Please help: My heart is broken!!!!!

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
Alk can be measured in different ways, meg/L, .dkH, ppm KH
How does your kit read it.
5 meg/L is OK alk. a little high = around 12 dkH = 214 ppm KH
Dont add cal. unless you test for it first.

says 8-12 dKH for these fish...
Dogstar good point:
So unless we know what his test kits reads we won't know high or low...

 

[civileng68]

Originally Posted by sw65galma
says 8-12 dKH for these fish...
Dogstar good point:
So unless we know what his test kits reads we won't know high or low...

Well here's how my alkalinity test kit works:
I fill up a small vile, dump it into a larger vile at which time I slowly move in a circular motion. I slowly, one at a time add alkalinity test drops. I do this until the solution turns from blue to blue/yellow/green colored. I take the total drops that it took to do that and divide it by two.
So when I say my alkalinity is 5, that means it took 10 drops.

 

[civileng68]

Just an update. I got home today and for some reason my 1 fals perc clown left (after the one died) seems to have suddenly gained life after the one died. Go figure?
Anyways, he's seems healthy suddenly.
On a side note, I went to my fish store today and noticed the tank where all the fals percs were (a bunch of fire fish were also in there as well) only had the fire fish left. No false percs were left. Now that is either due to the fact that they were all purchased (maybe 20 were in the tank) or so many of them were sick they died or were dying. I also noticed that with only fire fish left in the tank, even one of them was dead.
I will go under the assumption that there was an illness in the tank causing my fish to become ill.
I am getting my nitrates under control with daily water changes until they go down but I now doubt that is what doomed my false perc.

 

[sinner's girl]

nitrates under 20 wouldn't kill your clown. at 40, it wouldn't kill your fish.
Also, have the lfs test the water. Some kits give ammonia reading when there isn't any ammonia. And some give false nitrates readings (my kit told me my nitrates were like 120! I did a 25% water change, stress the heck out of my fish, had the lfs test my water the next day and tell me my nitrites were undectiable)

 

[the reef]

Originally Posted by civileng68
I know I may be overreacting but I am a little heartbroken this morning.
I came to work and my wife called me to tell me one of my false perc clowns was dead. I noticed last night he was acting funny but wasn't sure. Can someone please help me determine what is wrong and help me fix it.
I have FULLY cycled my tank. I've approached this whole thing with alot of patience, so that's not the issue.
I have a HOB standard filter
Aqua C Remora Protein Skimmer
130 watts of PC 50/50 light
20 gallon tank
Live Rock
Live Sand
I only have/had the 2 false per clowns, live rock, live sand and some cleanup crews who are doing very well, and an emerald crab, also doing very well.
Water temp: 78 degrees (per fish store advice to lower it from the 82 I had it at before I put the fish in, and yes, the temp was fully dropped before the fish were added.
Acclimation was 1 hour long, first using the floating to even temperature and then dripping in my saltwater with theirs.
I added them Saturday afternoon and now one is dead and my wife says the other one looks stressed.
Here are my latest test results
Amonia .25 (it goes between that and zero depending on when I add something)
Alkalinity 5
Specific gravity: 1.023
PH: 8.4 (I know this is a little high but didnt know how to get it down)
Phosphates: dont remember the exact results but they were perfect
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20 (I know this is high but I've been working on it, could this be it? I was told they were not good but were not as bad as other problems.)
Someone please help me!

your alkalinity is that in kh form as in would be 50 ppm if I were you I would bring that up to 9-10 kh with only bicarbonats cuz your ph is fine if you add the carbonats you could have a verry elivated ph level so I would slowly add bicarbonats part of the buffer and only small amount evey day so no drastic changes and I would also check your calcium levels sounds like the ro watter you are using may have been used with a watter softner as well taking away more of your kh away over a shorter amount of time

 

[sula]

I think a few water changes might be a simpler and safer way to get water parameters back to normal since it's jusrt a 20 gallon tank... just my opinion.

 

[the reef]

if you are going to get the watter back to normal by watter changes just make shure your change out watter is in the right peramiters such as ph sg and kh