Fed Up!

[bpoore89]

I got into saltwater tanks a while back because my buddy had an amazing set up. He helped me along throughout the entire thing. Every thing was going perfect for a very long time. I had two percula clowns, two yellow tail damsels, a hippo tang, a long nose butterfly, and my little buddy, a moorish idol. Over the course of the past few days I have lost every single fish with the exception of the moorish idol who is in great condition. Its really starting to worry me. The butterfly and Tang where both stuck in coral and died, whereas one of the percs got caught in the power head even though it had a guard on it. The other perc and two damsels died of unkown causes. I did a huge water change (50%). The water is a little cloudy. Anyone have any idea what is happening. My water perameters are all fine. Also any help with the cloudy water? Im having such a hard time with this larger tank. My 20 is great and has never given me any problems and that two mated clowns that are in their are fine and dandy. Any help?

 

[meisel1]

bpoore89... sounds like a rough ride ...what size tank is it ? what did you do differently the last few days ?what are your params?are you using ro water or tap?how long was everything perfect?Sorry about all the questions but without more info I dont think anyone could help......

 

[Dubbin1]

Re: Fed Up!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10188770#post10188770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bpoore89
My water perameters are all fine.

I'm betting that they are not all fine. Something major happened to kill all of those fish.

 

[szwab]

won't hurt anything so whle you are trying to figure out what's wrong run some carbon and possibly a poly filter in case it is an external factor.

now for the questions

what are you water params? what test kit are you usnig? have you gone to a LFS to have them test as a second opinion. it's been getting warmer is your tank as well? how long did it take to notice the dead fish? any signs of parasites, lesions etc. chances are the 1st perc died or ws weak and got sucked in (not the source of death).

 

[CarmieJo]

Any chance that lawn chemicals or insecticide was sprayed by you or your neighbors and drifted into your house and tank?

 

[bpoore89]

Ok. Well Im not sure the params. My buddy checked them. Im planning on running to the LFS asap to have everything tested and, and maybe they can give me an idea. I havnt done anything different lately that I can think of, thats why im stummped. I have a 90 and its been set up for almost a year. I use tap water. Is that bad?

 

[drummereef]

Sure thing. Water parameters are a must to know exactly what is going on. Once you find out, write them down and post them on here.

 

[zma21]

Tap water can be bad. You never know what's in impure water..

 

[CarmieJo]

When did you last do a water change? It is possible that your water company has changed how they handle treatment at the water plant, like switching from chlorine to chloramine, and this has killed your fish.

 

[szwab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10190101#post10190101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CarmieJo
When did you last do a water change? It is possible that your water company has changed how they handle treatment at the water plant, like switching from chlorine to chloramine, and this has killed your fish.

this is a biggie. lots of times they do this to counteract all the aditional chemicals and junk from runoff from winter roads. also if there are farms in oyur area that can effect the water as well.

how long do you allow your make up and water change water to aerate before using it? Also as always things take time in this hobby. even if you have not added livestock yours have probably grown over the past year thus increasing your bioload. Things may have just caught up and tipped the balance we all try and maintain. Fish that have died can also have quite an impact on a system.
Good move to get the water params check that will help identify/eliminate the source of your troubles.

 

[mwwhite]

You should also have your own water test kits if possible. There are several different types of tests that need to be checked. In our experience, LFS's don't test for all of these below. The Reef chemistry forum is an excellent source for what should be checked in a reef tank and what the range is for each.

We test for:

ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, calcium, pH, Sg, Temp, Magnesium, carbonate hardness, total alkalinity.

hth

 

[bpoore89]

Hey guys. Thanks so much for you input. I get my water from a well and Im guessing the farms that my neighborhood is surrounded by affects the water. Im looking into cleaner water sources in the future. My Amonia levels where high and so was my nitrate levles. Im going to allow the tank to age for a while with a few damsels. Any suggestions on how to take care of the amonia and nitrate? Im getting my own kit tommorow. Thanks you so much guys. Your always helpful

 

[szwab]

water changes with RO water would be the quickest route.

Amquel would help bind up the amonia to make it harmless. It wold not be a good long term solution but would help you in your current situation. and give your bacteria time to catch up