Losing Fish (as we speak)- HELP

[alti]

the tangs are more sensative to ammonia and nitrite. dont be so upset. they probably would not have lived for long in a tank that small anyway. try to keep yourself from buying tangs in the future. as long as the levels stay where they are dont do anything. the nitrifying bacteria should catch up to the loss pretty quickly. especially since there are less fish in the tank now. tell me how much rock you have in the tank. live or not live. even dead rock gives you surface area to grow bacteria on.

 

[maroonclownfan]

I would mix up some water just in case.
But for now I would monitor the ammonia and nitrites and see if they are rising or declining. If they are declining then do nothing, your bio-filtration is catching up. If they are rising then a water change is in order.
I am not saying this will cure the problem, but it may be a suitable solution for now.
JMO.....MCF

 

[chercik]

I really appreciate all you help by the way.
I have probably at least 25 pounds + of rock
maybe 60% dead rock and 40%cured rock all of this rock has been in the tank forat least 1.5 years. I'm slowly replacing the dead rock with pieces of good fiji rock.

 

[chercik]

How long should I leave the bio-wheel running? And should I leave the old filter sponge from the previous filter in the sump are or will this just dd to the nitrite problem?

 

[alti]

you should not experience much of a new cycle at all. it will take a few days for the bacteria to stabilize, but you should be ok. keep us posted on your ammonia and nitrite levels for the next few days and have some water ready to do a waterchange.
please stay away from tangs in the future.

 

[alti]

keep the biowheel and sponge in there until the tank stabilizes. then tank them out slowly. first the sponge and then wait a week and take out the biowheel. dont get any more fish until the tank is back to normal.

 

[maroonclownfan]

Even "dead rock" after 1.5 years is loaded with beneficial bacteria. Essentially making it "live rock"
So basically you have 25 lbs. of LR. It just that only part of it came directly from the ocean.
MCF

 

[maroonclownfan]

Ditto on alti's advice...
That is exactly what I would do also.......
MCF

 

[chercik]

Out of curiosity - why not tangs. I kept a purple tang in this tank for the first year or more until a pet shop sold me a sea cucumber and killed him and about 4 other fish. Is it just because they get big or what. I really love the look of yellow tangs. Are all tangs out of the question.
Should I do any water change today?

 

[chercik]

When I slowly add new fiji rock to the tank - do you think I should keep the dead rock in there or just swap it out pice by piece?

 

[chercik]

If I create a asump underneath with live rock only do I need a light under the tank on it?

 

[timsedwards]

I think they are saying that because Tangs are sensitive to water changes in quality, as well as a few fish diseases. I have a beautiful Yellow Tang and if anyone recognises my name I had a big panic 2 weeks ago where my levels totally spiked when changing the substrate on bad advice (when i say bad i mean catastrophic - 2.6 ammona, 100 nitrates etc) and believe it or not my tang, royal grammar and two clowns made it through.
What I am trying to say is that everyone's set up is different, if you want to keep tangs go for it, but these guys (who are vastly more wise than I am ) recommend you dont - but get a spectrum of opinion, as you can see many people disagree with each other often!

 

[alti]

dont do the water change unless you ammonia gets a bit higher. the ammonia should slowly go down since there are less fish producing less amonia. your existing bacteria should be able to handle the lighter bioload.
tangs are strong swimmers, need highly oxygenated water and do get very large. a naso can easily gat over 12" in the aquarium. they need at least a 4 foot aquarium to provide them enough swimming room. there are no tangs suited for any aquarium under 75 gallons IMO. you may be able to get away with a yellow tang in a 55, but thats about it. the minimum i would recommend for a naso is at least 150 gallons.

 

[maroonclownfan]

Tangs may be OK in a smaller tank when they are young, but they will grow very fast and need the space. A 44 gal. for a medium sized tang is probably not enough, even for one, much less two.
Im not saying it can't be done....but just as long as you understand the risk. Also, in a 44 gal. tank, the parameters can become unstable more easily than say a 75 or 90 gal tank. And tangs CAN be more sensative to rapid change.
There are many different views, and you just have to take what is said and decide what is best for you and your tank.
Good luck with the tank and keep us informed as to your progress.
Its been said before, but......the great thing about this hobby is that there are 100's of solutions to the same problem.
Also, don't replace the base rock if you don't have to, the more the merrier at this point. Like I stated earlier, your "dead rock" is still in many instances really "live rock"
MCF

 

[maroonclownfan]

I used to display my tank inhabitants and equipment in my signature, but I removed it for one simple reason. Not because I am not proud of what I have or my tank. But basically so that people would look at my inhabitants and say, "well if he can keep that fish/ coral in that setup then so can I." Every tank is a little different. I take full responsibility for my tank and accept the risk of anything I put in there. I don't consider myself a beginner anymore and my tank has proven certain things to me. Therefore, if anything goes wrong, its because I did it. Not because of something I read from another persons setup.
This is not to point fingers at anyone. But I strongly feel that each person must have a good understanding of his/her tank capability. There is tons of good information from the experienced people here on this site that can steer you in the right direction, so listen and consider the advice a heads up as to what might be down the road based on your choices. But ultimately, only you can know what your tank is doing or what it can handle at any particular time. This however, takes time and patience which is why most people give the sound advice to "go slow."
These are just some thoughts in my head, they are not directed towards any particular person. They are meant to be my opinion towards reef keeping.
Thanks for reading............MCF

 

[swilbs83]

Naso, yellow, and maroon in a 44.......

 

[maroonclownfan]

Originally posted by Chercik
I lost a yellow tang and a Naso tang but one striped demsel and clown are seemingly ok. The nitrite levels are about 0.5 and the ammonia less than .25ppm.
I would say more of the rock is not live rock. But I do have a 3 inch or so crushed coral - live sand combo

Swilbs83-
Here are the stated parameters from above
MCF

 

[quazi]

Not to change the topic or anything, but back to chercik's issues:
If I create a asump underneath with live rock only do I need a light under the tank on
If you want to add LR in the sump, I would not bother lighting it. My sump is not lit, and I have a lot of sponges and other critters in there. It is kinda cool.
If you want to setup a refugium with macro algae, then light it. Some of the best tanks I have seen do this.
Alti,
As far as water changes go, if you are going to change water, do it. 10% water change changes nothing. If I have a problem and I need resultion, changing large amounts of water is the only solution if you want an affect on the water parameters. If I am losing fish, I change water: the solution to pollution is dillution. I have made up water on the spot and changed water. It has worked for me. That is my experience.

 

[chercik]

Thanks everyone I'll keep you all posted.

 

[alti]

sorry if i was rude quazi. chercik seemed to be in panic mode, and i didnt want him to compound the problem by doing the water change if it wasnt necessary. your right about the 10% water changes not doing much. when i first started to ask questions on these message boards, my nitrates were like 100 and the person who responded to my post told me to do small 10% changes until they came down. you can just imagine how long it tokk me and how much salt i wasted doing this on my 90 gal.