Coral dying

[richard_ng]

LS

LFS

IMHO

LS - Lifestock..

LFS - Local Fish Shop

IMHO - In my humble opinion..

if i start with live rock, is 15 kg is enough. i've put probably another 15kg of dead hard corals and rocks into it. will that help?

thanks!

[riot]

Gee thats a damn good question.

See if you put in more live rock, it will add to the nitrate spike. But once the spike is finished, you will end up with more filtration ability. Furtermore, if you add in additional rock later, you will go thru a mini cycle anyway, so why not to it know?

But I think that right now the main worry is to pull through the cycling stage with all your live stock in tank. Do not add more Live rock in until the spike is over, and then slowly slowly add more in. In the meantime, watch your feeding- the more you feed, the more waste will be produced and uneaten debris will be left, leading to greater toxicity. The live rock, if added, will experience some die off (microscopic life on the rock will die during transport, etc) and then will basically lead to more rot in the tank.

This is just my logic, anyone else please correct me if wrong. Help this dude out- at least he tried to ask questions (better late than never) to save his fish lah.

[ryan]

nice one riot...

great advice...

but please tell the poor guy how often to change water...

[richard_ng]

Hi Richard

here are some measures I will recommend you take to save the innocent fish and corals. This is assuming that you do not wish to give them away/ return to fish shop.

1) Buy some test kits- ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Only buy additional stock when your ammonia has peaked and dropped, followed by your nitrite and then nitrate levels. Do not at any time buy more live stock until your nitrate has peaked and dropped. If you dont understand what these terms are, you really must read up. You need to know the basic theory, and when can you can/ cannot put fish in.

2) Watch your anemone VERY carefully. Once you see it going downhill, junk it asap. If it dies in your tank, it will create more havoc.

3) Frequent water changes to hopefully dilute out the high level of toxic material building up in your tank. How frequent? Gee as often as possible lor. How much? 20%? Whoa expensive on salt bro- but what to do? Thats what you must do to keep the fish.

4) Immediately remove any dead fish in your tank (or any dead matter) as quickly as possible. With luck, your clowns and most probably the nuke prrof damsel will survive, and you better treat them better for the suffering you caused these jokers

5) Raise the water flow so to maximize filtration via live rock and get a good skimmer to remove any organic material or debris dissolved in the water.

If this sounds very troublesome to you, then it is only because you did not really question the fish shop owner or done enough research. Info on the cycling process would have saved you a lot of effort, and worry too. Take this time to read some of the messages posted up on SRC, and you will understand more about the basic theory that guides reefkeeping & marine fish husbandry.

The one thing in your favour is the relatively large tank that you have. A 4 footer means that the system should eb more stable, plus you have a relatively small amout of new live rock to create a nitrate spike. With luck, you might pull through with most of your fish intact, although I am not too sure on your corals though.

I dont think the others are condemning you, its just that for many people this is an expensive hobby, and they really take pride over their investment, not to mention it is not morally /ethically responsible to keep living creatures without first understanding their needs first. But hey, I have been down that road, so I understand that in your desire to start a marine setup, you have been caught up in the excitement and really dont know better. Hee hee me too once. But do take this opportunity to learn- you can blame it on ignorance once, but no second chances

Best luck.

Thanks buddy...

i accept comments. i think everyone in this forum wants their reef system to be like Achilles Tang. thanks for all the comments from everyone.

[alanseah]

if i start with live rock, is 15 kg is enough. i've put probably another 15kg of dead hard corals and rocks into it. will that help?

thanks!

bro,

15 kg of LR is not enough.. the more the better my 4ft already got 40kg of LR and I already think it's not enough...

dont bother about dead hard coral it will not help anything for your tank cycling expect for viewing...

lastly you required about 3-4" of sandbed thckness....but best is 6" thick sandbed (DSB)

have them cycle first before u add anything... after cycle and adding of stock then you will face alot of unseen problem.. problem like worm la.. fish mia... temperature la. lighting not enough.. wrong fish you buy when diff group of fish cant live together or they r not reef safe... cal level, kh level, ph level, type of salt u use.. topping up water, feeding of fish..skimming issue..water current not enough etcs...

u see the point why alot tell u to read up more first before starting anything..

like alot point out to you reef keep is not cheap.. so dont go anyhow waste money.. as you need to pay alot to get gd equipment to maintain your tank..

[riot]

I talk so much like I know but actually all humtum one

Dont know leh- as often as posssible lor. But reasonable- once evry 3 days? Question is - will this disrupt the cycling process? See how luck goes lor- I also kerna before, but with freshwater. too many tetras, too small a tank .

anyway, it just to tide over until the live rock die off is over and can start handling some of the waste, then richard can slow down his water changes and maybe add in more live rock. He must get the test kits to gauge whether he is ready to slack off the water changes, or must continue to push on.

Not worth the effort- easier to give the fish away. But see, some people will just keep the fish anyway - cheap what just try try so if no advice is given the fellas will die.

[alanseah]

lastly may i know how thick is your 4ft tank glass be...

dont tell me 6mm or 8mm then u going to face flood problem soon...

for 4ft u need at least 10mm glass thickness..

[ryan]

Gee thats a damn good question.

See if you put in more live rock, it will add to the nitrate spike. But once the spike is finished, you will end up with more filtration ability. Furtermore, if you add in additional rock later, you will go thru a mini cycle anyway, so why not to it know?

But I think that right now the main worry is to pull through the cycling stage with all your live stock in tank. Do not add more Live rock in until the spike is over, and then slowly slowly add more in. In the meantime, watch your feeding- the more you feed, the more waste will be produced and uneaten debris will be left, leading to greater toxicity. The live rock, if added, will experience some die off (microscopic life on the rock will die during transport, etc) and then will basically lead to more rot in the tank.

This is just my logic, anyone else please correct me if wrong. Help this dude out- at least he tried to ask questions (better late than never) to save his fish lah.

bro...

theoretically speaking...

if more live rocks are added... assuming the die offs are negligible...

the beneficial bacteria in the rocks, if sufficient rocks are added, will help break down the NH3 NO2 and some NO3 in the water. making it safer for the live stock in his tank. and also contribute to the cycling process... true?

but of course there will be some die offs. Wondering if the die offs are litttle enough to be neglected...

[alanseah]

bro...

theoretically speaking...

if more live rocks are added... assuming the die offs are negligible...

the beneficial bacteria in the rocks, if sufficient rocks are added, will help break down the NH3 NO2 and some NO3 in the water. making it safer for the live stock in his tank. and also contribute to the cycling process... true?

but of course there will be some die offs. Wondering if the die offs are litttle enough to be neglected...

yes more or less like that but dont forget sandbed also do apart too...

as for adding LR at the later stage when your tank have stock..

well easy.. go get a container put those new LR in it and cycle them.. once they r cycle u can put it into your tank..

that speed up your cycling and reduce stress in your tank..

[richard_ng]

lastly may i know how thick is your 4ft tank glass be...

dont tell me 6mm or 8mm then u going to face flood problem soon...

for 4ft u need at least 10mm glass thickness..

what do u mean by flooding?? and using 10mm will be fine. got to check out later the evening how thick my glass is. thanks again

[Achilles Tang]

Thin glass for marine tanks is a big big risk due to the weight of saltwater, LR and sandbed.

[sjsheng]

i cant imagine if your 4ft tank break...

and your sand and salt water is all over your living room...

clean till you "ki siao"

salt salt salt... sand sand sand...

you sell it all over your place you will cry on the spot man...