Accu-clear - good product or evil fish killer?

[WolfPup522]

I would like some opinions on Accu-Clear water conditioner. I searched the Forums and found a few "good" posts about it, but I'm curious if anyone has had bad experiences with it.

I had a bacteria bloom in my 2.5 mini-bow where I kept my Betta, so I used some to clear up the water (followed the directions exactly). The next day, Ben (the betta) seemed very lethargic. I did a 25% water change and the next day he was dead. I had done nothing else different in the tank. I have not had a chance to check the water yet (I've been sick, myself), but the last time I did, the pH was 7.0, very little ammonia/nitrates/nitrites (don't remember the exact reading). So that brings me to question the Accu-Clear. Please let me know your opinions on this product. Thanks!

[Andy16]

If you had very little ammonia or nitrites that could have very well of been the fish killer. A little ammonia can easily kill fish. Your ammonia and nitrite reading should be 0 and the nitrates should be as low as you can possibly get them.

[TonyW]

I've used Aqua-Clear for years, and have never had a problem with it.

I agree with Andy... if you had a positive ammonia reading, it may have been that there was too much ammonia in the tank. Does Aqua-Clear go bad?

[WolfPup522]

Thanks! I appreciate it. I guess I was hoping it was the Accu-Clear instead of my "housekeeping." I was really attached to Ben and I strive to keep water levels as perfect as I can (I've only once had a positive ammonia reading in my 29-gal that I can remember). Thanks for your help!

[Andy16]

You should do a test just to be sure. Unless of course you just recycled it but it would be interesting to see what hte readings would be.

[WolfPup522]

Ok, I checked the water last night. I'm embarrased to even tell you all what the ammonia and nitrate readings were - let's just say they were lethal levels. Now, I was having an absolute fit and feeling miserable because I couldn't figure out what could have made the levels spike like that until I talked to a co-worker this morning and we think we figured it out. She reminded me that I put 3 ghost shrimp in with him several days ago and I found 2 dead bodies the very next morning. I never found the third one, so we thought that if it decomposed in the water, that could have caused the problem, even with the water change. Please let me know if that sounds like a possibility, because I'm feeling like a horrible fish-mommy right now. Thanks

[Andy16]

That could have easily of been the problem. Did you cycle the tank before you added the fish?

[WolfPup522]

Not completely. I let my impatience get the best of me - that won't happen again! Thanks for your help.

[marlinee]

Hi, I'm new and found a link to this thread by doing some searches on accu-clear. I had the same problem that wolfpup did--my fish seemed fine (a south american cichlid--he was growing and i had him for about 4 months). Anyway, I tried accu-clear **once**--one night--and he immediately seemed lethargic and affected. The next morning he was dead. I've had my current acquarium for almost a year now (and previously owned a larger one with cichlids in it for about 5 years).

I will admit that I don't do any testing--and I'd like advice on what I should do for a simple, 30 gallon tank with about 2-3 cichlids. Less expensive is better because I have a tight budget.

[nickmcmechan]

One way to get Ammonia 'naturally' into a tank yo cycle it is to use frozen shrimp. Iam in fact doing this with new tank number two as we speak. If you cant find that shrimp then the solution would be 20-30% dailt water changes until your ammonia was zero for a few days, that way you would know it was fully decomposed and no longer posing any threat.

My tank is very heavily planted, the only way I know a fish and a Shrimp recently died is because the counts were -1 for both species. As soon as I wnet two days knowing this I switched to daily pwcx, My Ammonia hit 0.25ppm for a day. I was lucky I didn't lose more.

I have a Holiday coming up in eight weeks, so I have bought a third filter for my tank to make sure I dont even get caught out on my Hols.

[Mgamer20o0]

Hi, I'm new and found a link to this thread by doing some searches on accu-clear. I had the same problem that wolfpup did--my fish seemed fine (a south american cichlid--he was growing and i had him for about 4 months). Anyway, I tried accu-clear **once**--one night--and he immediately seemed lethargic and affected. The next morning he was dead. I've had my current acquarium for almost a year now (and previously owned a larger one with cichlids in it for about 5 years).

I will admit that I don't do any testing--and I'd like advice on what I should do for a simple, 30 gallon tank with about 2-3 cichlids. Less expensive is better because I have a tight budget.
the price of a test most of the time is cheaper then new fish. if you have no idea whats going on with the water you really have no idea what happened. yes there is a chance accu-clear did it but there are a hundred other factors that might be more likely.

i use prime to treat my water and to the best of my knowledge never had any problems with it.