I'm at my wits end...

[ccblazer]

Really need advice.
I have posted before about my 30 gallon tall bow front tank. its 4 months now and i am running out of patients and money.
I cannot keep corals, shrimp, crabs, snails an numerous fish. They die in my tank, and fast, not more than a day. Only fish i amble to keep alive are 2 clowns and one yellow dart fish. They are alive but seem listless, swimming near tank bottom.
It was suggested before to add more lighting for the corals. I did, i now have 2 sets of T5HO. first soft coral went into the tank and never opened again.
Inadequate water flow. So went to larger pump and a second supply line. Lots of flow. Invertebrates all dead within a day. coral dead too. Yesterday one coral beauty and one wrasse dead within 6 hours. OK, low oxygenated water possibly?
I added a third power-head to the tank to move around the surface water. No change.
Water perimeters are within line. ammonia showing 0 but i am getting skeptical. no nitrite, no nitrate. PH level around 8.2. KH at 12 dKH. Calcium at 500mg/L. Salinity 1.025. tmp. 78.F
i have a sump of 20 gallons with rubble rock and started my tank with live rock.
Something drastic is happening. everything dies fast except my clowns and dart fish.
i am attaching pics for reference purposes. My most recent dead fish can be seen behind spongebobs house. dies last night.

 

[dragonfisher33]

can you get a different test kit and test the water parameters again? or take the water sample to a lfs and have them test it. i don't trust your readings for some reason.

 

[ccblazer]

Yes I will do that. It really sounds like ammonia posioning. I have taken a sample before and it read 0 at the store. I will have it retested. And let you know.

 

[ccblazer]

still need an answer. i bought ammonia test strips and they too register 00. ammonia.
it must be something else. did i mention that before the fish died they were gasping for air, but not at the top.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

How are you acclimating? And have you checked for stray voltage?

 

[ccblazer]

I use the drip method over about 45 minutes. i don't know how to check for voltage and wouldn't that kill the fish that are alive?

 

[shorty2545]

My first reaction is possibly you are getting some chemical leakage from the artificial decorations

 

[Bectan01]

What kind of water do you use? Have you tested the Tds before you do water changes? Must be something in the water to kill fish, inverts and corals.

 

[ccblazer]

i believe you are right, something in the water. the water comes from my 3 stage filter system but i haven't checked it for problems. i will do that today.
i doubt its the ornaments as this problem was around well before i put any in. can't really blame spongebob then.
thanks for the help. i will gert back to you later with fresh water results.

 

[54seaweed]

gasping for air sounds like ammonia poisoning to me

 

[Bray84]

You can get stickers that leave in tank for ammonia so saves testing, will show you if it goes up.

 

[ccblazer]

Yes, i have one of those too.

 

[54seaweed]

I don't trust any kind of strips not even a strip thermometer

 

[Macscale]

I don't trust any kind of strips not even a strip thermometer

Especially the ones that go outside the tank..

 

[anachrotech]

If you have a uv sterilizer, check to make sure the glass sleeve isn't leaking.
I don't know if this is an issue, but I did notice the brass shutoffs you have. Perhaps they could be leaching some copper or other metal?
Just throwing it out there.

 

[ccblazer]

Thanks. You might me right about the copper. I do have a UV light. Don't think that the problem but I will check.

 

[ccblazer]

Do you think the meals are the cause? I have several metal car clamps in the water (one seems to be rusting) holding the piping in place and I also have 2 metal shut off valves and a metal back-flow valve.
It is a fairly big job to replace it all with plastic but if it allows me to keep corals and fish as well as invertebrates (they all die on me within a day) then i will change things over.
Please advise.

 

[mr_X]

I agree...Lose the metal shutoffs. I would start there. If they are leaching something, it may have ruined the rock in the system, and that may need to be removed as well.

 

[anachrotech]

Do you think the meals are the cause? I have several metal car clamps in the water (one seems to be rusting) holding the piping in place and I also have 2 metal shut off valves and a metal back-flow valve.
It is a fairly big job to replace it all with plastic but if it allows me to keep corals and fish as well as invertebrates (they all die on me within a day) then i will change things over.
Please advise.

Two dissimilar metals in contact with an electrolyte (saltwater) basically creates a battery and one metal will pull ions from the other metal into the solution - per my son.