need help badly!!!!!

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melissadotson

melissadotson

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Mar 30, 2009
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parkersburg wv
i have had a 55 gal. tank set up for over 2 years now..no real problems in all this time...last week i noticed my foxface wasn't eating and he had a cloudy eye..his eye was like a bluish green color..so i took a sample of water to my LFS..he said my PH was like 7.8 and my nitrates were a little high...so i added a PH buffer and changed my filter pads..i went back to LFS about 4 days later to get another test done to see if things had improved..but now my PH was like 7.6 it was at the lowest level on the test..nitrates were the same..but nitrites and ammonia were fine..so iwas told to put some crushed coral in the filter area to raise the PH..then i wated another 5 days took another sample in and the PH was back to normal and the nitrates were fine but now my ammonia was .25 and my nitrites were .25 ..my fish were dropping like flies..lost the foxface ,bi-color blenny, royal dottyback, and a damsel..i notices some of the other fish not doing well and some look like ick ans some look like they had a fungus..so i moved the rest of them into a hos. tank to medicate with copper meds...my question is what happen to my tank..i have always kept up my tank maint, and water changes..i have never had this prob. before..never put meds. in this tank ..just food..
 
melissadotson

melissadotson

AC Members
Mar 30, 2009
274
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parkersburg wv
i aslo forgot to mention that i have not adding any fish or anything to this tank...also the guy at the LFS said that what ever it was that's causing this is distroying the good bacteria in the tank..he said going by the water test it's like i just set this tank up..like it's a new tank..but he and i both know this tank has been up for over 2 years...i also add some bacteria to this tank.he said it should take about 2 weeks to straighten things out..i am aslo going to be taking another sample of water in to be tested on wedsday to see where things are..
 
<3Oscar

<3Oscar

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Mar 28, 2009
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IA, USA
Without running your own water tests at home regularly, it can be hard to tell if your doing the proper amount of maintenence or not.
 
greech

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
Stop adding things to the sytem. By doing so you are just adding more variables. My guess is that your foxface started to go down hill and you started to adjust and my doing so you made the problem worse. Not blaming you, just saying that rapid adjustments are not good. pH is going to fluctuate. Yes it was a bit low but depending on the time of day that you measure pH it will be lower or higher. For the same reason, taking a water sample to your LFS to test for pH is useless since the pH will not be the same as your tank by the time you get there with the sample.

Get yourself a good pH test kit (not the dip sticks) and test your pH yourself. Test it in the morning (before lights come on), afternoon and at night (lights out) to get an idea of what your fluctuation range is. I have never added a pH buffer to my system and most of the time these are not necessary IMO.

As to the ammonia/nitrite, something died (you mentioned losing a lot of fish) and whatever it was was dead in the tank long enough to overpower your bacteria population to the point that these could not be converted to nitrate. My recommendation would be to do frequent WC's using a quality salt mix and stop adding things to the system to try and fix the problem quickly. Also are you using a trusted RO/DI water supply?
 
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melissadotson

melissadotson

AC Members
Mar 30, 2009
274
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parkersburg wv
update!!! well ever since my prob. with the 55 gal. tank i have lost all of my fish but 4 of them. one is still fighting cloudy eye and the others are doing great. i did find out from my 12 year old son that before the tank water went down hill that my STUPID 35 year old step-son had been over feeding my fish behind my back for several days..he was dumpping tons of food in there ..so i think thats what the cause of all this was...but i would like to break every bone in his face with a hammer!!!! but my husband won't let me...but i have been testing my water ever few days..and now things seem to be close to normal...plus i have hidden my fishfood from him...cause if he tries this again i will KILL HIM!!!!!!!!! but thanks to all that has helped me..i guess i will have to start all over again....i hated losing all those beautifull fish..but i guess now i can try having some other fish i couldn't have before..?
 
S

sherryazure

AC Members
Jul 25, 2005
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Next time sudden die off, as well as testing, start doing partial water changes with mature filtered water so on.. (matching temp)... that is the BEST way to eliminate toxins regardless of what they are and buys you some time. As another mentioned, adding this that just compounds the problem.

Do this even once or twice a day depending on parameters... gradual though as more shifts - even bacterial can cause shock.

I grew up in 50's - 60's with fish (the Famous Dr. Innes and any other book I found and lived in fish section at local library). None of these cycling issues I hear about currently. (although obviously organics surplus created your condition).

Set your tank up, wood, rock scape, plants (live plants a HUGE plus) then let it "mature" (as it was called then) weeks, even months. There are bio cultures stabilizing things (I think new books low tech low light but again very common in my earlier formative days, lol, we had no filters, airstones and even put a bulb half way in water to heat things up!!!)

Then depending on your eventual total bio load, start to gradually add fish... if larger schools, add part one week.. then wait a few weeks add rest... so on until you reach your final goal.

Once I have mature filter (floss so on) I can set up a new tank in a few days (bio bugs from certain manafacture is key) and I use a diatom filter during "cloudy" (bugs fighting for establishment) period.... I set it all up, add floss from mature tank, bio bugs wait a day, filter then start adding fish. Never ever have spikes...

Key is patience. (again in this case, something out of your knowledge)

Don't beat self up - we ALL and me too, learn from innocent mistakes.
 
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