A hard lesson to learn - 1st timers should read

Thanks guys. This has definitely been the best (or worst) lesson so far.

BTW the Turbo Snail is still hanging on (no pun intended) in the bin of excess water I removed yesterday before adding the rock. Maybe he will pull through and be a surviver.

 

Sorry for your loss, chalk it up to a learing experince. One thing no one has mentioned yet. You rinsed your live rock off. If you rinsed it with tank water then good, if you rinsed it under the faucet you most likely killed all the bacteria and other life on/in the rock which would cause a large die off and spike in ammonia, etc, etc. Just something to be aware of in the future and for other beginners.

TJ

 

It was actually FORMERLY live rock that was bought from someone else. It was dried out and in a large bin. There was even dried up coral glued to some pieces yet. It had lots of dried salt and other junk on it that needed removed before I could add it. If it was actual LIVE rock, it makes sense to rinse it with tank water.

Appreciate the tip.

 

Kinda cold but now is a good time to rethink your stocking plans if you want to make any changes.

Also on the filter subject if your power ever goes out, you must open the top of your canister to prevent die off and toxification.

good luck everyone loses some fish at first

 

To be honest I never really went into this with a plan on livestock I wanted in my tank. I have been giving it more thought lately, and will go into more details later this week on the thread I created for my tank setup...

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/stauchistorys-55g-budget-build-94657.html

I never realized that. Is there a time period that goes by before die-off starts? (I really need a skimmer). Is there some time of battery back-up system that can be used for filters? Just curious...

 

probably a few hours, I wouldn't even use a closed canister filter before washing it out thats been sitting over 24 hours, if it smells of sulfur wash it extra carefully.

Yes there are battery units for sale, I think some people use one for computers.