Bad Day in my Aquarium

[xbambamx]

Well I've had my tank up and running for about 2 months total. Here is a list of what I've had in my tank so far:

FISH
Pecurla Clown
Maroon Clown
Various domino (Sold them all)
Watchman Goby
Sixline Wrasse

INVERTS
20 nassarius snails
20 blue leg hermits
scarlet cleaner shrimp
peppermint shrimp
emerald crab (green)
emerald crab (red)
Sally lightfoot crab
Sandsifting star
Serpant Star
Feather duster

Now here is what I have:
FISH
Watchman Goby
Sixline Wrasse (three days old)

INVERTS
Emerald Crab (Red)
LIghtfoot Crab
Both Stars
feather duster

As you can tell most of my fish have died. I don't know what to, or how.. But they do! It drives me insane! I woke up just this morning to a dead MCF. I haven't mixed clowns. But my perc died three days after owning him! I have nobody in town that knows anything what so ever about saltwater fish tanks, so i'm screwed for hands on advice. My water levels are always low to 0. I don't know what it is. Heres my solution: Take out both crabs and MAYBE my sixline depening on his health. And just let my tank sit for about a month before I add anymore rock, sand, or fish! Do yall think this is a good plan? OR what? I know there is an expert on here to help me out! Please guys!

 

[Hop]

Might be too much, too fast... Without quarantine...


I don't have that much in the 450 and it's been running almost a year. I definitely go by the slow and sure method.

 

[xbambamx]

Okay so here is a list of what I'd like to have in there:

Watchman Goby
Sixline Wrasse
Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint shrimp
Sifting Star
Serpant star
my snails, and my hermits.

and all my corals.

 

[Tripspike]

Please list specific details on your entire setup, ie equipment, skimmers, pumps, etc.

Also, list your specific water parameters
pH
Salinity
Nitrates
Nitrites
Phophates
Ammonia
Temperature

Sounds like you went too much too fast. My tank is 4 months old and I only have 1 damsel, many snails, hermits, and crabs. A few corals.

Trip

 

[xbambamx]

I have a 75g tank with about 50lbs of LR, 60 lbs of LS and crushed coral.

Aquaclear 500 Pump
Some instant ocean skimmer
Powerhead pushing 300GPH

NIT-0-5ppm
PH-8.0-8.2
AMM-0
SAL-1.024
TEMP-80-81
PHOS-Not sure I can check though..

 

[Gisho]

Well, you have made a good first step by posting here.

As trip said, we need to know your exact water parameter test results. You say your results are always "low to zero", but realize that even a very small amount of ammonia or nitrite can be very harmful to your livestock and likely points to an imcompletely cycled tank and/or insufficient biological filtration.
As trip said, we need to know more details of your set up, i.e. skimmer, amount of liverock, means of mechanical, chemical, biological filtration, flow, etc.

I recommend you buy a book on reefkeeping (I really like Robert Fenner's "Concientious Marine Aquarist" as a basic begginer book) and read up and continue to research via the web before adding ANY more livestock. This web-site (post and read on the "New to the Hobby" forum), as well as www.wetwebmedia.com are really helpful.

HTH

 

[Marinemom]

You said that the tank has only been up for two months. It seems that you had way too much livestock in your tank in such a short time. Did you cycle the tank? If so, how did you accomplish that? Do you have live rock? What is your filteration for this tank? Are you running a skimmer? How big is the tank? As far as the water, what are you testing for, ammonia,nitrite, nitrate,P.H., and the S.G.? Can you give some more specs on the tank itself? What is your water change schedule like and what kind of water are you using?

In the saltwater world, it is very important to move very sloooooow. Otherwise you will be headed straight for disaster. I would suggest testing your water and posting the results. This will help us help you.

Marinemom

 

[Gisho]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8301165#post8301165 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xbambamx
I have a 75g tank with about 50lbs of LR, 60 lbs of LS and crushed coral.

Aquaclear 500 Pump
Some instant ocean skimmer
Powerhead pushing 300GPH

NIT-0-5ppm
PH-8.0-8.2
AMM-0
SAL-1.024
TEMP-80-81
PHOS-Not sure I can check though..

Ah, sorry, was composing my post as you were posting yours.

When you say "NIT-0-5 ppm" are you referring to Nitrate or Nitrite?

All your other parameters look ok. How much are you feeding?
Is your temp or pH fluctuating a lot throughout a 24 hour period?
Is your skimmer producing skimmate?

 

[xbambamx]

I've read the book my Michael Paletta over and over. I've done everything in there.. I'm just lost, and to the point where i wanna sell it all and say forget it =/ but then again i dont wanna because I love the day to day change!!!

