My wife is about to shut me down!

wow thanks for all the replies.
as for the fish.
I am now on supplier number 4!!!
the latest store ran me down on the process of their water and they also showed me their amazing Quarantine system for new arivals (much better than the first 3 stores)

** quick question **

did anyone have thoughts on the U.V. Sterilizers?
Needed?
Do they work?
Could it help me if i have some parasites in there?
good (cheaper) option?

thanks again for all the help.
What a great site to have!
reedreef

 

I had one connected before it helped to keep the water clear and seemed to help the fish. once I converted to a reef and added carbon water is still clear and fish are happy. Try using carbon it's cheaper.

 

So a carbon pad under my filter floss will kill parasites too?
if i truly have some bugs in there... i wonder if spending the money on a u.v. may just be worth it.
thanks for the tip

 

i'll get on that ASAP form tonite. i swear by the time this problem gets fixed. i will have tried so many options i could open my own freakin' store

 

Carbon will not kill parasites. If this is your 4th LFS with the same results, then I dare to say its you or your tank. Are all these fish dying of the same cause? How are you aclimating the new fish when you bring them home? Where are you getting your top off water? How old is your tank?


Luna

 

October cleaned and started tank.
5 chromis in there for 2 months.
Then added 2 clowns (died in 7 days)
Then added a Carribean Dr. Tang (died in 7 days)
Then added a dottyback and a Dr. Tang (died in 6 days)
Then added 3 yellow/blue damsils (they died and nearly killed everything in 2 days)
Then added another Maroon clown (died in 8 days)
Then added a Carribean dr. tang (died in 7 days)
the Chormis survived everything

I stopped for 2 months (only adding starfish and a pep shrimp crabs snails ect)
unfortunately i didn't learn until recently about keep the LFS water out of my tank. i acclamated but didn't net the fish/crabs ect)

last week tried again w/ waaay less nitrate than the previous 6 months.
The Clarkii i added from this new store has now survived 12 days ( a new record!)
unfortunately he got an infection in his right eye and has had a nasty popeye.
i've been adding Melafix since saturday. i am not sure if its going down but the fact that the Clarkii is still alive is a MINI victory for me.
Although the indestructable Chromis finally met their match. They've survived everything since october. But the melafix has killed all 5 of them. while the Clarkii glides smoothly and eats like a champ (although he's still has a bowling ball for an eye)


I'll get that ASAP form done tonight when i get home and get some photos in

thanx again

(sorry for the novel)

 

What are your NH3 and No2 levels? Have you tested for Copper or Iron?


Luna

 

Just curious....what types of fish are among your dead ? ive seen some people make some bad choices when starting a tank such as manderins or copperband butterflies because there pretty and not all that expensive and many lfs employees will just make the sale rather than take time to explain.Go slowly and research before buying anymore,this site can/will help you with this ! Good Luck and WELCOME

 

ASAP form for "My wife is about to shut me down"

Brief description of the problem.
since i started the tank in october i've not been able to keep any fish (other than chromis) for longer than 7 days.

although after 2 months w/o fish (except Chromis). i finally got a Clarkii once i lowered my nitrate from 65 down to 20.

the Clarkii has now been alive for 13 days ( a new record)
although he got a bad popeye on day 3 and i've been using melafix for 6 days

the melafix killed off all my chromis and an emerald crab.

i am amazed this clarkii has survied past 7 days (list of the dead at the bottom)

Temperature: 78
PH: 7.6-8.0 (usually 8.0. tonites reading was a weird 7.6? i'd just added some fresh)
Ammonia: has always been ZERO (my ammonia kit just dried up)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Salinity: 1.022
dKH/KH/Alkalinity: 140
Magnesium: ?
Calcium: ?
Phosphate: ?
Test kits you own: liquid test (first 6 mo.) lately been using test strips
Brand Name: Tetra Deluxe Laborett (liquid) Lifeguard 5 way test stips (strip)

Tank size? 55 gallon
Estimated total system?

Reef, fish only or, freshwater? Fish only salt

Current inhabitants? What and how many?
Clarkii w/ 1 bad popeye (been in for 13 days)
1 serpentine star
1 sand sifting star
1 star that primarily hangs on the glass (name?)

Clean up crew? 20 blue legged hermits, 1 red legged crab, 1 peppermint shrimp
2 snailes

in the past 2 days the Melafix has knocked out my 5 blue green chromis and my Emerald crab

How long has your tank been set-up?
October 08

Substrate.
Type?
Depth?

Live rock? it's the fake stuff that was baked and dried in the sun before i put it in
How much?
Did you recently add some? no

Filtration.
Type?
Protein skimmer? seaclone 100
Do you wet or dry skim? ?
Maintenance schedule for filtration?
Drilled tank/hang on back overflow?
Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much?
Macro? What kind?

Lighting.
Lighting type? All-Glass Twin-Tube Oak Fluorescent Strip Lights
Age of bulbs? new in october

Feeding (this is what i am doing now. i used to feed waaaay to much my first 4 or 5 months)
What? Ocean nutrition formula one
How much? 1/4 of a cube (lately)
How often? daily

Water change schedule.
How much? (lately) 10 gallons
How often?every week
What salt brand? Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix
Water source? RO from the store i purchase fish from (lately) i get fresh and mix at home

Additives/supplements used? Aragamilk daily to try and get PH up

Do you have a ground probe?
What kind of flow does your tank have?
3 power heads. 2 on far side of filter box (plus the return) and 1 power head on side all beneath filter box

Any additional info you would like to share.... Including anything different that you have done/not done.

PH has always been a little low (i've had a "balance brick" in there for 6 days now)
been using Araga milk to try to correct PH and push it over 8

Nitrate has been over 60 for months and months.... until recently i worked hard to change water every 3 days and finally got the nitrate down to 20

5 months ago i spilled half a jar of flake food in the tank. killed everyone but a chromis or 2. i thought i got most of it out but i am sure down below and in the bio balls theres residue. but it's been so long.

i've never cleaned the back of the tank with the magnet cleaner. not sure how bad that is.

until recently i had always aclamaited a new inhabitant for an hour but i was careless and emptied all the water from the bag into the tank (gulp)

i've recently started doing the I.V. and using a net.

a lot of my sins over the past 8 months may have lead to problems but i am doing a lot better lately w/ water changes and good water and constant maintenance.

LIST OF THE DEAD SINCE OCT
2 TANK RAISED CLOWNS (5 DAYS)
1 CARRIBEAN DR. TANG (1 WEEK)
1 BIGGER/STRONGER TANK RAISED CLOWN (1 WEEK)
1 DOTTYBACK 1 CARRIBEAN DOCTOR TANG (7 DAYS 8 DAYS)
1 CARRIBEAN DR. TANG 1 MAROON CLOWN (7 DAYS 8 DAYS)

CHROMIS HAVE SURVIVED ALMOST EVERY THING (until this week they started spazzing out and dying when i started adding Melafix)

tonight is the first night i noticed a little improvement in the popeye

thanx for the help.
if i can't figure out somethin' i may have to stop.
i feel like the Redsox before 04 happened.
i can't keep anything alive no matter how hard i learn and try

 

Clarkii is still alive after 27 days! Since october no fish (except chromis) has survived in my 55gal fish only for more than 7 days!!! Still treating for a popeye but this is progress! also added a turbo UV. got the protein skimmer off and carbon out as i am doing melafix for 7 days. but this is growth. maybe the wife won't be able to close the doors on this hobby just yet!