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03/14/2018, 06:16 AM | #1 |
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Reef dead...Nemo survived in 50degree temp. Help.
We recently had a really bad snow storm and lost power, I took my wife and kids out of town, but unfortunately the power stayed off for 5 days. On day 3 I came home, and almost everything in my 16gallon buocube was dead. Corals, fish...except one clownfish I raised from a tiny baby. He survived 3 days in sub 50degree temp with no aeration.
I quickly setup a quarantine tank and brought him to a neighbor with power, and put him and a barely living sea urchin in there. I thought they were both gonners, but finally today, 3 days after setting up the quarantine tank Nemo is eating! A really good sign. What do I have to do to aid in his survival? This guy is a fighter and deserves a chance to live. My main tank now needs like 3-4 weeks to cycle. This quarantine tank is makeshift, never been cycled. Any help would be great. I’m hoping he makes it...what an awsome story!! |
03/14/2018, 06:40 AM | #2 |
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You should get a ammonia alert badge so you can see when the water quality is starting to stray. You could put a rock or two from the DT that crashed to help aid in beneficial bacteria growth providing there isn't a lot of dying coral on them, and if they aren't already out of the tank.
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Fish are not disposable commodities, but a worthwhile investment that can be maintained and enjoyed for many years, providing one is willing to take the time to understand their requirements and needs Current Tank Info: 625g, 220g sump, RD3 230w, Vectra L1 on a closed loop, 3 MP60s, MP40. Several QTs |
03/14/2018, 07:24 AM | #3 |
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Are you sure your main tank needs to cycle again? I bet that it doesn't. Bacteria can survive temperatures well below 50 degrees.
You could check by adding some ammonia, or even some food, and see how fast the tank processes the nitrogen.
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Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers |
03/14/2018, 07:39 AM | #4 |
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Man the power went out and you just flat out left the tank?
I couldn’t have done that.
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Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump |
03/14/2018, 07:46 AM | #5 | |
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Cheers! Mark
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2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater |
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03/14/2018, 08:01 AM | #6 | |
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03/14/2018, 08:04 AM | #7 |
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I have an ammonia badge. Also...what will the sea urchin eat? How do I know if my main tank is cycled again? I figured I had to wait the obligatory 3-4 weeks, do testing etc. a lot of things died in there that I’ll never be able to see or remove. Not just the coral...and fish...but the thousands of little creatures like brittle stars, snails, etc.
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03/14/2018, 08:07 AM | #8 |
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The urchin can eat a sheet of nori.. or algae chips,etc...
You can easily check the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels in the tank just like normal. I too would expect little to no cycle or a very quick one if any.. Just keep monitoring each for a few days and post results here if you are unsure of how to interpret them..
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03/14/2018, 08:08 AM | #9 | |
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03/14/2018, 08:11 AM | #10 | |
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03/14/2018, 08:26 AM | #11 |
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"Cycled" means that the tank has enough bacteria to process ammonia into nitrate. Again, I would bet that your bacteria aren't dead.
Clean out the dead. Do a big water change. Post your numbers here. I would bet your display will be ready much sooner then you think...like almost immediately.
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Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers |
03/14/2018, 08:30 AM | #12 | |
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03/14/2018, 08:39 AM | #13 | |
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03/14/2018, 09:03 AM | #14 | |
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Sounds exactly like something I would do.
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Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump |
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03/14/2018, 09:21 AM | #15 | |
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You can ghost feed your tank now (a pinch or so of food each day) and if after a couple days you start to see a rise in ammonia then you just need to wait.. If not the tank is likely still cycled.. You can also just go get some ammonia and dose the tank up to 1ppm or so.. If after 24 hours its gone.. The tank is good to go..
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03/14/2018, 09:45 AM | #16 | |
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03/14/2018, 11:02 AM | #17 |
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I went through the same thing years ago. No power and tank died at low temps for 5 days. My temps dropped to around 50 and I actually had some star polyps and zoanthids make it through. From what I remember there was no cycle afterwards, maybe a day of higher ammonia.
Considering it’s just a 16 gallon tank I would pump the water out into a tub and put your rock in there. Vacuum the sand bed if necessary to remove any dead stuff you may not even realize was in there. I found two pretty big crabs in mine afterwards that I had no clue were in the tank. Rinse the rock off with saltwater and replace the rock and put fresh saltwater in. The bacteria will have survived and I highly doubt you will get a cycle. Just have enough water ready for a couple of massive water changes just in case because you may still have some die off. As far as the clown, they’re tough fish. I have seen that some people have cycled tanks with them, which I am not recommending nor condone, but they are in the damsel family and people have done it. I have seen a neglected tank with almost a third of its water evaporated with a pair of clowns still swimming and eating and I have no clue how they were surviving in water with the salinity that high, not to mention what the water quality must have been with all the die off from that. If yours started eating then it will likely be ok. What I would worry about is the urchin dying and causing an ammonia spike. Keep that closely monitored and I would expect you will have your clown back in your display in a day or two, then monitor that water quality closely for a week or so. This is all of course what I would do from the beginning. It may be overkill, especially since you have already replaced all of the water, but a dead gorilla crab under a rock can take a while to rot. Better to check it out to me.
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“In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank. |
03/14/2018, 11:07 AM | #18 |
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QT's don't have to cycle to be healthy water. Just change out the filter floss every time it shows a brown stain. Blue-white filter pad is ok and cheap. You might get some Selcon and put a drop on his food. Feed him copepods (dried is ok) and frozen mysis and just watch his salinity. He's a damsel, and they're tough as nails.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
03/14/2018, 11:09 AM | #19 | |
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03/14/2018, 11:18 AM | #20 |
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
03/14/2018, 02:40 PM | #21 | |
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03/14/2018, 03:14 PM | #22 | |
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“In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank. |
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03/14/2018, 04:29 PM | #23 |
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i had a clown disappear and about 2 years later i tore the tank down and he was in the overflow still alive and very pale, strong fish.
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03/14/2018, 05:23 PM | #24 | |
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03/14/2018, 05:35 PM | #25 |
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