Dying fish and out of answers.
- Thread starter jonathan10
- Start date
jonathan10
Member
You are right it could be worse!! I could have no fish left at all! and I am going tonight to get some water from mark (octoman) so i can do a water change!
PEM, It's one that Mark recommended to me...its a MasterGeneral RO 6102 DINT. It's from the same people he got his from.
PEM, It's one that Mark recommended to me...its a MasterGeneral RO 6102 DINT. It's from the same people he got his from.
jonathan10
Member
I understand....I try to ignore that REAL life stuff...lol...I'm sitting here at work right now trying to do just that! Kind of easy though right now because of this huricane coming my company won't let me write any new insurance!
jonathan10
Member
ok...did the water change with mark's GOOD water and with the test kit that I have everything checked out fine (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0 if my test is accurate on that one which i'm a little skeptical about, and pH 8.2)! I also moved myprotien skimmer from hanging on the back to down into the sump! hope maybe that will work better...?
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
Don't rush. Sit back and wait and do more water changes. As you have seen good test results do not necessarily mean the tank is good for fish. Don't add anything until at least after MACNA. Once you get your RO/DI I would start water changes every other day in an effort to get whatever it is out of your water. Change your carbon frequently as well in case it is that type of contaminant.
jonathan10
Member
OH YEAH I am definitely waiting for at least a month before I put anything in there! I received the tracking number today on the filter so hopefully it will be here by friday and I will change the water again probably on saturday!
jonathan10
Member
good news is that the lone survivors still look very happy and still have a hearty appetite!
jonathan10
Member
I have a question for those who have been following this thread for me....I need more live rock...I have a feeling that the rock I have been buying from the LFS may have something to do with my dying fish...they say it is cured but they usually only have it at the store for a week or two and then just say its cured and it's ok to put directly into the tank...is that true or is there something else I should be doing once I get the rock home? I have a little over 100 lbs in 135 gallon tank but I definitley want more.
BigJay
Well-Known Member
If your not sure only add about 10 pounds at a time. Usually if the rock smells or have obvious signs of death you should probably just avoid it. If its been in there tanks for 2 weeks chances are most of the die off has already occured and the high ammonia that can cause an avalanche in the tank has subsided.
jonathan10
Member
And then it is ok to just add to the tank?
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
First a note on the RO/DI. You want to toss the first several gallons of water it makes. It takes some time to clear the filters and let them do their job.
The LR shouldn't cause long term problems unless it was exposed to copper or something and that would kill inverts and corals long before fish.
The main problem with uncured rock is the die-off that it produces. This will raise your amonia, nitrites and nitrates and possibly salinity. If it has been in your system a while I wouldn't expect further problems with it. If you wanted to get more LR from them then I would cure it in a container with a powerhead and heater for several week while doing regualr water changes. This will remove the decomposing material.
IMO with 100lbs of LR I would probably add base rock to make up the difference. It is a lot cheaper and you don't have to worry about HH. The LR you have will seed the base rock and populate it with the needed bacteria.
JMO Let's see what others have to say.
The LR shouldn't cause long term problems unless it was exposed to copper or something and that would kill inverts and corals long before fish.
The main problem with uncured rock is the die-off that it produces. This will raise your amonia, nitrites and nitrates and possibly salinity. If it has been in your system a while I wouldn't expect further problems with it. If you wanted to get more LR from them then I would cure it in a container with a powerhead and heater for several week while doing regualr water changes. This will remove the decomposing material.
IMO with 100lbs of LR I would probably add base rock to make up the difference. It is a lot cheaper and you don't have to worry about HH. The LR you have will seed the base rock and populate it with the needed bacteria.
JMO Let's see what others have to say.
jonathan10
Member
what exactly is HH?
jonathan10
Member
Ahhh...gotcha....I'm still learning all of the abbreviations! I still like the LR though...I like the look of it! And I don't know if the LFS here has base rock....where would i get that? and would i need to cure that as well?
BigJay
Well-Known Member
alot of LFS's sell dry base rock. Just rinse it off and put it in the tank. IMO its better though to put that under live rock due to the fact the seeding of live creatures (not bacteria) could take months to years if ever (things like fan worms and sponges for example).
Dry base rock usually runs about 2 to 3 dollars a pound and if your able to rescape and put it under your current live rock its your cheapest alternative.
Dry base rock usually runs about 2 to 3 dollars a pound and if your able to rescape and put it under your current live rock its your cheapest alternative.
BigJay
Well-Known Member
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/reef-chronicles/35132-other-bigjays-90g-chronicle.html
scroll down to the pic where the water is clearing up after I added the sand and you see what dry base rock looks like.
scroll down to the pic where the water is clearing up after I added the sand and you see what dry base rock looks like.
jonathan10
Member
hmmm....well I get a pretty good deal on the LR at my LFS (6.75/lb)...I would just assume keep gettin it if it isn't messing up my tank!
jonathan10
Member
I just have a sump....but with every passing day I'm thinking a fuge is a must. I'm still not exactly sure what it does and I would really like to do one that hangs on the tank so that i can have it visible!