whats going on!!!!!!!

[mujtba]

my ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5-10, salinity 1.024, temp is 78-80.
last nite it got real cold and my 1 fish died.. well the temp dropped to 75.
im assuming it died..
i have sand on the bottom too, and so tank was a bit cloudy.. seemed like a fish stirred the bottom..
but i have a nemo and tomato clown fish.. both of them seem to not be doin well..
nemo is swimmin around, but didnt eat. tomato is jus sittin on the bottom..
my fish which died, and the tomato, seem to have like a whitish, clear layer type thing on their body.. dead one had it on the eye too. is that sand coating???
how are my fish dying??? i dont see ick.. parameters are good. tanks 2+ mnths old..
they all were very fine yesterday eating well too.
i put the temp back to 80..
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... i think by tomorow ill lose all the fish!

 

[flatzboy]

I'm thinking that it was because the big temp drop, but my tank got up to 93 degrees once. Did you ring the temperature up slowly, how quick?

 

[mujtba]

i think i kno what happened.. my PH is 7.8... !!!!
it was 8.2 last week!! How did it drop so quick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought with water changes, PH wont drop..
WHat made my PH drop!!!
I just put in marinee ph buffer. How long will it take for the PH to rise and will my fish survive????

how did it dropp!!!!!??!!

 

[mujtba]

 

[tizzo]

I am gonna take a shot in the dark here...
A while back I bought a 6 line and for 10 days he was fine. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere he got cloudy in color (including his eyes) and he was breathing rapidly on the bottum. Now keep in mind the day before, he was eating, swimming, totally normal. All day he lay on the bottum. I could tell without a doubt that he was about to die. So, kinda for experimentation purposes, I did a freshwater dip. His skin appeared to be blistering up. I thought to myself, what have I done?! Then I noticed that it was not blisters, it was PARASITES!!! Peeled off his eyes, body and a ton came outa his gills. I did a search for every parasite I ever heard of and I, to this day, have not found ANY info on what I had (they were not flukes)...
I was talking to the guy at the LFS, he said he had noticed the same thing but mostly on angels and triggers. He said copper wont kill them, because he tried. A freshwater is the only thing you can do. And like me, he never could find any info on this parasite. Just for the record, he is actually an interested hobbyist, not just working the pet store to make a buck. But he researches his new findings for more info like we do. Anyway, with that being said, I hope that's not what you have but the symptoms sure sound alike.

 

[mujtba]

i have no idea.. its hard to tell. i have home depot sand, and thats like powder if u have seen it.. it takes months to settle.. im assuming thats what it is..
suppose my fish have no parasites, do u think it will die in a dip of freshwater??
how long do u submerge it?
my PH dropped to 7.8. u dont think thats why they are acting this way???

 

[jdm_ae86]

You got enough oxygen/gas exchange?, like, a powerhead facing towards the surface of your water..since you probably know that too much c02 will bring down your pH levels..

 

[dskidmore]

Does your tank have a calcium reactor?
What kind of water/salt do you use for water changes?
Do you have alot of macroalgae?

 

[ophiura]

It is normal for the pH to vary during the day, and certainly over weeks. In order to get an accurate idea of the pH, you should take readings in the morning after lights come on, and at night before they go off. But 7.8 did not kill your fish (though when did you take this reading and how often do you take a pH reading?). Be sure to pay more attention to your pH as it will drop, normally, it a saltwater tank. Water changes alone may not matter. You may need to buffer more regularly or add kalk. Keep in mind that after buffering your pH may be very high..it gives a skewed reading.
But why on earth did the tank temperature drop to 75 so suddenly? Was there a power outage or something?
What is the alkalinity of your water?

