Sad/Frustrated/Confused

hell on wheels · 10-01-2007, 03:53 PM

Ok Guys this is my situation. I have no idea what the hell is going on with my tank. I love my saltwater tank, but it is about ready to kill me from frustration. This is my longwinded story, but needed to you get the full picture.
Yesterday, a family member came over. I was not in the area of my tank. I hear all kinds of action going on, so I go check to see what it was. Well they choose to aggravate my foxface lo....So they could see it get pissed off, and change colors, and stick up it spines. The fish was going crazy. Hitting the bottem of the tank, ect. I quickly put a stop to that, and went into a rant. That won't happen again.
So since they are stressed out. I figure give them an hour to relax a bit, and do a partial water change. It was time to do one anyways.
Prior to water change these where my readings:
Temp:77
Salt:1.022
Ph: 8.0 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
nitrite: 0.25 ppm
nitrate: 40 ppm

This morning I wake up to both my Angel fish dead. So now I am freaked out and sad about the situation. My current readings now are:
Temp: 78.8
Salt: 1.021
PH: 8.0
nitrite: 0.00 ppm
nitrate: 80 ppm (wtf)
I had a r/o water system put on my home. Partly for the fish, partly for myself and my dogs.
I have used the r/o water for all water changes since (about 3 months).
Yesterday all I put into the tank was water and Salt. (instant ocean)

My tank is about 4 months old. Everything has been fine till a week ago with the nitrate level getting a little high. Tank is clean, clear, fish have been thriving, even through my trial and error of being a newbie to the hobby.

Someone please help me to why both my anglefish died. All the other fish look ok. Even my foxface lo. And why the hell my nitrate leval is so high. I'm frustrated with this situation. On the brink of turning the tank into freshwater, but I love the saltwater fish, but I don't want to lose anymore fish. What am I doing wrong?

Nereaga · 10-01-2007, 07:57 PM

Do you run a protein skimmer with this setup? If so what kind?

hell on wheels · 10-01-2007, 08:10 PM

Yes I do it is a Sea Clone Protien Skimmer 150 Gallon. 2 Power Heads Rio 2100 and a small Rio 50 mini power head. I have about 60-70 lbs of live rock, I have Live Sand. Wet/Dry Bio ball filter. A Visi-Therm Deluxe 300w heater. Have not used the heater yet as I live in Cali.

All of the equipment, is the set-up my LFS hooked me up with. I had no idea exactly what I needed when I set it up a few months ago. Whatever he sat on the counter and said 'you need this' I took.

Do you think the stressed foxfaced could have killed the Angel fish? If so any ideas about my Nitrate level?

Nereaga · 10-01-2007, 08:49 PM

Seeing the Nitrite levels at 0.25 scare me a bit. I dont know why it would jump that high over night, the Nitrates that is. Daily water changes will help keep Nitrates down.

It could be possible I guess, the foxface killing the anglefish accidentily when he was in a panic and stressed. Seems strange though...

Did anyone put anything in the tank?

How often do you clean your bio balls in your wet/dry filter? These build up Nitrates if not cleaned regularly. You should clean 20-30% of the balls every 2 weeks or so, at least monthly.

Id start with that!

Brad

hell on wheels · 10-01-2007, 09:08 PM

Well I think you just hit the cause. First off for sure nothing was put in the tank.
I was told by the guy that came out to set up my tank. He used to be a fish store owner I guess, and now does home maintance from fish owners. Well he told me not to clean the bio balls. Never. If I wanted to clean half of them once a year, then that would be ok, but no more than that. Said it would kill all the good bacteria in the tank if I did. He was very adamit on this. So I have never touched them. The tank has been set up since 06/30/07.

Now that you have brought this to my attention, I understand why the double in my nitrate level. Yesterday when I did my water change. My roomate was helping me. She did dump some water into the bio ball chamber. When I saw that, I told her to stop and she did, but a good 4-5 gallons was dumped over the bioballs. I didn't think anything of it till you mentioned the bioballs.

So do you suggest doing a few small water changes over the next couple days to lower this level? And also how do I go about cleaning the bioballs, so I don't lose the 'good stuff'?

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate your time.

Nereaga · 10-01-2007, 09:17 PM

I would say this is a good place to start, esp if you have NEVER cleaned them since the start. You only clean a small amount of them weekly, mabye 10-20%. Since you are only changing/cleaning a few at a time the bacterial colonies can establish themselves again quickly. You can just rinse them off in tap water under the sink and get a towel to wipe them clean.

I would do 10-20% water changes every other day for a week or 2 and start cleaning the bio balls, a little at a time. You should be fine.
Does you wet/dry have sponge filter in it? If so these must be cleaned weekly of debris. You can run them under tap water or buy new ones.

Your Welcome,

Brad

hell on wheels · 10-01-2007, 09:30 PM

No sponge filter. I use the chemi-pure filter medium in the nylon bag. I use 2 of those. I clean them when I do a water change. Use them for a couple weeks, then a couple weeks without, then back to using a couple again. This is what I was told to do. If you have any suggestion let me know. Like I said I am new and every move has been dictated by my LFS for the most part.

I will start tomorrow doing small water changes on my tank. I will keep you posted.
Being a newbie is frustrating, and little things affect the quality of the tank so quickly. I love the hobby. I really want to learn a lot, then get an even bigger tank, and maybe a small reef tank. But need to keep my head above water with this 120 gallon beast first.

Thanks again for your help.

Nereaga · 10-01-2007, 09:40 PM

No problem, that is why we are all here, to learn and some of us help! I was there at one time, a newbie. I still learn about something new everyday it seems. If you have any further questions dont hesitate to ask or send me a PM. Good Luck!