lighteningthes
Member
Went to bed last night and everything was fine. This morning my undulated trigger, humu humu and one damsel her alive. Everyone else dead. Nitrites .25, nitrates about 40, 0 ammonia and 0 chlorine.
all but three fish dead this morning
- Thread starter lighteningthes
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/3097668
Went to bed last night and everything was fine. This morning my undulated trigger, humu humu and one damsel her alive. Everyone else dead. Nitrites .25, nitrates about 40, 0 ammonia and 0 chlorine.
What fish kicked the bucket? At this moment I am thinking, damsels are evil mean fish, the Humu Humu and the trigger are the ones I would expect to be able to fight off a damsel. The others amy have been victims.
you test for chlorine ???? You should be testing for PH, Alk, Cal, and phosphates...are you using a marine test kit?
http:///forum/post/3097668
Went to bed last night and everything was fine. This morning my undulated trigger, humu humu and one damsel her alive. Everyone else dead. Nitrites .25, nitrates about 40, 0 ammonia and 0 chlorine.
What fish kicked the bucket? At this moment I am thinking, damsels are evil mean fish, the Humu Humu and the trigger are the ones I would expect to be able to fight off a damsel. The others amy have been victims.
you test for chlorine ???? You should be testing for PH, Alk, Cal, and phosphates...are you using a marine test kit?
lighteningthes
Member
2 other damsels, a sailfin that ruled the tank, a maroon clown and a blue tang. Chlorine was zero, PH is always at 7.8 despite trying to add buffer. PH is always 7.8 even with fresh salt mix. Alk is high at 2.9. I use a marine kit, yes. The fish have been stressed for the last few days, don't know why. We did about 50 gallons of water changes over the last two days. The only thing I have added that I don't think contributed is "super blue" filter pad in my filter. I don't have any other test kits.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/3097686
2 other damsels, a sailfin that ruled the tank, a maroon clown and a blue tang. Chlorine was zero, PH is always at 7.8 despite trying to add buffer. PH is always 7.8 even with fresh salt mix. Alk is high at 2.9. I use a marine kit, yes. The fish have been stressed for the last few days, don't know why. We did about 50 gallons of water changes over the last two days. The only thing I have added that I don't think contributed is "super blue" filter pad in my filter. I don't have any other test kits.
There is something off with the test kit. If you add a buffer and it still says 7.8...the test kit is off...your PH is probably through the roof. Go to the LFS and have them test your water for you, not with a test strip. Also to large of a water change will do damage as well, never do more than 30% unless some really bad things are going on...50g over 2 days is too much too fast, and with your PH reading wrong it is hard to tell what everything (PH, ALK, Cal) really is.
http:///forum/post/3097686
2 other damsels, a sailfin that ruled the tank, a maroon clown and a blue tang. Chlorine was zero, PH is always at 7.8 despite trying to add buffer. PH is always 7.8 even with fresh salt mix. Alk is high at 2.9. I use a marine kit, yes. The fish have been stressed for the last few days, don't know why. We did about 50 gallons of water changes over the last two days. The only thing I have added that I don't think contributed is "super blue" filter pad in my filter. I don't have any other test kits.
There is something off with the test kit. If you add a buffer and it still says 7.8...the test kit is off...your PH is probably through the roof. Go to the LFS and have them test your water for you, not with a test strip. Also to large of a water change will do damage as well, never do more than 30% unless some really bad things are going on...50g over 2 days is too much too fast, and with your PH reading wrong it is hard to tell what everything (PH, ALK, Cal) really is.
lighteningthes
Member
I have a different test kit for PH I will test my main tank with. I have used 2 different strips along with the dropper style kit. They always read around 7.8. My nitrite and nitrates were all at zero as of Saturday. Monday they were at 5, yes 5 at which time we started changing water. Tuesday night at bed time everyone was fine and swimming normally. About 8 hours later all this happened.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/3097738
I have a different test kit for PH I will test my main tank with. I have used 2 different strips along with the dropper style kit. They always read around 7.8. My nitrite and nitrates were all at zero as of Saturday. Monday they were at 5, yes 5 at which time we started changing water. Tuesday night at bed time everyone was fine and swimming normally. About 8 hours later all this happened.
