new sump/everything closed up

[GuitarMan89]

I just started up my sump today. I had all new fresh salt water in my 20 gallon long, about 13 gallons with baffles. I started the pump and my DT became slightly cloudy. All the corals eventually closed up and the fish are kinda lethargic, I tried feeding them and they half heartedly went after it. The three chromis look like they are breathing hard, mouth is opening and closing quickly, but my clown, yellow tail, sixline aren't doing this. I think the tank became cloudy because there was some dust in the pipes that I obviously didn't clean out well enough. I am running carbon in my sump and in a HOB filter, it has cleared up a little bit. I also did about a 3 gallon water change, that was all the RO water I had left, Im making more right now. Here are my parameters

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Ph: 7.9
dkh: 12
nitrates: 0
Ca: 380ppm
salinity: 1.026
Temp: 75

My ph is low, I added some buffer to help raise it up a bit and my dkh is way up from before I added the sump, from about 8. My temp is also down a little, from about 78. Do you think everything is closed because of the rush of new salt water and the resulting in the changes to my parameters as mentioned or could it be from the pvc pipe I used to plumb the return and drain? Everything is still alive, just not happy.

[unclejed]

Hello, what is in the sump? And yes, that is quite an influx of new water and the combination of new salt mix and temp of the new water (plus you said dust? in the tubing) could make for a shock to the inhabitants. Hopefully they won't get stressed to much. The night time should help that.

[GuitarMan89]

The night time should help that.

that's what Im hoping for. They everything just seems stressed out. I was real stupid not to think to mix the water with my DT first. The dust was on the inside of the pipes. It was just pvc dust from cutting the pipe, I cleaned some of the pipe but after it was all together I realized I didn't clean some of the return.

[tigermike74]

Get your pH up to 8.3 over the next few days, increase it slowly. Your livestock is burning with the lower (more acidic) pH levels.
How long did you let the PVC glue dry before running the tank with that plumbing?

[bmshehan]

Doing a couple 10 gal water changes over a few days to fill the sump probably would have been the best bet, but sounds like you already figured that out! That is a big change, but I would think everything will chill out overnight. Also, you probably already know this but I would get your calcium up to around 450 for good coral growth. Let us know what happens gman!

[ZachB]

Strange. And usually PVC glue only needs to set for a very short while before running water is OK. I made sure to flush clean water through all tubing, rinsed everything thoroughly before filling the sump. Mine takes around 10 gallons, and didn't affect anything adversely.

Did you run your pumps in clean water before you started them up connected to your DT? What else do you have in there, any new skimmer? Filter socks? Any other media?

[GuitarMan89]

I do know I need to get the Ca up. I also read that pvc glue can be used almost immediately. Not sure what happened, Im thinking it was just a shock to the system, my stupid error. Everything is still alive, the frogspawn was looking better towards the end of the day. I did not run my pump in clean water, guess I should have done that too. I don't have any filter socks yet. I am running carbon and ferric oxide in the reactor. Will see what things looks like tomorrow. I will add more buffer tomorrow morning to try to get the ph up, and will test that again. thanks for the input.

[bmshehan]

I think you'll be fine, don't lose any sleep over it!

[GuitarMan89]

I think you'll be fine, don't lose any sleep over it!

I hope so, but I am going to take some precautions. I woke up to my trumpet's tissue receding, or falling off. My clam isn't looking too good, the mantle is a little contracted, but now hanging limply in the air, I don't think it's going to make it, it's light reflex is significantly less now. Also, I believe one of my chromis died, I saw him swimming vertically last night and being pushed by the current, I haven't found his body yet. The other fish are all still alive as of now. I am either going to do a 5 gallon water change or setup my 10 gal. tank as a temporary new tank to place what corals and fish I can in there. ( I only have 5 gal. RO water right now, making more, so I could do the water change, or wait much longer and setup the other tank) Any suggestions? I tested the water again this morning, the ph is a little higher, to about 8.0 to 8.2, it's hard to tell. I turned the sump off and will see what happens. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[reef_guru]

Your livestock is burning with the lower (more acidic) pH levels.

that wont happen until the pH is alot lower, vinegar has a pH of 4 and doesnt burn.

mouth is opening and closing quickly

did you check your oxygen level?

I started the pump and my DT became slightly cloudy

which is normal when mixing different waters, no worries.

It was just pvc dust from cutting the pipe

its just plastic, no worries.

I also read that pvc glue can be used almost immediately.

nope, would you pour the primer or glue in your tank straight from the can. if the glue didnt dry, thats your problem.

I turned the sump off and will see what happens.

how is this possible, if i take my sump out the system is down for good.

the damage is done, now its time to recoup. doing a couple water changes to get the chemicals out would really help. and keep your fingers crossed nothing else dies.