Why Do I Fail?

maxsmart

maxsmart

Member
I don't know why I lose about 1/3 of the things I put in the tank the first week!
I have a good drip-acclimation system, I always do one hour more than is recommended (ie, 3 hours acclimation for a fish that requires 2+ hrs).
I also have 2 different test kits, my ammonia, nitrites, nitrates are always at the '0-xxx' level, ph is always in the "acceptable" range, I keep the salinity right at 1.025 (I have a floating hydrometer which I had tested by the LFS using their spectrometer - it is accurate).
I do 4gal/72 water change a week, using RO water measuring 10ppm TDS - just switched to RODI with 0ppm.
Yet, about 1/3 of the things I put in die in the first week. About 1/2 die within the first month. The funny thing is, the things that survive do very well - and I have numerous corals that thrive. Is there some x-factor I'm not taking into account? Not only is this expensive and frustrating, I feel really bad about having such beautiful creatures die on my account.
The only thing I can think of is the flatworms - I've got a lot of them, and Flatworm Exit didn't work.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Hmmm...still got the Arrow crab? Other than that tell us more, what is surviving, what is dying in the first week?
 
maxsmart

maxsmart

Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2858123
Hmmm...still got the Arrow crab? Other than that tell us more, what is surviving, what is dying in the first week?
The arrow crab was more or less DOA - he didn't even want to stand up before I began acclimation.
2 flame scallops both died within 2 days.
Two neon gobies died, one the first day - the other lasted a week, then found his way into the sump, I found him there days later (still alive), put him back in the display tank, and he died a week later.
A barnacle blenny lasted about 2-3 weeks, was eating and doing well, then started hyperventilating and died.
A sixline wrasse lasted about 4-5 months (this one seems to have died of swimbladder disease)
2 emerald crabs lasted less than a week;
1 emerald crab lasted a month, then died;
Peppermint shrimp - we've gotten 3 batches of 5, it's hard to tell when they die because they can hide for months at a time, but they eventually do die - usually after surviving several months.
More sucessful:
A bicolor blenny lasted about a year (I think this one died due to a spike caused by one of the balasts going dead).
A yellow-tail damsel is 3.5 years and still alive;
A black sea cucumber is 3 years and still alive;
Our LMB lasted 2 years then died;
A cleaner shrimp (3-incher) is about 10 months and still alive.

It's not a complete list, but it gives you an idea of my experiences.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Well to me you have explained a lot of what has happened, I am wondering about oxygen in your tank. Just sparked by the "then started hyperventilating and died." statement. Do you have good gas exchange? Is the top of the water showing any build up on it?
 
maxsmart

maxsmart

Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2858188
Well to me you have explained a lot of what has happened, I am wondering about oxygen in your tank. Just sparked by the "then started hyperventilating and died." statement. Do you have good gas exchange? Is the top of the water showing any build up on it?
I have a drilled tank with a Megaflow system installed (a huge overflow that takes up a lot of space in the back of the tank). The overflow tube is wide, so it creates a suction which pulls a LOT of air bubbles down with the water. The tube comes out underwater in my sump, so the bubbles rise up through the 1st compartment of my sump. The sump has a protein skimmer in the 2nd compartment, which outputs into the third compartment, with enough splash that I have to keep the water level in the sump topped off just to prevent air bubbles from being pulled into the return pump. The overflow generally keeps the surface pretty clear of film and debris, though the slits occasionally gets clogged with algae growth, which reduces the skimming effect. I do have a glass cover on the tank. I allow some algae growth in my tank (I try to keep just halimeda and sea grapes which I trim, and remove hair algae when it grows) to keep the nitrates at 0 and help oxygenate.
 
maxsmart

maxsmart

Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2859033
What are all your water readings????
T
Ammonia=0
Nitrites=0
Nitrates=0
(0 means the lowest calibration on the test kits)
salinity=1.025-1.026
I don't know the pH numeric reading off-hand, but pH and hardness are always at the low end of the "acceptable" range according to the test kit.
I'm taking the other comment about oxygen into consideration, though I think my sump should be more than adequate - I'm thinking about doing some engineering and trying to create more churning in the sump.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by LKGRenegade22
http:///forum/post/2859011
I would assume he meant they used their refractometer, but who knows.

