Possible tank crash due to ramen fire

[vetteguy53081]

I do a monthly 60 gallon water change. I’ll consider the two gallons a day as that comes to about the same

It sounds like a pain but goes quick and seems shorter as you do it routinely. For me, restores traces and keeps phos in check. I only and aminos and all for reef occasionally

 

[Reef_Alien_Junkie]

Hello,
I have a 450 gallon system and it appears to be in the midst of a crash. I dosed the normal things I do everyday, 15 mls 99.5% ethyl alcohol and 20 mls distilled white vinegar for carbon dosing, 44ml all for reef, and 33ml chaeto gro for my fuge.
Everything was fine in the tank before I left at around two, and got back at around 6 and everything looked almost dead


Things differing today:
I added 20 mls of ph+ since alk was slightly low (I’ve been shooting for 10) and I could get away with it
I just put a bubble coral in yesterday using coral epoxy and aquarium directed super glue
I messed with the lights yesterday but put them back to the original settings at night
One of my power heads went out and I don’t know why. The elegance sometimes is bothered by the ethyl alcohol but I normally put the powerhead on to wash it off it’s tissue but it only affects the elegance

And my suspected culprit: my brother caught a package of ramen on fire in the microwave because he forgot to put water in it


Causes for concern: elegance, bubble, mushrooms, hammer, and a Montipora denai are all shriveled or closed.

Last sundays levels tested at the LFS measured as follows:
Nitrate- 15
Nitrite- 0
Ammonia- 0
Alk: 168/ 9.4
Calcium- 461
Ph-8.1
Magnesium: 1153
Phosphates: 0.6 (theyve been elevated for about a month but have been going down and nothings been affected)

Todays phosphate and nitrate with a cheap api kit;
Nitrate: 5-10
Phosphate: 0.25-0.5

Levels from apex:
Ph:8.02
Orp: 316
Temp: 78.4

You tested your phosphates at 0.6? If so I find that extremely high
I keep my phosphates generally between 0.07-0.1
And nitrates 15-20

That ratio of .6 phosphates and nitrates at 15 or probably not good
I’ve heard of people running high phosphates but nitrates would also be significantly higher

Your Magnesium also seems low to me
Generally I see most people keep 1350 or higher
I keep mine around 1450

 

[Righteous]

I’d be curious if @Randy Holmes-Farley has any insight into some of the chemicals that burnt plastic can release. I know dioxins can get released and I can imagine a skimmer mixing volatiles into your tank pretty rapidly.

 

[Acro76]

Since you are asking for opinions, here are mine:

Not sure why you are carbon dosing. Can lead to problems.
Your alk is too high.
Your magnesium is critically low, but you didn't say how it was tested.
If you are worried about something burning in the microwave, your tank is already too close to the kitchen and is exposed to aerosols every time you cook anything.

Corals might look upset, but your tank isn't crashing. Don't over react. This makes things worse.

Do a 10-20% water change.

Consider an ICP/MS test.

Don't add carbon or any media.

The corals being annoyed could be from: "I messed with the lights yesterday but put them back to the original settings at night"

 

[Jeff Austif]

It’s probably the epoxy. If you don’t aerate your tank when using epoxy it will suck all the O2 out of your tank. I’ve nuked my tank putting in epoxy. It’s real.

 

[Kscope]

Are you running any type of carbon filtration. If you feel that there are some chemicals from a fire that have gotten into the tank then a carbon filter of some sort should take it out.

 

[vahegan]

Using AFR in a 450 gallon tank should be very costly in itself, IMO it would cost much more than water changes (unless you use calcium formiate from chemical store rather than the original stuff), and it has only about 10% calcium, the rest being organic carbon. Anyway, I doubt that VOC in the air from the emergency in your microwave would have an effect in a huge tank. Most probably, your corals are reacting to lighting changes, as Acro76 has pointed.
Magnesium at 1153 is suspiciously low, but I can think of no reasons why it would fall. I suspect testing error. I suggest to retest, also to test freshly mixed water for changes, before considering measures for raising magnesium.
What salt mix are you using (and how long since you started the package), and what skimmer?

 

[Charles Zinn]

Hello,
I have a 450 gallon system and it appears to be in the midst of a crash. I dosed the normal things I do everyday, 15 mls 99.5% ethyl alcohol and 20 mls distilled white vinegar for carbon dosing, 44ml all for reef, and 33ml chaeto gro for my fuge.
Everything was fine in the tank before I left at around two, and got back at around 6 and everything looked almost dead


Things differing today:
I added 20 mls of ph+ since alk was slightly low (I’ve been shooting for 10) and I could get away with it
I just put a bubble coral in yesterday using coral epoxy and aquarium directed super glue
I messed with the lights yesterday but put them back to the original settings at night
One of my power heads went out and I don’t know why. The elegance sometimes is bothered by the ethyl alcohol but I normally put the powerhead on to wash it off it’s tissue but it only affects the elegance

And my suspected culprit: my brother caught a package of ramen on fire in the microwave because he forgot to put water in it


Causes for concern: elegance, bubble, mushrooms, hammer, and a Montipora denai are all shriveled or closed.

