Help! I wake up and 3 of my fish are dead!!

[WilFresco]

Good, sounds like you are moving in the right direction now!

Hoping you have lost no further fish?
We'd all love to have every type of fish we like but a large amount of fish with an inferior skimmer, and not enough water movement = not enough oxygen and that is a big issue. pH swings are the fastest way to kill a fish...unfortunately. So when it comes time to restock - be very thoughtful about it and do limit your list!

For now, do make sure at least one of the power heads is disturbing the surface of the water so that you have good oxygen exchange (that is important).

Having your own test kits will help keep you on top of your parameters, so that is a good suggestion as well.

Forgot to ask - are you using ro or rodi water? If you are using tap, are you using a dechlorinator in it?

Going forward - remember we are here 24/7 to answer any questions...always best to ask before you make any major changes to a tank if you are unsure about something!

I'm not using an ro system, I do use tap and use a dechlorinator, I am very thankful for all the advice and do's and don'ts, I haven't list any fish since the 90 percent water change, I'm also reducing my livestock and I was over feeding, all things I didn't know I was doing wrong but now I know

 

[WilFresco]

What does your friend [who has been in this hobby for years] say might be the cause of these sudden deaths?

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using Reefs

He told me at first that it might have been the anemone, that if the anemone had lost a tentacle that the tentacle might have gone through the powerheads and some if the fish could have breathed it in and that coulda been a reason that just some if the fish and not all of them died

 

[LatinP]

I'm not using an ro system, I do use tap and use a dechlorinator, I am very thankful for all the advice and do's and don'ts, I haven't list any fish since the 90 percent water change, I'm also reducing my livestock and I was over feeding, all things I didn't know I was doing wrong but now I know

Add one more to the don'ts and you've probably heard this one before... don't use tap water, if you can't buy a r/o unit buy ro/di water from a supermarket or pet store. Heck babies r us in my area sells ro/di water as "baby water", says ro/di filtered right on the container.

 

[WilFresco]

Add one more to the don'ts and you've probably heard this one before... don't use tap water, if you can't buy a r/o unit buy ro/di water from a supermarket or pet store. Heck babies r us in my area sells ro/di water as "baby water", says ro/di filtered right on the container.

I do plan on getting an ro system in the very near future

 

[KathyC]

I do plan on getting an ro system in the very near future

Yes, definitely something you want to do as your current live rock (and sand if you have any) is busily absorbing the nasty stuff from your tap water...which down the line will cause all sorts of algae issues in the tank

Our Market place is a good place to look for a used RO unit, or just post up a Want To Buy ad...or buy a new one, we have a number of vendors on the site that sell them


...what dechlorinator are you using? Do be sure to follow the directions on the bottle & use the proper amount (more concerned about you overdoing it...). Also dechlorinators tend to make a skimmer foam up too...

 

[WilFresco]

Here r the pics of my tank, sorry for the suckie pics, I took them with my iPhone

 

[WilFresco]

I use API tap water conditioner, it says 1 drop for each gallon

 

[KathyC]

He told me at first that it might have been the anemone, that if the anemone had lost a tentacle that the tentacle might have gone through the powerheads and some if the fish could have breathed it in and that coulda been a reason that just some if the fish and not all of them died

...extremely doubtful this is what happened. I can't say I have ever heard of an anemone spontaneously losing a tentacle that then took out some of the fish in a tank.
A whole anemone getting sucked into a p/h and wiping out a tank..yes, but this scenario..uhhh no.

 

[KathyC]

I use API tap water conditioner, it says 1 drop for each gallon

ok..thanks Get a rodi anyway

 

[KathyC]

See that power head dead center in the pic?
I want you to take that one and aim it toward the front of the tank (and slightly up) so that the water on the surface of the tank has vigorous movement.
The surface of your water is WAY too still, and they greatly inhibits oxygen exchange!
Can you post another shot of that same area after you do it and we'll let you know if you have it just right?

