Problems with an Eclipse 12?

[sueandherzoo]

I've had one running for about 3 months and have not been able to keep one single fish alive for more than a few days. The snails, shrimp, and feather duster are fine, the water parameters are fine (I check daily) but every time I buy a fish it dies within a few days. No outward signs of any illness or disease, they just get lethargic, start to show signs of labored breathing at the bottom of the tank, and then they die.
I've been battling this curse for a long time now - I'm about ready to tear the tank apart and give up on it. Anyone have similar problems with the Eclipse 12? I'm not saying it's the tank itself but I'm at wits end trying to figure out what could be wrong!
Sue

 

[patrick8929]

have you gotten the fish from the same LFS every time? if so there tanks could be connected and if one tank has a disease then they all do and you just may not know it. not sure what else to tell you sorry im not alot of help

. but if you do give up dont give up on the tank maybe just start from scratch on the tank? take every thing out and begin again

 

[alexa11]

is there enough flow? perhaps they are not getting enough O2?

 

[sueandherzoo]

I bought the fish from three different sources so I doubt the fish were diseased before I got them. I WISH I could blame it on that, but I can't, at least not all 5.
Someone else suggested that perhaps the Eclipse doesn't produce enough oxygenation so I added a powerhead yesterday. Shortly after that I noticed the fish breathing funny and he died a few hours later.
I'm clueless.
Sue

 

[patrick8929]

well there must have been a disease introduced into your tank at some point. also how long do you acclimate? if you dont acclimate properly it can take a real toll on the fish. if there was a disease introduced then the only way to get rid of it is to starve it. you might just have to wait a while to get fish.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Good point about a disease being introduced. I may never know if it came in on the first fish I bought or if it came in with one of the snails but I do need to tear the tank apart and start from scratch. Actually I may just disinfect it and keep it as a QT tank or a hospital tank - this may be the right excuse to get a 24 or 29 gallon biocube. Unfortunately I'm just starting to set up a 46 gallon bowfront so it seems the next month or two is going to be a lot of "waiting". I was hoping to stagger my new start ups so I would have something to amuse me but since I'm killing every fish I put in the 12 gallon I can't do that to the fish (or myself!) anymore. I'll just have to find some really lively live rock to amuse me while I cycle.
I acclimate by the book.... about two hours of drip acclimation and then I float the fish in a bag in the tank for 20-30 minutes.
I will throw away the live sand in the tank, just in case, but what should I do with all the base and live rock? If I disinfect or sterilize it it's nothing more than base rock at that point, right? Since we don't know what this disease or parasite is, we don't know if it's living in my rock, right?
Sue

 

[rotarymagic]

post up an FTS and full water parameter test.. maybe you are acclimating too long and the fish is dying from ammonia.. Try floating the bag and netting the fish out of it and just releasing it into the tank. Sounds "crazy" but try it. You sure you don't have a mantis shrimp or brittle star in there?
BTW which 5 fish did you try in this tank?

 

[sueandherzoo]

Hi, and thanks for the thoughts. I guess it's POSSIBLE I acclimate too long and they get ammonia poisoning but I thought lots of people drip acclimated for 2-3 hours as a standard. I guess I could TRY doing it a shorter period of time but I'm not sure I want to "sacrifice" another fish.
Can't post a pic of the tank from the office but let me go look for the link to when I was posting photos a few weeks ago.
Water parameters yesterday were:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: between zero and the next level up
Nitrates: 15
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 72
SalinitY: .025
Darn I REALLY hate to tear it apart and start all over -- is there anything I can put in there to KILL whatever is killing my fish? I can ask my LFS to hold my tiger pistol shrimp for me while I do it but I really didn't want to have to recycle all over again. Then again, if I "kill" stuff in there then I will kill my live rock and have to start all over again anyway, right? This was the tank that was going to keep me amused while I patiently waited for the 46 to cycle. So much for best laid plans......

 

[sueandherzoo]

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=334503

 

[patrick8929]

well nitrates need to be at zero. i dont know if that is why your fish are dying but im sure that isnt helping. i know there is ich be gone stuff but i dont know about other diseases. i dont know about the disease in your tank if there is one but im pretty sure you can starve it. so if you dont want to start all over wait a month or 2 and just do water changes and keep it up with no fish. could be wrong but just a suggestion.

 

[nano12er]

I replied to your other thread on this topic "fish die..."
Good Luck!!

 

[nano12er]

Your O2 levels should be fine as your 12 has the bio wheel, breaking the water surface and constantly introducing O2 into your system, this is not the purpose of the wheel, but it accomplishes this task as well. Are you using test strips, they may be inaccurate...

 

[sueandherzoo]

When I first started this hobby I bought Red Sea test kit (vials) and then bought strips for quick and easy "back up" results. Since I've been having all these problems I've since gone out and bought ANOTHER set of vial test kits so I alternate between all three...... they all read the same. Test kits are fine.
Sue