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[edy]

I am new to this forum,so if I do something stupid please forgive.We have had a 150 gal tank for nine years and have had our good and bad experiences.Recently this last thing has puzzled us.Iwas hoping to get some answers. The fish were darting around almost seizure like. Checked pH and it was low (7.4). All the other things were good except nitrates were 140. My husband added stuff to increase ph but read later he should have added only enough to increase 0.1 at a time.Within a hours time the ph went from 7.4 to 8.4. Since then 4 out 13 fish have died,and the rest seem to be breathing hard and have lost some color.Can you give any suggestions on this problem. We dont want to lose any more. Thanks

 

[edy]

Thanks for the reply. We have 3 filters Aqua clear 200,Whisper 4 biofiltration,Flugle303.UV 15 KA sterilization,protein skimmer,and a 10 gal refugium tank. We have Tangs,sailfin tang,clown,flame angel, domino, damsels(3).We lost a foxface, 2 tangs,and possibly our empress angel. (can't seem to find it). My husband did a 20% water change 3 weeks ago,after not doing any water change for 6 months! We never had any problems and all the fish seemed healthy. Most of the tangs had been in there for over 6 months. We added the empress about 3 months ago. Just added the clown about 3 weeks ago.

 

[thomas712]

From your discription my first though is to ask if the tank is grounded. If not I would test for stray voltage. I would also check the UV to make sure the bulb didn't break inside.
I would also call nitrates at 140 ppm bad for the fish. I believe that nitrates that high will mess with their immune system and cause the blood to carry less oxygen.
Do you have a crushed coral substrate, maybe with an Undergravel filter?
What is the temp of the tank?
Thomas

 

[beth]

I think the pH problem you had and then the sudden jump in pH could very likely cause this problem. Also, your nitrates are way too high.
Do you use a undergravel filter or wet-dry filtration?