Please help..afraid we'll lose whole tank and am in hospital

KarenLR75 · 01/31/2018, 02:23 PM

Unfortunately, I'm not going to have all of the details to make the best decisions, but if I don't at least try to see if there are quick things to try, my fear is ultimately we'll lose the whole tank.

I had knee surgery 2 weeks ago and my father in law who never spent a day in the hospital, was admitted and to our shock and heartbreak, he just passed away 2 nights ago. My husband, who the tank belongs to, is understandably in shock and grief stricken and his Mom is doing extremely poorly plus we found out she has a fractured hip.

The tank has basically had no maintenance in about 2 weeks and 3 nights ago, he noticed the corals weren't looking good...so he tested and nitrates were very high. He did a 30% water change (112 gallon tank). We had a case of red slime and got rid of our cheato (sp?) which was coated. We never expected all of these personal emergencies at once. There is no time to get chaeto and i'm unsure how long that would work...no time to get live brine.

He is busy helping with arrangements and trying to care for his Mom and juggling things I need during my hospital (trying to get other people to help me whenever we can). He told me today that the mandarin is just sitting on a piece of montipora and does not appear eating (he eats mysis and pods)

Is there anything that is a quick fix, other than more water changes, that can be done to bring nitrates down? He has a nitrate brick but I don't know how well it works to be honest.

He is with his Mom now..I will try to get what the nitrate reading was, but I can't ask too many questions at this incredibly painful time. I realize y'all may be unable to help without more info, but as I'm still in the hospital and am desperate, I thought I would ask...at this point with so many things crashing, I had to ask.

CRJ · 01/31/2018, 02:48 PM

Nitrates aren't the end of a tank. But a lack of food for fish that rely on it is. If the fish die and go unnoticed, that could crash the tank. And while being there for family is important, starving a fish is considered cruel (Sorry).

I would if possible do a 50-70% WC to bring the level down fast and get the feeding schedule in check. I understand it can be a hard time, but 10 minutes a day should be manageable and well worth the time considering the cost and wasted time if the tank crashes. Regular WC's will help if you used to dose regularly.

When I am on vacation, I do a 25% WC before, and the only duties i give the caretaker is food, fresh water top ups and if a temp alarm goes off or a leak happens, call me.

Sorry about the news, but unfortunately the world and our responsibilities don't stop when it feels like our world does. Hope all goes well!

jacksonpt · 01/31/2018, 02:59 PM

Water changes should keep most things at bay. You can probably cut back on feedings a bit in the short term, too.

Do you know anyone locally who might be willing to help out? Any connections with a local reef club or good relationships with an LFS that you might be able to lean on short term?

HBtank · 01/31/2018, 03:45 PM

Large water changes, until things stabilize, and keeping up with proper feeding is where I would focus your limited time.

rocsec1 · 01/31/2018, 08:37 PM

Is there a local reef club? Reefers are always willing to help out another reefer. I bet you,can get some help that way. Where are you?

DesertReefT4r · 01/31/2018, 10:07 PM

Sorry for the lose in the family. It is hard I know, my father passed last year and it can turn your world up side down. Sadly the world around us does not stop. Water changes and feeding the fish to keep thing going. Order some clean chaeto from Algae Barn and get that nutrient export going again.

mcgyvr · 02/01/2018, 05:47 AM

What is "high" nitrates to you?

But water changes are the best/fastest solution..

Don't waste your time at this point in life trying to do anything else now as the results of all other methods are quite slow and it can be weeks before they start doing anything if that..

In the long run you will need to put a plan together to increase your export methods in some manner as a tank should never go from fine to "high" in 2 weeks.. You are either just over exaggerating the problem (as many times high to a newbie is not high) or over feeding or something..

I haven't done a water change in over 6 months on my tank and nitrates are around 5ppm. (just where I like them).. and they stay there..

Sorcha2 · 02/01/2018, 07:54 AM

I would suggest selling the more delicate fish(Mandarin) to a local store or even giving it to another hobbiest and then replacing it when you have more time. Otherwise it's just going to starve to death. Where are you located? You might be able to find someone on here who would be willing to pick it up from your house.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

rvareef · 02/01/2018, 08:07 AM

where are you located?

KarenLR75 · 02/01/2018, 05:23 PM

I'm in Fort Worth, Texas.

