Farewell, my best little buddy, Spot

[bigdaddyadam]

if the other fish still has ich, it is still in danger, despite acting healthy...

2 possibilities here I think...

either it is something else and not ich, which is why hypo is not working....or the hypo is either too low or too high in salinity.

too high salinity will do nothing, too low will likely kill the fish,
it is possible that your hydrometer is wayyyyyyyyy off, they are notoriously inaccurate, especially out of the peak usage range, they are simpley not calibrated well enough, and once out they cannot be fixed, also salt build-up in them can throw off the swing arm, etc. when I bought my conductivity meter and measured against my hydrometer, the hydrometer was off 0.08, which may not seem like much, but it REALLY is.

One last thing, and I don't mean to patronize you at ALL, but one common mistake I have heard before is incorrect top-off water...are you using fresh water not saltwater for top off? people have sometimes used saltwater not realizing that they are adding more and more salt to the tank, also as evaporation occurs over the day, your salinty will rise, taking the tank back out of hypo. for best results you MUST maintain a stable water level as much as possible.

the last ideas are probably pretty out there but when my friend used to do computer tech support the first thing you always asked was for the person to unplug and replug their computer, because 9 times out of ten the problem was it wasn't plugged in, and if you just asked them to check if it was plugged in they wouldn't do it because they thought it HAS to be plugged in, that is so dumb.

I hope things get better for you soon, I understand how crappy ich can be. I myself am enjoying a huge algea attack that I think is the result of sunlight coming in from the windows

 

[OneThunder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7146731#post7146731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigdaddyadam


too high salinity will do nothing, too low will likely kill the fish,
it is possible that your hydrometer is wayyyyyyyyy off, they are notoriously inaccurate, especially out of the peak usage range, they are simpley not calibrated well enough, and once out they cannot be fixed, also salt build-up in them can throw off the swing arm, etc. when I bought my conductivity meter and measured against my hydrometer, the hydrometer was off 0.08, which may not seem like much, but it REALLY is.

are you using fresh water not saltwater for top off? people have sometimes used saltwater not realizing that they are adding more and more salt to the tank, also as evaporation occurs over the day, your salinty will rise, taking the tank back out of hypo. for best results you MUST maintain a stable water level as much as possible.

I just purchased a refractometer yesterday because in the back of my mind.....I always thought the hydrometer couldn't have been right...see the guy at the lfs told me I didn't need one. He said he has been using the "hydrometer" for over 20 years and never had a problem. I said sometimes it "sticks" and so I have been rinsing it out with tap water- he said that was my problem (????). I don't think I trust him anymore. We checked the other tests and they were all with in range.

 

[jenghes]

If you want to use my refractometer until yours arrives, let me know. I also have a copper test kit if you want to verify.

 

[bigdaddyadam]

define "in range".......there are some people who will tell you that any number of things can be above 0ppm when they should not be, what are your detectable levels? ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, alkalinity, etc. these will tell you if something major is off balance here

also what did your salinity turn out to be when tested with the refractometer?

 

[OneThunder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7150320#post7150320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigdaddyadam
define "in range".......there are some people who will tell you that any number of things can be above 0ppm when they should not be, what are your detectable levels? ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, alkalinity, etc. these will tell you if something major is off balance here

also what did your salinity turn out to be when tested with the refractometer?

Range: according to the levels specified on the back of the test kit. Ammonia was "0".

The refractometer hasn't come yet...mail order.

 

[bigdaddyadam]

is ammonia all you test for? on a newer system such as yours you should also be testing nitrite, nitrate, pH, alkalinity, and depending on the type of water you are using for your salt mix, you may also want to test for chlorine and phosphate.

what is your water source? are you using tap, ro, ro/di? if it is treated water, do you treat it and test it's TDS or is it from a store?

ich can explain fish deaths but other contributing factors can also affect whether your fish are fighting off the ich or not.

I still think that when you test with a refractometer you may well find your SG is not as low as your hydrometer is leading you to believe. Also, make sure to calibrate the refractometer as well or IT will also be off.

 

[OneThunder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7151854#post7151854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigdaddyadam
is ammonia all you test for? on a newer system such as yours you should also be testing nitrite, nitrate, pH, alkalinity, and depending on the type of water you are using for your salt mix, you may also want to test for chlorine and phosphate.

what is your water source? are you using tap, ro, ro/di? if it is treated water, do you treat it and test it's TDS or is it from a store?

ich can explain fish deaths but other contributing factors can also affect whether your fish are fighting off the ich or not.

I still think that when you test with a refractometer you may well find your SG is not as low as your hydrometer is leading you to believe. Also, make sure to calibrate the refractometer as well or IT will also be off.

no, lets see, without digging them out from under the tank, there is five. Nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, pH, .....
My well water is treated with a salt water softener. I have a very nice reverse osmosis under the sink, it's on the fritz right now.
Jen already clued me into calibrating it with distilled water. I"m just waiting for it to arrive in the mail.
If I do find out that the stupid hydrometer was that much off, I don't think I will go into that store again.

 

[bigdaddyadam]

lots of people use hydrometers, but there is no way to know whether or not yours is off. I have 2 and one is totally unreliable, the other is pretty spot on, I use it now and again to check whether i need to recalibrate my conductivity probe.

you are using well water? just know that there could be any number of things in well water that you don't want getting into your tank. without a detailed analysis of what is in your water you may be taking a big risk. it could have farm field run-off phosphates that are at levels so low they have no affect on you, but may harm fish. as well it could have ammonia, nitrates, etc.

the main thing that would effect that stuff would be type of well, depth of well, type of piping, age of piping etc. I would really suggest some type if ro/di set-up prior to using it if I were you, I use ro water I get at Meijer and have lately become very sceptical of even that water at this point.