Got 37 gallon Aqueon setup

I've read through this entire thread and nothing stands out. It may take some back and forth questioning to sort this out. I have not read the linked book, but the author was a former editor of TFK magazine and from the articles he wrote there, I wouldn't expect his advice to be bad.

Can you confirm the water conditioner? "Seachem" is a brand, so am I correct in assuming you are using Prime? And do the instructions say one drop per gallon?

Some aquarists will say that some frozen foods can be contaminated, but I would not look to this for the cause. Don't let them thaw and re-freeze though. You can stay with good quality flake/pellet foods for these fish with no problems.

Something may have come in with the new fish. If nothing else was changed and these fish all died within a week, this seems likely. I assume you did not quarantine them? You acclimation method is fine, I use it; I do two mixes rather than just one. And net the fish out of the bag into the tank, do not dump the bag water into the tank. Until this is sorted out, do not add new fish. And I would avoid any pleco for the present, for reasons I won't go into now.

Do you know the GH, KH and pH of your tap water? You can ascertain this from the municipal water supply people, likely on their website. Once you know the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness, sometimes called Alkalinity) you may not need to test this in the tank. The pH is a good test though, along with nitrates, long-term, as a change in either of these can pinpoint problems.

Are any other substances apart from the water conditioner going in this tank?

Byron.
 
Yes I am using Prime. The instructions say one drop per gallon. I have not defrosted the brine. But, I will stop using it. I bought it because it seemed like the bottom and mid-dwellers weren't getting much flake food.

I am using a plant fertilizer, I think it's Flourish. Half a cap a few times a week.

I actually do two cups of aquarium water into the floating bags, spaced apart when I put new fish in, and I don't put in the water from the bag. I do this after I float the bag for 15-20 mins.

I did not quarantine the fish. I do have a 10g for that purpose, but I never got the Molly out. I guess I could put the molley in the 55g once I sort things out and use that tank as a quarantine tank. But doesn't the multiple changes in tanks do more harm than good?

I have added a bunch new fish over the past few weeks. How long should one quarantine each fish purchase for?
 
Apparently my water comes from the potomac:
"
Potomac water tends to be hard (typically averaging about 120–
130 milligrams per liter)."

as per http://www.wsscwater.com/file/2012wqr.pdf.

I don't see anything about PH here.

So, why does the author of the book I read say not to worry about PH and hardness if you are a beginner...?
 
Both GH (general hardness) and pH affect fish in very specific ways. However, this cannot be taken too literally when it comes to the actual numbers. And messing about adjusting the parameters, or attempting to do so, rarely works and can be worse to the point of killing the fish with all the fluctuations and chemicals. However, there are some guidelines that can be significant. I agree with the majority of aquarists who advise selecting fish species that will manage in your water, rather than trying to adjust parameters to suit specialized fish. This makes things much easier. Some fish definitely require moderately hard or harder water; some fish definitely do better in soft water. I worry less about pH and more about the hardness, as the "hard" minerals do impact a fish's physiology. And even if the fish manages, the additional stress will weaken their immune system in various ways, leading to more problems long-term. This is why I always ask about GH and pH when we are dealing with fish deaths; one has to cover all possibles, and things are inter-related. Enough on that, but if you want more detail, check my post #9 in this recent thread which is an article I wrote on the subject.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...pH-with-Coral-or-baking-soda-I-need-some-help

To your GH. You have soft water, using the Potomac GH values cited in that report of 120-130 mg/l which equates to ppm which works out to 6 to 7 dGH. You can see how subjective these terms are, since the report considers this "hard," and they term the Patuxent water "soft" at 60-70 mg/l which is very soft to aquarists. Your water is fine for most soft water fish (some wild caught species would be different). Livebearers are just on the edge, and if this were me with your water I would stay with soft water fish (tetra, rasbora, most catfish, barbs, danio, etc.).

No mention is made of pH in that report, as you said. Can you call them and see if they can give you this number? It is worth knowing. And long-term, it is a very useful test for aquarists to perform periodically. A sudden drop in pH can severely stress fish, and when fish begin dying in numbers it is always advisable to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH as a matter of course. The API Master Test Kit which happens to contain these essential tests is worth the cost.

The brine shrimp is not the issue as I said, provided it has not thawed in transit and then been refrozen. It should always be fed thawed out, but that too is not at issue here. On food in general, you need a sinking food for the bottom fish (corys, plecos, etc). They cannot survive on flake foods even if some get down there. The Omega One shrimp pellets are good, and for veggies the Omega One Veggie Rounds which are sinking disks. My corys, loaches and loricariids love both of these and spend several hours grazing them.

