Inverts and fish dying! Help!

[i found nemo]

Around 2 months, almost 3 I think. I haven't changed the water yet, just added water as I got more livestock at the advice of the LFS. So what do i need to do about the water change?

 

[moebious]

porpoiseaquatics;560857 wrote: I haven't seen anybody ask yet how long the tank has been set up? When was the last water change? Sounds to me like cycling issues. If you didn't allow the tank to cycle properly or have distrubed it sufficiently, it'll start a recycle.

Here's the other thread with more info.

 

[smallblock]

whats the salinity? what water are you adding?

 

[i found nemo]

I will have to check salinity. I added water that came in the bags. That's what the LFS said to do.

 

[smallblock]

bags? do you know if it was salt or fresh water.

 

[i found nemo]

It was salt water. I think I may have found the problem...the salinity is at the top end of the chart on the hydrometer. So do I need to add water without salt in it since it's too high?

 

[smallblock]

you have to lower it slowley over the next few hours, There isnt a sump right, go somewhere that offers reverse osmosis water, draw some salt water out and replace it over and over till it drops to 1.025

 

[i found nemo]

How much per hour? Also, do I even put any salt in the new water since it's so high?

 

[smallblock]

no need for salt, the water you were losing is evaporation, the salt stays in the water, in fact as you lose water to evap the salinity becomes higher, you were toping off with salt water multiplying the effect, do 2 every 45 mins till it drops or whatever combo would take 4 or so hours. It may kill everything. The slower you can have the patience to do it the better

 

[i found nemo]

I have patience and I don't want to kill everything. So 2 gallons every 45 minutes or longer even?

 

[dakota9]

Seriously, what is the is the exact specific gravity? Most inverts and fish can handle fairly high spikes of specific gravity , although many starfish are known to be sensitive to sudden swings. My old refractometer goes up to 1.030 I see, so yes, bringing it dow slowly to the 1.026 range would be a good thing.

 

[smallblock]

good luck, I dont want to bash you and no one else does. Some people may get cranky towards you becasue its an extrmely rookie mistake. The reason some may get that way is because we all love the fish and lives we keep in this hobby, please slow down and read on here how to be succesfull. You may have made this mistake but dont let that stop you from thinking that you cant someday have a tank like the one in the upper left hand corner

 

[i found nemo]

I made the mistake of going with what a crappy little fish store said and I now that I found this forum I'm just learning as I go. It sucks, but I guess we all have to start somewhere.

 

[smallblock]

I Found Nemo;560872 wrote: I made the mistake of going with what a crappy little fish store said and I now that I found this forum I'm just learning as I go. It sucks, but I guess we all have to start somewhere.

Keep your head up, glad your intrested in this hobby and club, there are some really knowledable guys here and they just want to help. Try that and, get a test kit, stock up on fresh water and top off everyday, and ask us before you purchase just to get you feet wet, you will learn so much

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

You should be doing water changes every week. 10% of total volume as a general rule. To run as long as you have without a water change would indicate to me that you've had some spikes along with your SG going up. You want to use RO water purchased from an LFS, grocery store or made yourself. Always check you SG before making a water change because that will tell you if you need salt or not. Salt doesn't go in every single top off either. In fact, my top off water during the week is straight RO water.

Good luck...keep the info coming and we'll try and help guide you through.

 

[smallblock]

To understand this completly, the tank is 2 to three months old and you have been topping it off with the bagged salt water correct? Was live rock or base rock put into this tank? No water change was done after the cycle? How oftern throughout did you have the water tested and what was said about the quality? What kind of filtration is on the tank and do you have anything that will put air back in the water? How long ago and what order was the livestock added?

 

[moebious]

If RO water is not available to you right now get some distilled water from the grocery store. Do not use tap water unless you want green hair algea.
+1 on lowering the salinity slowly.
You are not the only one that has made this mistake so don't feel bad. We are all here to help, even if we don't always agree, so don't hesitate to ask questions. When you do have a question try to include as many details as possible. Water params., tank size, stock list etc.

Sorry about your losses and good luck in the future.

 

[i found nemo]

Salinity is at 1.030 after adding just one gallon of pretreated water. I just mixed everything up like I did when I started cycling the tank. I am going to take your advice and stock up on some RO water in case this happens again. I honestly think my 4 year old may have poured some salt into the tank because there is some salt in front of the tank that appears it might have been spilled. I did find the dead fish after moving everything around completely. I got it out and it is now resting in our sewer and no longer stinking up the tank lol

 

[smallblock]

pretreated water? 1.03 isnt crazy bad though

 

[i found nemo]

Now it's between 1.030 and 1.032. I mixed the water with prime, ph buffer, and turbo cycle stuff that I bought at the LFS for start up. All three things should take care of whatever problem it is if it's not the high salinity. They pretty much just equalize everything is what the LFS told me. Is this true? I moved all of the rocks and ornaments around and found one more dead snail. I also stirred up the sand a bit and skimmed some of the junk out. Everyone seems happy so far and they are all swimming around loving the coves I made out of the live rock. I am just going to keep adding the water slowly over several hours and getting the salinity to the right level at the safest rate possible.

Thanks so much for all of the advice and thanks for not being quick to judge. This is all still new to me. Every fish store I went to when I started this up gave me 10 different answers for every question :confused2: A lot of this can be very confusing for a beginner, especially after getting bad advice in the past.