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To Bruce Hansen's comments:
Ammonia & nitrites zero after disaster. Chlorine
untested but presumably zero coz treated with Prime
and quite a few hours after the refill.
CO2 is only coming on very infrequently as pH slowly
rises. Will run a Dupla test on the exact value this
evening. (But doubt it - unless it had a big pulse
during the night - but manometer pressure readings on
the Dupla gauge have not changed - bottle replaced a
few days ago).
A big Running Creek Trifasciata that was on last legs
- threw it in the goldfish tank which is salted and
heaps of aeration and it's gonna make it. Goldfish
seem uninterested in their visitor.
Mortality has now stopped - sort of started to improve
after the lights came on ... and yes I fixed the
air-pump late afternoon (and bought a cheap spare)
On Diatom filter - motor, filter bag, and glass bowl
were all dry and clean. Hoses had a small amount of
residual odour (not excessive) that was a little rank
from sitting with water inside - but they were well
lushed totally with a garden hose before use.
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To Jennifer:
Odour wasn't H2S gas. Sort of slightly decay strange
odour - but I couldn't pin down a source - tank smell
seemed OK. As above Diatom filter was dry except for
hoses that were flushed.
Tank filters were not turned off during the change -
they were kept working. No power blackouts or anything
(I know as my beside clock-radio time would have been
flashing !!)
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To Chuck Gadd:
Tank is open on top - no cover glasses. Ceiling fan
would have been on in the room to move air around.
I actually swapped to the Rio 1700 powerhead after
finding my Dupla S reactor (being forced by a
restriction in the filter outlet) kept slowing (small
debris buildup). I drilled a hose in the bottom of the
powerhead and let the rotor "smash" the CO2 into a
zillion little microbubbles. They drift along the
entire 6 foot glass front and seem to slowly dissolve
as they rise. Not perfect I know. IMHO it seems to
keep the pH more stable, my gas supply lasts twice as
long, and a generally "better" result. Although yes
seems heresy from established teachings. pH is fairly
stable during the day although drops 0.2-0.3 during
nights due to high plant growth in the tank. Also
surface of the tank is disturbed by the two Otto
outlets and Fluval spay-bar. pH 6.8-6.9. ANyway this
had been setup this way for
many months now with no probs.
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To Matthew:
Bodies in dry plastic bag in the freezer but maybe on
the way to yukky fish soup through decay processes.
i.e. I probably didn't get them quick enough. Also
what would I look for upon dissection ?
*************************************************************************************
I guess my options are still:
Pathogen - but seems too quick and selective of big
fish
Chemical toxin: - chlorine ? - but Prime treated - but
what else (no pesticides in use)
Bacterial explosion (the Pseudomonas suggestion)
Or maybe a combination of 200 litres of new
unoxygenated water, close to lights-out (night
respiration load), plus an airpump failure.
Trouble is that no option seems to be totally
consistent with the outcome.
Would one think that something microbiological could
have "brewed" up in water change drum. 200 litre black
poly food grade ... had used the water for Discus tank
two days before .... tank is in semi-shade... Rio 2100
turns it over to mix Prime etc.... but not on all the time.
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