What am I doing wrong

quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
I dont know what I am doing wrong I am loosing fish for some reason I DONT KNOW. I just got my refractometer yesterday and checked my salinity perfect 1.025 checked my amionia 0
nitrites 0
nitrate 5-10
Yesterday one of my chromis's that I have had for 4 days which ate fine swam all over the tank showed no signs of any problems was attached to the overflow DEAD today I looked in to my tank and one was stuck to my canister filter DEAD there are no other fish in the tank but 4 green chromis my tank is a 55 gal that has been set up since 01/20/06 with a 10 gal fuge and a 20 gal sump with a CA skimmer rated for a 200 gal tank I also have a Fluval attached to the tank with media removed simply for more water and the ocasional carbon. I dont have any clues to what is killing my fish. I did a water change on friday but the water matched mine in everything but mabey temp. I checked my temp on my tank after I poured it in and it droped 1 degree.
I am really starting to hate this hobby I am wanting to buy a couple of clowns but hell if I can keep a simple little ******chromis alive why do I want to keep flushing money down the darn toliet
 
tropills

tropills

Member
Don't know What everone thinks but for a FOWLR tank keep your salt level around 1.022, 1.023 and temp about 78'. Were these the first fish you put in? Nitrate seems a little high if so? Don't give up yet i'm sure someone on the great site can figure out what's going on.
 
quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
No I just got of work but I will check the levels and no I have put 6 green chromis's in my tank I have only 2 left and they are swimming around fine. I have about 80lbs of live rock and 30lbs of live sand and 20 lbs of reg sand in my tank
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by tropills
Don't know What everone thinks but for a FOWLR tank keep your salt level around 1.022, 1.023 and temp about 78'. Were these the first fish you put in? Nitrate seems a little high if so? Don't give up yet i'm sure someone on the great site can figure out what's going on.

I think your salinity is fine. I keep all mine at 1.026.
 
ktsdad

ktsdad

Member
Since your ammonia and nitrItes are zero, I would guess your cycle is complete.
Maybe have your LFS or friend with different test kit double check it just in case.
My FOWLR usually has nitrAtes between 5 and 10, so I agree that isn't killing your fish.
I also keep all my salt water at 1.025, both reef and Fowlr, again not a problem.
Have you checked for stray voltage? Power heads and heaters are usual suspects of leaking stray voltage into the tank. Just a thought.
Any signs of trama (other than being dead) to the fish? Maybe you have a hitch-hiker on your live rock that is beating up your fish. Mantis shrimp maybe? Just another thought.
Good Luck
 
quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
I have not checked for stray voltage so I will get a guage and check it later as far as a mantis shrimp I dont think that is possible due to the live rock only being in the tank 1 and a half months. but I am still dumbfounded I lost 2 fish to a hungry power head during the night is it possible that while the fish sleep at night that they could drift to close to something like the filter, powerhead or overflow? I am going to To my LFS tomorrow who also is a good friend of mine I am going to have him double check my water and see if he can shed some light on this.
One other thing would the water from my water change do anything because I added it all to the sump and it really did not have much time to mix with the tank water before it was pumped up into the DT.
I am thinking about useing either a small air line or 3/8th" tubeing to make it a slow process in adding the new fresh salt or plain RO top off
 
ktsdad

ktsdad

Member
No, adding either replacement saltwater or top-off water directly to your sump is not the problem. Most people with sumps do it that way so you don't get sand storms in your display tank.
I use a 5 gallon container with a 3/4 ID hose coming out of the top to pour in top-off water and a 400gph powerhead with 3/4 ID hose to transfer saltwater from a trashcan into the sump for water changes.
A mantis could have been hiding in your live rock when you got it.
Good Luck, let us know if you figure it out so we can help others!
 
quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
I floated the bag for 30-45 min than used a nurse IV line to drip them for almost 3 hours then pour'd them back in a bag and floated them again for about 30-45 min than introduced them to the tank.
 
spanish dancer

spanish dancer

Member
Have you used any silicone in your aquarium? if so, did you use the right kind?
I used the wrong kind once and had basically the same problem.
 
tim_12

tim_12

Member
Hrmm. Did you have them in a bucket / container when you were doing the drip? If so, did you keep it heated?
 
quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
I had them in a one gallon pitcher and no it was not heated that is why I floated the bag for the second time. Could that be it because they do fine for a week or so before any died?
 
cain420

cain420

Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
I think your salinity is fine. I keep all mine at 1.026.
ill back u up on that one!
 
quads4_lif

quads4_lif

Member
well its midnight here so I am going to go to bed I will check in the morning hopefully I will still have at leats my last 2 chromis's and none will be stuck to the filter's
 
joshradio

joshradio

Member
Also, what's your pH at? And you are feeding them right? Where did you get them from? A chain-store like *****?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top