Some questions....

[Spiderman]

1. I top off my tank every other day...I have a 25G SWFO tank with four fish and 7.5# of live rock. What's the best way to pour in the water? The reason I ask is because the last time I did it, one of my fish probably got doused with fresh water (which may have been slightly colder), sank to the bottom, and stayed there for several minutes breathing heavily. Miraculously, he survived!

Also, are there vitamins/supplements/trace elements I could add for the fish in my tank?

 

[steve-s]

Generally speaking you can usually pour the water into a high flow area such as a powerhead to dispurse it more quickly. It's also best to be sure the water is the same temp as the tank or at least room temp so as not to shock the inhabitants. The smaller the tank, the more need to be careful.

I will normally top off my 27 gal by pouring the water over a surface powerhead which is directed towards another powerhead on the other side. The resulting turbulent water mixes it quite quickly and without concern. What most likely happened to your fish was either the colder water shocked it or possibley you used tap water without a dechlorinator.

If you want to be extra careful, you can set up a drip system with a basic airline hose and allow the water to enter the tank in a more controlled fashion.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

Also, are there vitamins/supplements/trace elements I could add for the fish in my tank?

Forgot this part.

Don't bother with trace element additives, especially for an FO system. Just rely on regular water changes to replenish the levels. As far as vitamins, yes they are a good addition to help keeping the fish healthy and their colors vibrant. There are many to choose from, personally I prefer Selcon but there is also Zoe, Zoecon, Vitachem and the like. They are best used by soaking the foods in a few drops of the vitamin for a couple of hours. Once or twice a week is plenty. Be careful with Selcon and Zoecon though. Both are very high in [acronym="Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid"]HUFA[/acronym] which can affect water quality if too much is used too often. You might even see a bit of a slick on the water surface if not using a skimmer as well.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Spiderman]

Appreciate your help, Steve!