lost

along

along

Member
i recently started a 30 gallon salt water tank and I'm just Lost how do you no when the cycling process is over i have had my new tank running for about 4 months now with little to no success every time i try a fish it last for about 3 days and then dies i have 20 pounds of live rock and all the filtration, skimmers,heater,lights the whole nine yards and nothing wants to live for me except 4 snails i bought after the first month of the cycling process i don't no what else to do with this tank.
and is it true that hydrometers only work accurately at 76degrees or it that my lfs trying to sell me something i don't need
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
hydrometers are temp sensative
when you started your cycle did you have test kits so you could see the ammonia rising and then it fell to 0 as the nitrites rose and then they fell to 0?
what are the numbers for PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at the moment and what temp are you keeping the tank?
are you using a swing arm hydrometer or a floating one?
Are you topping off with freshwater?
does the surface of the water in the tank have alot of ripples or is it pretty still?
What do you have to create water movement in the tank?
How are you acclimating the fish when you bring them home?
What type of fish have you tried?
That should get us started :)
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/383234/lost#post_3350225
hydrometers are temp sensative
when you started your cycle did you have test kits so you could see the ammonia rising and then it fell to 0 as the nitrites rose and then they fell to 0?
what are the numbers for PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at the moment and what temp are you keeping the tank?
are you using a swing arm hydrometer or a floating one?
Are you topping off with freshwater?
does the surface of the water in the tank have alot of ripples or is it pretty still?
What do you have to create water movement in the tank?
How are you acclimating the fish when you bring them home?
What type of fish have you tried?
That should get us started :)
And, welcome to the site!!
 
along

along

Member
As of today
PH-between 8.0 and 8.2
Ammonia-0ppm
Nitrate-10ppm
Nitrite-0ppm
as for the movement i have a koralia 425gph circulation pump. The top of the tank does have movement from the circulation pump and i have a air strip in the tank along with the two filters.(bio-wheel and a protein skimmer)
initially i did not have the test equipment but as frustration came with the fish store i bought one. i didn't ever really get to see the fluctuation in the water but as of last month i did purchase a kit. since then everything has really been the same.
FISH
6 different types of damsels at different times of course
1 kole tang
just bought a clown fish hoping he does fine. seems OK hasn't eaten yet though
all at different times and same results
and for the hydrometer it is one you just dip in the tank let the reservoir fill to the line and the needle goes up or down. what temp do they work accurately
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
ok, how about your acclimation process?
the swing arm ones are generally the most likley to get poor readings from. I'd go to a ***** or a LFS and pick up a floating glass one with the temp in it. they are very cheap and work pretty good. Test it against your swing arm one. if you have 40 or so dollars skip the hydrometers alltogether and get a refractometer. they are far far more accurate and easy to use.
So if all the tests are coming back ok, the fish is either not getting enough oxygen, you are not acclimating properly, you have something in your water that is killing them (do you wash your hands with a particular soap and then stick your hands in the tank?) or you've just had rediculously bad luck with getting fish that were allready sick in some way (This one is not likley)
BTW, the kole tang is too large for a 30 gallon tank.
 
along

along

Member
i normally use a typical antibacterial soap for my hand but when it comes time to put my hands in the tank i do rinse my hands and forearms off.
my acclimation process is one my lfs told me to do is soak for 30mins open bag then dump a cup of my tank water in wait 15 mins then repeat 2 to 3 times then tip the bag over and let him swim freely out of the bag don't force it out.
even with all the filtration and air stone do you think it could be a lack of oxygen.
and the kole tang yes it was to big i wanted a nice fish and didn't do my homework
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Maybe others can chime in and see what they can think of.
Do the fish act wierd befroe they die? Or you just wake up one morning to another dead fish?
the airstone doesnt really do much good in a saltwater tank like it does in freshwater.
saltwater needs surface area increased to allow for gas exchange. this is done by making waves on the surface of the water. the more waves, the more O2 (or less CO2)
 
along

along

Member
Yea all the fish would be fine then like you said i would walk into my living room to find the fish dead but what puzzles me more than anything why can the snails live for 4 months just to get bigger and the fish die I'm just confused.Also i did a 25% water change and found my protein skimmer to be cracked and leaked all over blah no luck it seems. but would you recommend taking the air stone out completely and putting the circulation pump up higher in my tank to create more movement?
Thank you for your help i really do appreciate it


[hr]
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
I would take the airstone out and get another PH and put it at the opposite end of the tank so that the 2 are pointing at each other. I would use the drip acclimation process to eliminate the possible contamination from the LFS water.
What do you feed the fish and how often do you feed them?
Might want to get a second clown as they are happier in pairs.
 
along

along

Member
i use new life spectrum thera-a regular formula in the morning about two hours after the lights have been on
ocean nutrition (brine shrimp plus flakes for i guess you would say for there dinner)
and i also purchased ocean nutrition green marine alge and a bottle of garlic liquid as a weekly treat.
of course only when i have a fish and its alive do i feed them this stuff
as for the power heads i will pick another up and another clown thank you!
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
is the brine the only meaty food they get? If so, drop the brine (its like potato chips) for some mysis.
 
along

along

Member
yea that's what i was advised to go with. so try the mysis. should i soak it in that garlic stuff or just right in the tank? and is there anything else i should try?
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
i hadnt soaked in garlic as the flakes i feed had garlic in them. But now that my orchid is questionable, "i am soaking in it right now." Palmolive, great soap.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
if your powerhead isnt making the surface of your water all wavy, then they need to be pointed until they do.
 
B

brandonsivek

Guest
Yeah, it sounds like the store you are buying your fish from is pretty sketchy. I would go in there and by the cheapest thing you could find such as a snail, then when you get it home, run all the tests on the water in the bag they gave you. Be interested to know the readings on the stores water.
 
immortal4419

immortal4419

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonSivek http:///forum/thread/383234/lost#post_3351458
Yeah, it sounds like the store you are buying your fish from is pretty sketchy. I would go in there and by the cheapest thing you could find such as a snail, then when you get it home, run all the tests on the water in the bag they gave you. Be interested to know the readings on the stores water.
I was actually at a store here, and he was trying to sell me some electronic water tester. So he dipped it in their water and looked in it. Said oh boy. Dont tell anyone. The levels were all crazy (i dont remember the numbers) but def not good. I said thank you and left.
 
immortal4419

immortal4419

Member
Maybe it was only a refractometer? I honestly cant remember. But he dipped it and you looked in it through the top. I do remember that salinity was like 1.060 or something ridiculous.
 
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