Help! All Fish Dying Quickly

mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
Honestly, I don't know what type the 4 powerheads are because they came with the tank. I can't take a picture since I'm not home. (I just looked on foster and smith to see if I could figure out what they are and they look a lot like the Maxi Jet, however, I don't know what size they are/how many gph.) And then the one at the bottom is a Koralia 1. I asked my husband to retest nitrite and ammonia now. Husband just confirmed the ones on top are MaxiJet 1200s.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
that tells me alot a koralia #1 is for a small 25-30 gallon tank and the maxi 1200 are little toys.
when you do water changes it adds some air less fish need less air.
in a 180 gallon you need at least three or four #3 or#4's
there is no way you have eneough flow in there to make eneough oxygen.
i have a 225 gallon really isnt much bigger than yours when they get over 150 gallon.
i have a 2300 gph main pump and 4 #4 koralias.
i still think i want to add another #4
i had my tang in a 45 gallon qt with 3 of those maxi pump and th fish went to the bottom starving for air after a couple hours.
i put 2 #3 koralias in and took out the maxi's and in 10 minutes he was swimming around.
you need to really get that water moving.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Although oxygen depletion is a very real problem. It is not something common in a tank your size. Is your tank drilled? If so how many overflow boxes? How big is your sump. What is the return GPH of your sump pump? How close to the surface are your return lines? are you using a protein skimmer
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
OK, well thank you very much for the info!!! I feel like such an idiot at this point. But I really think there was a combination of the two (ammonia and oxygen). After all the others had died, the two clowns were still not happy or acting normal.
It still amazes me that they were in there for that long and no signs of stress...even the new additions were there a week before any signs of stress, nothing immediate at all like you talked about above.
So, we'll absolutely be getting some new powerheads this week.
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3108742
Although oxygen depletion is a very real problem. It is not something common in a tank your size. Is your tank drilled? If so how many overflow boxes? How big is your sump. What is the return GPH of your sump pump? How close to the surface are your return lines? are you using a protein skimmer
Yes, tank is drilled with two overflow boxes...one on each end.
The sump...I wish I knew the size. It's approx 4 feet long if that tells you anything. (I've considered in the past that it was not big enough, but haven't made plans to replace yet.)
The return lines are actually at the bottom of the tank. There are two coming up from the bottom with a pipe sending the water in two different directions from each return line...This is the setup of the tank from the previous owner. We thought this was ok. Is this ok? Or is this going to cause problems?
Return GPH is 822. I'm assuming this isn't enough?
Yes, using a protein skimmer.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Do you add the buffers directly to the display tank as you try to increase pH?
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
Yes, we did because we thought it would be the best way to help since it was relatively low compared to what it should be. We've only done this once and that was in the previous tank. This is only the second time we've added it (today).
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
It is best to add buffers to your salt water mixed up that you are going to use for water changes, rather than putting nearly raw chemicals into your tank.
While 7.8 will not likely cause a complete wipe out, if you are fluctuating between this and higher pH, then that can be a problem. Have your water tested by the LFS for pH and the other readings.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Mr&Mrs.O
http:///forum/post/3108751
Yes, tank is drilled with two overflow boxes...one on each end.
The sump...I wish I knew the size. It's approx 4 feet long if that tells you anything. (I've considered in the past that it was not big enough, but haven't made plans to replace yet.)
The return lines are actually at the bottom of the tank. There are two coming up from the bottom with a pipe sending the water in two different directions from each return line...This is the setup of the tank from the previous owner. We thought this was ok. Is this ok? Or is this going to cause problems?
Return GPH is 822. I'm assuming this isn't enough?
Yes, using a protein skimmer.
IMO you do (did) not have an Oxygen depletion Situation one more thing how deep is your sand bed. can you post a pic of your tank and sump
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
yea i agree after seeing the main pump with a skimmer.i would still add some bigger powerheads to the tank.
i would have to think there was an ammonia spike that was missed.
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
Ok, so now we're saying it was NOT lack of oxygen?? Currently we have 4 MaxiJet1200s, 1 Koralia 1 and then the return pump that does 822 GPH.
Based on previous statements in the thread, we were going to add 2 of the Koralias 4s. So, do we even need to do that now? I'm sure it can't hurt right??
I do agree that there must have been an ammonia spike because after retesting, my husband said that the nitrite test was showing possibly .25 (wasn't exactly zero, but didn't exactly match .25). So we're thinking it was .25.
I do not have a picture of the sump on my computer here at work but I do have a picture of the tank. I will post. I would say the sand bed is about 2 inches or so (definitely not more). Also, the MaxiJets have been moved back up higher as of last night (they were previously moved lower as showin in pic)*Please excuse the algae in the back...hard to reach and the snails are slow movers.
P.S. That half lid thing was only up there a couple days. We've been experimenting with adding a lid but dont think we like it. (I think I previously said the top was open so I just wanted to clarify)
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
I think both deejeff and myself feel it was not an oxygen depletion problem. Don’t worry too much about algae on non-viewing areas of your tank. I see the overflow boxes and powerheads but do not see your returns can you post a pic of them
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Also in relation to my question on the depth of your sand bed. Deep sand beds have been know to be a cause of oxygen depletion
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
I don't have any pictures that were taken specifically of the returns but here are some pics that show them and hopefully you can tell how they go. If you look in the picture in the post above below the gold rim and slightly to the right just above the sand, that's where one of them is. There are two return pipes...each about a third of the way in from the each side. The pipe comes up into the tank and then we have a T that splits it sending the water up and out from two sides from each pipe. The rock "hides" the pipes but does not block the flow of the water.
Pic 1: One of them is in the upper right corner.
Pic 2: Shows one side of the pipe close.
Pic 3: Better view.
Thoughts? Criticisms? (Keep in mind this was the previous owner's setup, we didn't design it)


 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
here is what i think now looking into the tank.
not eneough flow in there which when you added a couple more fish the water wasnt hitting the lr and sand eneough for the bacteria to eat it up.
causing an ammonia spike and killing the fish.
could only guess at what level the ammonia was now seeing if you have a little nitrites and that is probably going away fast since there is less bioload now.like i said before ammonia doesnt hang around for very long but it will do some serious damage.
i would get the 2 koralias and leave two of the rios in the back cornors to hit the dead spots.
are there any fish in the tank now?
once the nitrite is gone probably in a couple days after you put the koralias in i would put the fish back.
alot of us keep some amquil plus handy for a surprise ammonia spike usually for our qt.but good to have around in case a fish dies and messes up the water.
untill a tank has matured for a while like 6 months or mor and you are adding fish always check the water as often as you can.
also the new pumps will help get rid of that algea
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3109627
curious what is that pipe for in the last pic next to the yellow tang?
That is one of the return pipes. I wish I could draw a diagram but I can't. Do you understand how it's setup? If so, is that an ok setup? (I don't think we can do much about it, but it would be good to know for future reference)
The only fish in there is the starfish. The two clowns are in another tank right now. However, the anems and inverts are still in the tank and seem to be doing fine. We'll get the extra powerheads and get the flow taken care of.
Thank you so much everyone for the responses, help and input! I really appreciate it.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
so if thats a return line at the bottom of the tank .what happens when the power goes out?
how does it not drain the whole tank to the sump?
 
mr&mrs.o

mr&mrs.o

Member
We had the same concern when we first set it up. But there is a check valve that stops the water from flowing back down in the event of no power. We made sure to test that in the beginning :)
 
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