Help! Im a fish Killer!

[philgmiami]

imo to run a healthy tank you need a wet-dry system,protein skimmer,uv and a couple of power heads.one on each side (small sides-about 5-6 inch from top of water line)..also live rock is natural filter.. some people in here with mega live rock dont even run a wet dry due to natural filterization from the live rock. also certain corals need more current

 

[atlfish]

went out for a few drinks, but im back . yes i add a remover to the tap water and let it sit for a few day befor I add it into the tank. I have been doing this for about a month. without adding a salt mixture. last week when i had the water tested all the levels were perfect. Im not sure when i should to a water change and when i do how much?

 

[atlfish]

it's tap water and yes, I add a remover. To be honest it not exactley once a week, I wait untill i loose a certain amout of water due to evaperation then i replace it with the tap water. i was never told when i should add a salt mixture so im not sure when a good time will be. What should I be doing? how should I do it? Im confused?

 

[atlfish]

Thank you sooo much! and yes if you don't mind, I will e-mail you with my progress my e-mail is billyboy30101@yahoo.com. I keep the tank temp around 75. what's ro water? Im kind of scared to add a heater because I live in ga and it's hot as hell here. without a heater Im steady at 75. is that good? how aften should i do the salt water change? that's something nobody has addressed?

 

[atlfish]

whats cured?

 

[f1shman]

philgmiami you have a UV on a reef????? :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure:
Cured live rock is live rock that has been sprayed to attempt to take all the die-off off and to remove bad hitchikers (octopus, mantis shrimp, etc..)

 

[monalisa]

Altfish,
This has been my routine so far. I have a 37gal tank. Every week I make sure that I have 6 gallons of RO water in the house from Wal Mart for top offs and changes (yeah, usually that's enough for my tank). I've been doing religious changes once/week with salt mixed water at 10%, and top offs once or twice a week as needed with fresh. Before I do my water changes, I always take out water for testing parameters, I check specific gravity for measuring what I'm putting back into the tank, and I also check temp.
I have just a 4 gal bucket (well, OK, 2). One is for taking water out, because I take water out of the tank after equipment is turned off, take the equipment out to clean, and then replace. Once all of my equipment in the tank is cleaned, I get the bucket of water that's been sitting with salt mixed, measure for what I need to measure for to match what's in the tank and get it as close as humanly possible. When I'm happy with that, I slowly add the new water in to the level that my tank needs.
I did just recently add a protien skimmer, because during one of my recent water changes, I thought the water smelled kinda icky. Tests were all great, but I thought that putting a skimmer in would add to the quality at that point...and it did, tremendously!!!
As a side note, I have actually 4, four gallon buckets available, one for taking water out, one for putting fresh in, and one for acclimation (all very clearly marked). The other one is just for good measure, just in case.
I really hope this helps you...I know it's really confusing at first, but the more you do things, the easier and more fun it gets to be.
Lisa :happyfish

 

[scubadoo]

Water changes replace vital trace elements. You should either change 25% of your water once a month...or make smaller biweekly or weekly changes.
Yellow tangs require larger systems although a small yellow can SURVIVE for a brief period in a 55. They also require plenty water movement and mature systems at least 6 months old. Diet should include plenty greens.
I believe inconsistent water parameters are killing your fish along with tap water. Buy a set of test kits and learn how to test the water yourself.
Stop and do some research regarding maintaining a closed marine system. Maintaining an acceptable level of water qulaity will ususally take care of your animals along with feeding them a balanced diet including supplemental vitamins.
Test your salinity daily on order to determine how much fresh water you need to replace due to evaporation. A certain amount of water will eveaporate but the salt will remain meaning your salinity will increase. Add top off fresh water slowly and test your salintiy as you go. After doing this on a regular basis you will gain an understanding of how much water is evaporating on a daily basis ands how much you should replace.
I suggest you discontinue using tap water and go to the grocery and purchase gallons of ro/di water...or purchase a ro/di unit. Nasty stuff can be found in tap and it can "pollute" your marine system.
Your temp should be maintained at about 80 degrees with lots of water movement. Do not allow your system temp to constantly fluctuate by more than 2 degrees.
Do not trust your local fish store and depend on their advice. Do research on your own so you can form your own opinions and make informed decisions.
A good protein skimmer will help you to maintain water quality.

 

[atlfish]

thanks lisa!

