help please

[coops22]

alright, we recently changed 5 gallons of water in our 35g. hex tank and two of our fish died the past 2 days. The water temp has not changed its 79-80 degrees. Nitrate =30 Nitrite=0 , amonia =0
PH = 8.3 this has not changed for a year. our feather dusters have died in the past month or so. We have a sand sifting starfish which is still alive, a peppermint shrimp, a yellow clown goby and a false percula clown. but the clown fish is acting wierd and hiding now in a cave, he never used to do this. The fish that died were a dwarf angel and a strawberry fish. They were both just fine for the past 4 months when we got them, and we do regular water changes.
none of the fish are more than 1 1/2 inches long.
Does anyone know what could be causing these fish to die? so suddenly?
i appreciate any info.
thanks

 

[whiteshark]

I would check to see if you have any faulty devices putting electrical current into the water.

 

[sruiz]

Ask Waterkeeper, he knows it all.

Ask Waterkeeper, he knows it all.

Ask Waterkeeper, he knows it all.

 

[sruiz]

Did I mention that White Shark is exellent.

Did I mention that White Shark is exellent.

Did I mention that White Shark is exellent

 

[coops22]

I have 3.4 volts in my tank. Not good I assume. How do I ground this ?

 

[whiteshark]

OK, I am by no means an electrical expert so I cant tell you if that is high or not. I never test that in my tank. I do, however, have a titanium grounding probe. Most LFS will have them. Do you get a shock when you touch the water?

 

[coops22]

My heater was putting the voltage into the water. so off to get another one. Thanks alot. and the fish thank you also.

 

[coops22]

No shock.

 

[whiteshark]

sounds like you got it figured out. Darn heaters, they are almost always the culprit!. I would still get a grounding probe if I were you.

 

[coops22]

thanks, we are working on it.

 

[WaterKeeper]

It's time for Mister Know It All.

There is a serious amount of debate over stray currents and grounding probes. Stray current get the blame for many mysterious aliments in fish. Head and Lateral Line Erosion, HLLE, is the most common problem attributed to induced current. By induced current I mean currents produced by the running of lights, ballasts, etc. These are not from a short or mechanical malfunction but created by close proximity of electric devices to one's tank.

The problem is no one has yet proven that they have much effect. Grounding probes are even questioned in that they allow these currents a path to ground and may increase their effect. I'd look for other problems in your tank before I narrowed it down to stray voltages.

 

[WaterKeeper]

One word about grounding probes. I know you all have GFCI to protect you and your tank.

You Do, DON'T You???

If you do have a grounding probe on your tank, properly grounded, and drop the lights into the tank, have a heater or powerhead short or any other lose direct short in your tank, a grounding probe will cause the GFCI to trip as it supplies a ground fault path into the water column. Without such a probe your own body will form the ground. A good GFCI will also trip when that happens but you can get a shock though usually not serious thanks to the GFCI.

 

[Swanwillow]

and if you DO drop the lights in the tank, and nothing shorts: DON'T GRAB THE LIGHTS!!! unplug EVERYTHING first!!! THEN pull out the lights.

yes, I have dropped the lights in, I dunno if I have the GF... thinggie (probably not, huh?) and my fish never acted too funny, but it was only normal output lights: not a big ole MH!!!! MAKE SURE TO UNPLUG BEFORE YOUR HANDS RETRIEVE

 

[WaterKeeper]

Please, please folks use a GFCI. They come in extension cord types, wall sockets and as circuit breakers. Salt water is far more conductive than fresh water and electrified tank could seriously injure of kill. It is not only dropping lights in a tank but can be something unseen like a broken heater or cracked powerhead that create a current strong enough to harm someone. A GFCI is cheap insurance against that happening. Even if you need to call in an electrician to install it they are worth every penny to insure your's and perhaps a loved one's safety.

 

[MCary]

Mr Know-it-all, that's funny right there, I don't care who you are.

Gave me a nostalgic chuckle

 

[Swanwillow]

now, OTOH, I DID trip my circut breaker when my Oscar decided to splash really well one day: that worked fine, I must say, so maybe I do have some protection, just not enough...

 

[WaterKeeper]

Wait till you see Sherman, Mr. Peabody and the Waybac Machine.

 

[sttroyiii]

I'd like to second (3rd, 4th?) WaterKeeper on the GFCI outlets. I'd also like to add in that a 'surge protector' is NOT related or interchangable. I've heard them confused before.

 

[MCary]

Hey Tom,

If you climb in the Waybac, go to my house and stop me from putting the freshwater iron additive in my tank that clouded my water for 2 days, killed my yellow tang, and caused a Cheato outbreak in my display.

Appreciate it,

Mike

 

[WaterKeeper]

Oh man Mike,

Sorry to hear that. Are you sure it is an iron supplement? Our resident chemistry expert, Lord Randy , doses some pretty large amounts, at least IMO, without problems. I really don't know if there is a big difference in FW vs. SW iron supplements as they all are probably iron sulfate, iron chloride or an organic ligand such as citrate or FeEDTA. None of the aforementioned should have catastrophic impact on one's tank.

And right on sttroyiii, a surge protector is to protect electronic equipment, not you.