Need some guiadance.

[Jasoncwrd2002]

So had a dead fish today and checking parameters. Here's what I got.

Ph- 7.8 (needs to be higher i know.)
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-I'm gonna go with 40ppm on this one. And I'm sure this is what has caused the fish to die. Gonna do water change in like a hr after I go get some


What would cause this? My tanks been up for well over a month now. .

 

[JumperAlex]

How large of a tank? What kind of fish? What kind of filtration? How did you cycle the tank?

 

[54seaweed]

55 Gallon
40 pounds of aggregate sand
20 pounds of live rock
For sure 3 Turbo snails
Couple of other snails that hitchhiked with the live rock
5 Yellow tail damsels (for cycling)

I take it your tanks a FOWLR

your ph is low yes
nitrates are a little high most likely from over feeding
a good water change will help bring them down

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

Yep seaweed thanks for researching lol. Had ttied to post but it timed out. And doin water change now

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

And need to edit it more. Yellowtails are gone. Probably over 20 snails 2 clowns a goby and a wrasse which I haven't seen in awhile and can't seem to find.

 

[Bectan01]

What fish died then? How log did you have it?

 

[Ingy]

No filtration? Nothing to remove nitrates?

Water changes won't remove nitrates. Theres no magical way to do a 20% WC and get 100% nitrates out. After a WC like that you will still have your nitrates at [math don't fail me now ] 80% of where they were.

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

Oh sorry bout that. Got a sump and a sea clone protein skimmer (which isn't doing nothing).

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

What fish died then? How log did you have it?

Flame angel. And about 3 weeks.

 

[Bectan01]

And it wasn't looking ill? Behaving strangely? How did you cycle your tank? If its been in there three weeks and your tanks only been up a little over a month?

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

And it wasn't looking ill? Behaving strangely? How did you cycle your tank? If its been in there three weeks and your tanks only been up a little over a month?

Nope wasn't looking ill. I was gone for about 4 days then came back Friday night. Didn't really pay attention Friday was feed the fish feed me and goto sleep. Sat looked fine. Yesterday I noticed shrimp like hanging off it and it was swimming near the top. Then today laying in a corner not moving with shrimp crawling all over it. Not sure of exactly when I started tank but I know it was up for a month and a half before I added flame angel. Did a fish in cycle with the yellow tails.

 

[54seaweed]

Oh sorry bout that. Got a sump and a sea clone protein skimmer (which isn't doing nothing).

Read through this article till you get to the bio ball mod
this mod will make your sea clone 100 X better

How to Mod the Sea Clone - 3reef Reef Aquarium Forum

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

Read through this article till you get to the bio ball mod
this mod will make your sea clone 100 X better

How to Mod the Sea Clone - 3reef Reef Aquarium Forum

Well got my project for the weekend now lol

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

Yep. So came home today and all my fish are now dead. Really pondering on just selling it all

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

Should I start over fresh or what

 

[The Iceman]

I definitely wouldn't sell everything, it can be frustrating and expensive sure but worth it in the end. I would add more live rock in a tank that size to help with filtration. I have 32lbs in mg 20 gallon nano reef tank. Also lots of research, never hurts

 

[Jasoncwrd2002]

I definitely wouldn't sell everything, it can be frustrating and expensive sure but worth it in the end. I would add more live rock in a tank that size to help with filtration. I have 32lbs in mg 20 gallon nano reef tank. Also lots of research, never hurts

Should I change the water out or just do water changes an continue to test

 

[Bectan01]

What kind of water are you using? What are you testing for? It's good practice to test regularly and keep a logbook of your results. That way you can see any swings in parameters. I agree with adding more rock, try and aim for around 50-60 pounds. If you no longer have any livestock now is a good time to add the rock and in a way, start a new...

 

[The Iceman]

What kind of water are you using? What are you testing for? It's good practice to test regularly and keep a logbook of your results. That way you can see any swings in parameters. I agree with adding more rock, try and aim for around 50-60 pounds. If you no longer have any livestock now is a good time to add the rock and in a way, start a new...

I agree here, if you no longer have live stock. Try cycling with out fish. I let my tank cycle for 2 months before adding anything. Tanks been stocked for about a month and a half with no big issues besides a little brown algae, which it went away recently

 

[The Iceman]

Maybe invest in some power heads for circulatio, do a good water change and see what your levels are after testing. I'm only 4 months into my first salt tank but ill help where I can. I usually prowl this site an hour or two a day lol, and for a few months before I started my tank.