 

[celacanthr]

alt are you saying that you replace 2 gallons of ur tank water w/ 2 gallons of freshwater or am i just confused

 

[atlfish]

Ok now my question is where shoiuld I go from here. i just cleaned my canister topped off with fresh water and added the ph buffer. my tankg is about dead with my shrimp and damsel still going stong. I figure i got the fresh water replacement down to once a week. water change once a month. ( all this through trial and error. Do i start be getting more live rock and a skimmer? add the cleaner crew guys before I put any more fish? what should i do next?

 

[atlfish]

about once a week i replace the evaporated water with 2 gallons of tap water that i have add the chlorine remover to.

 

[scubadoo]

Do you test the ph of the water before adding buffer? Your ph will fluctuate during the day with higher readings occurring during the day and lower readings at night when the lights are off.
IMO...live rock is one of the best things you can add to a marine system as earlier suggested.
DO NOT ADD THE ROCK DIRECTLY TO THE TANK UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN IT HAS BEEN CURED. If you purchase the rock online and it is shipped you will need to cure it. SImply place it in a rubber tub or container and test your water until the nitrite and ammonia readings are zero. Place a power head in the container to provide circulation. Instructions on curing live rock can also be found on this site.

 

[celacanthr]

oh ok

 

[atlfish]

so that should be my next purchase then? I never get anything off line. I have a few stores that i go to.

 

[pontius]

Originally Posted by AtlFish
about once a week i replace the evaporated water with 2 gallons of tap water that i have add the chlorine remover to.
this is a major problem, among other things. 75 is too cold. I think the next purchase you make should be a book about saltwater fishkeeping.

 

[treystang]

Originally Posted by AtlFish
so that should be my next purchase then? I never get anything off line. I have a few stores that i go to.
I recommend you buy live rock and then a protien skimmer and power heads if you dont already have them, and follow ScubaDoo's suggestions.
As for not buying online.. rock will be expensive from LFS, expect to pay anywhere from $7-12 per pound from an LFS... There are great places online to buy LR that are much cheaper, you need to get at least 55 lbs, if you have the funds get around 80-90lbs.
make sure you cure it if you order it online... most LFS will be cured already.. just make sure you get from the LFS to your tank ASAP.
Also.. make sure you do research, as stated above you blow through your money roll quick replacing things because you did not research. I know I did that when I started as well.

 

[atlfish]

Your right about that! I have blown through some dough. But not too much! and I will do more research before I buy another fish. I'll keep all of you posted with my progress and thanks so much!
So the next few thinks Im gonna get
1. book
2. live rock
3. another blower
4. protien scimmer
now I have a question because this is killing me! We have two tanks at work, a 55 gal and a very big aquarium, not sure of the size. neither have any live rock. how come? the 55 has nothing but clown fish and crushed shell. i had to see what kind of filtration system it had so one day when nobody was looking I went under the tank stand and there was one canister and a protien scimmer ( i think) or it just might have been two canisters. Whats up with that? there is nothing else in this tank! how can it be this simple? and it's always clean!

 

[petjunkie]

Ok, I would get rid of that canister filter and pick up a good skimmer and a power filter to run carbon. Get lots of live rock, I started out with like 5 pounds in my 55 and since I added more it's tons more stable. I do about 8 gallon water changes every two weeks. You might want to let you tank just sit and stabalize before you add anything more. Keep in mind that you can't keep a ton of fish in there. Probably 4-5 small ones added a month apart to let the tank catch up to the bioload. Make sure you are finding out what size tank they need, what they are compatible with and so forth. My advice would be to do a search on everything you are unsure of. I went online and looked up stuff for months before I got anything and still made mistakes so you need to slow down and don't listen to your lfs, they sound kinda like mine

 

[darth tang]

38 replies and not a single post regarding the levels. Just giving out advise without knowing the levels is shooting in the dark. Based off what I havce read you have a very basic knowledge of this hobby and that is mainly given to you by people that want your money.
Ok, what are the levels for the following:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Alkalinity
Ph (exactly not a rough estimate as this is a big deal)
You should be checking these as well as your LFS.
Also, I would stop adding the buffer. I have never had to do this except when Running under Hyposalinty which is not your case. As long as you are doing water changes and topping off your tank regularly you shouldn't need this.
I also suggest reading through the FAQ sections on this site as well as the archived threads. And as everyone has said, pick up a book. Unfortunantely you jumped into this a bit blind....but that can be corrected.