Fish dying but water tests good. Help ideas

[Painter]

I'm needing some help bad. I started a 46g Bowfront that has been running for about 8wks now. It has 40lbs of sand, 20lbs of live rock, and filtered with a HOB rated for 90g (working on sump). I do 5g water changes once a week.

Now the problem. I have tried adding fish and all have died. First I thought it was the water. It passed my tests and my LFS tests as well. Filters were changed last week before I started to add fish. I have 3 crabs the are doing good. I'm not sure what to check or change. My next thought can the tank be contaminated from improper cleaning? I got the tank used and think what if was clean with something not for aquariums? If so could it have been in the silicone even after I wiped the tank clean before set up? I am to the point of just buying a new tank. Any help or ideas would be great! Thanks

[Zack]

Could have been. Some people store old tanks in garages or sheds but those always seem to have chemicals or pesticides.. This may sound like a silly question but are your LFS testing with SW tests? Sometimes freshwater tests give false readings

[rrasco]

What kind of silicone did you use and how long did you allow it to cure?

[Zack]

That could be it also, I lost ALOT of zoas and LPS becuause I used the wrong kind of silicone last summer.

[Painter]

Nanoreffer11 - my LFS I go to is a saltwater only place. I never had problems with his fish in my 75g.

Rrasco - I was talking about the silicone in the tank. I didn't change anything or use any new silicone.

[SABOB]

Strange that crabs are alive but fish die....How do you acclimate the fish?


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[Painter]

I do the "drip" method how my LFS dose it. Put them in a bucket and add a little water every 10-15 min. I do this for 30-40 min.

[ducati996]

what type of fish are u putting in the tank and how many at once are u adding?

[Gseclipse02]

could be store selling bad /sick fish .... seen it happen before

[Painter]

I put one clown in last week. Then a few days later one chromis and one firefish. The chromis and firefish died that night (yesterday). So I talk to the LFS today and he's tested my water. Everything looked good and he ask some questions about my tank. He replaced my fish for free. I put the new fish in at about 430. Its not going well the firefish just died. I don't like doing this to the fish and I can't afford it.

On a side thought I do know the tank was fresh water before. The previous owner was saying something about have a pinnie in the tank for ick or something. Not to sure. Could that be a problem?

[ducati996]

Okay sounds like u might have some chlorine in ur water if the fish are dying that fast

[Painter]

That's not good. I go buy RO/DI water could it be in there? I'm not sure how it could be or got in the water.

[Painter]

Wouldn't that kill my crabs too?

[ducati996]

Crabs are almost bulletproof but I woukd start with chlorine remover fish dying that fast is unusual what's ur tank temp?

[Painter]

It's at about 78-79. With every water change I add API Stress Coat which should do that and some.

[ducati996]

Hmm where u getting ur ro/di from and I would use just a straight chlorine remover I have a 46 bowfront myself

[Painter]

Its from one of those stand alone water machines. It's the only one in town thats RO & DI most are RO only. I'm going try and test my water for chlorine tomorrow and go from there.

[SABOB]

To acclimate, I float bag 10-15 min to get Temp equal, then use airline tubing from tank to bag,dripping couple drips per second.Once salinity in bag equals tank salinity, I remove fish and place in tank with lights out till I see new fish out and about


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[ducati996]

Ahhh the good old wind mill water definitely use chlorine remover may have some copper in it as well there is always a reason things are cheaper

[Painter]

Haha not sure if my LFS sales water. Is there a better place to get water or just used chlorine remover?

[Umiamifan]

Do you use the bucket for anything else besides acclimating your fish?

[Painter]

Just clean water. I have a dirty water bucket for water changes and a clean water bucket that I mix the salt in.

[FireWater]

Go by Walmart or a pool supply store and get a chlorine test kit. The little litmus strips are easiest. Check for chlorine. One issue we all forget about is chloramine as well. Many water departments use it to treat water because it is safer for the environment, but not for the fish.

Chlorine will dissipate from water and chloramine won't.

[The_wolfeman]

Haha not sure if my LFS sales water. Is there a better place to get water or just used chlorine remover?what lfs you go to?

[SABOB]

Save up for a RODI unit, great investment and piece of mind


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[Painter]

I plan on doing just that. I've never heard of chloramine??

[ducati996]

They sell a chloramine remover also at ur local fish store

[FireWater]

Google it.

Also, what do you use to check salinity?

[Painter]

I'm in San Angelo TX it called aquatics edge. The only one in town besides petco. I only by supplies from petco though.

[Big_Pun]

you mix your own water? what are you using to test water salinity?

[ducati996]

20255

[FireWater]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/24/8edyzu2a.jpg

[Painter]

I do mix my own salt. I only have a hydrometer to test with but my water has been tested with a refractometer as well. So I have an idea on how much my hydrometer might be off.

