Second try after crash

[Freddy Twotimes]

This is a picture of my tank before the crash and 7 months after. I am ready for a clean up crew this week. The coraline algae has really started showing this past week and my calcium has dropped to 380 so I know that its taking off.

I did not think I could [or should] start over at the time; I was pretty frustrated. It all seems worth it now .

[six_shooter]

I'm new to this site and would like to know what caused the crash.

[Ninong]

Hi six shooter,



I believe Freddy posted previously that his tank crashed due to a faulty heater that got stuck in the on position overheating the water in the aquarium.

[Freddy Twotimes]

Ninong is correct, I should have used two small heaters not one large one which cooked everything when it failed.

I also had a poor protien skimmer, I was overfeeding, I was using filter pads that trapped waste and raised the Nitrates, I had a poor light and not enough live rock! As a result, I had bad algae blooms and my Ammonia was always high too. [ I was even using tap water and my Phosphates were high]

I learned that the set up is everything. Use a good skimmer rated for twice the size of your tank, Use RO water from the fish store if you have no RO at your house, have good water flow and at least 1.2 pounds of live rock....and TIME. I spent the last 5-6 months just testing the water learning how to fix things as I test and discover problems. As long as nothing is in the tank I can make changes with out stressing anything out.

I have a much better understanding of my water quality and how to keep it stable now that I took the time to focus on the water first and the inhabitants second.