everything is going wrong

puffer21

puffer21

Active member
About a year ago i stared my first salt water tank. I had no clue what i was doing, I just knew I wanted one. So I went to petco and picked up an eclise 25 gallon tank with a build in filter, a heater, some live sand in a bag, a testing kit, and some salt. I put the water in and added some salt, then after like a week i added the live sand in the bag then after about another week i added some live rock about 20 pounds. then after about 2 months i went and bought 2 clown fish, two shrimp, 10 hermits, and 4 snails. I added them to the tank to add them i did that drip method when you put them in a buckent and slowly add water. then everything started to die, first one of the shrimp and then a fish then some snails and the other fish then the other shrimp then the hermits. i have no clue why they were dieing i cheaked the water it was fine all the reading were ok and the salinity was 1.022, i thought that all that was fine but they died. so now my tank has had nothing in it exept the live rock for about 6 months and i want to add fish, if i add fish will they die again, what did i do wrong, what should i add first, do i take out the snail and hermit shells. And one more question this is going to sound really really weired but im allergic to salt water i bought some of those long gloves for the tank but it leaks like orage stuff is that ok i havent put them in the tank because of that i figured it out when i washed it in freash water whould it be bad for the tank. is there anything i can do.
thanks for any help sammy:rollface:
 
first we are going to need to know your parameters. not just that they are "ok". what are your PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Temp., etc. you SG is a little low for reefs, but i dont think that is what killed the fish. do you have any pods swimming around in the tank? if so you should be able to keep fish, and inverts.

your allergic to SW, ouch!! glad to see it hasnt stopped you! im guessing you have the Coralife gloves? the purple and orange ones? i have them, but i have never noticed the leaking. do you mean leaching? like the orange part is fading into the water? i would just clean them with some tap water until it stopped. you may want to look into some full arm disposible vinyal gloves. also known as exam gloves. vets use them a lot. they are thiner and much better when moving things around.
 
ph 8.1 / ammina 0/ nitrite 0/ nitrate 5/ saliniy 1.023/ tem 77. what are pods all i hav in my tank right know is the live sand and live rock, also the hermit crabs and snails shells. yes i do have the corallie gloves and yes i mean leaching. do you know where i can get some of those other gloves?
thanks for your help
 
pods are little "bugs" swiming around in the tank. they are tiny! you may need to add some flow to the tank. may one or two small powerheads. something like the maxi-jet 400s. the filter that comes with the eclipse kits dont offer much flow. other than your SG being a little low your params are good. it could have been from where you adding everything at once. maybe add one fish and see how it does this time.

heres some gloves
http://cgi.ebay.com/Shoulder-Length...ryZ20756QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
i dont think i have any pods do you think that is what killed the fish. and when i do get more fish should i add the two clowns first of the shrimp snails and hermit, also how many of each, and you dont know why my last fish died
 
Since you dont know why your fish died, I would take a sample of your water to the LFS and have them test it. Once you are convinced your water is good, I would buy 0ne damsel and see if it survives. They are cheap and hardy fishes. And have a lot of patience. You wil be rewarded.
 
i have had my water testest at a pet store and they said it was fine. beacuse when my fish died i thought my test kit might be off. also what do i do with the damsel fish will it fight in m 25 gallon tank with the two clows.
 
you dont have to have pods for most fish, but its a good sign the tank is doing good.

i would start with one fish. adding the inverts first wouldnt be a good idea as there wont be much in the tank for them to eat. i would say since you adding everything at once before to a freshly cycled tank(assuming it was cycled), your tank couldnt handle the bio-load. its common with small tanks. your tank has to build up the bacteria to break down the waste. if you add to much waste at one time, the bacteria cant break it down fast enough and you get ammonia and nitrate spikes. both are toxic to fish and inverts, ammonia more than nitrite. start slow and see how it goes. keep a check on your parameters. no need to spend $40 bucks on 2 fish, just to have them die. you may want to get some chromis they are cheap. when i first started my tank i waited about 2 weeks after my tank cycled before i added fish. i add 2 chromis, and 1 damsel. all died withend a week. it just happens :D then next fish i added was my coral beauty. i got him one week later. hes still alive now 8 months later.
 
