just lost my yellow tang

[neilster1]

I got him on Friday, found him dead this morning. My atlantic snails (5) and my damsels are fine. Bought a test kit and everything is normal, save for ph.. need to test again, got a reading of 7.4

I've got a 29gal tank, fluval 104 filter, 10lbs of live rock, crushed coral/arag-alive base (30 lbs).

Not sure if ph killed the tang or not.. any ideas?

 

[srgetz]

Yes that PH can, will kill a tang - they are used to 8.1-8.4. If I am not mistaken 7.4 is ~ 100x more acidic than 8.4. Get your water parameters in order and DO research the needs of fish before buying - the yellow tang should be in a 4 ft established tank (with excellent water quality), a 29 is far too small for him (55g is considered iffy for these). Slowly raise the PH over the course of a week, and do some reading or ask questions here about future stocking. More live rock or dry base rock would be welcome also, canisters are not very good for biological filter in sw, they simply trap waste causing more problems than they fix (if they are not cleaned weekly). A skimmer would be good as well. Sorry for your loss but you need to learn a bit before moving on to more fish...

 

[neilster1]

I guess I went wrong with my choice of LFS.. the "expert" thought that a small tang would be ok, and until this episode they had been testing my water for me. I have since purchased my own test kit.. yielded the results I posted.

what is the best way to get the ph where it needs to be?

 

[steve-s]

If the fluval 104 is your only means of water movement, that will be a majority of the problem. A 100ish GPH flow for a 29 gal tank is far too low. If combined with a solid lid on the tank, that's your pH issue in a nutshell. How old is this tank?

Gas exchange is very important in a SW aquarium. Brisk surface aggitation, an open or breathable surface area for gas exchange and a minimum of 10x water flow.

Cheers
Steve

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
Since this is the frst time you tested the water yourself, I would bring some back to the LFS to verify your results. then go from there. IF Ph is indeed at 7.4, you will need to raise it gradually. Your best course of action is with water changes. 15% every three days should be okay. Getting to the bottom of the Ph problem is a must or you will be battling this for a long time. As Steve mentioned, promoting better gas exchange will help.

 

[steve-s]

Don't take a water sample to the LFS for pH, take the test kit itself. Once you remove the water and transport it, aeration will naturally elevate it giving you a false reading. Get them to test the pH of their water using your test kit against theirs and compare the results. Also watch how they do it incase of "operator error".

Cheers
Steve

 

[lando]

Don't take a water sample to the LFS for pH, take the test kit itself. Once you remove the water and transport it, aeration will naturally elevate it giving you a false reading

Good point, what is the timeline for this?