Please Help!!

deny

deny

Member
I have a 55 gal tank that has been running since April. I cylced until beginning of Aug (I went on vaca and didn't want to add the fish yet) and then added a blennie and 4 spot wrasse. Mid Sept I added 3 green chromis, meanwhile all the water testing was perfect. On 9-20 I did a 1/3 water change..nitrates were at 40 and then everything went south!!! First the wrasse died, then the blennie, two days later lost two chromis. Today I have one chromis left. Parameters today are: temp 80, salinety 1.022, PH 8.2, Ammonia is 0, Nitrites is 0 and Nitrate is 20. I am using one powerhead, carbon filter and a biomax filter and bottled ro water from walmart. I have crushed coral, FO with a couple of turbo snails and 5 hermit crabs which are fine. It seems the water change I did killed everyone???? Please help, I don't know what I did wrong and it's making me a bit crazy
:help...
Also, I bought my test kit last year,,,do these go bad???
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
Nitrates of 20 is high, but I don't think that is what killed your fish.
What kind of tests do you have, I mean brand, some are not as good as others, i.e. strips.
Take some water down the the LFS and have them test it. You test may have gone bad. You had it for a year, but how long on the store shelf did it sit?
I really wish I could help you. Good Luck figuring it out.
 
deny

deny

Member
The test kit is aquarium pharmaceuticals and it is liquid form with bottles, not the test strips.. Do you think it is too old and I have wrong readings??
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
I use to use the exact same test kits. I never could understand why, but I would test my water and it would show a 40 on my nitrates, every tank in the house would show a 40. Even my QT would show a 40. MY LFS would test it and he would get zero. My daugter's boy friend would test and his would come up 20. All the same type of test. It is almost like the test is preset to always come out the same level. (Even my RO water tested 40)
I just got a sailfert test and I haven't had a problem since then.
Sorry, I still don't have a good answer for your problem.
 
deny

deny

Member
Well, thanks for the hint about the kit...maybe I'll go and check out a new one.. On the other hand if the nitrates weren't really high, then why did the fish after the water change?? I just read on another post that you are supposed to let the RO water sit before adding it to the tank. I have never done that. I just mix the salt in the bucket and pour it in. Could that have been the problem???
 
squiddly

squiddly

Member
What was the bucket used for prior to your using it for your tank? Was there ever any soap or other chemicals in it? Even when you rinse it out very well, sometimes there is residue. Is there any way that something like tank cleaning chemicals could have gotten into the tank? Did anyone use something like air fresheners or lysol or other cleaners anywhere near your tank? Did you use a hydrometer or a refractometer to check the salt level before you added the water, and test the tank again after adding it?
Hopefully things will be ok. I'm sorry for your losses.
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
It is better to let it circulate, but I have done it both ways and I never had a problem.
I'am not saying that your test reading "is wrong" I am saying that the test could go bad, or be bad.
You did do a water change. What was the reading before the change. Maybe the change effected the level to not show as bad as it was.
Another ideal just popped into my head. What about a stray bolt of electricity. Sometimes if there is a short in something it can send a stray bolt of current thru the tank. That would kill all the fish at once. Or maybe a few one day, the stronger ones would live thru it. but if it happened again, that would be enough to finish them off.
Just a thought
 
deny

deny

Member
I use a plastic bucket that I bought just for the fish tank. I have never used any cleaning products in it. The nitrates were 40 before the water change, now at 20. The water change was done on 9-20. Should I do another one before I add another fish? I am only going to add a couple more green chromis, (they're cheap here 3.99) I will also get a new test kit. I use a hydrometer and tested the water that I added and afterwards. It was at 1.022.
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
Since the nitrate are still at 20, You should do another water change or two before you add any other fish. You want the nitrates to be at zero but not over 5. I would do a 7 to 10 gal water change today. (Thrusday) then do another 7 to 10 gals on Sunday.
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
Since the nitrate are still at 20, You should do another water change or two before you add any other fish. You want the nitrates to be at zero but not over 5. I would do a 7 to 10 gal water change today. (Thrusday) then do another 7 to 10 gals on Sunday.
What about the electricity possibility. Check all of your extention cords, and power cords. Make sure none are cracked or torn, If you have a cat or dog sometime they like to play with them and could mess them up.
 
squiddly

squiddly

Member
Yeah, what Mandarin said :). You might want to do a quick test on the RO water before you add it just to make sure. You might also look into salifert test kits. They're quite good.
 
deny

deny

Member
Checked the wires and cords and all look good. Everything is new. Soooo, I will ask the LFS to test the water. IF it not's the same readings as mine, then I will get a new kit. I will do the 7-10 gal water change today and Sunday, retesting after each addition. I will also test the RO water before I put in...should I do all the tests or just the nitrates?? GUess, I'll just wait and take it from there, maybe add the fish on Monday ..... My family is telling me to give this hobby up, they keep calling me "killer"... I'm sure other folks get as frustrated as I am....
 
squiddly

squiddly

Member
That's pretty harsh for your family to call you that. Yes, we all do get frustrated. I'm still pretty new, so it's been several cycles of strangeness for me. I just got home from vacation where my tank sitter didn't notice that the lights were left on 24/7 for two weeks. My small tank was COVERED with bubble algae, choking off my corals, cutting off the light, messing with the chemistry, etc. etc. My large tank was a sea of green and brown algae. Frustrated? Oh yeah. Would I give up the hobby? No :). I am having a LOT of fun with this.
 
scubaguy

scubaguy

Member
Hey Deny,
What brand is the Hydrometer? I have a CoralLife Deep Six, all three fish died except one damsel and two red leg hermit crabs. I had all the normal reading even a SG of 1.022, talk to the lfs. He said maybe that the SG was wrong and I brought him in a water sample. He used his and my SG was off by .005 which meant that it was 1.027. Way to high SG for fish and inverts. I still have the hydrometer but notified PetSmart of the problem they told me to bring it back. I told them no thank you I do not want to exchange it I now know how far off it is, a new one who knows.
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
They say that now, but when you get it going, you will have to push them out of the way so you can look at your tank.
We've ALL killed fish, and coral, Many of us run around with both hands full of hair. We've screamed, cryed, and pleaded. We have all gone though the learning process. That is part of what makes this hobby so interesting. We are always learning.
 
deny

deny

Member
Thanks, for the encouragement, as I was thinking of throwing in the towel...
My hydrometer is also a coralife deep six. I have read about refractors ?spelling? that are supposed to be better and more acquarate but they are quite expensive.. (I just lost my job so that is not in the budget!!) Why did you replace your hydrometer with???
 
scubaguy

scubaguy

Member
I did not I just know that it is off by .005. I now adjust to the difference, I would suggest taking a water sample to your LFS and see if yours is off to. Have them test some of their water and then test with yours. That way you will know how far off. The water tested at the LFS at 1.022 and then at my house at 1.017. That is what killed my fish and the hermit crabs. If you can find the difference then you can adjust. Expect to make major water changes to adjust. If that is the problem, but with the CoraLife I am pretty sure it is.
 
joshradio

joshradio

Member
Just a curious question... did you salt your RO or was it already salted?
I had a strange occurrance with copper getting in from water from a different LFS
 
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