Ammonia posioning or electrocution that is the question

[Danio3]

[FONT=&quot]Hello again everybody.
I have previously asked a question on this site and I am still trying to resolve my aquarium issue, I have a Fluval Edge 23L it was running okay for almost 2 years but then I lost all the fish either by overstocking or changing too much water at once and cleaning filter media. Since November last year I have been trying to establish the tank again, but to date no success. I have tried fishless cycle,have had water tested at LFS was okay added fish dead within 4 hours minimum 12 hours maximum, this has happened on a number of occasions. When I do a electrical test between the water in the tank and an earth ( ground ) I get a reading of 30 volts AC and 1.4 amp, as the heater lights and filter are disconnected the readings reduce but never go to zero until all is unplugged. I read that fish cannot be electrocuted as they do not come into contact with earth. Could the electric be stopping bacterial growth.
Recently I again totally cleaned the tank steam cleaned it replaced the gravel, filled with tap water which I had left for 24 hours treated it with tap water conditioner and tested for ammonia reading was zero left for 24 hours tested 1 ppm ammonia another 24 hours 2 ppm.

Can anyone help me here. Is it possible the electric is killing the fish or causing the ammonia to rise from 0 to 2 ppm in 48 hours with no source of ammonia. I did at one stage have the heater out of tank and added 2 goldfish and they were gone within 12 hours if I buy 3 fish i.e. guppies and put 2 in tank and 1 in a bowl the one in the bowl is lively and takes food the others dart about from bottom to top initially don't take food then end up at top of tank then swimming on their side and as I cannot leave the one in the bowl as it is unheated It goes in tank and succumbs as the others do.

I have spoken to 4 LFS in the area one on a consistent basis and all say they have never come across anything like this and when I have got them to check the tank water sample in the morning it is okay buy fish return home acclimatised fish and introduced then to the tank and they do not live more than 12 hours.
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Please help as I do not want to keep having fish die and waiting weeks/ months for a nitrogen cycle to happened that never does[/FONT]

 

[blert]

First of all I think you would want to find the electrical "leak" and fix it! If not your fish, it is a danger to you and yours.

 

[Laser]

The way I understand it is that water itself does not conduct electricity, but the minerals within it do. There is calcium in the water and it is a metal, so your fish are swimming in it. Therefore, I believe it is possible for your fish to be electrocuted.

 

[Pton46]

Swap everything out...Heater, lamp and Filter if possible...Or just start over with a 10 gallon if the Fluval is all integrated. Plenty of used equipment out there in good shape and inexpensive.

 

[OscarFan76]

The ammo is probably coming from remains of what was previously in the tank.

I would try a fishless cycle to see if the electric is inhibiting bb growth.

Good luck finding the problem. Phantom electric issues sound hard to chase down.

 

[Kingzilla]

I would suspect that the filter is done, the seal around the pump motor is probably leaking allowing water to get into the electrical and thus leaking voltage back into the aquarium.

My second guess would be a crack in the heater causing voltage leak like in the filter

The lights shouldn't be in contact with the water, they are not water proof unless they are submersible LED accent lights in which case the wire or light housing could be damaged but that's 3V DC max for an LED

Fish being electrocuted is like a bird sitting on a power line, you need to complete a circuit to be electrocuted. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's more likely that the current running through the water is messing with the oxygen and other things in the water making the fish die. When you add fish, do they breath rapidly? They could be slowly suffocating.

Since your equipment is over 2 years old, maybe you should buy some new stuff to be on the safe side.

 

[Danio3]

Thanks all for your replies. Its as I thought that the voltage may be interfering with the fishless cycle as I have tried to do it a number of times. The filter and lights are integrated the lampholders are not near the water and are 2 x 12 volt 10 watt halogens, the heater was bought after I lost my first load of fish. I have tried running without it but does not help. I wanted to keep the Fluval edge because it fits in with surroundings. I don't think any ammonia was carried over because all was sterilised. It is the fact that water that is put in with no ammonia readings suddenly gets ammonia without any source, today's ammonia test was 2ppm. I have not noticed the fish breathing rapidly but they almost always swim at the top of the tank so they must be looking for oxygen. I will try a couple of things and let you know if there are any improvident.

 

[Kingzilla]

that's A LOT of ammo, and could be killing the fish. Anything over 0.5ppm is toxic and under 0.25ppm is required for the fish to remain healthy.

What water conditioner are you using? I would suggest using Prime as it will lower your ammonia. Is there maybe a dead fish hidden in there somewhere or old food on the bottom, they will produce ammo.

 

[Danio3]

At the moment I use Nutrafin Aqua plus previously it was King British safe guard and safe water I was also sold Interpet Ammonia remover by the LFS and that gives me satisfactory ammonia readings but fish still don't live. I have read that it is not good to use ammonia remover so have not done that recently. There are no dead fish or old food in tank as it has all been totally cleaned out and new gravel thoroughly rinsed added.

 

[blert]

Check you tap water. Mine had 2ppm ammonia after dechlorinator. This is because: 1 - it has ammonia it in, and 2 - it has chloramine in it, which breaks down into chlorine and ammonia. Is why I use my well water instead of tap.

 

[Kingzilla]

2ppm is a lot for tap water, my tap water only has 0.25 ammo 0 nitrites, and 5ppm nitrates, it's also treated with chlorine

standard dechlorinator wont remove ammo, that's why it's better to use Prime, also, if your water is treated with chloramine, you will need a double dose of dechlorinator.

 

[Danio3]

Hello all. Sorry for the delay in getting back with the water test results, they were as follows: Tap water Ammonia 0.25 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 PH7. Tank Water Ammonia 1 Nitrite 0 Nitrates 5 PH 8 although I was not convinced enough time was given for the tests to be accurate.

I have stripped the pump and sealed around the shaft in case there is water entering the motor I now get a reading of 12v ac and 0.5 amp when filter is running the lights give 2v ac . So to confirm if electric in tank is causing quick death to my fish I have added 2 small goldfish to the tank with no filter or lights on and they are showing no signs of distress after 5 days previously they would not have lasted 4 hours. Anybody any thoughts on this.

 

[Danio3]

Update on fish I have had the filter going and lights on for 8 hours fish are doing well and feeding well. The only difference from previous is that the heater is no longer in tank.