[Big_Pun]

John is the winner!

[FireWater]

I just did a quick search for chloramines in San Angelo. Read up on it. If the place you're getting water from doesn't have the capabilities to treat for it it will get by. Might be the cause of your issues.

Contact time with carbon is the key to getting it out of the RODI water. Every decent RO place sells a kit for chloramines. Buckeye Field Supply and AirWaterIce, who are both sponsors here can set you up with your own unit. Kind of costly up front but, you can trust the water.

[Painter]

Well crap lol. I knew they did this too. Guess I know what I will be doing. Man you guys are good!

[ducati996]

Nice find john

[ducati996]

Well crap lol. I knew they did this too. Guess I know what I will be doing. Man you guys are good!
A few hundred dollar losses on fish will do thst to you lol

[FireWater]

May not be the final answer but its a good start to eliminate.

[FireWater]

Good luck. If you get the chlorine test let us know what the outcome is.

[Painter]

Yeah I'm just happy to have a direction to go in to fix the problem. I hate to see my fish not make it.

[Painter]

Thanks will do! Thanks everyone for the help!

[SABOB]

Good luck, keep us updated


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[Sherita]

Prime will remove chloramines from water. The rule for carbon is 20 minutes of contact with 20" of carbon. With most rodi systems the removal of chloramines is going to require the addition of another housing so that the configuration can be changed to allow for the proper amount of contact time. If you need help, feel free to pm me. I recently reconfigured my rodi to deal with chloramines.

I have to say, I'm not 100% convinced that this is the issue, since chloramines will also hammer inverts, and the op says he has inverts that are doing fine.

[Painter]

Well there is no chlorine in the tank. I used 2 different tests. Is a complete water change a crazy idea? Would it even help because I would use the same sand and rock?

[Sherita]

Please be sure your chlorine test detects chloramine a as well. Not all tests work for both.

also, check for stray voltage, and make sure you have good oxygenation.

This is all a bit puzzling, since inverts tend to react to issues sooner than fish, for the most part.

i would head back to the lfs and have your water tested again. This time, write down the results and let us know what they are. Ask if they will test for:

salinity
ammonia
ca
alk
mg
ph
nitrates
nitrites
phosphates

I betting that the answer is going to be found in those results.

[Painter]

Well I picked up a copper test kit on the way home. It tested fine. I thought it might be copper after talking to the previous tank owner today. He said he had 6 or 7 100% copper pennies in his tank for ick. They had been in the tank for over 8 yrs. It was a fresh water tank before. I won't have time today to get my water tested from my LFS. Grrr this is not working out at all. I never had problems like this with my 75g.

[Sherita]

Copper wouldn't have killed the fish. If you were having a copper issue it would have taken the inverts out first.

Its frustrating, but if we all work together I bet we can figure this out.

[alton]

You may want to ask how old the pennies where? Today they are made out of Zinc and no metal is good for a tank. Add a polyfilter pad to you filter

[Painter]

I was told all the pennies were early 70s when they were copper. The thing that worries me is if something got absorbed by the silicone and now contaminates my water no matter what I do. I'm thinking of buying a 40g breeder and starting new. They are half off right now at petco. I don't have anything to really worry about get switched over fast. I talk to my LFS about a 100% water change and was told it could help. With the problem not showing up I wouldn't know for sure if it fixed the problem until I add fish thought.

[Scutterborn]

1982-present pennies are zinc. Prior-1982 most all copper.

Personally I'd ditch that tank and get a brand new one. At some point you've got to realize that your throwing money into a situation that may be unfixable. If you've got a tank from a guy who thought it was ok to keep pennies in it for 8 years, who knows what else he's put in there that could've been absorbed into the silicone.


- Ben -

[Fracture]

I'm with Ben on this one I think a new tank is in order

[Painter]

Well I opted for a new tank. I went and picked up a new 40g breeder and 2x4s to make a stand. I thought about it hard. In the long run this is probably cheaper. I won't be wasting money trying products and tests not really knowing what I'm trying to fix. I like the bow front but with the possibility of the tank being the problem I got to let it go. Thanks for all the help everyone! It's nice being able to get others ideas and input. I guess now I can start a 40g build post lol. Thanks again!

[Zack]

YES!!! You'll love the 40 breeder.

[Scutterborn]

Sweet! Your future fish will be ecstatic as well!


- Ben -

[Painter]

I'm liking the look. It will look good in my apartment just the right size. I'll be making a 15g sump to go with it. I'll start a new thread Sunday night after my family heads back out of town. I'll call it "New start with a 40 breeder". Hope to get your guys input and ideas in the new thread. It's nice to get fresh ideas and input from experience.