Water changes

[FreshwaterSean]

I need help! It seems like every time I do a water change my fish are dying! I have looked at several posts on here saying how to do it and I thought I was ok. Lately I've lost several fish and the only time it happens is after a WC.
I have a python water change setup and what I usually do is fill with tap water( temp is usually real close plus or minus a degree only) and I add prime as I fill to mix with the water.
My parameters ARE ALWAYS good, no ammonia or nitrires, pH around 7.6 and Nitrates at 40 or so.
Could the fish be getting some chlorine before the prime does its job?
So frustrsting, I don't want to go back to buckets again
HELP

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[Wiggles24]

Could the issue be the ph of the water going into the tank?

 

[Coyne]

Its my understanding that Prime (and other water conditioners) work pretty well instantly. Are you adding enough Prime to dose the entire volume of the tank, or are you just using enough to cover what you're replacing?
That said, it would take more than a few seconds, or even a few hours, of contact with chlorinated water to kill your fish.
I've been doing my weekly PWCs the same way that you are (as are many, many people) and I am not experiencing the same problems. How soon after water changes are fish dying? Hours later... a couple days? Any odd behaviors or swimming issues leading up to their deaths?

I agree with the person above that suggested you check into pH differences between your tap water and tank water. Its a good starting point.

 

[FreshwaterSean]

I checked the pH several times and the tap water is slightly higher but not enough to be concerned.

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[FreshwaterSean]

And I usually dose for the size of my tank even if I'm only doing a 20% change.
The fish seem to die within hours after the change, it's not instant

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[Coyne]

It sounds like you're doing things correctly.
Hours later might not be instantly, its still pretty darn fast.

When you're checking your tap water's pH, are you checking straight out of the tap, or are you letting it "gas off" first? Straight out of the tap wont always give you a true reading. The recommended method is to fill a bucket (or other container), stick an air tube in it and let it bubble over night... then check the pH. You might end up with the same number, but at least you'll know for sure you have the correct reading.

I suppose its just possible that you have some sort of infection in your aquarium and that the minor stress of a water change is enough to push some of your fish past the edge.

Otherwise, Id suggest maybe refilling the aquarium a little slower. I've always heard that you can remove water as fast as you like, but to add it back in slowly. I think allows minor differences in temperature and chemistry to mix together and even out.

 

[martintanks91]

When i do a water change i have to add water conditioner the amount of water in my tank or the 20% im changing??

 

[Coyne]

If you're using a bucket, then you just treat the amount that's inside the bucket, but if you're going directly from the tap and into the tank (like you are) then you add enough to cover the entire volume of the tank.

So if you have a 20 gallon aquarium, then you would add 2 ml of Prime to the tank just before adding the water.

 

[confusedfishmom]

Could your Prime bottle be expired or have something toxic in it? How many times has this happened? What type of fish? What are tank parameters before WC? How long were fish in the tank?

 

[LudicrouSpeed]

Have you been vacuuming. I have a small tank and whenever I do water changes alot of stuff get's stirred up. Maybe there's something nasty that get stirred up the fish are eating? Just a thought.

 

[trennamw]

I'm new here too but have been studying all things water for several months ... Have you checked the GH and KH? Maybe as a last resort a tds meter ($15 on amazon)? Could be osmotic stress. I read a great article as one point that concluded osmotic stress is more of a killer than pH changes, and a fish can survive a rapid pH flux more than a big change in TDS.

Maybe try adding your next batch of water from a bucket letting it siphon slowly with airline tubing, or dipping it in slowly, like drip acclimating a new fish. If everyone survives you have some more info.

 

[BillD]

The concept of adding enough dechlor for the whole tank, rather than the volume of the change is to ensure contact with the chlorine as quickly as possible. Having said that, I know more than a few people who don't use dechlor and have done so for many years. I only started using it a few years ago myself. I acquired some sodium thiosulphite crystals and make my own. I don't care about pH and haven't checked it for years. i have a reasonable expectation that because of the size of the water source the municipality draws water from (Lake Ontario), that normal parameters will be relatively constant.

 

[FreshwaterSean]

I do add the water rather fast, maybe adding slower will help.i have a 30 gal tank so I add 3 ml each time I change, regardless.
I added an air stone this last time I changed the water, wondering if maybe there was something on it since I didn't clean it before I put it in the tank

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[schoeplein]

What's the water temp, what fish do you have, and what fish have perished?

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[Spencer1044]

I always put my water in a bucket then put the primer and other additives (flourish, salt) mix it up. Then put it in my tank so a fish wont come by and breath in a bunch of chlorinated water.

 

[lectraplayer]

...Otherwise, Id suggest maybe refilling the aquarium a little slower. I've always heard that you can remove water as fast as you like, but to add it back in slowly.

That could be a possibility. I think the main problem with that is with the current "blowing the fish around" like a tornado blows people around. The fish may be getting slammed into stuff and dying of impact trauma. ...the same way tornados kill.

While you're at it, test everything like mad season. Test the tank for everything before changing the water, and test the new water for everything before you add it. I hear some water utilities use clorimane which frees ammonia when treated. (Could this be the criminal?) Test for everything yet again a few hours after the change.

 

[schoeplein]

Chloramine and fluoride are typical additives to tap water. Primer takes care of both.

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[lectraplayer]

I am finding many sources claim that neutralizing chloramine frees ammonia. While "the cycle" clears the ammonia, it still may persist long enough to do the fish bad.

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[schoeplein]

The quantity of ammonia shouldn't be high enough, and should zero out fairly quickly if there's enough bb to handle the change, to really affect the fish.

I'm still curious what the water temp is in the tank, the temp of the water going in, and the fish that aren't able to handle the exchange.

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[Coyne]

I am finding many sources claim that neutralizing chloramine frees ammonia. While "the cycle" clears the ammonia, it still may persist long enough to do the fish bad.

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I guess its a good thing that Prime detoxifies ammonia into a form that is harmless to fish.