 

[Tripspike]

Do you have any kind of a sump/refugium. Powerhead seems undersized for tank and its a little light on live rock especially if there is no sump/refugium.

Anyone else have some input.

Trip

 

[xbambamx]

I'm refering to NITRATE.. lol.

I feed frozen mysis and a pinch of flakes for my goby. three times a day. I haven't seen my sixline TOUCH a piece of food. And yes my skimmer is producing skimmate I have to wash it every couple of days it gets so nasty.. I usually get about a inch of liquid in the bottom of it!

 

[xbambamx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8301200#post8301200 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tripspike
Do you have any kind of a sump/refugium. Powerhead seems undersized for tank and its a little light on live rock especially if there is no sump/refugium.

Anyone else have some input.

Trip

No I dont have a sump nor fuge.. I wan't to get one but they are just so expensive!!! And i'm not to sure on how they work, or how to set them up!

 

[Gisho]

That's good (as far as reading up). Don't get discouraged. Everyone learns by making mistakes in beginning. This hobby takes experience and patience.

 

[Tripspike]

You just need another tank say 30 gallon. Look up on here and you will see lots of pices on refugiums. They are not that expensive to put in and are fairly simple. I suspect this is yur biggest problem in the die off. Your tank was only 2 months old with a huge bioload and the only thing counteracting that was your sandbed and live rock. Probably had some good ammonia spikes that killed the fish.

Trip

 

[xbambamx]

Well what are some suggestions?

 

[xbambamx]

Can Anybody direct me in the direction of a good post on sumps/fuges...? I have two ten gallons, would one of these be good for a sump? Also is there anything else it could be?

 

[Gisho]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8301207#post8301207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xbambamx
I'm refering to NITRATE.. lol.

I feed frozen mysis and a pinch of flakes for my goby. three times a day. I haven't seen my sixline TOUCH a piece of food. And yes my skimmer is producing skimmate I have to wash it every couple of days it gets so nasty.. I usually get about a inch of liquid in the bottom of it!

Ok, I say off the bat, that you are waaaay overfeeding. Unless you have anthias or other types of fish that need multiple, small feedings, there is no reason to be feeding 3X per day. The next issue is biological/mechanical/chemical filtration. Without a refugium or some other means of exporting all those nutrients you are adding to your tank, you just don't stand a chance.

Now, next thing is your test results. What type/brand of test kits are you using? Realize that test kits can and do go bad/expire. Also realize that the cheaper test kits are not as accurate as the more quality ones (salifert, etc).

When you initially set up the tank 2 months ago, did you test your water daily/every couple days to ensure that you observed it go through the cycle, i.e. spike in ammonia, then spike in nitrite, then spike in nitrate, and then a reduction of nitrate with ammonia and nitrite staying at zero?

 

[xbambamx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8301254#post8301254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gisho
Ok, I say off the bat, that you are waaaay overfeeding. Unless you have anthias or other types of fish that need multiple, small feedings, there is no reason to be feeding 3X per day. The next issue is biological/mechanical/chemical filtration. Without a refugium or some other means of exporting all those nutrients you are adding to your tank, you just don't stand a chance.

Now, next thing is your test results. What type/brand of test kits are you using? Realize that test kits can and do go bad/expire. Also realize that the cheaper test kits are not as accurate as the more quality ones (salifert, etc).

When you initially set up the tank 2 months ago, did you test your water daily/every couple days to ensure that you observed it go through the cycle, i.e. spike in ammonia, then spike in nitrite, then spike in nitrate, and then a reduction of nitrate with ammonia and nitrite staying at zero?

Okay well should I only feed twice? (morning and night?)
I'm using redsea and dr. ocean test kits.. Yes my tank did go through the cycle and when everything stayed at zero i did a 40%water change and they still stayed at zero, and everything still seems to be fluctuating!

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Honestly, I have a 20 gallon tank with a $4.00 10 gallon rubbermaid see thru container and a 2.5 gallon ($2.50) rubbermaid container inside it for my sump/fuge and it works BEAUTIFULLY. I plumbed it with about $20 worth of plumbing parts and PVC cement fro mhome depot and purchased a $60 fountain pump to run the return line. I also bought a bulkehad from my aquarium supply store for $10 because I chose to drill my tank, but you do not have to.

Sumping is not as hard as it seems and is probably the least expensive thing I had to buy.

 

[xbambamx]

Okay well can somebody show me a EASY way to build a sump with a ten gallon tank? I have extra filters heaters.. Just show me a list of what i need and how to set it up and I'll have no problem working on it.. Another problem though, I dont have a closed stand, nor a canopy for my sump, so anything could fly in it..