Random Lack of O2? Help?

[Jhoss1511]

Hi-
I am new to the forum, as well as the marine aquarium. ( This is my first saltwater tank) I have been keeping cichlids and discuss for years though so am not completely new to the hobby. My question is I just did a routine water chance yesterday, and within two hours of that change all my fish where gasping like crazy, beginning to lay on the bottom and slowly die. I quickly set up my QT tank and removed all the fish, within seconds of placing them into the QT tank all symptoms where gone and they were acting completely normal! (cleaner shrimp didn't make it) I checked all my water parameters Ammonia=0 Nitrite=0 Nitrate=0 Im not sure what this was anyone have any idea? and what I can do so I can put the fish back into the tank?

Tank Specs:
38 Gallon
FOWLF
2 clowns
4 Green Chromis
1 lemon peel
1 Watchman Goby
Filtration= Fluval 306 canister
1 powerhead

 

[beth]

How do you do your water changes? Water Source and how long do you mix your salt? Dechlorination? What is the pH of the tank when you did the water change?

How do you quickly set up a QT in terms of water prep?

Need more info about your water prep and how you do the water changes to the main tank.

 

[Jhoss1511]

Beth-
the QT tank was set up quickly!! in order to save them, which worked. water source is tap water, (Hoping for an RO system for Christmas!) PH 8.2 have to use a buffer though working on getting the KH stable so I don't have to use it anymore. So I just mix the salt in water the same temp as the tank which is 78 let it sit for 5 mins, check the salinity to make sure it is correct then pour it in. I use Stress Coat as the de-chlorination. Is this wrong? would this be causing oxygen depletion?

 

[Jhoss1511]

PS-
I added an air stone today for awhile in the tank then added the fish back to the main tank! No issues all fish are acting normal swimming, no more rapid breathing or laying on their sides on the bottom. All are eating and all is good. I have no idea what happened other then there being little to no 02 in the tank.

 

[bang guy]

Beth-
the QT tank was set up quickly!! in order to save them, which worked. water source is tap water, (Hoping for an RO system for Christmas!) PH 8.2 have to use a buffer though working on getting the KH stable so I don't have to use it anymore. So I just mix the salt in water the same temp as the tank which is 78 let it sit for 5 mins, check the salinity to make sure it is correct then pour it in. I use Stress Coat as the de-chlorination. Is this wrong? would this be causing oxygen depletion?

Yes, this will cause problems every time.

My opinion on a couple things:

1 - Mix the salt with cold water, not warm water.

2 - Be sure to pour the salt into the water and not the other way around. Stir the water as violently as possible while slowly pouring in the salt. None of the salt should reach the bottom of the mixing container.

3 - Aerate the water for at least 24 hours. Make salinity adjustments after the 24 hour point.

4 - Wait until you are ready to add the water before warming it to tank temperature.

5 - Never use Stress Coat.

 

[Jhoss1511]

Yes, this will cause problems every time.

My opinion on a couple things:

1 - Mix the salt with cold water, not warm water.

2 - Be sure to pour the salt into the water and not the other way around. Stir the water as violently as possible while slowly pouring in the salt. None of the salt should reach the bottom of the mixing container.

3 - Aerate the water for at least 24 hours. Make salinity adjustments after the 24 hour point.

4 - Wait until you are ready to add the water before warming it to tank temperature.

5 - Never use Stress Coat.

Thank you, looks like I will need a couple of buckets to do all of this, anyway what do you think the issue was? Lack of Oxygen or chlorine in water? Also why not use Stress Coat? is it a salt water thing? I have found it the best for my discus...IMO Thanks

 

[silverado61]

Just curious bang guy, what happens when you store the water at the tanks temp? As soon as I do a water change I top off the barrel with fresh saltwater.

 

[bang guy]

Thank you, looks like I will need a couple of buckets to do all of this, anyway what do you think the issue was? Lack of Oxygen or chlorine in water? Also why not use Stress Coat? is it a salt water thing? I have found it the best for my discus...IMO Thanks

I can't know for sure what the problem was. I do know through some of my experiments that the PH of freshly mixed saltwater fluctuates a LOT. Drastic PH swings can cause the symptoms you described.

Another though is that there's a lot of chemical reactions in freshly mixed saltwater. I would think these reaction would irritate sensitive tissues like gills.

#5 is purely opinion. After 24 hours of being aerated all of the chlorine should have evaporated (chloramine excluded). Stress coat contains more than just a dechlorinator, it contains an irritant that causes fish to excrete more slime. Not something I would want for my fish. And if it is strong enough to irritate fish skin what does it do to other marine organisms? Also, most salt mixes already contain the ingredients necessary to detoxify chlorine.

 

[bang guy]

Just curious bang guy, what happens when you store the water at the tanks temp? As soon as I do a water change I top off the barrel with fresh saltwater.

I mostly commented on the mixing temperature being cold freshwater. Storing it shouldn't be much of a problem other than wasting energy. Bacteria does grow faster in warm saltwater but that shouldn't cause any harm that I can think of.

 

[beth]

Mixing salt and immediately using in the display with live animals is a major no-no. Salt does not have time to adequately dissolve by any means (and it is very caustic to animal tissues and membranes left undissolved) , nor is it stable enough to obtain adequate pH readings. Now why your QT did ok, I can't imagine. Also, did you dechlorinate the water?? If this step was not done, or not done correctly, it could be chlorine poisoning (which it actually sounds like it could have been that).

Use a dedicated container to mix water and salt under a powerhead. I like 48 hrs, but it can be done for 24 hours. No need to dechlorinate if this is done since the chlorine will dissipate out of the water under the vigorous stir of the powerhead.

 

[Jhoss1511]

Thanks everyone for the help! I do have a Chlorine test, and it was showing no chlorine when I tested. (doesn't mean that that wasn't the issue) But I believe it may have been caused by me mixing the salt wrong and getting a false reading in the salinity. To high of salinity could cause difficult breathing correct? Not sure what it was probably a mix of all of the above due to my lack of proper salt mixing. Thanks for the friendly advise I will now mix my salt for water changes a day in advance! All fish are doing great! and everything is completely normal as it was before the water chance ( minus a cleaner shrimp ....)

PS: to anyone who has a similar problem what seemed to fix it was an air stone added to the tank for a day!

 

[beth]

You should think that salt water is to fish what air is to us. If there is any variation in acceptable parameters, then the water can be quite toxic and harmful. This is why the mixing process needs to be accomplished over at least a 24 hour period, preferably 48 hours. It is impossible to adequately mix and make accurate readings of water that has just been mixed up and then added to the aquaria.

 

[aduvall]

5 - Never use Stress Coat.

Why no stress coat?

 

[bang guy]

Why no stress coat?

#5 is purely opinion. After 24 hours of being aerated all of the chlorine should have evaporated (chloramine excluded). Stress coat contains more than just a dechlorinator, it contains an irritant that causes fish to excrete more slime. Not something I would want for my fish. And if it is strong enough to irritate fish skin what does it do to other marine organisms? Also, most salt mixes already contain the ingredients necessary to detoxify chlorine.

 

[aduvall]

Totally missed that. Sorry... I didn't know it had an irritant... Thought it was just aloe...

Why would you want to irritate a stressed fish?

 

[bang guy]

Totally missed that. Sorry... I didn't know it had an irritant... Thought it was just aloe...

Why would you want to irritate a stressed fish?

It increases slime production. The theory is that it adds additional protection against bacteria.

The Aloe is probably harmless but it's hardly natural for saltwater animals.