sad sad day for a newbie

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by tubz, Jul 25, 2010.

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  1. tubz

    tubz Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2009
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    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    So ive had my saltwater tank for about 6 months now approx 300-400Ltr's. about 30kg+ live rock and a protein skimmer.
    Lionfish and Clown trigger were first to go in, then about 2-3 months later, a Lipstick tang and a Picaso went in. The Clowntrigger kept attacking the lipstick which died about 3-4 weeks ago. just today coming home from work, the trigger was dead. The water was #@%*'ed so i quickly did a water change bought a new rock.
    I noticed the lionfish has little white spots all over it, cloudy eyes and white tips at the end of its fins.
    the small picaso has also darkened in colour
    please help!!!
     
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    #1

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  2. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

    Joined:
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    Location:
    San Antonio
    let's hear more about the #@%*'ed water. What are your parameters?
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #2
  3. tubz

    tubz Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2009
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    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    not sure went to a fish shop with the water got them to test it
    apparently ph was below 7!! guy at the fish shop didnt test nitrates properly said it was fine, so i just rushed home and changed water
    nitrates and ammonia were high aswell
    used some ph buffer which got it stable to around 8.2
    then some ammonia solution but not sure what else i can do
     
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    #3
  4. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

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    What % water change did you do? The important thing is to find out the reason for the ammonia. What is your filtration?
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #4
  5. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

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    What size is your tank and what fish do you have in there?
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #5
  6. tubz

    tubz Astrea Snail

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    (btw this is for my uncles tank so im not 100% sure of all details)
    the water changed was about 75ltrs so about 25% roughly
    using live rock as filtration, i think the ammonia may have risen due to the dead trigger
    not sure how long it had died for before i got home.
     
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    #6

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  7. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

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    Did you test the water again after the water change. The white spots are probably ich. The fish are probably stressed due to the ammonia.
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #7
  8. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

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    you might suggest to your uncle that he invest in a skimmer. my opinion is that all tanks should have one.
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #8
  9. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

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    Location:
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    i just noticed that you said that you added rock. How much rock did you add? was this live rock? was it cured? if it is uncured, this could be a source of the ammonia depending on how much you added.
     
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    SAY, Jul 25, 2010
    #9
  10. tubz

    tubz Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2009
    Messages:
    33
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    yes did test them again, the levels were still quite high
    but waiting for solutions to do their magic trick while it goes through a cycle
    he does have a skimmer
     
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    tubz, Jul 25, 2010
    #10
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