fish dieing, NEED HELP!!! NEWBIE!

[ferocios31]

hey guys,
so first off, i made the silly mistake of buying a "plasma" fish tank thinking it looks cool and the claim that you can have saltwater fish sold me. The dimensions are 6 feet length, by 2 feet height, and only about 6 inches in depth. Heres a link:
 
http://www.aquabellaaquariums.com/aquarium_products.asp
 
Anyhow, I get the tank, cycle it for 4 -5 months, drop live rock, live sand, and even 2 powerheads to make the currents stronger since the middle didnt have much current. i probably have about 10 pounds of live rock, a 4 inch sandbed of live sand and dropped the fish in. Btw, the tank is only 25 gallons.
 
The filtration system is 2 sponges on the sides of the tank built in with these small bio balls in them, about 4, on each side of the tank. That makes a total of 4 sponges with about 6 - 8 bio balls.
 
I drop in fish, about 2 at a time. All small, easy going, hardy fish:
1) pajama cardinal
2) bengai cardinal
3) ocellaris clownfish
4) firefish
5) royal gramma
6) chromis
 
They survived for a couple of months, Now, all that is alive is the pajama cardinal. Every time I get my water tested at my lfs, its fine. I get a skimmer thinking maybe its the nitrates. A simple hang on skimmer, but it doesnt seem to make a huge difference.
 
The guy at my lfs said that my filteration system sucks and to buy a fluval 205, replace that with the sponges in the tank (so I constantly dont have to dig them out from the tank and clean them) and get an arctica 1/15th chiller, to monitor temp.
With the Fluval, he took out the carbon and stuff, and told me to replace the one it came with with their carbon and also to add phosphorous I believe.
 
Ok, so done. I now have water being pumped out from tank, into the fluval to clean, out of fluval to arctica to cool water if necessary, then back to the tank. Sounds like this should work...
 
I buy a chromis the next day to test it out. Next morning, he died...great
 
Any suggestions guys???
 
The only other thing I could think of is that the fish arent getting enough oxygen. I did notice a lot of them coming up to the tank, could that be it???
 
Thanks in advance!
 

 

[flower]

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferocios31 http:///forum/thread/379743/fish-dieing-need-help-newbie#post_3301674
hey guys,
so first off, i made the silly mistake of buying a "plasma" fish tank thinking it looks cool and the claim that you can have saltwater fish sold me. The dimensions are 6 feet length, by 2 feet height, and only about 6 inches in depth. Heres a link:
 
http://www.aquabellaaquariums.com/aquarium_products.asp
 
Anyhow, I get the tank, cycle it for 4 -5 months, drop live rock, live sand, and even 2 powerheads to make the currents stronger since the middle didnt have much current. i probably have about 10 pounds of live rock, a 4 inch sandbed of live sand and dropped the fish in. Btw, the tank is only 25 gallons.
 
The filtration system is 2 sponges on the sides of the tank built in with these small bio balls in them, about 4, on each side of the tank. That makes a total of 4 sponges with about 6 - 8 bio balls.
 
I drop in fish, about 2 at a time. All small, easy going, hardy fish:
1) pajama cardinal
2) bengai cardinal
3) ocellaris clownfish
4) firefish
5) royal gramma
6) chromis
 
They survived for a couple of months, Now, all that is alive is the pajama cardinal. Every time I get my water tested at my lfs, its fine. I get a skimmer thinking maybe its the nitrates. A simple hang on skimmer, but it doesnt seem to make a huge difference.
 
The guy at my lfs said that my filteration system sucks and to buy a fluval 205, replace that with the sponges in the tank (so I constantly dont have to dig them out from the tank and clean them) and get an arctica 1/15th chiller, to monitor temp.
With the Fluval, he took out the carbon and stuff, and told me to replace the one it came with with their carbon and also to add phosphorous I believe.
 
Ok, so done. I now have water being pumped out from tank, into the fluval to clean, out of fluval to arctica to cool water if necessary, then back to the tank. Sounds like this should work...
 
I buy a chromis the next day to test it out. Next morning, he died...great
 
Any suggestions guys???
 