We had a fish only saltwater tank for over 5 years a couple of decades ago and had a mandarin that we got to eat live brine, mysis, etc. so this is not our first mandarin nor are we completely all around newbies but yes in some ways, especially with a mixed reef tank, I'm a total newbie and as always, despite 5 successful years with saltwater (started having children and put the hobby on hold), that doesn't mean I know squat in many areas as compared to some folks.

This mandarin was also eating mysis, etc.

The nitrates were at 30 checked with a Hanna checker & Red Sea test kit (I think he did both). To me that is high. After my husband did the 30% water change, the goniopora coral which had totally closed up opened up again. I just recently joined a local chapter group and tried to reach out to some of them but it was too late.

This was a horrible lesson learned. If I had been home, I would have tried to see if a local LFS would have taken him. All we can do now is to learn from what happened to the fish I loved the best.

I understand this shouldn't have happened.. All we can do now is to take steps and build relationships so that we have back ups..and back ups for our back ups to ensure this never happens again and a fish doesn't have to pay for it with his life

MCCOOL · 02/01/2018, 05:39 PM

I'm in the area, pm sent

JohnnyHildo · 02/01/2018, 07:13 PM

if nothing else looks to be working out there are tank maintenance services that have very fair rates and could easily cover a simple water change for you.

KarenLR75 · 02/01/2018, 11:39 PM

Thanks to everyone who offered kindness and/or helpful suggestions. All of those were appreciated....deeply. MCCOOL in particular offered kindness, connections, etc. and did so in a way that indicates he is a nice person ON and OFF these forums. Thank you for that.

BranchingHammer · 02/11/2018, 11:27 AM

Sorry to hear about your mandarin. Hope things pull through for your family.

01/31/2018, 02:23 PM	#1
KarenLR75 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 140	Please help..afraid we'll lose whole tank and am in hospital Unfortunately, I'm not going to have all of the details to make the best decisions, but if I don't at least try to see if there are quick things to try, my fear is ultimately we'll lose the whole tank. I had knee surgery 2 weeks ago and my father in law who never spent a day in the hospital, was admitted and to our shock and heartbreak, he just passed away 2 nights ago. My husband, who the tank belongs to, is understandably in shock and grief stricken and his Mom is doing extremely poorly plus we found out she has a fractured hip. The tank has basically had no maintenance in about 2 weeks and 3 nights ago, he noticed the corals weren't looking good...so he tested and nitrates were very high. He did a 30% water change (112 gallon tank). We had a case of red slime and got rid of our cheato (sp?) which was coated. We never expected all of these personal emergencies at once. There is no time to get chaeto and i'm unsure how long that would work...no time to get live brine. He is busy helping with arrangements and trying to care for his Mom and juggling things I need during my hospital (trying to get other people to help me whenever we can). He told me today that the mandarin is just sitting on a piece of montipora and does not appear eating (he eats mysis and pods) Is there anything that is a quick fix, other than more water changes, that can be done to bring nitrates down? He has a nitrate brick but I don't know how well it works to be honest. He is with his Mom now..I will try to get what the nitrate reading was, but I can't ask too many questions at this incredibly painful time. I realize y'all may be unable to help without more info, but as I'm still in the hospital and am desperate, I thought I would ask...at this point with so many things crashing, I had to ask. Last edited by KarenLR75; 02/01/2018 at 05:28 PM.

01/31/2018, 02:59 PM	#3
jacksonpt Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Vestal, NY Posts: 3,679	Water changes should keep most things at bay. You can probably cut back on feedings a bit in the short term, too. Do you know anyone locally who might be willing to help out? Any connections with a local reef club or good relationships with an LFS that you might be able to lean on short term? __________________ Jackson - All advice I give is based on my first hand experience. YMMV. Current Tank Info: 38g (mostly LPS) with a 20g sump/fuge and all the other standard goodies

01/31/2018, 03:45 PM	#4
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Large water changes, until things stabilize, and keeping up with proper feeding is where I would focus your limited time. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

01/31/2018, 10:07 PM	#6
DesertReefT4r Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Mesa Az Posts: 771	Sorry for the lose in the family. It is hard I know, my father passed last year and it can turn your world up side down. Sadly the world around us does not stop. Water changes and feeding the fish to keep thing going. Order some clean chaeto from Algae Barn and get that nutrient export going again. __________________ Tank history 29g tropical ,55g cichlid tank, 20H softy reef, 29g mixed reef, 20H brackish goby & puffer tank, 55g mixed reef, 6g Nanocube softy lps reef, 40B sps reef, 75g sps reef, 75g sps reef in bu Current Tank Info: 75g sps reef build in the works.

