Dead dead dead

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Cubzbiggestfan

Member
Well I made the move to a 40 breeder and somewhere along the line I lost almost all my corals. Myparameters weren't bad but all my sps are goners. This is very saddening to me. Hopefully in the next couple weeks or month I can add one beginner sps to the tank and start there.
 
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Cubzbiggestfan

Member
Almost all new sand just a little old sprinkled in.....I think I may have added the livestock too soon

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BlueToothTusk

BlueToothTusk

Banned
If it was simply a transfer from another tank and you did not reuse the old sand there should have been no issues transferring the livestock. The amount of live rock would have been the same and should have kept up with the load.

Did you do any new plumbing or use new equipment in the build? Residue from these types of items can kill sensitive SPS corals very easily.

Sorry for your losses.
 
poidog

poidog

Active member
Sorry for the loss :(

Did you cycle? Sounds like you added too soon. I'm upgrading tanks soon, and I'm going to wait 6-8 weeks before I add anything to the tank.
 
MMreef

MMreef

Active member
You said you used new sand. Usually when you put new sand it causes ALK spike.It is probably what killed your SPS.I always let new sand to sit in saltwater for couple of days in a storage bin,before transferring it to new tank.Never had any problems.
 
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Cubzbiggestfan

Member
Well I guess I will live and learn. To look on the bright side now I get to start over. I will be on the sps market someday hopefully soon
 
BlueToothTusk

BlueToothTusk

Banned
MMreefcrazy said:
You said you used new sand. Usually when you put new sand it causes ALK spike.It is probably what killed your SPS.I always let new sand to sit in saltwater for couple of days in a storage bin,before transferring it to new tank.Never had any problems.
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I have never heard of this issue. How long is it before you observe the Alk spike when adding aragonite sand to salt water? How long is it before you observe the Alk return to normal levels?

I have a new bag of sand sitting around and would love to test and make a timeline on this phenomenon. I'm sure many would benefit. Thank you for the information.
 
Pufferpunk

Pufferpunk

New member
I can't say what did happen with your tank but I transferred all my livestock from a 55g to a 90g, using all the old sand adding about 50lbs more used sand, all in the same day. Lost not a single thing.
 
Scarlett778

Scarlett778

New member
Cubzbiggestfan said:
Well I guess I will live and learn. To look on the bright side now I get to start over. I will be on the sps market someday hopefully soon
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I'm very sorry for your loss! It's always a bummer when ya lose what you've been working so hard for, but Chin Up there Charlie! (willy wonks reference) Ya live and ya learn and I'm sure with what you have learned, your next SPS set up will be da bomb! :)
 
Cubbies

Cubbies

Active member
Yea I think you added live stock too fast. If it was almost all new sand your tank probablly went throug a cycle or mini-cycle. New sand usually does that.
 
BlueToothTusk

BlueToothTusk

Banned
Pufferpunk said:
Why would new sand, with no bacteria in it, cause a cycle?
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Dry sand, mined rock, etc., all of it will still some level of dead organic matter on it's surface that must be processed.

This is the reason that dry sand and mined dry rock will still cause a possible mini cycle when added to an established tank.
 
jcarlilesiu

jcarlilesiu

Active member
The nitrogen cycle is not a marine principle, or even a water principle for that matter. All matter that breaks down goes through the nitrogen cycle either above water or below. The type of bacteria which initiate and perpetrate this process varies, but the concept is the same.. The sand would have to be very fresh to cause mini cycle.

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BlueToothTusk

BlueToothTusk

Banned
jcarlilesiu said:
The nitrogen cycle is not a marine principle, or even a water principle for that matter. All matter that breaks down goes through the nitrogen cycle either above water or below. The type of bacteria which initiate and perpetrate this process varies, but the concept is the same.. The sand would have to be very fresh to cause mini cycle.

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The pathway for the bacteria to arrive at the organic matter is far more fluid (no pun intended) underwater (marine or fresh). Matter that can sit outside of water for weeks, months, even years (or hundreds) will decompose at a much higher rate under the water.

To visually see the concept in action take a piece of lunchmeat ham. Rip this piece of ham in half. Place one half in a cup of water (marine or fresh, your choice). In one-two weeks the piece of meat in the water will be decomposing and the piece of meat that was exposed to the air will have turned hard but will have hardly (if at all) decomposed.
 
jcarlilesiu

jcarlilesiu

Active member
BlueToothTusk said:
The pathway for the bacteria to arrive at the organic matter is far more fluid (no pun intended) underwater (marine or fresh). Matter that can sit outside of water for weeks, months, even years (or hundreds) will decompose at a much higher rate under the water.

To visually see the concept in action take a piece of lunchmeat ham. Rip this piece of ham in half. Place one half in a cup of water (marine or fresh, your choice). In one-two weeks the piece of meat in the water will be decomposing and the piece of meat that was exposed to the air will have turned hard but will have hardly (if at all) decomposed.
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I don't need to do a science experiment to know that the sand commonly used in our hobby doesn't contain enough decomposing matter to cause any effective cycle.
 
scotty

scotty

Member
could though. that's the point, and some of the stuff we can keep in our reefs won't survive even some ammonia in the water.
 
BlueToothTusk

BlueToothTusk

Banned
jcarlilesiu said:
I don't need to do a science experiment to know that the sand commonly used in our hobby doesn't contain enough decomposing matter to cause any effective cycle.
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In that case go buy a 5lb bag of fresh dry sand or go purchase one piece of dry rock and see if you get any diatoms forming on it. My bet is you do.
 
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