The only other thing I could think of is that the fish arent getting enough oxygen. I did notice a lot of them coming up to the tank, could that be it???
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Hi,
 
 

le="font-size: 10pt">
Welcome to the site, sorry to hear of your troubles.

Do you have your own test kits? If not get a master kit for saltwater, if yes then post your test results. We can't help until we have that information.

We need to know
PH…Alkalinity…Ammonia…Nitrite…nitrates…Phosphates..Temp…and SG


The fluval was a good choice, so was the power heads to circulate the water. You might need a little more rock.

tyle="font-family: arial,sans-serif">What the LFS guy was having you do was keep your good bacteria by putting the old sponges into the fluval. You need to replace the carbon once each month. When you do your water changes rinse the sponges in the used tank water to preserve the bacteria and put it back into the canister.

 

[meowzer]

This tank is only 6" in depth

 
The tank is a beauty, BUT....kinda skinny there

 

[plastercracker]

kinda un clear on set up. you say you cycled the tank and then put in sand and rock, you could not have done that did you? you mean you put in sand , rock, and then water right. the foam filters are a no no for salt, your new filter will work fine. chromis are not the most hardiest , they do better in schools. dont forget there thousands of them in the ocean and you bought one. i would get your water checked again and try 6 chromis or 2 blue damsels. and maybe a chocalate chip star if it is a fish only tank. you can always add mushrooms nothing bothers them. what i mentioned will cost only around 20.00. try to keep your cost down till you get the hang of it. soon you will have more than 1 tank.

 

[flower]

Hi,
 
I had no idea you were taking about a tank that was the size of a flat screen TV. I have no idea how such a fish tank could keep anything alive...there is no surface space for gas exchange.

 

[meowzer]

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/379743/fish-dieing-need-help-newbie#post_3301738
Hi,
 
I had no idea you were taking about a tank that was the size of a flat screen TV. I have no idea how such a fish tank could keep anything alive...there is no surface space for gas exchange.
And how would the fish turn around......imagine going thru your life only being able to go one direction

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/379743/fish-dieing-need-help-newbie#post_3301740
 
And how would the fish turn around......imagine going thru your life only being able to go one direction
Hi,
 
Depends on the size fish, a little type could swim without a problem...the ad however talks about a trigger...what a rip off and so much money too.

 

[ferocios31]

regarding the cycling, yes, i dropped rock, sand then water, then let it cycle.
 
the fish i have been buying are only 2 to 3 inches max and dont grow bigger then that so i dont have to worry about them getting too big for the tank.
 
i havent gotten actual readings from my water tests, which i will try to do. i dont know how to test the tank yet, so ive been going to a lfs bringing in a sample and they have been testing it.
 
the gas exchange that flower talks about might be something that i have not looked at, does that involve having enough oxygen in the tank?

 

[flower]

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferocios31 http:///forum/thread/379743/fish-dieing-need-help-newbie#post_3301772
regarding the cycling, yes, i dropped rock, sand then water, then let it cycle.
 
the fish i have been buying are only 2 to 3 inches max and dont grow bigger then that so i dont have to worry about them getting too big for the tank.
 
i havent gotten actual readings from my water tests, which i will try to do. i dont know how to test the tank yet, so ive been going to a lfs bringing in a sample and they have been testing it.
 
the gas exchange that flower talks about might be something that i have not looked at, does that involve having enough oxygen in the tank?
Hi,
 
 
What I am talking about is old school, maybe times have changed with technology… I was always taught and I have read that the deep tanks were not as good as shallow ones. The area on the top was where all the important exchanges of the natural processes takes place. The more surface area the better.

Well with new power heads and what not, deep tanks lost the stigma…but a tank that is 6 inches wide has like no area when you see the tank is 6 foot long and 24 inches deep. The ad says it comes with everything you need, but now you are tweaking that for other equipment…. I just hope it works out for you because you have invested so much already.

Everyone on the site here will be glad to help, but I don’t know anyone with a tank like yours. This will be an adventure for all of us as we try and help. You do need your own test kits, they are very easy to use and instructions come with them and an explanation of what the water numbers should be and how to regulate things. So that should be your next purchase.