Last sundays levels tested at the LFS measured as follows:
Nitrate- 15
Nitrite- 0
Ammonia- 0
Alk: 168/ 9.4
Calcium- 461
Ph-8.1
Magnesium: 1153
Phosphates: 0.6 (theyve been elevated for about a month but have been going down and nothings been affected)

Todays phosphate and nitrate with a cheap api kit;
Nitrate: 5-10
Phosphate: 0.25-0.5

Levels from apex:
Ph:8.02
Orp: 316
Temp: 78.4

Could be a reaction from the Puddy and the fumes from the ramen noodles

 

[Charles Zinn]

my guess is it is a reaction of what caught fire in microwave and residual effects of puddy in system. /Have had cloudiness of water if too much puddy is used

 

[RiftRaftReefing]

I've had my house filled with smoke before (forgot to open up the chimney with a fire) and my tank never knew the difference. Even my pH didn't change. My guess would be the phosphates along with the low magnesium.

Same but fire wood and that smoke is harmless aquachar is literally some random reefer selling his burnt up fire wood no joke lol Burt plastic might be another story but idk I’ve seen my tanks go through some sheeeshymama situations and still come out as long as I kept up my part of the maintenance.

 

[Dom]

I would love to do frequent water changes as I know that’s ideal but doing a weekly %10 water change or monthly %30 gets very costly on a tank this big. The only way I would consider doing frequent water changes is daily 1.5% to prevent swings that all for reef also prevents in this method.

The carbon dosing deals with nutrients and all for reef. I didn’t use ph+ to change alk I used it because I could in this case and alleviate a ph swing from carbon dosing.

And for water changes to be effective (exporting ample nutrients and replenishing elements), the rule of thumb is 20%.

On a 450 gallon tank, that is 90 gallons weekly. I can understand wanting to dose to replenish elements.

 

[Reef_Freak720]

And my suspected culprit: my brother caught a package of ramen on fire in the microwave because he forgot to put water in it

Haha I did that once. House smelled for like 3 weeks no lie.
Took my lunch at home threw the food in the microwave and laid down on my couch. Oops

 

[707Nick]

Thank you for everyone for sharing. My tank is literally 3 feet from my stovetop. My wife and I will prepare fire for nearly 30 ppl as we host all the holidays at our home. Tank is a 120 cube +30 sump. I don’t feel that coming or the smoke from cooking has affected my tank adversely. I’m pretty sure the smoke alarm goes off every time I make blackened chicken. I also do a 10% WC weekly with TM salt.

 

[brayden2980]

Thank you all for responding.
I did a %10 water change and halted the carbon dosing for four days. Everything has returned to normal and I will slowly reintroduce my carbon dosing but keep it at half of my previous dosage.
The phosphates are definitely too high and will be addressed with gfo to bring the nitrate to phosphate ratio in check.
I was not currently running carbon filtration but will add some to ensure the removal of the toxins as suggested.
I will be purchasing supplements to increase my magnesium level and bring everything to their proper levels. I prefer to run my alk at about 10 and have had success with that however.
I think the poor levels in the tank were definitely a problem and set the tank off with the introduction of the fumes.

 

[brayden2980]

Could be a reaction from the Puddy and the fumes from the ramen noodles

i was not aware of the I’ll affects of putty in tanks and will look into that thank you for bringing that to my attention

 

[brayden2980]

Using AFR in a 450 gallon tank should be very costly in itself, IMO it would cost much more than water changes (unless you use calcium formiate from chemical store rather than the original stuff), and it has only about 10% calcium, the rest being organic carbon. Anyway, I doubt that VOC in the air from the emergency in your microwave would have an effect in a huge tank. Most probably, your corals are reacting to lighting changes, as Acro76 has pointed.
Magnesium at 1153 is suspiciously low, but I can think of no reasons why it would fall. I suspect testing error. I suggest to retest, also to test freshly mixed water for changes, before considering measures for raising magnesium.
What salt mix are you using (and how long since you started the package), and what skimmer?

I buy the AFR in bulk and it lasts almost a year only costing $70.
I’ve been using reef crystals and will definitely retest to assure the results. I use my LFS tester called aqua spin

 

[vahegan]

I buy the AFR in bulk and it lasts almost a year only costing $70.
I’ve been using reef crystals and will definitely retest to assure the results. I use my LFS tester called aqua spin

Happy New Year!
I can think of no reasons why magnesium in a reef tank would drop to such levels. If I were you, I would double-check before attempting to raise. Salifert and Red Sea tests for Mg aren't expensive. Randy even suggests that we should not test for magnesium, with the same reasoning - the chances of its depletion are very low. I personally prefer to test, and I am using the Hanna photometer, but that is probably an overkill and usually not required.

 

[RiftRaftReefing]

Thank you all for responding.
I did a %10 water change and halted the carbon dosing for four days. Everything has returned to normal and I will slowly reintroduce my carbon dosing but keep it at half of my previous dosage.
The phosphates are definitely too high and will be addressed with gfo to bring the nitrate to phosphate ratio in check.
I was not currently running carbon filtration but will add some to ensure the removal of the toxins as suggested.
I will be purchasing supplements to increase my magnesium level and bring everything to their proper levels. I prefer to run my alk at about 10 and have had success with that however.
I think the poor levels in the tank were definitely a problem and set the tank off with the introduction of the fumes.

Lanthium chloride is great for removing po4 but can very easily be overdosed so be careful if you use it. i personally use it along side my carbon dosing on my nano tank but I also keep my alk low idk if that has anything to do with it but I have had decent success so far with it in my nano tank

 

[dwarfseahorse]

I burned some incents and didn't think anything about it. I woke up in the middle of the night with my tank crashing. Spent the rest of the night changing water and trying not to lose to many fish and corals. I will never burn incents again in my house and had no idea that could happen. So, from my experience, I would say that smells can do it.