 

[mujtba]

ahhh ok let me try to explain..
tank is 2+mnths old 55G tank..
last month, i think i only changed about 8 gallons of water.. im guessing i messed up here because i lost trace elements?
i dont know what the alkalinity is.. i havent checked this. i didnt think fish needed this checked.. i usualy check the PH, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, and salinity. about 8 days ago my PH was 8.2 and last nite it was 7.8.. i take my reading about every 10 days. should I do this every weekend? im thinking of doing all the readings and a 5G water change each sunday.. good idea?
i dont have a calcium reactor. do fish need it?
i have two 300GPH PHs facing slightly downward toward the back and a 300GPH filter and the 270GPH skimmer. im guessing theres enough water movement.
the temperature dropped that much becuz it got so cold outside, so the room temp dropped.. i raised the heater now..
i just did like a 10g water change and the PH seems a bit high now. will this matter? how long will it be to drop??
my fishs eyes seem faded.. like a coating on it.. have any of you had this? my LFS said that some fish can go blind if they stress..
but what is causing this and how to fix it??? im still in the NOOB phases and need to keep everything stable..

 

[mujtba]

 

[chainsaw5vent]

did you add any new fish prior to finding out that the p/h was @7.8? many years ago i added a new fish to my tank and had not done a p/h test in months. the new fish was pale for a few days:notsure: and after a few days he was missing. i found him in the rock work dead

he at this point began to decay and then all of my water parameters went way out of wack.:scared: by the time i was able to do water changes and all the other stuff, i had lost 50-60% of my other fish.
what i learned was before you add any new live stock, make sure that YOUR tank is correct and ready for new additions.

 

[ophiura]

How are you mixing your water...or do you buy it premixed? Ideally, you should mix water over about a 24hr period leaving a pump in it to circulate. If you are just quickly mixing up water and not checking pH, etc, you can throw things off. The first thing is to slow down.
pH can vary quite a lot after a water change or buffering. Do not over react to these changes or you may cause more damage. The pH can change over the course of the day. But you really must try to match your pH and salinity of your mix water with your tank water.
Are the buckets used for anything else? Any chance of it? New bag of salt mix or one you have used before?
I'm not sure what you mean by losing trace elements? Your pH dropped most likely over the normal course of the week. You should test it and other parameters more frequently, at least once a week. I do recommend checking alkalinity as well as it is closely related to pH.
You do not need a calcium reactor for fish.

 

[dskidmore]

Somehow my origional reply was lost.
>>last month, i think i only changed about 8 gallons of water.. im guessing i messed up here because i lost trace elements?
trace elements are less important for fish than inverts, but it is better to do regular small water changes.
>>i dont know what the alkalinity is.. i havent checked this. i didnt think fish needed this checked..
It's always good to check if your pH is not stable. Having a high alkalinity will keep your pH from making sudden drops.
>>i take my reading about every 10 days. should I do this every weekend? im thinking of doing all the readings and a 5G water change each sunday.. good idea?
Until a tank stabilizes, it's good to test the water at least every time you do a water change. Weekly water changes are a very good idea. 5 Gallons would be just under 10%, that should work fine for you. If you go a few months without having to make adjustments and all water parameters are stable, you can back off on the water testing schedule. (Keep up those water changes though!)
>>i dont have a calcium reactor. do fish need it?
Nope. I asked because it could explain a pH swing.
>>i have two 300GPH PHs facing slightly downward toward the back and a 300GPH filter and the 270GPH skimmer. im guessing theres enough water movement.
*nod*
>>the temperature dropped that much becuz it got so cold outside, so the room temp dropped.. i raised the heater now..
Remember this in the spring when you're tempted to turn down or turn off the heater for the summer. You want to leave it be so that it's all set to go again next fall.
>>i just did like a 10g water change and the PH seems a bit high now. will this matter? how long will it be to drop??
I'm not sure. Any sudden change can be bad for the fish. Unless you're dealing with something toxic like ammonia, nitrite, or a medication that directs immediate removal, it's best to make even positive changes slowly. I would have stuck to the 5 gallon changes.
>> my fishs eyes seem faded.. like a coating on it.. have any of you had this? my LFS said that some fish can go blind if they stress..
>> but what is causing this and how to fix it??? im still in the NOOB phases and need to keep everything stable..
I'm afraid I don't have much help here in the end. Try what the others suggested, mixing saltwater for at least 24 hours. Check the replacement water parameters at least one time to confirm it's good stuff you're putting into the system. If your replacement water is good, circulation is good, tank isn't overstocked, and you do regular maintinance, the tank should eventually find it's balance.