groovok

My buddy's got a 55 gallon Reef tank with a 29 gallon sump. Last night at
2am when he went to bed, everything was fine. Tank was Crystal Clear. This
morning 6 hours later, his tank was completely white, u couldnt' even see
inside the tank AT ALL.
All his fish, except two Perppermint Shrimp are dead. Everything died, 6
Blue Chromis, Maroon Clown, Purple Tang, Harlequin Shrimp, Emrald Crabs,
Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp, Electric Scallop. Everything!!!
The Corals seem to be opening up now alittle but what the hell do u think
happened??
Like I said, last night, Everything seemed to be fine, six hours later
Disaster.
He just started working at a LFS a couple months ago, and he "had" to goto
work this morning. I am going to take him up a water sample asap so I dont'
have any reading at this time.
Any Ideas, help, Suggestions. And Since EVerything died, I assume getting
the Coral Outta there asap would also be Vital.

therock

White Cloudy Water:
White cloudiness is usually the result of a bacteria bloom. Keep a careful
check on ammonia levels, if the bacteria is a result on bacteria die off,
you may experience increased ammonia levels and your tank maybe recycling.
Bacteria also consume oxygen, so just as with an algae bloom, you want to
increase circulation while treating the tank.

Causes:
Medical treatment of your aquarium that has destroyed the bacteria colonies.
(Not all medicines will destroy the bacteria but some will).
As in algae, high nutrient levels can also trigger a bacteria bloom (In this
case, they are feeding on the excess nutrients)
Sometimes the cleaning of all filters at once, or the changing of the gravel
can trigger a bacteria bloom, due to the removal of bacterial colonies that
had settled on the filter media or substrate.
Solutions
As with algae, you need to control the nutrient level of the tank. Once you
control this, the bacteria bloom will usually go away on it's own.
If your tank is recycling and filled with expensive fish, you may want to
consider the use of zeolites to absorb the ammonia while your tank finishes
the cycle. This will extend the time that the tank needs to complete the
cycle though.

Another possible reason is that a powerhead has moved, and is blowing
sand into the water column. It happens, and you only need a few
minutes to create a "sandstorm".

Regards, Fishnut.

reefer

It sounds like a "snowstorm".

Google for it or check this out: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm

-Brad

groovok

Well, it's been a couple days now, the Only Survivors were the Harlequin
Shrimp, and a Peppermint Shrimp.
All the Coral Made it too (thank god)
So, I dont' know, we've asked around with alot of the regulars who come into
the LFS, and big surprise, None of them had a clue as to what really
happened. And why almost the entire lot of fish were wiped out in six hours.
Even the owner didn't really have a clue as to what could of happened.
No Meds, or anything were put into the tank recently , nothing had been
added.
When we did the water Test, everything came back fine, even the Calcium.
So, it's a mystery as to why the tank was fine and six hours later it turned
completely white.. and wiped out a ton of fish.
Strange.........

tw

of solution. My water was out of ionic balance. I can't quite remember
all of the details but I do remember that it was very difficult to get
things back in balance. You have do a major water change. Then in a
day or so do another one. Keep doing water changes and looking at your
water perameters. If you keep looking at your levels and making
adjustments you will get things under control. I'm sorry I can't recall
all the details of the event but I remember that it was difficult and
took a period of time to recover. Water changes helped. It was wild
when it happened I remember standing there watching it. The tank just
went white. I was fortunate in that I started mixing fresh SW
immediately and within an hour I was changing water. By next morning my
tank did not look happy but most corals survived. Keep with it. Watch
your Ca level Keep changing your water for a while. It should return to
normal. Someone can correct me but I think what happened was your Ca
precipitated out of solution.

Hope this sheds some light.
Cheers Todd

boomer

I agree with Rock, bacterial explosion and ammonia killing things


"consider the use of zeolites to absorb the ammonia "

Almost useless in seawater, there are to many other ions that will bring about ionic
exchange in the Clinoptilolite zeolite mineral. You better off with something like Amquel
--
Boomer

If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up

Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS

Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php

Want to See More ! The Coral Realm
http://www.coralrealm.com

: White cloudiness is usually the result of a bacteria bloom. Keep a careful
: check on ammonia levels, if the bacteria is a result on bacteria die off,
: you may experience increased ammonia levels and your tank maybe recycling.
: Bacteria also consume oxygen, so just as with an algae bloom, you want to
: increase circulation while treating the tank.
:
: Causes:
: Medical treatment of your aquarium that has destroyed the bacteria colonies.
: (Not all medicines will destroy the bacteria but some will).
: As in algae, high nutrient levels can also trigger a bacteria bloom (In this
: case, they are feeding on the excess nutrients)
: Sometimes the cleaning of all filters at once, or the changing of the gravel
: can trigger a bacteria bloom, due to the removal of bacterial colonies that
: had settled on the filter media or substrate.
: Solutions
: As with algae, you need to control the nutrient level of the tank. Once you
: control this, the bacteria bloom will usually go away on it's own.
: If your tank is recycling and filled with expensive fish, you may want to
: consider the use of zeolites to absorb the ammonia while your tank finishes
: the cycle. This will extend the time that the tank needs to complete the
: cycle though. : : :
: "Groovok" <groovok@verizon.net> wrote in message : news:R2zWf.16615$ES3.10394@trnddc02...
: > My buddy's got a 55 gallon Reef tank with a 29 gallon sump. Last night at
: > 2am when he went to bed, everything was fine. Tank was Crystal Clear. This
: > morning 6 hours later, his tank was completely white, u couldnt' even see
: > inside the tank AT ALL.
: > All his fish, except two Perppermint Shrimp are dead. Everything died, 6
: > Blue Chromis, Maroon Clown, Purple Tang, Harlequin Shrimp, Emrald Crabs,
: > Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp, Electric Scallop. Everything!!!
: > The Corals seem to be opening up now alittle but what the hell do u think
: > happened??
: > Like I said, last night, Everything seemed to be fine, six hours later
: > Disaster.
: > He just started working at a LFS a couple months ago, and he "had" to goto
: > work this morning. I am going to take him up a water sample asap so I
: > dont' have any reading at this time.
: > Any Ideas, help, Suggestions. And Since EVerything died, I assume getting
: > the Coral Outta there asap would also be Vital.
: >
:
:

tw

Was he dosing anything before this happened? could he have overdosed
something that day? Check you PH and your Ca level. Both could be out
of line after this event.

Todd

groovok

Both Calcium and PH were fine, he says he wasnt' putting anything into the
tank...