02/01/2018, 05:47 AM	#7
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	What is "high" nitrates to you? But water changes are the best/fastest solution.. Don't waste your time at this point in life trying to do anything else now as the results of all other methods are quite slow and it can be weeks before they start doing anything if that.. In the long run you will need to put a plan together to increase your export methods in some manner as a tank should never go from fine to "high" in 2 weeks.. You are either just over exaggerating the problem (as many times high to a newbie is not high) or over feeding or something.. I haven't done a water change in over 6 months on my tank and nitrates are around 5ppm. (just where I like them).. and they stay there.. __________________ Who me?

01/31/2018, 02:48 PM	#2
CRJ Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 304	Nitrates aren't the end of a tank. But a lack of food for fish that rely on it is. If the fish die and go unnoticed, that could crash the tank. And while being there for family is important, starving a fish is considered cruel (Sorry). I would if possible do a 50-70% WC to bring the level down fast and get the feeding schedule in check. I understand it can be a hard time, but 10 minutes a day should be manageable and well worth the time considering the cost and wasted time if the tank crashes. Regular WC's will help if you used to dose regularly. When I am on vacation, I do a 25% WC before, and the only duties i give the caretaker is food, fresh water top ups and if a temp alarm goes off or a leak happens, call me. Sorry about the news, but unfortunately the world and our responsibilities don't stop when it feels like our world does. Hope all goes well!

01/31/2018, 08:37 PM	#5
rocsec1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Medina oh Posts: 1,782	Is there a local reef club? Reefers are always willing to help out another reefer. I bet you,can get some help that way. Where are you?

02/01/2018, 07:54 AM	#8
Sorcha2 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 69	I would suggest selling the more delicate fish(Mandarin) to a local store or even giving it to another hobbiest and then replacing it when you have more time. Otherwise it's just going to starve to death. Where are you located? You might be able to find someone on here who would be willing to pick it up from your house. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

02/01/2018, 08:07 AM	#9
rvareef In Memoriam Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 664	where are you located?

02/01/2018, 05:23 PM	#10
KarenLR75 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 140	I'm in Fort Worth, Texas. We had a fish only saltwater tank for over 5 years a couple of decades ago and had a mandarin that we got to eat live brine, mysis, etc. so this is not our first mandarin nor are we completely all around newbies but yes in some ways, especially with a mixed reef tank, I'm a total newbie and as always, despite 5 successful years with saltwater (started having children and put the hobby on hold), that doesn't mean I know squat in many areas as compared to some folks. This mandarin was also eating mysis, etc. The nitrates were at 30 checked with a Hanna checker & Red Sea test kit (I think he did both). To me that is high. After my husband did the 30% water change, the goniopora coral which had totally closed up opened up again. I just recently joined a local chapter group and tried to reach out to some of them but it was too late. This was a horrible lesson learned. If I had been home, I would have tried to see if a local LFS would have taken him. All we can do now is to learn from what happened to the fish I loved the best. I understand this shouldn't have happened.. All we can do now is to take steps and build relationships so that we have back ups..and back ups for our back ups to ensure this never happens again and a fish doesn't have to pay for it with his life Last edited by KarenLR75; 02/01/2018 at 05:28 PM.

02/01/2018, 05:39 PM	#11
MCCOOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 1,135	I'm in the area, pm sent __________________ 58g reef

02/01/2018, 07:13 PM	#12
JohnnyHildo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 669	if nothing else looks to be working out there are tank maintenance services that have very fair rates and could easily cover a simple water change for you. __________________ 120G Standard - 40G Sump. Apex - DOS - ATI Current Tank Info: Acros - Zoas - Palys

02/01/2018, 11:39 PM	#13
KarenLR75 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 140	Thanks to everyone who offered kindness and/or helpful suggestions. All of those were appreciated....deeply. MCCOOL in particular offered kindness, connections, etc. and did so in a way that indicates he is a nice person ON and OFF these forums. Thank you for that.

02/11/2018, 11:27 AM	#14
BranchingHammer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 46	Sorry to hear about your mandarin. Hope things pull through for your family.