Hey guys,

I was out of the country for 2 weeks and had to leave my beloved 12g nano in the hands of my incompetent roommates...I came home to a tank I couldn't even see into because there was so much algae on the glass. The coral hasn't come out because it's covered with algae. The water is warm and cloudy from the heat of the light being left on for days. :mad:

I only have 2 Clowns in there, and at the moment both are laying on their side in the sand breathing heavily. I didn't want to, but I performed an emergency water change despite their stressed out state to help replenish oxygen/cooler water. I replaced about 4 gallons (1/3 tank) and squeezed out the sponge filters. No other media being used. They instantly responded by breathing better, but they keep swimming to the top to fight for oxygen.

What has happened to my tank?? I'm really upset and pissed off and hope that everything will recover. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to save my poor Nemos. :cry:

Probably a water quality issue. I'd stay on some 4g (or just a HD bucket worth) water changes every other day for a week and then back off until you get back to normal. See if you can scrape out the algae (meaning don't just rub it off, but get it out of the tank). Thoroughly rinse the sponge because it's undoubtedly chock full of gunk. Leave the light off for a few days, too. The fish don't need it and corals can generally tolerate a couple days of no light as well. You could turn the light off and cover the tank with a big towel for 2 or 3 days to kill the algae during the water change cycle.

Did they overfeed, too, or simply leave the light on forever? Do you have a skimmer running?

You should get a timer from HD or Lowes to control the lights.

Thanks George. I'm not using a skimmer at the moment. (Where can I order the good one for the nano?)

I have a light timer but it's an industrial 3-prong one and it always gets stuck, causing the light to be left on longer than usual. That's why I left it up to my roommates to control it. I'm sure they overfed them as well because there was still flake food floating on top of the water and extra food in the sponges.

Light is currently off to help reduce stress and also to kill algae...I'll have it off for the next few days as well. I'll do the recommended water changes every other day using distilled water like always...hopefully I can get this under control again.

I'm just so pissed off because the tank was in perfect health before I left. I had been performing weekly water changes, salinity was perfect, coral was beautiful and healthy. Grr!

Thanks again for the help George.

Sorry to hear about the problems, hope it can all be made right!

Here's a place to get skimmers for nano tanks, as well as other upgrades. I haven't yet used a skimmer on my BioCube, but since I knew where they were sold, just thought i'd let you know.

Good Luck!

Nano-Tuner's (http://www.nanotuners.com/)

How is your tank? I hope that you arrived home in time to save everything. Please keep us updated.

Here is another place to get nano skimmers Sapphire Aquatics (http://www.sapphireaquatics.com/)

Thanks for the recommended links guys. I noticed there seems to be worms in the sand, they look like baby bristle worms sprouting out all over the place. Hopefully they die off with the water changes and lack of food/light for a couple days.

I'll keep you updated. The water change revived the Nemos, so they are swimming happily again.

aawwww bristle worms aren't as bad as the rumor says. They are very beneficial to your tank. They clean up all the stuff know one else wants too. Yea i know people say they eat corals, but they don't. The only thing they eat is the dieing tissue from corals. I see mine all the time nipping at dead tissue, a few weeks later that area is free of worms and very healthy. There not bad just a bad rep :)

nice recovery, welcome to by the way.

hows the corals?

dealing with issues can be hard, however dealing with other peoples created issues is harder, maybe more so cause you spent the time showing them how to maintain your tank, which in your case clearly ticked you off!:madmad:


automated safe guards are clearly the way to go. id suggest a curve towards that mentality as a matter of course, cause only other reefers can be trusted 100%, thats after you see their own practices mind you:huh:

There are many worms that live in your aquarium and the vast majority are beneficial. Here is a great site about worms. http://home2.pacific.net.ph/%7Esweetyummy42/hitchworms.html