Toxic water!

[Overgrowth]

Today I came back from a 4 day trip and my 10 gallon was cloudy with things that appeared to be egg peelings. Both my shrimp and fish died, but the copepods lived so I think it was a CO2 spillage from my DIY setup. I just did a 50% water change but what should I do next? I have OEBTs coming in the mail tomorrow and I only have a spare 2.5G to put them in. Help!

[CatB]

if everything's dead, i'd change ALL the water. not much bacteria lives in it, so you shouldn't lose your cycle.

[mrduna01]

Originally Posted by Overgrowth

Today I came back from a 4 day trip and my 10 gallon was cloudy with things that appeared to be egg peelings. Both my shrimp and fish died, but the copepods lived so I think it was a CO2 spillage from my DIY setup. I just did a 50% water change but what should I do next? I have OEBTs coming in the mail tomorrow and I only have a spare 2.5G to put them in. Help!

Do a few large water changes of 50 percent, test your water for the big 3. What are your parameters atm?

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[Overgrowth]

So far I only have ammonia, which is 0. I'm testing for nitrites and nitrates right now.

CatB, I think my boraras lived but my otos and blue pearls died. One of them was berried too...

[jcgd]

Originally Posted by mrduna01

Do a few large water changes of 50 percent, test your water for the big 3. What are your parameters atm?

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

50%? If all is dead, change all the water.

[Complexity]

I'd change the water out two or three times to rinse the tank out. Maybe add carbon to soak up any toxins that may still be lingering.

[Overgrowth]

Thanks guys.

[Overgrowth]

Okay guys, I did a 50% change yesterday, a 50% today, and finally an 80% today. The water is less cloudy and my 3 boraras are still alive. Do you think it's safe for OEBTs now? I dosed prime to get rid of any nitrites/ammonia just in case.

[Diana]

Keep on doing water changes, and thoroughly vacuum the substrate. Just like you are rinsing the substrate when you first used it. You want to remove ALL the toxins in the tank, in the water, under the substrate, in the filter... Everywhere.

And yes, run some AC for a few days, then swap it out for new AC. After a week or so it will probably be OK to remove it.

If you think the nitrifying bacteria are dead and new livestock is on its way, then get some bacteria in a bottle. Look for Nitrospiros. Do not waste your money on anything else. The others (not labeled Nitrospira) have the wrong species of bacteria.

Get more test kits, or at least test strips.

[Overgrowth]

Originally Posted by Diana

Keep on doing water changes, and thoroughly vacuum the substrate. Just like you are rinsing the substrate when you first used it. You want to remove ALL the toxins in the tank, in the water, under the substrate, in the filter... Everywhere.

And yes, run some AC for a few days, then swap it out for new AC. After a week or so it will probably be OK to remove it.

If you think the nitrifying bacteria are dead and new livestock is on its way, then get some bacteria in a bottle. Look for Nitrospiros. Do not waste your money on anything else. The others (not labeled Nitrospira) have the wrong species of bacteria.

Get more test kits, or at least test strips.

Sorry, I didn't get your message in time as I had already acclimated the OEBTs. The good news is that it's been several hours and I have not seen any deaths. However, my HC is not that vibrant green color anymore; it is now a transparent, very dark green color. Should I replant some fresh HC or let it recover and add more HC just in case? Thanks.

[Complexity]

Transparent leaves and stems in plants is a sign of rotting. Remove anything that's transparent as it will only decompose and pollute the water. Plant new HC to replace it.

[Overgrowth]

Aww... I spent so much time on that carpet. Okay, I'll remove it.

When I woke up this morning I saw an alive OEBT, so I'm just going to assume the really small ones are doing okay as well.