100% sure it was just the water quality then you can save it.. that is a tough one. good luck..maybe test the water that is left in the tank and try to correct the issue that way..

 

[barebottomcouple]

Just when I think I have a plan of action, something changes! I've not had a chance to pump out the last few inches of water from my tank yet. Clicked on the lights this morning for the hell if it. What did I see? All kinds of life! Worms and asteria stars everywhere! More pods than I've ever seen in either of my tanks! Seems it would be a waste to take out and clean sand that is so alive. So not sure what my next move should be. Should i take out all the rock (a few large pieces still in there) and fill it back up?


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save it...takes years to get that kind of life in the substrate and if it was poisoned im sure that all that life would be dead...

 

[jeffopentax]

wow, that is a dilemma, you have a couple of choices that I see, save the substrate and take a chance that whatever was in your tank is still there or the other..If you are 100% sure it was just the water quality then you can save it.. that is a tough one. good luck..maybe test the water that is left in the tank and try to correct the issue that way..

My thinking was fill it back up (using lots of prime!), get it running again (no fish or coral of course), and see what happens. None of my old rock is going in til it's been nuked, so will be adding new liverock at some point.


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[heath]

that's a start, with the water being so bad in Brantford I 'm wondering if prime would correct it, maybe use ro water to fill the tank. Remember there are enough ppl here that are willing to help, 15 members each make 10 gal of ro water or how ever much you need to fill the tank and sump..fire it up and watch it.. I have 30 gals sitting here to start you off..

 

[jeffopentax]

Seems to be the problem started shortly after i started using rodi. So i want to use my rodi (it is taking out all phosphates), plus prime. If levels fall in line, then i can presume the rodi unit is the problem. If things are still dickered, then the sand is holding something. Does that make sense? It does in my head!


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[jeffopentax]

It just occured to me... Maybe the plumbing in my house is creating the super high tds. The building i work in was just finished last summer. Going to bring my tds meter tomorrow. I bet it's going to piss me off!


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