fish are dying in new 20 gallon tank please help!

So I went into the store and he did a test and said everything looked fine said it looked like the cycle was starting. He suggested getting a few rocks so the fish have somewhere to hid so we bought a few dry rocks. I asked about the saltwater activator but he didnt know what I was talking about
 
When I go to the LFS Monday,I'll get the web site for the Activate off the bottle.That way you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
 
man your lfs guys sounds like a real dumbass. could you post a picture of your tank with the rocks so we could help you out. if you post your water parameters here we can tell you when its ok to add fish.
 
How do I upload a pic? And he didn't tell me any stats he tested it and said it looked like it was starting its cycle and everything was ok.
 
I don't remember the names but its 2 pores golden rocks a white rock of the same kind, and a darker gray Rock. He said they were all safe to use
 
If he said the cycle was starting, there should not be any fish in the tank. If he is telling you its safe to add fish at this point, its time to find a new fish store
 
Yeah you need a new local fish store my man. The one you have been going to is leading you down a trail that is only going to cost you more money in the long run. I would strongly suggest that you read the stickeys on this forum. they will give you all the information you need to start your tank.

this hobby is such a slow, time and money intensive, process. I spent nearly 2 years thinking and planning, and 6 months of research before i even bought my tank and i still make so many errors.

take your time in this and everything will work out for you!
 
Kully3xf said:
Yeah you need a new local fish store my man. The one you have been going to is leading you down a trail that is only going to cost you more money in the long run. I would strongly suggest that you read the stickeys on this forum. they will give you all the information you need to start your tank.

this hobby is such a slow, time and money intensive, process. I spent nearly 2 years thinking and planning, and 6 months of research before i even bought my tank and i still make so many errors.

take your time in this and everything will work out for you!
Click to expand...


Agreed! Rushing will only bring you failure
 
its not a cheap hobby, ive dumped $4115 into my 75g in 10 months and that excludes the extra water and power consumption. Take it slow, do lots of research before you buy anything to ensure you're spending your money wisely and your fish are safe and healthy.

trust me, and plenty here... a lot of us learned the hard way.
if you could, give us a complete inventory of all the equipment you have so we can at least guide you in the right direction. heres a checklist that may help

for starters, you need a heater rated for 20gallons or more and a thermometer to monitor the temp (get a digital one, theyre 10$ at petsmart and are very accurate) you want your water to be between 78-83 degrees
secondly, you need to purchase live rock (10 to 15 lbs will work, Live rock isnt cheap so do some shopping around before blowing your money, craigslist is a good place to look as a lot people sell their stuff when breaking down tanks)... its the building block for your mini ecosystem and will eliminate the need for a filter. filters can house harmful bacteria and lead to poor water quality. the live rock will be your filtration.
third, you need a powerhead (a maxijet 1200 or 2 maxijet 900s will do the trick for you and are fairly inexpensive), this provides water circulation and helps the live rock do its job.
fourth, you need a hydrometer to measure your waters salinity. you're aiming for 1.023-1.026 specific gravity but for a Fish only tank, i would recommend keeping it near 1.023 as it provides more oxygen for your fish.
fifth, invest in a test kit. a good beginner kit that i can recommend is the api saltwater master test kit. You need to test for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and PH.
Your ammonia levels need to measure 0ppm before adding fish as this means the tank is cycled (but only after your nitrates and nitrites read 0 as well... and when you add fish, add one at a time every 2 to 3 weeks unless youre adding a pair of fish i.e. 2x clownfish).. ideally, the PH needs to be between 7.8 to 8.4

you will notice that your tank water will evaporate over time, when it does, add FRESH water back.. water evaporates but salt does not. When you preform water changes, remove about 5 gallons every other week and add new SALT water as. Most fish stores sell fresh and salt water but it sounds like you already have salts to make your own so when you do make salt water, allow the salt water to cure for 24 hours before adding to your tank and always make sure to test it before using it.
 
First and foremost, listen to the folks here. They don't know you, but they do care. They want you to be successful. This is an expensive hobby. Unlike you, I was able to spend the money. Like you, I knew absolutely NOTHING about this when I started. I didn't' know what a cycle was. I had no idea how rock filtration worked, Heck, I didn't even think about fish getting along!

I've had my tank for 2 months. Only four weeks with water in it. Only just last Thursday did I add my first fish. If not for this site and the folks on it, I would have no idea what I am doing. Am I a sudden expert? HECK NO!!! Yep, I have read a LOT over the last two months. Been discouraged several times along the way.

The initial cost for just my equipment was well over $3500....BEFORE water even came into the equation. Seems like every time I turned around last month I was plopping down $250 for something! Live rock $200, more live rock $200, Power-heads and base rock $200, SALT $50, Buckets, hoses, RODI filtration set, $150...... the list goes on and on. DO NOT LET THE MONEY ASPECT SCARE YOU. Sure, guys like me can spend tons on this hobby. Just like guys can spend $250,000 on a '32 Ford roadster with state of the art parts. Other guys have just as much fun, earn just as much respect (if not more) and enjoy their chosen hobby, in a junk yard Rat rod that they spend $1000 on and put together over years.

If you follow the advice here, you can be successful. No doubt. FWIW, my tank cycled lightly. My Spike in Ammonia was only .50 and lasted less than a day. I cycled in just shy of 3 weeks. 90 gallon tank. I have 3 tiny little fish and am loving every second of it!

Good luck. My only real advice to you is to shop around for other fish stores. The store I thought was good (and bought my equipment from) is absolutely untrustworthy! I would NEVER buy anything live from them. There are two others in driving distance. One I trust, its clean, the people know what they are talking about, but.... they are way over priced IMO. The third is a hole in the wall. Nasty, nasty, NASTY place....BUT.... the guy who runs it, knows marine life. I wouldn't buy equipment from him, but I would buy anything living from him in a second! He has THE best looking livestock I have seen. Look around. Other reefers are glad to help out too.
 
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