Originally Posted by
steelytom
http:///forum/post/2806657
You really seem to be doing everything by the book, there has to be something in there that is killing the fish. Maybe you should just run it fishless for two months, run carbon and do your water changes. If there is some parasite, 8 weeks without a host should kill it off. If the next fish does the same thing then you know you need to get rid of everything and start over with new sand, rocks and water. Where did you get your sand by the way?
I'm tempted to just gut the tank: throw away the water and sand, sterilize the tank and boil the rock. I don't EVER want to deal with whatever is in there again. I know it means turning my live rock into "dead" rock but at this point I need to cut my losses. I can't bear to lose another fish - it's so unfair to the poor little guys. I COULD wait two months and then try again but if that still doesn't work then I have wasted two months and I will never feel like it's "clean" until I just start from scratch. HOWEVER, I want to know WHAT was killing fish before I tear it apart. This won't be a total loss if I can at least LEARN something from the whole experience.
Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/2806665
I know that you said that you added a PH for oxygenation but how much is the surface being broken from both the eclipses filter and the PH?
Good question, and I've often wondered what the requirements were for the surface being "broken". I saw visible waves and current across the top once I added the powerhead but not knowing if that was enough I then added the optional Venturi feature that forces tiny bubbles into the water and when those broke the surface, it was very broken and popping and busy. But I would love to know if there is a good indicator of sufficient "surface breakage" so I can get my next two tanks set up right. (I just filled a 46 bowfront and am acquiring a 55 gallon rectangular this weekend). This trial tiny tank may have defeated me but I am NOT throwing in the saltwater towel!
Originally Posted by ReefNutPA
http:///forum/post/2806965
Two thoughts cross my mind. First, I agree with 1journeyman. Oxygen deprevation. A powerhead will 'move' water, but does not oxygenate. 12 gallons is a rather small tank and 'bad' things can happen quickly. Second, is the RO/DI top off water aerated before use? RO/DI water lacks sufficient oxygen. If you aren't aerating it first, you are reducing the oxygen in the tank with each water change.
Also, you should have no detectable levels of nitrite in your tank. Something is amiss. However, I would think the shrimp/snails would be the first affected by that if nitrite poisoning were the cause.
I personally would not tear down the tank. If the tank/water can sustain inverts, which are much more sensitive to water quality and poisons than fish, then I honestly don't believe the issue is with the tank itself.
Tom
Well THAT could be the problem! No, I have not been aerating or oxygenating the water change/top off water before putting it into the tank. That could be a BIG part of the problem because each time I add a new fish I remove a bunch of water in the acclimation process. Then I throw that water away and replace it with stuff that I had made the day before. Do you think that in addition to the water not having oxygen in it that it's also reducing the amount of oxygen that's already in the tank?????? I, too, really feel this is a respiratory thing. They die in 3-5 days, the first sign is always lethargy and breathing heavily, and it's not affecting the inverts. Really DOES sound like an oxygen issue, doesn't it?
Isn't it normal to have a tiny amount of nitrites in the tank if you catch it during the period where it's been converted from ammonia but before it's been converted to nitrates? There has got to be a small window where the nitrites are detectable before they get converted, no?
OK, so I need to get more oxygen in the tank and try ONE more fish. But, I had put the power head and Venturi bubbler attachment on while the last fish was in there and he still died. Perhaps there was already too much damage done to him before I added the powerhead? I would have thought that adding the oxygen would have allowed him to make a recovery, but instead it finished him off.