 

[WilFresco]

See that power head dead center in the pic?
I want you to take that one and aim it toward the front of the tank (and slightly up) so that the water on the surface of the tank has vigorous movement.
The surface of your water is WAY too still, and they greatly inhibits oxygen exchange!
Can you post another shot of that same area after you do it and we'll let you know if you have it just right?

Like this?

 

[KathyC]

Up further!
Want to see LOTS of action on the water surface..point it up at least another inch

 

[WilFresco]

Up further!
Want to see LOTS of action on the water surface..point it up at least another inch

Is this good? Lol, I have some bubbles floating in the water now, is that ok?

 

[ming]

Basically Kathy means to point it up so you see some small waves on the surface of the water, as big waves as you can, but without causing splashing because you don't want salt spray/creep everywhere. The more surface agitation, the more oxygen exchange.

Your picture seems slightly too high because its actually causing splashing. Its technically not bad for the fish/corals, but its bad to get salt spray on your lights and stuff

 

[WilFresco]

Basically Kathy means to point it up so you see some small waves on the surface of the water, as big waves as you can, but without causing splashing because you don't want salt spray/creep everywhere. The more surface agitation, the more oxygen exchange.

Your picture seems slightly too high because its actually causing splashing

ok, i adjusted it, i got waves wtith no splashing, quick question, is it more important to have movement on the surface of the water or have the powerheads facing down in the water?

 

[KathyC]

ok, i adjusted it, i got waves wtith no splashing, quick question, is it more important to have movement on the surface of the water or have the powerheads facing down in the water?

Both are important, but at least one of them has to be causing a lot of movement on the surface of the water. That is how the carbon dioxide gets out of the tank and the oxygen gets in

Flow within the confines of the tank is more important to corals, and different types of corals require different amounts of flow.

Thanks Ming :hug: How did you know I ran to the store in the middle of posting? lol

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

ok, i adjusted it, i got waves wtith no splashing, quick question, is it more important to have movement on the surface of the water or have the powerheads facing down in the water?

According to presentations Jake Adam gave in conventions, a good way to place the powerhead is to move it down and point it up at an angle. The theory is that the surface has less surface tension at the water surface and thus the flow of the whole tank increases. Gas exchange mostly happens at the water the surface, so when there is more turbulence at the surface, there will be more gas exchange. When your powerhead is set at lower level and aim it to the surface, it also creates a cycling effect that stale old water will be pushed up to the surface for gas exchange while the freshly gas-exchanged water will be forced down to the lower level.
(My additional theory:
If you set the powerhead on the surface level, a lot of the water are push to the side as well, so the cycling of old with new water is not as effective. Would the same side cycling happen when you set the powerhead at lower level, yes but much less. Remember we said the surface tension of water is less at the surface? So, water is easier to move around at the surface than at the bottom.)

This now brings to the next topic, if you have ONE AND ONLY ONE powerhead, it would be better to move it to the side glass so that the cycling effect can be more far fetched, provided your powerhead has enough power. If you have more than one powerheads, there are many ways to set up.

 

[SPotter]

Here r the pics of my tank, sorry for the suckie pics, I took them with my iPhone

Does anyone see what I'm seeing or not seeing? this one very clean tank for 6 months old. I don't see any algae or coraline growing any where in the tank. He either spends a lot of time cleaning it every day or its not actually 6 months old. Please slow down and I noticed you were looking to buy some coals from another member....please wait to add anything to your tank for a few weeks.

Steve

 

[WilFresco]

Does anyone see what I'm seeing or not seeing? this one very clean tank for 6 months old. I don't see any algae or coraline growing any where in the tank. He either spends a lot of time cleaning it every day or its not actually 6 months old. Please slow down and I noticed you were looking to buy some coals from another member....please wait to add anything to your tank for a few weeks.

Steve

If u been reading correctly, those pics were the day after I did the 90 percent water change

 

[SPotter]

If u been reading correctly, those pics were the day after I did the 90 percent water change

Even after a 90% water change, you would still have signs of coraline and algae on your rocks. Your rocks are too "clean" looking for a 6 month old tank. What kind of mixing containing do you have that allows you to do a 100 gallon water change and how long do you let the freshly mixed water sit before adding it to the tank?