Re: everything is going wrong

About a year ago i stared my first salt water tank. I had no clue what i was doing, I just knew I wanted one. So I went to petco
>A wonderful place to get a start in the hobby :p <
and picked up an eclise 25 gallon tank with a build in filter, a heater, some live sand in a bag, a testing kit, and some salt.
>Live sand in a bag... sounds like AragAlive, which is only "alive" if you change the very definition of the word. What brand of salt?<
I put the water in and added some salt, then after like a week i added the live sand in the bag then after about another week i added some live rock about 20 pounds.
>Sounds like a perfectly normal and well-researched timeline for a first aquarium.<
then after about 2 months i went and bought 2 clown fish, two shrimp, 10 hermits, and 4 snails.
>All at once?<
I added them to the tank to add them i did that drip method when you put them in a buckent and slowly add water.
>Obviously it was not shock that killed them.<
then everything started to die, first one of the shrimp
>Ornamental shrimp tend to be the most delicate of your list - makes sense.<
and then a fish then some snails and the other fish then the other shrimp then the hermits.
>Hardest to hardiest.<
i have no clue why they were dieing i cheaked the water it was fine all the reading were ok and the salinity was 1.022,
>That is rather low - shoot for ~1.024<
i thought that all that was fine but they died. so now my tank has had nothing in it exept the live rock for about 6 months and i want to add fish, if i add fish will they die again, what did i do wrong, what should i add first, do i take out the snail and hermit shells.
>I think your livestock died from their own nitrogenous wastes - you added so much so suddenly that your biofilter could not possibly handle everything at once, Wastes built up, and the more delicate species began to perish. Assuming you kept feeding and did not remove the corpses of the invertebrates (as indicated by your wanting to know whether or not to remove their shells) the levels of nitrogenous wastes in your setup could easily have reached fatal levels for even the hardiest of hermit crabs in a decently short period of time.<
And one more question this is going to sound really really weired but im allergic to salt water i bought some of those long gloves for the tank but it leaks like orage stuff is that ok
>I don't trust anything that leaches anything into my tank. Ever. Period.<
i havent put them in the tank because of that i figured it out when i washed it in freash water whould it be bad for the tank. is there anything i can do.
>Hmm... I'd recommend introducing a cleanup crew before getting fish - buy 5 snails and 5 hermits. Do not feed them. If they make it the whole week, which they should, buy another 5. This will make up your cleanup crew. Next, give them a week or two to settle in, then add one small fish - perhaps a damsel fish would be best. Don't feed the fish for the first week, then, after that, start feeding a little every other day. Slowly increase this to a daily feeding, then introduce your pair of clowns. Refrain from feeding for a week, then slowly increase as with the damsel. This should cycle your tank slowly and help it to be a success. Oh, and I've found that fish bags make wonderful gloves.<
thanks for any help sammy:rollface:
>Best of luck! Mike G<
 
i have no clue if this is important but i have a baby snail inmy tank which i did not put in is that a good sign.
 
puffer21, I in no way mean any disrespect when I say this, but you should read up on starting a saltwater aquarium.

There's a sticky at the top of this forum. It contains this link.

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

I'd suggest you read it, it contains so much information and answers a number of questions you've already posted.

Again, I mean no disrespect, I'm just giving you some more tools to use in your saltwater aquarium.
 
second that, lots of reading is a must and have to tell u are on the right site :) I'm fairly new to this hobby myself and i know how discouraging it is to lose a fish.
 
Another thing you are going to see constantly in your reading is that it is much more difficult to maintain a small reef tank than it is a large one. More water volume allows for better dilution if a problem happens.

If you are running a 25 gallon tank then you are going to have to stay on top of your parameters because one small spike can cause all kinds of trouble. I learned the hard way by trying to start out with a 12 gallon Nano Cube, and that is why I am now running a 90 instead.

You might also want to check out the Nano Reefs forum under the Special Interests Groups here on Reef Central. You can get all kinds of useful tips to help make it easier to maintain a smaller tank.

Good luck with everything.
 
thanks everyonebut i have another question? can i just add freash water to my tank beacuse of evaporation or do i add salt water? and also who much water can i add if i can add water?
 
Always add freshwater for evaportation....make sure it is the same temp as your tank water, and add it before you do a water change. When salt water evaporates, the salt stays in the tank, so you need to add FW, then remove about 5g from your tank, and add fresh saltwater, mixed for at least 12-24 hours, . make sure it is as close to your tanks temp as possible!!

A simple little tip for adding evaporated water is to fill your tank to where you want the level, and then using a pemanent black marker, on a backside corner, mark your water level on the tank.....when adding FW, just fill to this line, your salinity will not change, and you won't have to check it after every top-off....

Be sure to use R/O water, or water from your LFS, though i like mixing my own, try not to use any kind of tap water if possible, from your faucet, either well water or municipal....It can cause quite an algae outbreak, nevermind you have no idea what kind of chemicals, or metals are in the water.

I bought my water at Walmart until I got my RO/DI unit.

I am new also, but if you need help, feel free to Pm me, and I will help as much as I can!
 
one more question i tried to look it up but i could not find it. should i take out the hermit and snail shells
 
Ther is also the remote chance that copper is leaching from your pipes into your tap as well as other metals. To be on the safe side I wouldnt use tap for top off. This would cause problems for inverts and if it builds up in your tank could cause problems for everything else as well.

If you plan to have more hermits in the future you could just leave them in for the new hermits to check out.
 
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