Disaster

[TriggerHappy]

I know you guys will say I told you so, but after having my tank running for about a month with no problems, I added a powerhead last night. This morning 3 of my 5 damsels were gone and a fourth looks ready to kick the bucket. I don't think the ph had anything to do with it. What went wrong? I know it was too soon to add fish but they all looked healthy til this morning. Only thing I can think of is that the nitrite spiked and killed off the fish, a sign that it is cycling I assume. I'm going to pick up a test kit and make sure nitrite/nitrate is 0 before I even think about adding more fish.

 

[Michel]

Sorry for the lost but I don't think the power head had anything to do with that !

 

[TriggerHappy]

I know Michel, the ph couldn't possibly have had anything to do with it, but it's kindof a coincidence that the day after I added it, they died. Do you guys think it was the nitrite/nitrate spike? I'm thinking I'm going to do a waterchange and clean the gravel.

 

[Michel]

Very strange ! Damsel are very tough fish !!!! Could be an sudden increase in nitrite... Take a sample of the water and go to your LFS they can probably do a full water test for cheap !
You are sure that the damsel did not get caught in the intake since they are territorial and might have seen the PH as an intruder ???

 

[roblikesfish]

Fishless Cycle will now own you for now on =) ..



I would buy a test kit and actully monitor your amonia , trites, and trates.

Wait until they are all zero, add fish .. have fun ..


Why chose Gravel if you do not mind me asking ? DSB will help keep your trates down.

 

[BillyZ]

I'm going to pick up a test kit and make sure nitrite/nitrate is 0 before I even think about adding more fish.

you really should not have added any fish without doing this first. Check out our article on Cycling Without Fish. When you're out getting test kits, buy the all of the ones you will need to regularly check for.

Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates and ph
Those are an absolute minimum.
I would also suggest Alkalinity and Calcium (I assume you already have a sg tester?)

It would be my wager your 5 damsel is already on his way out. If it is at all possible, net him and return him to the LFS. They may not take him if hes already looking really bad. If thats the case you could put him in a Quarantine except with FRESH salt water (not water from the tank as suggested in the artcle) and do water changes in the QT over couple of days.

Once your tank has cycled completely, then you can begin adding fish. Don't worry, most of us here have made this same mistake the first time we started a tank (including myself, I was lucky enough not to lose any fish) live and learn

 

[TriggerHappy]

So, it's not too late to do the fishless cycling? I will return the two remaining damsels and get a shrimp from the market if I can still do the fishless cycling. I have DeepSix hydrometer, is this a sg tester? The salt level was 1.022-1.023, which should be ok so I don't think that caused the problems.

 

[Michel]

Now I am confused !!! Did you not have the damsel for a while and everything crashed when you added the PH ???
Or is it my english

 

[TriggerHappy]

no you're right on, i had the damsels for a month, added the ph and they died. but i know the ph had nothing to do with it. i should have done the fishless cycling and test the water, thats what i will do now, if its not too late

 

[Michel]

Well if the fish have been there for a month and now they die suddenly, something else has happened because they would have adapted to the water by now...
I am very puzzled ! :?

 

[TriggerHappy]

yeah but they have been in there since i started to cycle, they must have lived thru the beginning of the cycling process but died when the nitrite started to spike, which I beleive is toward the middle or end of the process. someone correct me if im wrong. :|

 

[Michel]

I,m lost !
I have reached my Peter principle !

 

[TriggerHappy]

ok, thanks for helping out, maybe someone else will jump in and add their 2 cents...

 

[MT79]

Buy a test kit, add a shrimp, test weekly for all your spikes- ammonia, trites, trates. Watch ph and alkalinity. When everything settles add 1 maybe 2 damsels. wait! watch! test! I would also recommend a DSB, and IMO, at least some LR. Don't get "triggerhappy", sorry I couldn't help myself. HTH PS I would recommend a SEACHEM basic marine test kit, it cost about $25.00 includes ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alkalinity, and reference tests to ensure your results are accurate.

 

[TriggerHappy]

im gonna see if the lfs has the seachem test kits. Thanks!

 

[TriggerHappy]

one last ? -- should I do a water change/cc cleaning now or wait?

 

[ReefRaff]

all suggestions so far are good ones, you do need a test kit. Just one thought though.

added the ph and they died. but i know the ph had nothing to do with it.

How do you know? what kind of PH, Rio's have been known to leak electricity into the water, even when brand new. any brand really can be deffective right from the get go, but rio's are especialy suseptable.

you can test this by 1: a multimeter- insert one probe into the ground on an outlet and the other into the tank, with the setting on 120 VAC. just make sure your in the ground side of the outlet. (third prong).

2: you can get those wand typ electrical checkers that beep when they encounter an electrical currant. and pass it across the waters surface. if there is any juice in the water it should start squaking.

if you encounter any juice from either method, then unplug the PS and chk again. if you find a measurable drop in juice, then take it out and get an replacement.

Also for your safty you should have everything pluged into a GFI sockett, and you should also have a titanium grounding prob for your tank.

Somthing to think about,

 

[TriggerHappy]

If that was the case, how did one fish survive? One damsel is still swimming around, wouldnt he of gotten Zapped too? Unless he's some superfish or somethin 8O BTW it's a maxijet 1200 PH. If it WAS leakin electricity, could any fish POSSIBLY survive? I'm sayin, no... :|

 

[gooyferret]

I have never heard of a PH leaking electricity to the point it would kill fish. If you assume a PH can what about the heater is your temp fluxing at all? How long was it till you found your first fish dead. In high water movement areas they can start to decompose very quickly and produce alot of ammonia.

 

[TriggerHappy]

temp has been stable 82 degrees. the fish died overnight, not right away...the mystery continues, ill post what the test says when i get it done. btw, cool dog gooeyferret, what kind is that? 8)