Parents on Vacay and now tank's messing up

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Justine, Jan 1, 2007.

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  1. Justine

    Justine Plankton

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    No, actually, I don't know how to do a water change. My dad showed me a bottle of some milky like liquid he said was calcium so encourage algae to grow.... should I add some of this to the water and hope it help flushes out the impurities?? I do see in the bottom of the tank ther's a water test kit. I guess I could test the water and take my results to the fish store people. Were self employed with our own construction business, so I can make my own hours. I guess I'll do the water test and take it to his friend Joe at the fish store and see if he can't tell me wether the levels are high or what....

    Thanks for the idea!
     
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  3. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    I wouldn't do anything too drastic other than remove the fish and post some pics of the setup so we can help more. Without knowing what you are doing, you can create more problems. For instance, the calcium liquid could possibly spike your pH if you add too much. When does your Dad get back?
     
  4. Justine

    Justine Plankton

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    He's not due back until some time on Thurs. or Fri. I'll see what I can do tomorrow by getting the water tested. Just keep your fingers crossed that no more fish die.
     
  5. djnzlab1

    djnzlab1 Aiptasia Anemone

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    Wow you did your best

    HI,
    You did your best, any dead animals should be removed, try and not feed as much incase the biological filter is sick from the lack of water movement, many things can go wrong without water movement.
    can your brother check ph spec grav, water level is critical for proper pump siphon.
    Another problem is replacing any water that evaps, it should be done with R/O water to a level pre-marked on the sump this prevent and problems with changes to spev grav and pump failure.
    I think maybe next time dad should take you thru common problems and daily maint tricks, or give you a cell phone number.
    Doug
     
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  6. Justine

    Justine Plankton

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    Well, it's midnight, and I just got done my second job and went and checked on things again. So far, so good! Thanks God~;D

    Everything still looked pretty good. One question I do have though...how do you know if the "live rock" is in fact alive... is there a way to tell wether or not there was any damage done to it? The two fish that died were the two fish in the tank for the shortest amount time. I'll go back and double check on things in the morning before work, i'm just wondering if theirs anyway to tell if the live rock was affected in any way. All the star fish and anomes are still alive and everything look crystal clear... hopefully it was just those two fish and I obviously got them out of the tank quick enough.

    I don't want to do anything to drastic just yet... I don't even know how to check the water. I know there's a case witha bunch of bottles of liquid and what not, and I'm sure it's not much different than checking the water in your pool. Dad's due back on thursday night I beleive.... I'm sure all will be fine until then.
     
  7. Birchell

    Birchell Gigas Clam

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    if you know were a fish store is ( petsmart, petco tooo ), you can take them a cup of water and they will test it for free. they can tell you what to do if the water is bad. is there anyway you can call you dad, just in the off chance he has water already made for the tank. keep us updated,

    Michael
     
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  9. Otty

    Otty Giant Squid

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    So how is the tank doing to day Justine? No more causalities I hope. :-/
     
  10. Justine

    Justine Plankton

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    Hey Otty,

    Thanks for asking! Things are much better!! No more casualties... Thanks God!!! All the fish are fine, are the coral's fine and all the anonmes are alive. The water tested fine and clear and they're all eating their little brine shrimp.

    Thank you all so much for you concern and tips and pointers!
     
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  11. coral reefer

    coral reefer Giant Squid

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    Good job JUSTINE...nice to have a crsh course on reef tanks huh????!!!I would give you an A for this course!
    Really, when ever something like this happens again...the main thing is not to panic and stress out. A test of the water will go a long way in determining the problem with your tank-even if you don't know how to do it you can always bring a water sample to your local pet shop and they will be glad to help you out.
    Next thing to do, as you did, was to ask questions!!!
    So, tell me something, now that you have gotten your feet wet, no pun intended, do you think you will get involved more with your father's tank, or even possibly start your own little piece of the ocean?
    Hopefully you will atleast stay in the loop here at 3reef and add posts and threads regularly!
    Again...great job in avoiding what could have become a disaster!
    TOM
     
  12. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    Indeed! Good job Justine. Glad to hear it's ok! :thumb_up: