Urgent Help

[Janice]

Thanks. I will check out the link.

 

[shamous113]

Seachem prime removes chlorine, chloramine and detoxifies ammonia. for adding bacteria I've used Seachem stability for cycling my tank. Id be cautious adding any large source of ammonia/nitrites it will affect the coral. at this point taking it as slow as possible is the best bet. Are you currently testing for ammonia and nitrite?

 

[Josh]

yeah by no means did i mean toss a bunch of dead shrimp in there, i just meant a small amount can confirm you are cycled and ready for fish again. as @shamous113 said slow and steady.

 

[Kman]

I think since we acted so quickly, the damage was minimal. All the corals are fine, just the fish and a few snails and hermits. I have been doing 5 gal water changes everyday. Should I cut down that to around 2.5 gals like you suggested. Fortunately, I don't think we will be needing to restart...

Even so only so much prolonged change corals can take before they reach their stress point and break. I have seen it many times over the years with doing to many changes for to long to fix an issue and people end up causing one instead. It all starts to add up. Yes the initial reaction helped keep this to minimal damage but the key is shrink down your changes\steps into maintenance mode so to speak. That way anything that may be leftover is removed slowly before it has a chance to build up. In cases like this at this point it is better to remove things in a steady slow state vs a large quick one. It allows things time to adjust. I would cut down to 2.5 gals and adjust as needed. If you need to do a little more or less then adjust.

It is not just the corals that need time to adjust but you will find your food web was probably damaged pretty bad. Check out and remaining snails if you have any and if they die try and remove before they break down and add nutrients to the system. With die off and situations like this you might\more then likely have an algae bloom so keep an eye out for it. With the small water changes throughout the week and the carbon you should be able to cut down on the algae bloom before it takes off. Keep an eye on your algae eaters like pods and snails they are a good judge on how well your system is doing and if it is springing back. If you see a sharp reduction in numbers keep a lookout as this is a early warring sign of an issue. You food web is one of the best indicators if your system is healthy or not. I say give it a month with the extra steps then slowly go back to normal. The key is go slow as the initial emergency is over so don't overreact and do to much so be patient. Just keep giving updates so we can adjust your tank needs as needed.