Should i give up and start over???

[xrP8]

I'm begging...someone please help. I posted a month ago as a new user but got no feedback. I'm truly begging now.
Short version:
14 weeks into cycle...added tons of rocks and decorations from a fully established tank about halfway in. I've never seen even a hint of nitrite reading.

45 gal corner tank, tons of artificial plants, rocks, etc
Aquatech power filter 30-60

Been dosing about 2ppm ammonia and it clears to almost nothing in under 24 hours for a couple weeks now. Decided to try fish. Got 4 rosy barbs and a small pleco. Figured I'd keep testing like mad just in case my cycle wasn't finished. In under 12 hours(overnight), 3 barbs dead. Went out and bought Prime and Seachem's Stability(just in case), and two air curtain stones thinking maybe the tank wasn't oxygenated enough. Did a 90% water change with proper dosages of Prime and Stability, added air bubbly curtains, and prayed to the fishy gods. Overnight I lost the last two fish...including the pleco!
HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!
I use well water and let it run about ten minutes before I begin adding any to the tank. Temp is 74. Attaching pic of my readings from tonight, post removal of my murdered fish.
What am I doing wrong!?!????

:'(

 

[Mebbid]

My first question is how did you acclimate the fish? Using well water I assume your water parameters are going to be very different than the parameters that the fish are being kept in at the fish store. To acclimate new fish you are going to need to take an hour or more to acclimate them. Float the bag for 15 minutes, pull a cup of water out of the bag, then add a cup of water to the bag. Do this every 10 minutes or so for about an hour. This should equalize the pH from the lfs and your tank.

Secondly, is that test you performed after the 90% water change? What was the nitrate level before the change? If the level was too high before the change when you added the fish it could have sent them into nitrate shock which is usually fatal for fish.

Third, doing large water changes like the 90% one you did will cause huge fluctuations in the pH of the water which could have caused death by shocking them from the sudden change.

 

[xrP8]

My first question is how did you acclimate the fish? Using well water I assume your water parameters are going to be very different than the parameters that the fish are being kept in at the fish store. To acclimate new fish you are going to need to take an hour or more to acclimate them. Float the bag for 15 minutes, pull a cup of water out of the bag, then add a cup of water to the bag. Do this every 10 minutes or so for about an hour. This should equalize the pH from the lfs and your tank.

Secondly, is that test you performed after the 90% water change? What was the nitrate level before the change? If the level was too high before the change when you added the fish it could have sent them into nitrate shock which is usually fatal for fish.

Third, doing large water changes like the 90% one you did will cause huge fluctuations in the pH of the water which could have caused death by shocking them from the sudden change.

First...THANK YOU!

OK, to acclimate, I floated the bag for 30 minutes, then took about half the water out and slowly added some from my tank into the bag. Probably didn't take as much care there as I could've because the water exchange only took me about 15 minutes.

Yes, this test was after the huge change. Prior to this the nitrates were about mid-range on the test chart...around 40ppm I believe.

As far as the pH, it is a bit lower than before, but not by a whole lot. I actually have a pic of a test from before I added these fish and will attach it now.

Thanks again!

 

[Mebbid]

Did you test the LFS pH?

 

[xrP8]

Did you test the LFS pH?

No, but I definitely will next time. That is, if I can make myself brave enough to try again.

What do you suggest to raise my pH? It has been in the lower normal range since I began and I know many fish I'd like to stock eventually would prefer it a little higher.

Again, I can't thank you enough for your input. I'm keeping myself up at night stressing over this!

 

[Mebbid]

Unless your pH is 6.4 or less I wouldn't worry about raising it at all. Fish will adapt just fine to most any pH level. If you insist on raising it though you can add a hand full of crushed coral in a filter bag inside your filter and that should help. At 6.4 the biological activity of BB slows down while at 6.0 it stops altogether so that's about all you need to worry about where pH is concerned.

The fish dying that quickly really points to two different possibilities. Either there was an improper acclimation or a chemical made its way into your tank.

