errrrrrrrrrrr

[Guest bill33]

i have a 55gallon with 50 pounds of the argonite sand and 40 pounds of live rock. i have a sailfin tang., the last couple of fish i keep putting in their keep dieing. the water chemistry is perfect. i have this black stuff on the sand. i dont no what it is. the tang is the only survivor. i had him for quite awahile now and i put some chromis's in and a dwarf angel in a week their dead. i need some help

 

thanks

Bill

[michaelg]

black stuff on the sand sounds like cyanobacteria.  It will cycle through with time.  What are all your water parameters?  Age of tank, etc.   The more information you give the better.

Where are you getting fish from?  Acclimation process?

[Guest bill33]

specific gravity is 1.023-1.024   the ammonia is less than .1, nitrate low, the nitrite is low, my test kit is has colors for low medium high. its different. im getting my fish from a pet store called maru. acclimation process is floating the bag for one hour and every 15-20 minutes putting in about 6 oz.

[Gatortailale]

What BRAND of test kits are you using?  what type of water are you using - tap, RO, RO/DI; How old are filters.  Salt brand - What are you using to test salinity?

 

I had old swing-arm tester that was off about .07 vs. my refractometer.

 

odd when chromis die - could be store you buy from

[Guest bill33]

i dont no the cover fell off a long time ago. im using tap and some distilled. the filter pads are 3 months old. i was using instant ocean and now im using oceanic. im using a swingarm hydrometer. the store is usually good

[Guest bill33]

the fish are sick all the time   but the ones i get eat and look healthy

[mutley29]

Take a sample of you water to a couple of LFS and have it tested, or ask someone else with a saltwater test kit to test your sample.

 

change your filters.

 

maybe your O2 levels are low ?? (i'm reaching with that one)

 

HTH

Anton rk]]

[Guest bill33]

they want 10 dollers a sample.    their test kits are a little better than mine

[Sph2sail]

Where are you?  Bring me about 1 cup of water and we can run a full test suite for you.  I'm in Vienna.  Or... The Reef Tank will help you out and test your water.

 

Sounds like a kit accuracy problem.  Any ammonia reading is very bad and may cause trouble.  Your tank is not finished cycling if there is ammonia still.  Maybe you are rushing things?

 

Quality testing is the key at this point.

 

Oh yeah.  I test for free... (or is it for a coral?) :P

 

s

[Guest bill33]

i live in Fredericksburg, i go to Reston once a week maybe we can meet.

[Guest cjm033]

i know its not the fish fromt he store because i get all my stuff from there and they do fine. id replace the filter pads. i change mine weekly,Chris

[Gatortailale]

1) what is history of tank - did anyone ever use copper to treat fish or disease in the tank

2) please describe water circulation, filtration units (hang-on; what pads used)

3) do you use Prime water conditioner when you top off with tap water?  Most city water has chloramin (sp?) added to it.  Over time it builds up as toxic amonia.  Thus, most folks do not use tap for salt systems.

 

You seem to have spent a small amount of cash of fish, I think you might be better off saving up and buying a RO unit or some type of filter.  

 

here are a few sources for units: http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/

http://www.inreef.com         http://www.waterfiltersonline.com

 

try running some good reef carbon to try to help remove any toxic stuff.

[Guest bill33]

i got the tank brand new never used copperbased used natural medications. i only have a emporer 400 on one side of the tank  and the other side has no circulation.

[Guest bill33]

should i get another filter for it like a whisper 30-60

[iceman]

Please answer the following simple questions (just trying to help here):

 

1)  do you have a skimmer?

2)  are you using RO/DI water?

3) what kind of lights do you have?

4) what is your water temperature in the morning (before lights come on) and in the evenin (before lights go out)?

5) do you have a sump

6)  Are you only using a whisper (hang-on) type filter with the polyester (white) filter pad?

7) any other pumps for circulation (other than the whisper filter)?

8)  How much evaporation do you have (how often do you have to put water in your tank to top it off?)?

9) when you top it off, do you use tap water or salt water?

 

In reading your posts, it appears you have a tank setup with only a hang on type of whisper filter that has a white filter pad (maybe with some carbon in it?).  It appears you are using tap water to make up your salt water and there is little to no circulation in the tank.  Does this seem correct?

 

I'm just trying to understand what you have and this will help to figure out the problem.

 

-ice

 

p.s.  I started out with a simple 30g tank, no sump, no skimmer, etc. and can tell you some similar stories....

[Guest bill33]

1. I have a internal berlin skimmer.(air drivin)

2. i am not using ro water

3.i have 2 15 watt floresent light

4.mourning its 78 night is about 78-79

5.i have no sump

6.i have a emporer 400 on one side

7. no pumps

8.about once every 2 weeks i top off

9.i use tap

 

yes it seem correct     i hope this helps       i had a bunch of beautifil fish that i saved up for then died   (heneocus butterfly)

 

thanks i hope you can figure it out thanks again

 

Billy:)

[ReefMon]

about once every 2 weeks i top off

 You need to try to make it once every day or so.  Salinity swings are very stressful on the fish.  Also, have your salinity meter checked against a refractometer or conductivity meter, as the swing arms are notoriously inaccurate.

 

 

One question I don't see is how long ago was the rock added to the tank?

[iceman]

Is the skimmer a red sea berlin hang on skimmer or another model?  Does your tank get a film on the surface of the water?

 

Glenn is also on to something.  I read some of your past posts and it seems you are adding live rock a little at a time, is this the case?

 

Here's some suggestions to get your tank on the right track:

 

I would first start with getting an RO/DI unit before getting any more fish.  This will help definitely help your setup and your slime algae problem.  I went through the same thing and my tank didn't really improve until I purchased an RO/DI setup.  It seems like an expensive item, but it is well worth it.

 

Another problem may be circulation, you should consider adding some maxijet pumps (one or two will do wonders).

 

Finally, when you add fish to your system, don't get a bunch at once.  By adding several at a time, you increase the bioload and the bacteria in your tank can't handle it.  Thus, you get a build up of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate depending on how the bacteria react.

[Guest bill33]

i have a internal skimmer, all the rock was added at once.

 

 

Bill

[Guest bill33]

i have good luck on my 10 gallon nano. its a reef and i use tap water. so....... maybe cause i have a fuge

[Guest bill33]

i herd, what is the cheapist place to get a ro unit

[xeon]

The best buys I found were on E-bay when I bought mine.  I can't remember the exact cost, but I paid around $125 including shipping for a 5-stage RO/DI.  It may not solve your issues by itself, but it certainly won't hurt anything.

[Guest bill33]

man thats cheap.   was anything missing on it.   or was it new never opened

[Gatortailale]

b33

 

on page one of this thread, I posted links to 3 places that have good prices on units.

 

Hth  In reef has a 5 stage for $117 (says 54% off)

[michaelg]

bill- the prices that craig and xeon mentioned are what I paid for mine on e-bay a couple years ago.  It was a complete 75gpd unit, it had 2 prefilters, and I converted one to a DI (after changing the pattern of the hoses so the DI was at the end).  The DI it came with was not the kind you could change out.  Now I use a refillable one from buckey field and supply.  It also came with a reverse flow kit (to keep the membrane from clogging up), auto shutoff, and a small storage tank.