Even though he meant a refractometer, a spectrometer can also be used to measure sodium. Might be more complicated to convert the results to an actual mearurement of specific gravity or salinity level, since it mainly measures wave length to determine materilas.
 
knockout

knockout

Member
what is your source for livestock, it looks like most animals are dying really fast after introduction, is the source reliable, do they look "healthy" when you get them, are they eating properly before you buy, I am not a fan of the drip acclimation method too many variables to sync
 
knockout

knockout

Member
just reading another thread made come back here... how is that 3.5 year old damsel behaving, may he be the reason of your sorrow! he is the only fish surviving your tanks wrath! possible?
and also I've never been able to keep those scallops alive for more than a couple of weeks, wont try them again.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
I'd check into where you are getting your livestock from. You shouldn't be having these types of problems.
 
pumper

pumper

Member
Originally Posted by knockout
http:///forum/post/2859873
just reading another thread made come back here... how is that 3.5 year old damsel behaving, may he be the reason of your sorrow! he is the only fish surviving your tanks wrath! possible?
and also I've never been able to keep those scallops alive for more than a couple of weeks, wont try them again.
I've had my flame scallop for 4 months now. Lost a little color but hes always on the move and filtering.
 
unleashed

unleashed

Active Member
this seams to have more effect on your inverts when adding them.. you may want to keep a better eye on cal and ph levels.. these will make a huge difference with crustations .. another thing you may be lacking here is iodine inverts need a supply of iodine..you may want to do a monthly dosing of this but do check levels you can buy the test kit for this as well.over dosing is lethal too all tank members. as for your fish some of the things you are adding are for expert levels due to their needed diets and pristine water conditions,, as for flat worms you can ty to manually eradicate them using a turkey baster and sucking them up daily.. these will smother your corals..i highly suggest starting a qt when purchasing new fish.. i would say a 29 gal which would be easier to keep water quality easier to maintain as well as fish can live and adjust longer periods of time.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by MaxSmart
http:///forum/post/2859729
Ammonia=0
Nitrites=0
Nitrates=0
(0 means the lowest calibration on the test kits)
salinity=1.025-1.026
I don't know the pH numeric reading off-hand, but pH and hardness are always at the low end of the "acceptable" range according to the test kit.
I'm taking the other comment about oxygen into consideration, though I think my sump should be more than adequate - I'm thinking about doing some engineering and trying to create more churning in the sump.

What test kits do you use, and how old are they? Have your readings been verified by the LFS? I am wary of any test that basically just gives an "acceptable" range and not numbers.
What is your alkalinity? Calcium? Have you ever used copper?
 
maxsmart

maxsmart

Member
Sorry for the omnibus response:
Source of livestock: I've used several places. One was a hatchery that supplies many of the LFS. Another was this website. Another is a pet store that is very good - the owner is an absolute expert with several beautiful tanks, and his staff are all former employees of hatcheries and major aquarium equipment manufacturers. I've gotten one or two things from a major chain pet store, and one or two from other LFS.
I've never used copper.
I do dose with iodine, but I don't test for it. I didn't do this originally, but started after I'd had the tank about a year.
I do have a 15gal QT. I quit using it recently since I hardly have anything alive.
The damsel is moderate. Two young clownfish were the only ones he really picked on bad - and I had quarantined them for 2 weeks. He also took snaps at the sixline, but she quickly learned she could outmaneuver him and nip him in the tail when he tried to chase her. Usually he chases the new fish to the left side of the tank, and as long as they stay over there he doens't come after them. He got along fine with the blennies, they both liked hanging around him, in fact the bicolor followed him around like a baby.
As a whole, the fish seem to struggle worse than the inverts.
How should I control the pH? I have a calcium suplement that is pretty basic, I also use reef crystals which are supposed to be really good for maintaining proper levels of minerals...
The test kit does have numbers, but I don't have it with me, and I don't remember the numbers. It is a fair question so I will check it when I get home and get you the readings.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Do you find bodies? Or just pieces of bodies, or they just disappear? If you find bodies, are their any signs of damage?
 
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