View Full Version : damn fish keep dying!
digitalsteve
03-07-2005, 09:11 PM
hey guys , i cant seem to keep any fish in my tank alive i am only using little chromis or damsels right now , but for some reason they keep dying off almost immediately upon entering my tank ie withing 15-45 min. i am not sure why , my params are all pretty good , sg, is 1.025, ammonia is 0, nitrate 0 and nitrite0 ph is a little high at 8.6. the fish seem to be breathing really fast so i am not sure if my water needs to be better oxygenated, is there a simple way of doing this? this is becoming really distressing
steve
tank is a 10 gallon btw
Are you taking time to acclimate them or are you just dumping them in?
EmilyB
03-07-2005, 09:33 PM
Ditto Jaws Q. Sounds like possibly pH shock.
Rikko
03-07-2005, 10:47 PM
No voltage leaking from any appliances in the water? (You ought to notice it when you touch the water, though, if the fish are dying that quickly)
Anything in the tank that isn't live rock, NEW crushed coral/sand, and equipment?
And are you sure of the test results (especially pH)? Does your pH test read higher than 8.6 (ie. the roof isn't 8.6 so your pH is actually between 8.6 and 14)? Do you trust all of your other test kits?
What's your temperature? If oxygen is your concern try dropping the water to 76-77ish as that will allow more oxygen into the water.
pandafishowner
03-07-2005, 10:51 PM
Adidas and I have been having the same problem with our tank. We only have a small 10gallon setup right now cuz of the landlords, but we noticed that the one small fish he had in there was breathing really heavy, and the snails and crabs are dropping like flies. none of the tests came back irregular til just the other day, when the amonia was spiked at 8.
trilinearmipmap
03-07-2005, 11:44 PM
I would consider double-checking your meters/test kit against someone else's.
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 12:50 AM
most of my test kits i believe are pretty accurate , i acclimate my fish for several hrs , so it isnt that , they seem fine during the acclimation, but when they enter the big system they just k.o.. all my other params seem to be fine , other then a little high in the ph. is there an oxygen deficency issue here , the water temp is at 80.2. i know my ammonia is at zero as i have checked it with 3 diffent test kits. is there a way to introduce oxygen into the tank?
rickjames
03-08-2005, 02:28 AM
Are you using RO/DI water? Is there anything that could have contaminated your tank that you can't test for (i.e. heavy metals)?
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 02:30 AM
i am not using r/o water but i dont think it is contaminated... i suppose i could change it all over to r/o water but i dont want to buy a unit, is there anywhere in the lower mainland that sells it?
rickjames
03-08-2005, 02:33 AM
For a 10 Gallon i would just buy it at the grocery store. That's what I do with my 30 Gallon, only cost 2.99 to fill a 5 Gallon Jug. You could do a 100% water change for 6$. The water cooler jugs to buy are about 10$ usually.
Is there lots of surface agitation in your tank? Are you using a skimmer?
- Chad
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 02:35 AM
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:33 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a 10 Gallon i would just buy it at the grocery store. That's what I do with my 30 Gallon, only cost 2.99 to fill a 5 Gallon Jug. You could do a 100% water change for 6$. The water cooler jugs to buy are about 10$ usually.
but the ph of the water you get at the store is like 10 , what do u do to bring it down?
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 02:36 AM
no skimmer on the 10 , but i ado have 2 powerheads which disturb the surface a fair bit
rickjames
03-08-2005, 02:37 AM
but the ph of the water you get at the store is like 10 , what do u do to bring it down?
Nothing, store water as with any pure water is PH of 7.0.
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 02:41 AM
the stuff i am getting here at save on and such has a ph of like 10 ? and i check that with my ph meter (which is calibrated correctly).
rickjames
03-08-2005, 02:49 AM
Just tested my Safeway (Culligan's) water with a salifert test kit.... all I know is it is below 7.4 (the lowest point on my scale)!
10 on the pH scale is extremly basic, I don't even think it would be fit for drinking! Dissolved elements are what shift the pH of water (or the addition of disassociated OH- or H+ ions, I might not be entirely correct with my explanation though), so either a) the save on water isn't pure, or b) your digital meter is WAY out.
Strange stuff....
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 02:53 AM
well, 2 things are going to happen 2morrow , 1 i am going to go get some culligans water and 2. i am going to buy some calibration fluid and recalibrate the meter just to be on the safe side
snaggle
03-08-2005, 03:05 AM
Just tested my Safeway (Culligan's) water with a salifert test kit.... all I know is it is below 7.4 (the lowest point on my scale)!
10 on the pH scale is extremly basic, I don't even think it would be fit for drinking! Dissolved elements are what shift the pH of water (or the addition of disassociated OH- or H+ ions, I might not be entirely correct with my explanation though), so either a) the save on water isn't pure, or b) your digital meter is WAY out.
Strange stuff....
RO water should have a Ph of 7.0 so if you use a mid range test you should get that. RO/DI should only be pure H2O. just watch the WATER BOY the purer the better :lol: .
Brad
digitalsteve
03-08-2005, 03:17 AM
good to know , i will have to pick some up for sure and maybe another 5 lbs of cured lr to try and rejuvinate my tank. id i do a full water change with properly balanced r/o salt water ( nnothing is in my tank right now except lr ) and i add some new fully cured lr will i have a cycle to worry about ?
stupid question , but does anyone acclimate thier lr if it is in small amount or just let it do its thing in the tank.
vBulletin® v3.7.3, Copyright ©2000-2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.