Still searching for why fish are dying

J

JDT1234

Member
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2662661

Above is an older post I started that has lost interest but I want to throw something out there. I am still loosing fish. Have done a total water transfusion over the last week. Salt mix tested meets all requirements with shining colors. I use Red Sea Pro.

My tank is a 110 gallon with the following corals:

2 hammers moderate size I would say
1 Bubble
1 Candy Cane
2 SPS given to me and I don't know the names. Can attach pics if need be
6 colonies of zoo's

Not much for a tank that size but I am dosing 100ml a day each in 2 part. My KH still stays relatively low in spite of that dosage. I am using BRS 2-part system.

Reading other posts here I am thinking what I am dosing is way out of line for what others seem to be doing.

I am now starting to get GHA and my phosphate test say zero but that is more than Likely due to the algae consuming the phosphate.

My question is can something like that be going on with my 2-part and in fact I am overdosing, getting false readings and killing the new fish additions?

CA 400
AK 7.8
MG 1380

Red Sea kits.

AK will fluctuate from 7-9. CA and MG stay pretty stable.
 
What exactly are you dosing 110ml per day?

You have only a few corals they would not be consuming much.
Regular 10% -15% waters changes should be keeping you close to parameters.
I have a 70g, over 50 corals including a few SPS and two clans and the only thing I dose is 5 ml iodide.

If your corals are fine but your fish are dying it may be extremely low oxygen, overdosing, or disease.
 
Uncle99 said:
What exactly are you dosing 110ml per day?

You have only a few corals they would not be consuming much.
Regular 10% -15% waters changes should be keeping you close to parameters.
I have a 70g, over 50 corals including a few SPS and two clans and the only thing I dose is 5 ml iodide.

If your corals are fine but your fish are dying it may be extremely low oxygen, overdosing, or disease.
Click to expand...

Exactly what is bothering me. I feel I am way to high for what is in my tank. Yet my test kits (Red Sea) tell me I need even more to raise my KH in particular.

Dosing 100ml of ca and 100ml KH daily.

Even with a total water transfusion over the last week my tests tell me to add more KH.

Overdosing I suspect may be a real possibility but how do I get to where I need to be when my kits are telling me to add more.

Low oxygen....maybe, I don't know. I do know the surface has good motion with my wave maker pointed to the surface, my corals all have good movement so I'm getting a solid flow through the tank.

Fish disease seems unlikely since all fish that died came from a variety of fish stores and all die within 1-4 weeks of introduction.

Keep in mind my previous post mentioned I still had four fish that have been in the tank for 6 months to a 1 1/2 years and do not seem to be affected by what is going on in the tank. Only new comers die.
 
One thing comes to mind as I was writing the last reply.

The Red Sea instructions for the KH test says to throw out any unused solution left in the syringe......I have not been. Never understood why I would need to since it was never mixed with anything so I put it back in the bottle.

Is there a reason (I obviously am not seeing) you need to dispose of the used portion in the syringe?

Also, I dose in this order...MG (if needed) KH, CA as the instructions say.

The next suggestion may be my kits are bad. I thought of that. But since the tests got me up to the dosing level I am at in both the CA and KH it is hard to suspect both tests from the same kit are bad.
 
The order of dosing is correct, dosing 2 part is for corals not fish, but I assume maybe if these are way out, the fish might not be happy.

To get the right read on calcium and alkanity ,You must bring magnisum to 1250-1350 first. This is real important because if your magnisum is off, you can dose forever and your calcium and Alk won't appear to increase. Calcium should be about 420 ppm and Alk should be 8-12 dkh, 10 is perfect.

Do you use Red Sea for your mag test? Yes, always follow manufactures instructions.

As a reference, I 2 part dose my tank at 70g about twice a week, 10 ml, and I gave 50 corals many LPS, clams, SPS, which are big users of calcium and Alk.
I would just stop the dosing right now and get a second opinion on the tests, either LFS or new kits...
 
Figured out how to post pictures I think...

You should see a pic of the tank.
 

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Yup I see that.
I see absolutely no reason to 2 part dose this tank at all, regular water changes will keep your parameters in check.

Stop dosing, followed by 4, 20% water changes.......
 
Uncle99 said:
The order of dodging is correct.
You must bring magnisum to 1250-1350 first. This is real important because if your magnisum is off, you can dose forever and your calcium and Alk won't appear to increase.
Do you use Red Sea for your mag test? Yes, always follow manufactures instructions.
As a reference, I 2 part dose my tank at 70g about twice a week, 10 ml, and I gave 50 corals many LPS, clams, SPS, which are big users of calcium and Alk.
I would just stop the dosing right now and get a second opinion on the tests, either LFS or new kits...
Click to expand...

Red Sea for mg test yes. Right now it reads 1380. A little high. But I will bring it down to the lower end and start working from there.

So I should be throwing out the unused portion of the KH solution from the syringe after each test? I just dont understand the reasoning for that. Seems like a waste but I hope there is a reason Red Sea says this rather than just a way to increase sales by having us throw out good solution.

Your example is comparable to what I have been reading here on the forum. I know from researching the threads something is way off with my setup but can't figure it out.

I'll stop into my LFS this week with water samples and see if his tests matches mine.

Thank you Uncle.
 
Uncle99 said:
Yup I see that.
I see absolutely no reason to 2 part dose this tank at all, regular water changes will keep your parameters in check.

Stop dosing, followed by 4, 20% water changes.......
Click to expand...

Thanks again. Interesting. I thought parameters, numbers and such were all part of the game.

I have no problem not dosing and doing more water changes.
 
Out of range salinity will result in out of range trace elements. And if it’s really out of wack, corals and inverts will be affected first, not fish.

My water SG was 1.036-1.041 for about six months due to a faulty “lab grade” refractometer. All my fish were fine, but the corals and CUC melted within a week.

You said only new fish died. And you said disease is not a factor. So maybe, agression......
 
If only new Fish are dying I don’t see how it’s not disease? It’s disease or you need to get fish from another source.
 
newbie2014 said:
Out of range salinity will result in out of range trace elements. And if it's really out of wack, corals and inverts will be affected first, not fish.

My water SG was 1.036-1.041 for about six months due to a faulty "œlab grade" refractometer. All my fish were fine, but the corals and CUC melted within a week.

You said only new fish died. And you said disease is not a factor. So maybe, agression......
Click to expand...

It was suggested in my last thread the Domino Damsels may have been the culprit. Tore the tank down and removed them. Put in six Chromis and all but one is left. The remaining tang and clown leave the Chromis alone so I think we can rule out aggression at this time.
 
Dmorty217 said:
If only new Fish are dying I don't see how it's not disease? It's disease or you need to get fish from another source.
Click to expand...

I said not disease due to the fact the new fish that died did come from various sources.

I certainly am open to the idea of you feel my thinking is wrong.

Let's say it is a disease that have allowed four fish (before I removed the damsels) to avoid contracting it. What do I do?
 
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