http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:58:26 +0000 Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:58:21 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.03 360 www.utahreefs.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=55926 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/1by1.gif http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463189&title=the-exploding-tank#463189 Author: Lemonpeel
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 24 2012 at 1:58pm

Thanks guys... actually got the conch cause I heard that they eat cyano. I am going to rebuild in a month or 2 then mm get a thread ging for the new build.]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:58:21 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463189&title=the-exploding-tank#463189 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463185&title=the-exploding-tank#463185 Author: SkylerS
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 24 2012 at 1:32pm

I agree mark, but be a little easy on the poor guy.  I bow to your wisdom, and he should definitely at least have his sg and temps, the VERY basic of even saltwater fish keeping.  But as for the conch, I could see it happening.  Specifically if he had a relatively shallow, old sand bed, and if he had no sifters or sand dwellers like nassarius etc.  There's a conch at the LFS that would require at least a 6 inch DSB, and if that guy went home to like a 2 inch sandbed he'd likely turn all the sand causing a similar scenario IF the tank was old and circumstances similar.  I just can't fathom any other reason that would release all this junk in to his tank and kill everything minus a severely disturbed sandbed, from either the conch or a displaced power head. 

Lemon peel, as fun as it is to go to the LFS and grab something that catches your eye, it's really a good practice to go home and research on what you want to buy.  Making sure that the desired specimen is compatible with your system and that you can meet it's requirement.  I've done this myself, buying something and getting it home and it either dies or cause havoc in my tank because I didn't research it and found that it would be incompatible with my system.  I would hope that you learned a lesson here, don't let it discourage you from rebuilding. 
]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:32:58 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463185&title=the-exploding-tank#463185 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463155&title=the-exploding-tank#463155 Author: Mark Peterson
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 24 2012 at 10:56am

Lemonpeel wrote: I'm not sure on my params.. didn't test them yesterday.

Really?
I would understand if you don't have Alk and Ca test kits. It's not that well known how important those 2 tests are but we don't even have your answer to the question about temperature and salinity.
FYI, these four are the most important parameters to know in reef keeping.
Without that information we could guess all day long about the cause but never really know.
This MB really does know how to get to the root cause and resolve almost every problem, but not without the right information.

To be frank, I have a concern with this tank if the simple actions of a Conch stirred up a sand bed that had enough trouble in it to cause your "explosion". You mentioned that Cyano is a problem too. Frankly, if it smelled like sulfur, I would have immediately removed everything to a safe place and done a 100% water change.
If you want our honest help, we need more information:
At this point, days later, how much and what things have died or disappeared?
Temp, Salinity, Alk and Ca?
How old is the sandbed and what is the filtration for this aquarium?
Can we see a before and after pic?


Edited by Mark Peterson - April 24 2012 at 11:04am]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:56:53 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463155&title=the-exploding-tank#463155 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463055&title=the-exploding-tank#463055 Author: Lemonpeel
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 23 2012 at 4:53pm

I see, that would make sence. guess that's why thought it went anaerobic.]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:53:07 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463055&title=the-exploding-tank#463055 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463054&title=the-exploding-tank#463054 Author: SkylerS
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 23 2012 at 4:43pm

I agree with mark about the sandbed.  If you were siphoning the sandbed and disturbed the sandbed in to to the denitrifying anaerobic layers it would cause problems.  I don't know about the look of a firecracker going off in it, but a disturbed deep sand bed would account for the sulfur smell and the release of toxins in to the water column.  You mentioned you added a conch, was it very large?  I'm wondering if it punched a hole in your sand bed releasing hydrogen sulfide from the anoxic portion of the sand bed.  This is a problem many encounter when moving tanks with old deep sand beds.  If the conch was large, and your sand bed unable to accommodate him, I'd bet that is your answer.  Sorry for your loss.]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:43:22 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463054&title=the-exploding-tank#463054 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463029&title=the-exploding-tank#463029 Author: DLindquist
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 23 2012 at 3:03pm

I still find your conclusion very interesting. Even more interested in how you came up with it?]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:03:38 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463029&title=the-exploding-tank#463029 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463017&title=the-exploding-tank#463017 Author: Lemonpeel
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 23 2012 at 2:23pm

I'm not sure on my params.. didn't test them yesterday. my waterchange was the same as usual.]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:23:52 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463017&title=the-exploding-tank#463017 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463014&title=the-exploding-tank#463014 Author: Mark Peterson
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 23 2012 at 2:13pm

I'm curious about the current water parameters:
Salinity
Temp
Alk
Ca
How old is the tank?
Was the water change different than usual?
Sulfur smell might come from disturbing a lower level of the sand bed. Did that happen?
]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:13:35 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=463014&title=the-exploding-tank#463014 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=462939&title=the-exploding-tank#462939 Author: Lemonpeel
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 22 2012 at 10:52pm

I didn't do anything to the tank besides a water change and added a conch. I did try to siphon out as much Cyano as I could. I also added another pump to add more water flow.]]> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:52:38 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=462939&title=the-exploding-tank#462939 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=462918&title=the-exploding-tank#462918 Author: Davidwillis
Subject: 55926
Posted: April 22 2012 at 7:29pm

Lemonpeel wrote: I was running a tetra submersible heater, I did my water changes, but nothing survived the assault. I've come to the conclusion that my tank went anaerobic last night and everything died off from lack of oxygen, this triggered the bacteria to go back to anaerobic respiration, causing them to release sulfur into the water column.  Are there any science nerds out there to help me with correct terminology would be great.

What is your reasoning for that?  It seems unlikely to me unless you did something really crazy with the tank.
]]> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:29:31 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55926&PID=462918&title=the-exploding-tank#462918