You don't need a salinity of 1.025 in a FOWLR. 1.020 - 1.023 is good. What kind of protein skimmer is it? How deep is your sand bed? Or are you using crushed coral? If you use BIOSPIRA the tank will cycle much faster.
help me , I can't get my starter fish to make it past a few days
- Thread starter Fitter17
- Start date
i was told a higher salinity is better for the fish. steer clear of crushed coral, theres a sticky about it. i also heard bio-spira is bunk and is only good if refrigerated. even then theres a chance its a dud.
in this hobby time is your best bet. i found this out after 4 fish died because i rushed things. i hope the 2 i have left survive...
in this hobby time is your best bet. i found this out after 4 fish died because i rushed things. i hope the 2 i have left survive...
Actually its the opposite.. higher salinity is actually optimal for reefs but for fish ...they can acclimate to both but the lighter salinity makes the O2 exchange better for fish.
The tank I very much doubt is cycled and having such minimal live rock means you have not enough filtration compounding the problems. YOu must understand that the live rock is your filter.. and the reason for the 1lb per gallon is to properly maintain the balance of the tank chemistry with the proper amount of bacteria to do the chemical break down of things. Biologically is the word I should use actually.
In other words I believe:
1. Your tank is not cycled yet.
2. You may have not acclimated the fish correctly
3. your biological filtering is very far below what you need.
Solution is to stop adding live stock and wait. Add more rock..live or dead..and let the bugger cycle. You should go through the green algae stage...brown algae ... once it clears up ...test and if all is well you are ready to acclimate some live stock.
The drip method is the most "anal" but most carefull way to acclimate new live stock. I find it troublesome and I am lazy. I do the shot glass method.
Dump half of the water in the bag out after 15 min floating..then add a shot glass of water every 15 min ...4 times. Then I let them loose. I havn't lost a fish doing this.
We are getting ahead of ourselves here though:
First get that tank up properly...even if you have to wait a bit longer its best you do.
Food for thought about acclimation for new people: The fish are stuck in a bag and the bagged water chemistry is surely going south as the fish stresses.
You are placing a stressed out fish into a tank with much better water(hopefully =p). Fish die from dramatic changes in chemistry. Also marine fish drink the water vs fresh. So poor little dude is drinking stinky bagged water the whole time being more stressed.
Consider this next time you add a fish to the tank... they need pampering on the way in. Drip method is ultimate pampering =)...
You are placing a stressed out fish into a tank with much better water(hopefully =p). Fish die from dramatic changes in chemistry. Also marine fish drink the water vs fresh. So poor little dude is drinking stinky bagged water the whole time being more stressed.
Consider this next time you add a fish to the tank... they need pampering on the way in. Drip method is ultimate pampering =)...
His fish aren't dying because he needs more liverock. When i 1st started my 72 gallon tank I had 10 pounds of LR and all my fish were fine. SOmething is seriously wrong with his water. Maybe PH is way off, Salinity way off....chemicals in the water like chlorine....something.
I agree, only being two weeks, prehaps his water doesn't have enough kH, which would effect the pH. Also do we know if the LR was cured at all? Adding UCLR could shoot the Amonia way up which would also kill the fish. There are many factors as to why his water isn't working.
Just be patient. Don't rush the cycle. If you make your own water, then test it, if you buy your water, test that too. If that is fine then we can narrow it down that it isn't your water.
The chromas in my book, aren`t a hardy damsel, but could do very well once thew tank becomes more stable with age. When I use to cycle a fish tank with damsels, I first had the tank fully setup and running, and a week later I added blue damsels, I never lost anymore then one, here or there. But the last time I did this, I lost none. The last time I gotten 30 damsels, I lost none, Not until some got eaten by the eels.
Like when my SPS tank is ready, I will have its salinity at 25-26, with the 40 gal breeder QT at 1.023, somewhere in between so not to cause much stress
Like in some other forum link, there is a hobbyist who owns a 200 gal tank, and he/she have some 14 angels with a number of other fish in it. This tank will be limited to its success in just a matter of months, at most, 18 months. But li9ke when I do start either the 180 or 240 gal tank, I will have a slow process for some three months at best to get the tanks LR reactivated.
Buddy
That im afraid would be a mistake, not unless your a QT and its salinity isnt so high. For your LFS for the most, will have their salinity around 18-19, and in having your main tank with the salinity so much higher, will only add too the stress on your fish.
Like when my SPS tank is ready, I will have its salinity at 25-26, with the 40 gal breeder QT at 1.023, somewhere in between so not to cause much stress
Those words been said more times then I care too remember, and yet so many are so much in a fire hurry to have their tanks over crowded with fish. As many of them put it, they want color, rather then what may be best suited for their tanks.
Like in some other forum link, there is a hobbyist who owns a 200 gal tank, and he/she have some 14 angels with a number of other fish in it. This tank will be limited to its success in just a matter of months, at most, 18 months. But li9ke when I do start either the 180 or 240 gal tank, I will have a slow process for some three months at best to get the tanks LR reactivated.
Buddy
You can't say that with full certainty about LR just because your tank was fine.
Did you start that 72 gallon with 10lbs of live rock and just toss live stock in after only 2 weeks? Im sure you didn't. Im sure you let it cycle.
he has a compounded problem....
1. Not enough LR to cycle bio load fast enough
2. 2 weeks is far too little time to cycle a marine tank
3. Water parameters are unknown...but im willing to bet you are correct on it being out of wack...out of wack because of #1 and #2.With only guessing on unknown info..possibly used tap water...has contaminated rock..we can only guess.
so you are not wrong... you are correct but to think its only water problem...no way.
I am willing to bet its more than just water parameters...sure it may be whats killing his fish...but the reason its out of wack are the other problems.
Your tank may have had much better set up to on initial start up and equipment used.
With the limmited info on hand here... I can only pick out the things I know are sending off red flags for me of what i know of this hobby here.
We all can agree his water is screwed... why its screwed is up in the air with the limited feed back we have to work with im afraid.
We all can agree a tank with proper LR and has cycled ...with proper water (ro/di).... would not have these problems. So steering him to get to this point is the best general advise we can give you know.
Yes I cycled 1st....I was assuming he had cycled also because he said his water parameters tested good. If not , then yes, that could be the obvious reason.
Yah I am actually a member of reef frontiers...and i have come across many posts saying My parameters tested good... Once we asked what were they ...
Bamn we see something amiss ...like no Alk tested... or Calc... or they didnt even check salinity ...or failed to mention they only tested two things. =).
Its hard for us as helpful posters to give good advise with not enough info.
I really wish there was a Format for the newer to the hobby to use.
Such as:
Tank Size
Skimmer..Type Model
Sand bed or not..depth
Fuge or not...whats in it.
Power heads type and amount
Water used..salt used if they mix..from store find out what they use.
Nitrate,Nitrite,Alk,Calk, PH and salinity readings.
Bio Load
All this is best for us to help..but sadly most dont think of giving out this much info to best help them ..
