Shutting Down

[Christs_Knight]

Hey DD
I would recomend you buy you LR from Perth Aquarium and Display Center. They also have awsome corals. Its in Cannington. Its very specialised in Marine. Or you could go all the way to O'conner and got to Veba's. Both of these are good, Or there is Marine West in Maddington. I wouldnt trust any others.

 

[Ben]

I got my Live Sand, Hydrometre and Marine Salt from PADC
I went to Manta Marine in Malaga to get my LR since its the same price as PADC, i know its cured and is much closer for me(about 1 minute drive from Noranda, and PADC is about 20-30 mins,depending on traffic)

I plan on going back there some time to get my inverts, but Manta has cheaper fish and sells corals as well

Thanks

DD

 

[steelhealr]

When your budget allows, check into investing in a refractometer. Much better and much more fun to use than a hydrometer. Anyway, exciting times....your on your way. SH

 

[Ben]

I know SH, i really wanted one, but it was $120! More then what i got on the day i got the supplies!
Thanks

My tank has just been invaded by worms,small clear/white shrimp/bugs and crabs! They're everywhere! I don't know what to do! Please read my thread in Marine Chit Chat!

But on the other hand, i've found a new coral and a star fish!

... i have mixed emotions....


DD

 

[Christs_Knight]

hey could you give me that address of these places, i have not heard of them, i thought i went to everyone in Perth.

 

[Ben]

Day 11

I come home today to find the tank water cloudy as hell and stinking of rotten egg. Most of the worms and stars arn't moving at all!
I haven't got a test kit yet but will take it to the LFS as soon as possible.
I just topped it off with some FW, and plan on doing a water change tomorow,

Any ideas of what went on?

DD

 

[steelhealr]

Dwarf...sorry to hear what happened. This is the difficulty of having a nano tank. Sounds like something crashed it. Something died in it and nuked the tank (the rotten egg smell). If you can list a complete set of params, that might help. Start doing massive water changes...at least 50% to start. Since your setup is new, I'd pull apart the aquascape and look to see if you can find out what crashed it.

You can see one of the reasons I tell people to wait before adding anything to their tank (besides a cleanup crew). Nano tanks are NOT easy at startup.

As for the refractometer, they sell for 30-40 dollars US on Drs. Foster and Smith (if they ship overseas). I wonder if the s.g. on the tank was inaccurate from the hydrometer and it crept up and nuked it. Get back to us on those params so we can help you. SH

 

[Ben]

Thanks SH.
I'll try and get an acurate reading today, but it might be a while.

Just before i did the top off with Fw, i noticed the SG pretty high(1.025/6) so it prometed me to top it off and it is back at 1.023.

There is a layer of a skin type thing on top of the water(salt creep?) aswell.

I've looked but all i've found are some dead crabs and worms, and a few stars.

Thanks for the help.

DD

 

[steelhealr]

Did you drop your tanks s.g. by .003 points PRIOR to the crash? If you did, that might have done it. You shouldn't change your tanks s.g. by more than .001 in 24 hours. SH

 

[Ben]

i tested it after the crash and then topped it off SH.
i researched and read about it, and would do nothing to harm my tank

DD

 

[steelhealr]

Didn't imply that you did. Nano's are tough in the beginning. You may never find the inciting source that caused the crash. The only thing I can think of is that if you didn't top off during the startup, the rapid rise in s.g. gravity might have crashed the tank.

Just to give anyone an idea about evaporative loss, I usually have to top off my tank with a liter of pure water per day to maintain a s.g. of 1.026. SH

 

[Ben]

Thanks SH.

Your suggestion that i never did top offs at the begining is probably the reason why it crashed. Thanks for clearing it up.

I knew Nano's were gonna be tough, probably the main reason i decided to set one up, i was getting bored with Fw, had a few extra dollars and thought what the hey. You live and learn

I will update when everything is back to normal.
DD

 

[Ben]

Day 13

Well i stripped the tank, emptied it. and filled it up again.

I've mixed in the SW and and have put back in my LR(not before i gave it a little wash in a SW bucket)

So i have a mini check list(which will all be fufilled tomorow)
3/4kg of cured LR
5kg of LS

The everything will be back up and running as it was

So i learnt my lesson and will never make it again.

Thanks to SH,Chac, Nav and anyone else who helped me so far, really apreciate it.

Will update.

DD

 

[@ombomb]

Just to give anyone an idea about evaporative loss, I usually have to top off my tank with a liter of pure water per day to maintain a s.g. of 1.026. SH

Other than an auto top up system or a friendly neighbour, is there anyway to get around this if you go away for a few days?

 

[steelhealr]

Well..if you run your tank at 1.024..letting it slowly drift to 1.026 is probably not going to hurt the tank, unless you really evaporate a lot of water rapidly. If you run it at 1.026 and you know in advance that you are going away, you could SLOWLY decrease your s.g. to compensate for the upward drift. Obviously, getting someone to care for your tank or setting up an ATO is the best option. SH