cloudy tank, and dying fish

[Broke EF]

I am posting this here in the hopes it gets more views, and I can get this taken care of. First the specs,

Equipment:
Aqueon 46 Gallon Bow Front
Aqueon glass lid, and standard light
Fluval 306 canister filter
Aqueon 55/75 filter (still running just to seed my Fluval)
Two Aqueon Pro 200 watt heater's
Rena 400 air pump with two 10" bubble wands on the sides

I am using sand as my substraight and fake plants with a piece of driftwood. The tank was fishless cycled, and is now currently stocked with the following.

8 x Lemon Tetra
8 x Diamond Tetra
7 x Panda Cory
1 Starlight Pleco (L183)

Stock to still be added,

2 x German blue ram
1 x Angel

My test results are always spot on, and I do water changes once a week with tap water (usually about 50%) and I treat it with SeaChem Prime.

Last results from a few days ago,
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10-15ppm (maybe a touch darker than 10)
PH: over 7.6 (just like always)
I didn't test High Range PH, because I was thinking it may have crashed

For the last few weeks the tank has been cloudy, and I cant figure out why. Here is a pic showing what I am dealing with.

This isnt a new pic, but this is how it looks, maybe a little more clear now.

The fish all seem plenty happy, and don't seem bothered by the haze. It bugs me for a few reasons. One it looks bad, two it makes it hard to take pictures of the fish (photography is another hobby of mine), and three I don't know what is causing it! Lets hear what you guys have to say. I would really like to know what is causing this, and then fix it. The only other thing that I think is odd is that there is a white substance around the suction cups (and the light) of the older heater. It makes me think its a calcium build up, but is that possible? If it is would it cause cloudiness like this? How would I fix that?

I am open to changing over to RO/DI water, adding a UV Sterilizer, whatever it takes. Thanks in advance for the help on this guys.

UPDATE: I woke up to a dead lemon Terra, and I expect another dear by the time I get home. This is the first lemon Terra to pass away in my tank. The other has a white stripe down its side, and was moving its mouth open and closed very quickly. I really want to know what's going on. I don't like any fish dying, but they are going at a pretty steady rate lately. I need to get to the bottom of this water issue.

Sean

 

[LyndaB]

Tanks can go through bacterial blooms and it sounds like that's what's happening with you, however, that doesn't explain the dead fish. Your stock sounds peaceful so it doesn't seem that there's aggression involved but you might want to watch among the species to see if there's any bullying going on.

I can only advise water changes for the cloudiness.

 

[Broke EF]

For water changes, how Mich and how often do you recommend? Is there any war to prove a bacteria bloom, and/or disprove anything else? Should I test for anything else like calcium, TDS, harness, etc.?


Thanks,
Sean

 

[LyndaB]

I do 50% water changes weekly. The vast majority of bacterial blooms occur within the first year of the tank's life.

I don't think you need to test for anything else but you should be sure to watch your fish for any symptoms that may be leading to the deaths.

Do you stir up the sand occasionally? If you don't, toxic gases can build up beneath the surface. If they are released, they will kill the fish.

Sorry I can't help more.

 

[Broke EF]

I usually do 50% water changes once a week, and also did about 80% when I installed the new filter.

Now if it is indeed gasses in the sand, won't stirring it now kill all my fish?


Sean

 

[LyndaB]

You have to remove it, there's really no choice. I stir it up as I'm doing a water change. In some tanks, I have snails that burrow through the sand and do the job for me.

 

[Broke EF]

I have to remove the sand? Or do i remove the fish, stir up the sand, pull as much water out as possible then refill and add in the fish? If I do that how do I know that the water is good to go and the toxic gasses have disolved completely? What snails dig through the sand so I won't have this problem in the future, or should I go with a sand bed that is not as deep? I want this to be permanently solved, so I can enjoy happy healthy fish.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[LyndaB]

You do not have to remove the sand.

In your case, since there might be an issue with gases, perhaps you could put your fish into a plastic bin while you're doing the water change.

Treat it as a normal water change. I would stir up the sand first, a wooden skewer works well, as does a large slotted spoon. Then do your water change, add your dechlorinator and you should be good to put your fish back in.

I have kuhli loaches, mystery snails, assassin snails that seem to do the job for me. Others have malaysian trumpet snails. I know there are other species, I just don't have them.

If you use the wooden skewer even once a month or so, you won't have a problem with the gases. It's not a huge investment in time if you don't have snails or whatever.

 

[Broke EF]

I came home to two more dead lemons today. So that is now 3 dead lemon tetras in less than 24 hours. Could it be too much flow/current in my tank? I do have two rather large filters running right now. But there are areas where its not so bad from what I can see.

I tested my water as soon as I pulled the dead fish out and it looks perfect.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: ~10

WHAT SHOULD I DO?! I don't want any more fish dying, but I really don't want my new pleco to die!!!


HELP!!!
Sean

 

[Broke EF]

OK, I just did a 50% water change. While I was doing it I counted fish, and I am short 1 lemon. I had 8 total, and 3 died but I only count 4 in the tank. One was so pale I thought it was a Diamond tetra for a while. So either I thought I had 8 and really had 7, or one is MIA. I looked around and didn't see another body anywhere. I was hesitant to pull decorations for fear of stirring the sand. I am going to borrow a friends 29 gallon tank this weekend/early next week and put all of the fish in there and do a through cleaning of my tank.

I don't know what else to do at this point. This is becoming very frustrating.


Sean

 

[Broke EF]

Well, just an update. I am gone until Sunday, but I got a call from the wife saying that two more are going to die for sure, and another two are on the fence. Looks like 2 lemons are for sure, and 1 lemon 1 diamond are on the fence. She said that they will go off on their own, seizure, and breathe heavy, and their skin starts to fall off.

I had come up with a plan, but if this is a disease then I need to figure out how to treat it before I can do too much.


Sean

 

[Broke EF]

The wife found 3 more dead lemon tetras this morning. She said a panda is on its way out too. I just hope that the pleco survives all of this.

Sean

 

[Mrduna01]

All your params are good... I would lean toward some kind of parasite or something... Maybe something hitched a ride on something you added?

 

[Broke EF]

That's what I am starting to think as well. I'm preparing to lose everything at this point, and planning a better set up for next time.

Sean

 

[Broke EF]

And now a panda I hope I have some fish left when I get home!!!

Sean

 

[Broke EF]

I made a new thread for the rebuild stage of this all. It can be seen here

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/help-with-a-full-make-over-46-gallon-bow-188255.html

Please chime in with any advice, or tips you may have.


Thanks,
Sean