jdennysgir
Member
I have a 44 gal. saltwater tank. It has 6 fish, a few hermits, 3 turbo snails, a sea urchin, and a starfish in it. The tank has been up and running for over 2 years. It is ran by a fluval filter. Here is the problem. A few weeks ago I added some rock that was not live rock. I forget what the name of it is. Slag maybe? Not sure what the LFS called it. I wanted to use it under the live rock I was going to purchase. I took it home and let it set in freshwater for 24 hours and scrubbed it before placing it in my tank. That is what I was told to do from my LFS. It seems a few days later I noticed a dead fish. I took all the readings from the water and the nitrites were high. I then did several water changes and all readings are back where they should be. After that I noticed my fish breathing hard again, like they did when the nitrites were high. Took tests on the water again and everything is ok. Some of the fish were at the top of the tank acting like they weren't getting enough air. Since all my readings were fine, I hooked up another small air pump and put an airline in the tank. The next morning the fish were breathing normally again. After about a week, I purchased some live rock that has already been cured and put it in my tank on top of the "slag" rock. Again, after a few days my fish showed the signs of hard breathing. I checked the water again. All readings are fine. Again, I put the air line in the tank and the next morning they were breathing normal again. If my filter not putting enough air into the water? If not, does the addition of the rock have anything to do with it? I have used the same filter for 2 years now and have never had this problem. I am baffled. Also, I did clean the media in the filter after the first time the nitrites went up thinking maybe it was too dirty and polluting the water. I don't know if that would have anything to do with this problem or not. I don't see how it could. Any ideas anyone? Thanks ahead of time, again.
