Please HELP! DISASTER

[tannersmith200]

hey guys
I have a 55 gallon fish only tank with two tree sponges. My tank has been up and running for about 3 1/2 months and I had:
1 flame angel
15+ hermits
2 blue damsels
1 convict damsel
1 small panther grouper
2 false percula clowns
2 sand flounders
Water quality was great and prestine, everything coexisted just fine.
I woke up this morning and my tank was cloudy and my flame angel, one flounder and two damsels were dead.

My water had a strong shampoo or soapy smell to it. (Is this ammonia???) I do not have test for it but I am going to buy one tomorrow. I have no idea what in the world is going on. my other fish are alive and eating just fine. i had recently added a new tree sponge to my tank on friday but i am pretty sure that wouldnt have contaminated my tank. Does anyone have any thoughts???????? what could cause my tank to spontaneously fall apart??????
any helpful replys will be very appreciated

 

[meowzer]

Sounds like you have a lot in that tank.....maybe too much for that new a tank...could be the problem
Is it possible some sort of soap could have gotten in it? ammonia does not smell like soap as far as I know, When you set up your tank...you had no test kits???? how did you know when it was ready?

 

[teen]

ammonia smells like cleaning products to me, but not soap.
do you have kids that could have added something to the tank?
clean the front glass with windex? any filter pads with anything other than tank water?

 

[luvmyreef]

Could your tank temperature fluctuate dramatically? Like really low? And I dont think ammonia smells soapy either. Clean any carpets lately, spray anything in the room, etc. etc.

 

[skate020]

ammonia doesnt smell like soap at all,
ever seen those pens with an eraser on the end? and people always used to say smell it, its pigs pee,
well pigs pee has alot of ammonia in it so it'll smell like that,
nothing like soap,
but one of your fish could of died and then contaminated killing the others, or maybe it could be a problem of something falling in it or something like that

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3152845
Sounds like you have a lot in that tank.....maybe too much for that new a tank...could be the problem
Is it possible some sort of soap could have gotten in it? ammonia does not smell like soap as far as I know, When you set up your tank...you had no test kits???? how did you know when it was ready?
+1
I don't think you're tank was ready and it's crashing from being overloaded to quickly. sorry

it happens. You're not the first, and I'm sure you won't be the last to have done this.
Take your water to your LFS and get it tested. If you decide to get this tank up and running again, you really need to know how to test your own water and understand it. Definitely time for a huge water change.

 

[skywatcher]

Sounds like a big ole tank crash to me. Way too many fish for that size tank and added too quickly. That grouper needs a 300gal tank. Most flounders need a 125gal or larger. It continually amazes me that people who have internet access don't do the research necessary to be successful in this hobby. All the wasted money and dead fish could be prevented with a few hours of research. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but these posts are way too common. A lot can be learned from others mistakes.

 

[pete159]

What kind of filtration do you have.
Do you have a protein skimmer?, if not buy a good one. I would also add a large canister filter and use eheim pro substrate in it with some kent denitrate, as those 2 are much better then bio balls.
You have ammonia for sure, no doubt about it, some fish handle it better then others but most will suffer in the end. Do a 10 % water change daily, keep a big rubber maid bin with saltwater so you don't have to mix it daily. Add a ammonia neutralizer so more fish won't die. Also get a big bottle of super bac, this will add good bacteria to help the cycle, make sure its superbac and not something else as this product is the best one, also don't follow the directions, add at least 5x what they say to, it will not harm the fish and you need the extra help at this point. I would also bring back the flounder and the grouper and stick to smaller fish.
then you just have to keep testing and wait for the ammonia to go away.