 

[xrP8]

OK, I'll get some crushed coral, because the pH is pretty close to 6ppm.

Chemical? How so? If that's a possibility, should I seriously drain my aquarium and start over?

 

[Mebbid]

OK, I'll get some crushed coral, because the pH is pretty close to 6ppm.

Chemical? How so? If that's a possibility, should I seriously drain my aquarium and start over?

Glass cleaner, aerosolized cleaners, spray on deoderant, soap / lotion from your hands. The more likely explanation is acclimation; if that gets ruled out then I would look at doing a large water change and running some activated carbon on your tank.

Do you use any water softeners in your house?

 

[xrP8]

Glass cleaner, aerosolized cleaners, spray on deoderant, soap / lotion from your hands. The more likely explanation is acclimation; if that gets ruled out then I would look at doing a large water change and running some activated carbon on your tank.

Do you use any water softeners in your house?

There's carbon in the filter cartridge...is that the same as activated carbon?

We have no water softener

 

[Aqualady40]

quick question, unless I missed it, did you do a large water change Before adding your fish?

 

[xrP8]

quick question, unless I missed it, did you do a large water change Before adding your fish?

Hi, and thanks for your input...no, I did not do a large water change immediately before adding the fish. I had done a 90% change about a week ago and added fish a couple days ago. After losing three of the four rosy barbs, I did another change, this time including Prime And Stability...was thinking maybe I was missing something in my tap water which needed to be neutralized.

 

[xrP8]

Hi, and thanks for your input...no, I did not do a large water change immediately before adding the fish. I had done a 90% change about a week ago and added fish a couple days ago. After losing three of the four rosy barbs, I did another change, this time including Prime And Stability...was thinking maybe I was missing something in my tap water which needed to be neutralized.

Correction...last week was only about a 50% change

 

[Mebbid]

There's carbon in the filter cartridge...is that the same as activated carbon?

We have no water softener

Yes it is however it gets exhausted in a few weeks and needs to be replaced if it's needed in the tank. However it's only really useful for removing medications so it's not necessary to run in a tank.

 

[xrP8]

Yes it is however it gets exhausted in a few weeks and needs to be replaced if it's needed in the tank. However it's only really useful for removing medications so it's not necessary to run in a tank.

The carbon is actually included inside the replaceable filter cartridge. Thru researching about cycling, I've found that its suggested I don't replace those, but instead rinse them in a dish of my aquarium's water and place it back inside the filter box. Says this helps keep bb plentiful. I have spare cartridges...do you think I should put one in just to try it? Let the carbon do its thing just in case?

 

[xrP8]

I'm going to try to force myself to get some sleep now. I truly appreciated all your help! Unless you suggest otherwise, this is my plan of action:
Tomorrow, I will buy crushed coral. I'll let it run in my filter until next Wednesday to give it time to work on my pH levels(and also because my crazy 7 straight days of work will be done). Then I'll attempt a fish or two, but I'll check the pH in the LFS water first, and acclimate much slower than before.
Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcomed!
Thanks again and nighty night!

 

[threnjen]

Here are my additions:

It sounds like you originally filled it with water without adding Prime. I know you have well water but you never know what's in that - there could be some trace element that was toxic to your fish since you didn't use Prime.
Sounds like you plan to fix that though and use Prime from here out.

While you wait to be sure your cycle has stabilized, you need to be dosing ammonia, or your built up bacteria won't have anything to eat.

74 temp seems a little low to me? Anyone else? I would vote 78. Need more experienced peeps to chime in on this one.

 

[Mebbid]

If you want to try out the carbon there are two things you could try.
1. Cram a second filter pad into the filter. It doesn't have to fit nicely, it just has to fit
2. Cut them both open and pour the fresh carbon into your old filter pad. Just be careful to not let it spill into the tank.

Your plan sounds good. I would dose .25 ppm of ammonia daily just to keep your cycle going without putting too much nitrate into the system. A 50% water change the day before you add new fish should make things nice and safe.

For the temp, it depends on the fish. The mid to high 70s range is just fine for most fish.