desperate; NEED HELP

tigerlady43

tigerlady43

New Member
we have an aquarium set up now for about 14 months. we have spent hundreds on fish just for them to keep diing? salt is right, ph is right, and every times we take water sample tp have it tested , its ok. the fish will be alright for about 2 weeks then one by one they will start to die. can anyone help.
 
tigerlady43

tigerlady43

New Member
this is all i can tell you about the tank. it is 36 gal., there is a hang filter on the back with a tornado tube in it and a collection tray on top that hasnt collected anything. we put an aquanizer on it and a small bubble wand for air. there is a flurecent bulb in the light. crushed coral instead of sand and a couple pieces of large coral. we have anenomes, starfish(2),scallop, feather duster, and a lunar grassa still alive. we have lost clown fish ,royal gramma,foxface,red hawk,blue tang coral beauty,mandarine. we balance the ph when needed with baking soda(found this on internet). there has been nothing else put into tank. we bought complete setup at pet shop and they had everything waiting for us when we got there. i dont know what any of the things you asked about are. sorry. i hope i have given all something to go on
 
nakadoc

nakadoc

Member
Well if your only floating to temp accalimate the fish you are shocking them by just releasing them into your tank. You need to drip acclimate or slowly add tank water to the bag over a period of an hour or so then release them into the tank. You said the LFS sold you a complete setup, they never have a complete setup. I take it you have no Live Rock, your lighting is not adequate to keep anemones, you dont have any real filteration. Best advice I can give you is stop buying anything to put into your tank, your just throwing your money away. Start reading about how to setup and care for saltwater aquariums and its livestock. Get everything you need for your tank to sustain your biological filter and the best thing would be to never go back to that LFS again. They sold you stuff they knew you could not keep alive. You need a test kit to watch your water parameters, a master test kit is a good place to start. Do not put anything in your tank that you cant test for or monitor. This is a wonderful hobby and as you already know not the cheapest. Goodluck!
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Like the other OP said, your lighting is totally inadequate for an anemone.
The tank is also way too small for a tang. You also have to have at least 100 lbs of LR to keep a mandarin alive. We will need your EXACT water parameters (sg, temp, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and ph) to really help you.
 
nacl freak

nacl freak

Member
So sorry you have started such a wonderful hobbie with only your lfs to guide you. You will get expert advice with no economic gains at your or the animals expence here. If you can, post pictures of all your equipment. Lets identify exactly what type of filtration system ,lighting etc. you have and go from there. We also need to know what type of top off water you are using.Take a deep breath, spend your money where it will give you the best results, and read, read, read.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Also please remove the bubble wand from your tank. You do not need a bubble maker like you'd use in a freshwater tank. Can you take a picture of your tank so that we can see what really is in there?
 
tigerlady43

tigerlady43

New Member
the filter is a skilter 250, it has a skimmer in it and filter cartridge that slides in the back and tha lighting is a caral life 20k. i have seen pics of other tanks, they have sand instead of coral and they have a filter syst that is tubes that sit outside the tank. is this what is needed
 
mattinwa

mattinwa

Member
You should research this hobby before just jumping in, it could save you lots of time and money. Even with research you will learn more in the first couple years of practice. Hope your luck turns around.
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by tigerlady43 http:///forum/post/2521690
the filter is a skilter 250, it has a skimmer in it and filter cartridge that slides in the back and tha lighting is a caral life 20k. i have seen pics of other tanks, they have sand instead of coral and they have a filter syst that is tubes that sit outside the tank. is this what is needed
The skilter is pretty much the cheapest protein skimmer on the market, it is also IMPO the most worthless. I would recommend that you return it and get a better brand. Sand isn't necessary, although many people prefer it. Both Crushed coral and a shallow sand bed require maintanence. Not sure what type of filter system you are referring to, as there are a variety out there that work. Your lights maybe good enough for some soft corals, but not anemonies and certainly no lps or sps corals. The large coral pieces will act as LR (live rock) and begin to accumulate bacteria, as will your crushed coral, but real live rock is better, and you should consider adding some. As others have said, invest in a master test kit and a refractometer so you can test your water parameters rather than your LFS (ok, tells us nothing). Read, Read, Read ~ this site is an excellent source, as are the books listed under this thread.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/311905/good-beginner-books
Learning to properly acclimate your livestock is extremely important, otherwise you are simply throwing money away every time you make a purchase. Hope that helps.
 
tigerlady43

tigerlady43

New Member
hi everyone and thank you for all your advise. i think we may have found our problem. we have been using tap water from the city with clorine in it. we went and got a clorine remover today. we are also looking into a canister filter. the water always check out ok but we are going to get a master kit also. the aneomies are doing fine and so are the star fish. how long do you think we should wait before tring to add a fish and which kind would be good to test the water?
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
Hi , imo Your going to have to cycle your tank again....In the past year ,with all the tap you've used ,you have killed off all the beneficial bacteria you need to cycle.....amquel , amquel plus and prime are the best dechlorinaters out there....aerate your saltwater 24 hours before adding and buy some live rock...it will help you cycle quicker....turbo start 900 and bio-spira can also help you cycle..
 
tigerlady43

tigerlady43

New Member
thank you for the info. hope to be posting good news soon. will let you all know how its going. this is a very informative site and i enjoy knowing i can get a problem resolved thru here.
 
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