AC 500 killing my fish left and right

[OrionGirl]

At least you'll have a heads up on the switch over to chloramines now! Some water treatments won't handle chloramines. I know that Amquel is effective, so you may want to read up on Prime and see if it is as well.

 

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan
Well, the tank isn't cycled yet, having only been a few days. There might be traces of ammonia that you just don't see on your test that, having been combined with the stress of the fish being in a new envioument, killed them.

I'm going to have to agree with NJ Devil Fan. I think there are some other issues happening. I have run an AC500 on a 55 for a long time.

 

[rdelbalso]

It looks like I am not the first person to have troubles with this filter. I just looked in the box of stuff that was included when I bought the tank and filter from someone. I was looking for a sponge to put over the intake and I found one already made with the filter hole in it. The guy I bought the filter from evidently had the same problem.

 

[cpr4cpu]

I bought a used filter from a guy that thought you could use petroleum based products as a lubricant for the impeller. See if you notice a slight haze on the glass near the waterline or in bad cases a film on the surface (if you can shut down all the water current and see if an oily film forms in a day). I have also seen powerheads that have had the O rings treated with petroleum jelly (why I have NO idea!).

It'll kill a fish really quickly, with little or no indication through the normal water analysis ... and I speak from experience because I lost every single fish in my barb tank, replaced all the water and still had contamination from what soaked into the rocks and wood so my great filter deal turned into quite a nightmare.

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

Wow, that customer service rep is completely wrong. I can't believe the things that they say.

 

[rdelbalso]

yeah, they probably know nothing about fish, just that their product is rated for something. i was noticing today that some of my danios seem to be flashing a little on the rocks. they do it more in the open water like they are break dancing or something, but i am guessing that's a bad sign. ahhhh. this tank was supposed to be a good deal for me. its a nightmare.

 

[Cirean]

I run two AC500 in my 150 gallon tank and what has happened to me couple of times is the fish will swim up stream through the out flow and on to the filter pad and eventually over down by the propeller. I had one fish (albino shark) no matter what I did he would just go right back there after I put him back in the tank. I was just curious is this how you found youre fish or are you finding them just stuck on the intake tub?

 

[rdelbalso]

just stuck on the intake tube or in the section above the motor.

 

[BigFishDude]

Originally posted by rdelbalso
yeah, they probably know nothing about fish, just that their product is rated for something. i was noticing today that some of my danios seem to be flashing a little on the rocks. they do it more in the open water like they are break dancing or something, but i am guessing that's a bad sign. ahhhh. this tank was supposed to be a good deal for me. its a nightmare.

The flashing is not good. Its most likely a skin irritation or disease of some sorts, maybe someone can elaborate more? I think you might have solved your problem.

 

[JP457]

I would have to say that the fish just died and got sucked in. I once ran a 100gph filter on a five gallon tank while its filter was broken w/ no problems.