55 Gallons of Eye Candy

Discussion in 'Show Off Your Fish Tanks!' started by civiccars2003, Sep 2, 2010.

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  1. civiccars2003

    civiccars2003 Great Blue Whale

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    First off, this is my first post.
    I recently lost everything in my tank this past weekend. I have a 55 gallon reef tank. I had a Salfin Tang, two Clowns, Lawnmower Blenny for fish. I had a RBTA, Candy Cane, Blue Mushrooms, Hammer, Green Star Polyp, Kenya Tree and a Leather Toadstool for corals. I decided to build a refugium to help control water parameters. The silicone I had used to place my baffles wasnt FDA approved (bought from Home Depot). Within an hour, my tang looked sick. Within four hours all my fish had died. The following day all my corals perished. I was very disappointed.
    I want to start again. This site has helped me out with every aspect of this hobby. I am typing this hoping to receive some encouragement. I am in the process of doing small water changes to get my parameters back to normal. If anyone can provide some words of advice, I would highly appreciate it. Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2014
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  3. ali1

    ali1 Skunk Shrimp

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    How long did you leave the silicone to dry? I find it hard to believe that silicone wiped out everything.
     
  4. FaceOfDeceit

    FaceOfDeceit Hockey Beard

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    There is an "aquarium safe" silicone made by DAP sold at Lowes and HD. I know a lot can leach all sorts of bad things in. Sorry to hear, go back to HD and get the DAP one. It is in an aqua green/black/white tube. Retails for like $4. Get a couple of em...about 1/2 the size of normal silicone.
     
  5. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    There's quite a few silicones (nearly all of them) that contain antifungals, antibacterials, and all sorts of other chemicals. You need to specifically get one that says it's safe for aquarium use.
     
  6. Pickupman66

    Pickupman66 Tassled File Fish

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    +1 on the anti fungal. you can also order silicone from Glass cages and other Tank Manufacturers.
     
  7. civiccars2003

    civiccars2003 Great Blue Whale

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    Let it sit for little over 24 hours. Anyway, it is what it is. The refuge has been redone with aquarium safe silicone, and will be installed this weekend.
    I have found that a huge part of this hobby is patience. I wasnt patient enough and it came back to bite me.
     
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  9. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    Isn't it funny we(I know I do) realize this over and over again, and yet we only get mildly better about it as we progress lol.
     
  10. civiccars2003

    civiccars2003 Great Blue Whale

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    Thats exactly the advice I was looking for, its a live you learn thing.
     
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  11. Golden Rhino

    Golden Rhino Spaghetti Worm

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    I'm sorry for your loss, and wish you the best with your new attempt.

    Not knowing what exactly was in the sealer, I think it's safe to assume you may need to change most, if not all of the water. You'll most likely need to re-cycle the tank, as well. Anything that harms inverts or corals usually also wipes out your biological filter.

    Hope this helps.
     
  12. civiccars2003

    civiccars2003 Great Blue Whale

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    You are correct, everything was wiped out. I will do water changes for the next couple weeks. I will be patient and wait for the tank to cycle. Thanks for the info.