Should i quit my hobby?

Today is one of the most sad day in my life...In my 5years of running FW tanks i have never seen such a sight....I feel like i am a killer now..

Once again my Protein skimmer failed ... pump stopped working... Yesterday nyt i fed them well and didnt notice any other issues...In the night I was online here and reading about pH swings. All the while my cuties were gasping for breath

Dont know how to express but when i woke up and looked into the tank..i could see most of them lying dead on the bottom...My Naso, 1 clownfish, yellow wrasse, 1 yellow tail blue damsel and 1 scooter blenny ... all gone!!!

Only a few snails, sand sifting starfish and 1 clownfish survived..

Not even able to express my feelings now...

 

There are a lot of ups and downs in this hobby....dont give up.
Just take this and learn from it to make your tank better and more stable.

Give us some info on what happened the last week and your parameters and maybe we can help you out.

Also let us know what equipment you have, maybe we can offer some insight there too.

 

You can go without a skimmer for a week or more. I don't see how that is going to kill them over night. What else is going on? Sorry for the loss.

 

Not if it's the main source of oxygenation in the tank...

 

Sorry for your loss, take some time to calm down and think of the joy and satisfaction you receive before you make your decision. Provide all the info requested and we will be more than happy to help you go through this and prevent it in the future.

 

The skimmer should never be relied upon on as the sole source of oxygenation in any tank, it's just irresponsible design.

 

I concur.

I disagree. Even if it is the main source, all the O shouldn't deplete in one night.

 

I wouldn't think so either.

But you take a tank that's already swinging down to ~7.8 pH at night, and remove the main source of oxygenation....you can see where this is going, right?

 

+1 ... 100% agree

there should AT LEAST be a couple of powerheads that agitate the waters surface. even without a skimmer ... 7.8 is NOT THAT BAD, there is something else going on here.

 

Well, I think since it was already swinging down to 7.8 from 8.3 in the day, removing the skimmer could bring it down to fatal levels overnight very easily.