I Dont Know Whats Wrong?

[bluespotocto]

I am trying to set up a 75 gallon reef. I had a 40 gallon system before that i had tons of fish in and i think i only lost one fish and it was because it was sick. I set up my new 75 and let it do a small cylce for a couple week and got all my chems in check. I put in all 8 fish and all them died except 2. I then realzed my nitrate was off and i quickly fixed it. So with amonia and nitrite at zero and nitrate at 20 ppm i decided to start stocking the tank. I got 3 pj cardinals and they all died with in 3 days. I went and talked to my LFS and we fiqured it might be what i acclimated them in. I didnt rinse it very well and still had soap in it since i washed it. I then got a new hang on acclimator and got 3 more pj cardinals. They also all died within 2 days(i got them last sunday). There is no disease spots on them or anything. My clown and zebra dart dont pick on them. Also what is weird is that my 2 fish that i moved of from the 40 are the only ones to survive while all these others are dieing. So i need some help. I dont like all these fish dieing and i really want a reef tank. So if any one has any ideas. PLEASE!!! Alos i have gone through about 15 fish thinking i had found the problem every time but i guess not. So please help!!!?

 

[snorvich]

Well, first of all, slow down. Please provide water parameters.

 

[bluespotocto]

Its all in ppm unless told other wise.
Amonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20
Salintity- 1.024
Temp 79-81

Let me know what else you need to find out the problem.

 

[hybridazn]

More than likely because your tank is far from being a stable environment. Like stated above, slow down and be patient.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[bluespotocto]

Well i have had the tanks set up now for about a 2 years.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I am trying to set up a 75 gallon reef. I had a 40 gallon system before that i had tons of fish in and i think i only lost one fish and it was because it was sick. I set up my new 75 and let it do a small cylce for a couple week and got all my chems in check. I put in all 8 fish and all them died except 2......

Well i have had the tanks set up now for about a 2 years.

So, is the tank about a month old or 2 years old?

 

[bluespotocto]

So the tank was originally a cephalapod tank for about an 1 and half years. I then broke it down but kept the same sand and water in there and started turning it into a reef tank. From all the commotion my nitrates were high and i had some amonia. I let it go through a small cycle and thought it was good. Thats when i started adding more fish. So i had the same water and sand that never changed. I did add about 60 pounds of LR at the begining of that month with the small cycle

 

[pinnatus]

Sounds to me that you don't have enough bio filter for adding a lot of fish at once. Even if your tank was cycled, a tank's biological population will grow to meet the demand, and no further. So, if you cycle a tank with 1 fish in it, the biological filter has grown to a population that will consume the wastes given off by that one fish. If you then throw 5 more fish in, it will take time for the bacteria to increase their population to meet the new bioload. So your ammonia and nitrite levels will spike, possibly killing some or all of your inhabitants. Every time you add a new inhabitant, your tank experiences a new mini cycle. The size of the cycle depends on how many fish you already have and the size of the new addition. A tank with lots of established fish will barely register a blip if you add a new fish, but a new tank will definitely get upset when adding even 1 new fish.

So, what you could do is move the live rock from the 40 to the 75, thus moving the majority of the 40's biological filter over to the 75. Then the 75 gallon tank should be able to support the same number of fish that the 40 was supporting before the transfer.

HTH

 

[MikeandNicole]

When you broke down the old tank and let the sand and rock sit, was there flow, filtration and heat on there?

 

[bluespotocto]

yes there was flow and heat and every thing. I also did add all my LR from the 40 into the 75. The only thing i did not add was the sand and water from the 40.

 

[snorvich]

Water parameters? Alk, Ca, Mg, SG.

 

[chasekwe]

If he was having die-off from not properly maintaining his LR and substrate then he would not have this...
Amonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20


The first thing I thought when he said he added 8 fish at once is that he overwhelmed the bio-capacity as pinnatus mentioned. However, to lose 3 pajama cardinals twice in a row doesn't seem likely if this was the sole problem.

I'd have to think there must be something else wrong. More water parameters like snorvich said would be good. Also, start looking into other issues. How are any corals you have in the tank? How is the CUC fairing? Is your equipment all in good conditioning? Are you dosing anything? Have you tried fish from another source? Have you tried large water changes? Like 100% even in buckets (or whatever you use to xport water) that've never seen soap. How old is your food? Have you tried buying new food?


My guess(and it is a guess) is that, like pinnatus said, when you threw 8 fish into a newly cycled system you overwhelmed the bio-capacity which is evidenced by "I then realzed my nitrate was off". Then in a hasty attempt to fix it you didn't exercise basic cautions "I didnt rinse it very well and still had soap in it" and have introduced some toxins into the mix.

I'd do a 100% WC, let the tank sit for a couple weeks, observe what fish and inverts are still alive and see how they seem to be doing. Then try adding one inexpensive fish that has been doing well at your LFS for a couple of weeks or more so you have an idea that it is healthy and go from there.

 

[bluespotocto]

I only have a leather in there and he has not opened for a while. My cuc is doing fine eating all the algae from the bloom. All my equipment is in good condition nothing wrong with it. I have been doing about 50% water changes every sunday for the past 4 weeks. I havent tried fish from another spot yet(thinking about it). Another thing i thought about is that when i was building my hood i accidently broke a 65 watt pc bulb in the water. Only like 2-3 tiny piece went in the water and i got them our really fast. Thats my only other thought.

 

[snorvich]

Jeez, is it really so difficult to provide water parameters when asking for help?

 

[bluespotocto]

Its all in ppm unless told other wise.
Amonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20
Salintity- 1.024
Temp 79-81

Let me know what else you need to find out the problem.

Here they are again. I dont know what else you want.

 

[nikon187]

Water parameters? Alk, Ca, Mg,.

3 posts up

 

[snorvich]

What are you measuring SG with? A refractometer or hydrometer? How calibrated? Alkalinity? Since we are guessing, I can think of only two things: a contaminant of some sort, or water that is out of whack.

 

[bluespotocto]

i measure with a refractometer and my salinity is 1.024. I calibrated by letting it set in proper salt water for 24 hours like the instructions said. I will check all my calc and all that other stuff tonight. Does any one think that it could have been since i broke a light bulb in the water? But that doesnt really make since because all these waves of fish that have been dieing my 2 oringlinal are still alive.

 

[snorvich]

Calibration of a refractometer should be done with solution that is 1.0264. Pinpoint makes it, Randy has instructions on how to create your own. The more information we have, the better our guesses will be. My current speculation is that the fish had SG shock.