I'm having a hard time with my salt water tank. help please :)

michelleh1403

michelleh1403

New Member
Hi everyone :)
I have had my tank for about 3 months now.
I have a 55Gallon salt water tank.
I have a fluval 306 canister filter, a Koralia 1050 powerhead, a heater( i forget what kind), and a digital and strip thremometer, I have LED lighting (blue and white).
In my tank I have live sand at the bottom and about 30 to 35 pounds of live rock.
I have 1 firefish, 1 sleeper goby, 1 green cromis, and a saddleback clownfish. I also have 1 coral it is a ricodea.
I recently had 2 fish die. A lot of the fish I have put into my tank have died.
I have just barely checked all my levels.
pH is 8.0
Ammonia is .25
nitrite is 0
nitrate is 0
I checked my levels 2 days ago and my ammonia was 0 but when i got home my yellow tail damsel was dead so i think that is why my ammonia is high. (correct me if i am wrong)
I have had my firefish since the second or third week of having my tank and he is still okay so I don't understand why my other fish are dying. I have had quite a few fish ad most of them have died and I don't understand why.

How should I arrange the rock and power head in my tank? I have the powerhead pointed at the big rock in the middle(the reddish one).
If anyone knows of anything I could do to help my tank please please please let me know.
If anyone could please help me figure out what is wrong. I would love any advice or information.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
are the fish at the top of the tank or swimming? did you get all the fish at the same store? you need to add at least one more powerhead and more rock.did the fish have any symptoms?
 
pepito113

pepito113

Member
I would stop adding fish a let the tank stablize more.. Maybe the amnonia is up from the fish death or too much waste and not enough biological support to keep the amnonia at zero. 3 months is a new tank and maybe you added too many fish too fast. I have a 65 gallon tank up and running for about 2 years now and finally added my last fish. A total of 6 fish. Retest your water and post all the numbers.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi, and welcome to the site...
You do need lots more rock which is your natural filter. To be honset the first month is how long it takes to just cycle and then add one fish every 2 to 4 weeks to allow the tank to build enough good bacteria on the rock to keep the ammonia down...any ammonia or nitrite reading, spells trouble.
So like Pepito said...stop adding fish for now and work on getting more rock like Deejeff suggested. Look at other tanks on the site to get an idea of the amount of rock you need.
Don't give up...just take a deep breath and go slower.
 
sagxman

sagxman

Member
Hi, and welcome to the site...
You do need lots more rock which is your natural filter. To be honset the first month is how long it takes to just cycle and then add one fish every 2 to 4 weeks to allow the tank to build enough good bacteria on the rock to keep the ammonia down...any ammonia or nitrite reading, spells trouble.
So like Pepito said...stop adding fish for now and work on getting more rock like Deejeff suggested. Look at other tanks on the site to get an idea of the amount of rock you need.
Don't give up...just take a deep breath and go slower.
+1
6 fish in 3 months is a lot. The only things you should add for now is rock and a clean up crew. Unrelated to livestock, you could probably get away with another power head on the other side of the tank and I would add a protein skimmer.
 
michelleh1403

michelleh1403

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473623
are the fish at the top of the tank or swimming? did you get all the fish at the same store? you need to add at least one more powerhead and more rock.did the fish have any symptoms?
The fish were swimming and some were behind rocks. None of my fish have any symptoms of being sick. I did get all the fish at the same store.
How should i position the rock and the powerhead?
 
pepito113

pepito113

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by michelleh1403 http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473667
The fish were swimming and some were behind rocks. None of my fish have any symptoms of being sick. I did get all the fish at the same store.
How should i position the rock and the powerhead?
Well adding more rock might be tricky since you have fish in there. Also make sure that the bottom rocks are not on the sand but resting on the bottom. so might need to move some sand around to get the rocks to the bottom. Becareful when you work with the sand. It can cloud up your tank and possible give you a spike in numbers. But most people stack rocks on top of each other to make little caves and passes for fish to swim through.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by pepito113 http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473694
Well adding more rock might be tricky since you have fish in there. Also make sure that the bottom rocks are not on the sand but resting on the bottom. so might need to move some sand around to get the rocks to the bottom. Becareful when you work with the sand. It can cloud up your tank and possible give you a spike in numbers. But most people stack rocks on top of each other to make little caves and passes for fish to swim through.
I have added more rock in my tanks with fish already...they get out of the way, and the sand settles quickly and won't bother them, the tank is too new to have toxins caught in the sand.
Put the rock into the sand and gently wiggle the rock to the bottom of the tank so it isn't sitting on shifting sand. Just make sure the rock is fully cured. Add just a few pieces at a time, for example, once a week until you have enough. Make sure the build is good and steady so it won't fall over. By gently turning and twisting the rock against the other rocks you can feel it kind of "LOCK" into place and it won't move.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
why do people get so paranoid around their fish tank? i stick my whole arm in mine all the time,added hundreds of pounds over the years of lr .these critters aren't that fragile. .i ain't saying you can dump some liquid plumber in the tank but if the critters are healthy it takes alot to mess them up .just sayin from experience
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473841
why do people get so paranoid around their fish tank? i stick my whole arm in mine all the time,added hundreds of pounds over the years of lr .these critters aren't that fragile. .i ain't saying you can dump some liquid plumber in the tank but if the critters are healthy it takes alot to mess them up .just sayin from experience
LOL...The truth is that girly products are more harmful to fish than the stuff most men put their hands in. Women use the cleaning chemicals, the beauty soaps and lotions. Certain jobs a man does may very well leave chemicals that are harmful. You work in concrete and do fireman work on the side. So perhaps you putting your whole arm in your tank is not as deadly as some of us other folks.
I killed off nearly an entire tank of fish when I had a cold, and messed with the live rock...my tissues had lotion in them.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
I killed off nearly an entire tank of fish when I had a cold, and messed with the live rock...my tissues had lotion in them.
I have always wondered about the deodorant I have on when I have to reach way down to the bottom of the tank??? I am sure some has gotten in the water at some point. I have never had any fish loss because of it (I think). So I guess its not that big of a deal. I won't be putting a whole stick in the tank anytime soon..
But I do make sure that I rinse my hands off real good in the sink before it goes in the tank... And I usually wear gloves of some sort.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473886
I have always wondered about the deodorant I have on when I have to reach way down to the bottom of the tank??? I am sure some has gotten in the water at some point. I have never had any fish loss because of it (I think). So I guess its not that big of a deal. I won't be putting a whole stick in the tank anytime soon..
But I do make sure that I rinse my hands off real good in the sink before it goes in the tank... And I usually wear gloves of some sort.
Deoderants are not created equal, some are harnful and some are not...The problem is knowing which ones, so to be safe assume all are bad. Considering the money invested in a tank with coral, fish and inverts...making sure you have no soaps, deoderant or lotions on is a small inconvenience.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/391584/im-having-a-hard-time-with-my-salt-water-tank-help-please#post_3473891
Deoderants are not created equal, some are harnful and some are not...The problem is knowing which ones, so to be safe assume all are bad. Considering the money invested in a tank with coral, fish and inverts...making sure you have no soaps, deoderant or lotions on is a small inconvenience.
Agreed!! Thousands of dollars invested vs. the time saved not to wash up. I will wash up every time. Crazy how lotion from tissues could crash a tank.
 
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