The plant fertilizer, is this Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement? They make several products in the Flourish line, but this is the basic complete liquid, and a very good one. But once a week after the water change is sufficient, at the dose recommended. I worked this out to 1 teaspoon per 60 gallons, or 1/2 teaspoon per 30 gallons. The tank is a 55g, so I would dose one teaspoon after the weekly water change. Here again, not the probable cause of fish deaths unless your several times a week is really dumping it in; but it can promote algae and you mentioned this previously. Less rather than more of such products usually works as a starting point. The Amazon sword will benefit from a substrate tab too; I use Flourish Tabs, and put one next to the larger sword plants, replacing every three months. Makes quite a difference.

It is certainly wise to QT new fish these days. I've been active in this hobby over 25 years, and until three years ago I never used a QT and (perhaps luckily) never had issues aside from ich a couple times. But these days we see internal protozoan especially in farmed fish, and this is undetectable until the fish just start dying. I lost about half the fish in two tanks from this, and learned my lesson. QT is best for several weeks, some say three is sufficient, others five to six. I tend to do three, but sometimes longer depending upon the species and how they behave. My QT for new fish is a permanently running 20g, planted. This means the fish are being introduced immediately to an established environment with cover. Bare tanks as some recommend is fine for a hospital tank to treat disease, but the environment is stressful to fish and avoiding stress solves 95% of all fish disease.

Byron.
 
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Thanks Byron for the response! I am leaving the country for a few weeks, so not going to be able to do much.

I do have someone coming in to check on the tank a few times a week. So I'll have him remove any dead fish if there are any.
 
Another platy is dead. This one has a very orange discolored mouth and nose...I've noticed the dead fish have this...
 
OK, I'm back from vacation. A few more fish died (a few panda corys) and I ordered the PH and hardness test from API. I still have most of my neon tetras, lemon tetras, Giant Danios, and Platys. I have all the other tests so getting the master test is not worth it. I should have gotten it to start.

I will call the water company and get their figures on the PH. Meanwhile since my plecos died, the algae is getting out of control. What should I do about that?
 
Make sure you are dosing the Prime correctly, the dose is one capful (5ml) per 50 gallons of water. If you are changing thirty percent of your water, i'd dose the tank with at least half a capful for each water change.

As for the algae, it is likely due to the too much lighting and nutrients available. The dose for Fluorish is recommended at a capful for each 60 gallons, once or twice a week. Sounds as if you might be overdoing it on the Fluorish, which would definitely contribute to a algal bloom. So I'd cut back on the lighting and the fertilizers to maybe once every two weeks. That should liit the growth of your algae.

pH should not really matter provided it is not extreme and it remains stable. I've found the pH test kit from API a bit difficult to read so I invested in an Oakton brnad pH meter from Amazon. Cost about $20 for the meter and a pH 7 buffer to calibrate. Once you get it set up it is just a matter of truning it on and dipping it in the tank, much easier and more accurate than the API kits. Good quality pH papers can do just as well, but order a scientific supply paper, not the paper for a pet store.
 
You were gone for two weeks I assume...was anyone doing anything on the tanks, such as feeding, water changes? If not, this probably accounts for algae. I hope the lights were not left on 24/7? Now that you are back, test the tank water for nitrate. Also the ammonia and nitrite if you have those tests.

Byron.
 
I am dosing the prime correctly. 1 drop per gallon of water. I am actually not dosing the ferts that much. Just a half cap full every week or so. But I haven't done any since I was gone. I had a friend come and feed a few times, take dead fish out etc. No water changes during those 2 weeks, but the day I came back I did one 30% change. I tested for Amonnia and it came out at 0. I have tests for nitrite and nitrate, but didn't bother testing for that. I could. I did not leave my lights on, they were on a timer.

So now I am waiting to get PH and hardness test kits in the mail, and I am going to contact the water company about their PH. I guess the plan will be to wait a few more weeks, test the water and see if any more fish die, then I guess assume that all is well and restock?

The only fish that I have (had) that weren't mentioned as good soft water fish are the cory cats, plecos. I've lost at least some of all my different fish. What's left are a few platys, all my panda corys died (the few large regular corys are still alive), a few lemon tetras, 7 out of 8 neon tetras, and 4 out of 5 giant danios...
 
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