fish dying (long Post)

[pirate]

Ok I just got back from the closest lfs to me
Ammiona is less then 0.2
Nirtrate was showing on the chart but I forgot the number but it was right near the bottom
Ph I just tested and its up near 9. I test twice to make sure.
How do I lower this number? It appears to be my problem.

[MitchM]

Do a large water change.

Before you add in the new water, check it's PH.
Which kits are you using?

[pirate]

I'm using hagen and nutrafin test kits (ammonia is a nutrafin kit). I know I need better ones but so far they have been good. So I thought you guys were going to tell me to do a large water change so I got set up last night to do one befor I went ot work. Well I tested it and it has a high PH value as well It matches my tank almost perefectly. So did I get a bad batch of IO? Is IO a high PH value? Will it come down on its own? If not how do I lower it then? I just started using this salt the other bucket ended and I opened it up and all my troubles have started it seemes. Not too sure when it happened to me using the new IO salt. I got it on boxing day.
Thanks for all the help so far I really appreciate it.

[MitchM]

Glad to help. That's what this board's good for.

I would disregard the PH numbers for now if you're getting the same reading in newly made up salt water. Your kit could be out a bit.
I would concentrate on diluting the ammonia down as much as you can.
How much water can you change at a time?
Don't feed the fish as that will just cause them to produce more ammonia.

[daniella3d]

Ammonia at high PH kill very very fast. It burn the gill and the fish suffocate.

You should first ALWAYS use RO water as tap water can contain chloramine and if you use a standard dechlorinator or only aerate the water for a day, then the chloramine is still there and will kill. If you use a standard dechlorinator then only the chlorine part is removed leaving the ammonia behind to kill your fish. That does not include anything that the water company can run through, like some desinfectant that can end up in your tank. Bad bad idea to invest in a 150 gallons tank and a lot of fish but go cheap on a 100$ Ro unit.

You should lower your temperature to 77F so that your fish have some break with the dissolved oxygen. You should buy some Seachem Prime and put some in your tank to IMMEDIATLY neutralize the ammonia. Put it every 24 hours until your ammonia is down to normal.

Your out of wack PH might indicate that your KH is low. At a normal KH the PH should be more stable.

And last but not least, your fish could have marine velvet if you recently introduced something new. It might not show on the outside of the fish and only be on he gills and kill your fish. The fact that your fish go sick one after the other is pretty much representative of a contagious disease like marine velvet.

[pirate]

Well I can change 5G at a time. I havent feed the tank in the last 2 days,and am now waiting for tomorrow to do my tests again. But the ammionia really has not changed with all the water changes that I've done, (20G in the last 4 days).
I did not cheap out on a ro unit. I am in process of installing the unit in my house. I had my other tank running for over a year on tap water with out issues. I have added prime and stablity to the water. My PH is high even in freshly made water.
With marine velvet would you not have all of them showing signs of it? Not just one at a time? The last fish I added is still doing very well, and is showing no signs of anything.
I will lower the temp down and see if that makes a difference. I will go and get a KH test kit on my days off and test it.

I've been reading on the net that to lower HIGH PH you can add vinager or lemon juice. Is this a wise thing to try? Just asking before I add anything like this to my reef. Lower PH will mean that my amionia will be in the safer range for my fish as I try to get it all out of my tank again. I know that it is a temporary solution but......

Thanks once again

[MitchM]

I think you're on the right track.
I'm pretty sure that Calgary doesn't use chloramine, their water report only mentions chlorine.
Even if they did use chloramine, the Prime would bind the ammonia.
Lowering the temp is a good idea.
I wouldn't try to force the PH down.
Larger water changes would be better, but you can only do what you can do.
I don't know if adding more Prime to the main tank would immediately lower the ammonia, but it sounds like it's worth looking into.