Ongoing saga: all fish die in days

[saltn00b]

a lot has happened and a lot has changed, this thread is becoming long and convoluted. you should post pics of your current set up, list the equipment (and GPH for items where applied) water params, etc.
this will give everyone a fresh start. did you ever answer the RODI / Tap water question? what salt are you using? how is it?

 

[mikeyfishy]

OK. Here's a shot of the tank. Blob on top of rock "bridge" is a star polyp. Plants are fake but are designed for saltwater. I use Oceanic natural sea salt mix (blue jug). Equipment is Eheim 2217, SeaClone 150, and two 280 GPH powerheads that you can see on the left/right sides of the tank. Total GPH is about 1000 GPH. Also, I use RO water from my own RO unit and the RO unit is well within specs as far as total gallons. Water params are (been testing this daily):
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: <10
pH: 8.3
Sal: 1.023
Mike

 

[mikeyfishy]

OK. Updated post above to show pic and answer questions.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[saltn00b]

that looks like a lot of fresh water rocks and substrate, am i correct? these in general are a bad idea,
as they leach lots of minerals and chemicals into the system that you do not and can not test for.
i see what looks like Slate which definitely leaches, and some of that fake stuff with caves which is an unknown.
so you basically dont have no living filtration except for what is just now accumulating in your eheim.
speaking of which, why did you go that route? because you are experienced with them in fw?
these are not the ideal technology for successful sw tanks, the same money could have bought you a sump / refugium.
how long have you had that air stone in there? it is not needed in SW tanks, they get oxygen from water agitation and pumps / skimmers
and etc. in fact, airstones can lower your pH.
also, have you checked for stray voltage? dont know if that has been asked yet or not. are the fish swimming around erratically?

 

[mikeyfishy]

I had nothing but live sand and live rock the first time this happened (exact same symptoms) so I went to all "synthetic" stuff figuring you never quite know what is in live rock/sand. I have plenty of bio filtration in the gravel on the bottom as when I changed the filter, I got no ammonia/nitrite spike so there must be plenty of bio filtration there. As for the rocks/slate, they are the same ones that the lfs uses in their sw tanks with no trouble for years, so I don't suspect those. Airstone: I don't use that to aerate the water but more to put more fresh air under the hood. The bubbles basically rise to the top and supply the underhood area with fresh air. Stray voltage, not quite sure how to test that. I have a very good digital VOM but do I test between the water and ground? In the water itself? AC? DC? Not sure what method to use.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[saltn00b]

a ha! so i was right about the voltage! hooray me!
lol
at least now you know the problem, time to fix it.

 

[jcarroll]

My levels were the same way, all good. Just let it sit and wait and see what happens. Make sure the fish you first put in aren't expensive ones. Like I said, my tank was the same way, and is now thriving with coralline and happy fish and corals. Good luck!