HELP HELP

[funeral guy]

it appears that all of our fish are struggling to breath and there are 3 that are laying on the rocks or the sand. I have checked the nitrats and ph level and the salt level and the temp everything is normal nothing has changed in the tank the only thing that has changed is the protein skimmer quit working during the night and the new one want be here until tomorrow any suggestions would be great

 

[jay0705]

What filtration r u using? U need to increase the oxygen in the water

 

[silverado61]

How many power heads do you have going in your tank? Do you have any extra power heads that you can put in your sump till the new skimmer gets there?

 

[2quills]

Get a air pump or power head to increase the water movement asap.

Check ammonia.

 

[beaslbob]

Possible some kind of contaminant. Check ammonia.

add macro algae like chaeto if you can get you hands on some.

could be ammonia and or high co2 or both. Either are consumed by algae.

my .02

 

[funeral guy]

i am using a marinland c-530 canister filter
didn't know what was wrong so did a partial water change of 45 gallons and so far it appears to be working we lost for fish but everyone else looks like they are going to be okay

 

[silverado61]

You still need oxygen saturation through aeration. More power heads will help with that.

 

[jay0705]

Agreed. The canister isn't enough

 

[silverado61]

The water change may have added oxygen to the water column but it's only temporary. Soon the oxygen will deplete again and this time you may not recover.

 

[funeral guy]

more saturation? I had air bubble wands in there is that what your meaning?

 

[funeral guy]

How many power heads do you have going in your tank? Do you have any extra power heads that you can put in your sump till the new skimmer gets there?

what are power heads I am not clear on that, I have the filter the skimmer and then a circulator

 

[silverado61]

more saturation? I had air bubble wands in there is that what your meaning?

Bubble wands don't really do much for oxygenation in my opinion. You need serious water movement. Thats where power heads come into play.

 

[silverado61]

what are power heads I am not clear on that, I have the filter the skimmer and then a circulator

Power heads are underwater fans that creates current in the water column and aerates the water creating oxygen for the fish to breathe.

 

[funeral guy]

Power heads are underwater fans that creates current in the water column and aerates the water creating oxygen for the fish to breathe.

okay so I have one circulator that is suppose move like 5000 psi or something like that it does create a strong current do you think that is enough/ Also I did end up having the water tested and the nitrites where extremely high for some reason I don't know what caused the change unless bad water from the skimmer got into the tank.

 

[jay0705]

Silver is spot on

 

[silverado61]

Lol. The term is GPH meaning Gallons Per Hour. Your typically looking for a GPH of at least 20 times the water volume of your tank. This doesn't include the return pump. The combination of power heads, return pump and a skimmer should result in total saturation of oxygen in your closed system.
The good number of power heads is at least three to assure proper aeration, eliminate any dead spots and provide surface agitation for gas exchange.