5 for nitrates is not high, 40 is high for example, doing 50% water changes was not necessary, and is dangerous..you lose allot of good bacteria, it is almost a new setup tank.
Strips are useless...check the expiration dates on the dropper kit...go to the LFS and have them test your water for you. Check the SG as well. Maybe that is off and you have a low PH because you don't have enough salt...This happened to me.
http:///forum/post/3097738
I have a different test kit for PH I will test my main tank with. I have used 2 different strips along with the dropper style kit. They always read around 7.8. My nitrite and nitrates were all at zero as of Saturday. Monday they were at 5, yes 5 at which time we started changing water. Tuesday night at bed time everyone was fine and swimming normally. About 8 hours later all this happened.
5 for nitrates is not high, 40 is high for example, doing 50% water changes was not necessary, and is dangerous..you lose allot of good bacteria, it is almost a new setup tank.
Strips are useless...check the expiration dates on the dropper kit...go to the LFS and have them test your water for you. Check the SG as well. Maybe that is off and you have a low PH because you don't have enough salt...This happened to me.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3097767
I would be more concerned with the fact that you have nitrites...
LOL missed that.
http:///forum/post/3097767
I would be more concerned with the fact that you have nitrites...
LOL missed that.
bulldog123
Member
Im confused! You guys are say PH buffers work and BANG GUY says they dont. Please elaborate.
lighteningthes
Member
My NITRITES were 5, nitrates around 20. I used 2 different dropper tests which show 7.8, the same as the test strips.
lighteningthes
Member
I know nitrites are toxic, I was typing to the person that said nitrates of 5 are not much! The nitrites came from no where. My weekend went like this. Water parameters tested 0 for trites, trates and ammonia. Added 1.5 inch undulated trigger saturday. Saturday evening added "super blue" filter stuff. Sunday re-arranged some rock work. Monday morning everyone was breathing a little fast. Monday around noon my GF tested water and nitrates and nitrites went nuts. Water changes started that day. Fish died last night.
lighteningthes
Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3097832
Well...based on what you are saying, when you rearranged your rocks, you probably stirred some stuff up.....Continue with the water changes, and have your considered using Prime or Amquel+ to at least detoxify the trites
used 1 small bottle of amquel + and two bottles of prime over the last two days.
http:///forum/post/3097832
Well...based on what you are saying, when you rearranged your rocks, you probably stirred some stuff up.....Continue with the water changes, and have your considered using Prime or Amquel+ to at least detoxify the trites
used 1 small bottle of amquel + and two bottles of prime over the last two days.
cranberry
Active Member
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/3097840
used 1 small bottle of amquel + and two bottles of prime over the last two days.
There's your pH problem.
http:///forum/post/3097840
used 1 small bottle of amquel + and two bottles of prime over the last two days.
There's your pH problem.
lighteningthes
Member
I can't believe its a PH problem after 4 different test kits.
lighteningthes
Member
Oh, ok! I just still can't figure out what happened. I am going to mix up some fresh water, test it, float the "super blue" filter pads in the water for a while then test the water again to see if they are some how generating my issue.
deejeff442
Active Member
a 50 % water change isnt going to hurt the fish the bacteria is on hard surfaces like lr and sand.
it will affect inverts though changing ph and salinity.
in order to get nitrites you need first to have ammonia .
since the fish looked fine you prabably had a bad test of ammonia or missed it.then when the ammonia spike came it affected the fish ,then quickly turned to the nitrites.some fish dont recover from a small ammonia spike.even though you address the problem once you see it.
you really need to watch and accurately test the water anytime you disturb the tank.
also if you cant get the ph up by water cahnges try testing the new saltwater mix ph if that is low switch brands.
it will affect inverts though changing ph and salinity.
in order to get nitrites you need first to have ammonia .
since the fish looked fine you prabably had a bad test of ammonia or missed it.then when the ammonia spike came it affected the fish ,then quickly turned to the nitrites.some fish dont recover from a small ammonia spike.even though you address the problem once you see it.
you really need to watch and accurately test the water anytime you disturb the tank.
also if you cant get the ph up by water cahnges try testing the new saltwater mix ph if that is low switch brands.