Starting over... need some tips

Sharkie

Sharkie

The Damsel Defender
Alright, last night my clown and three damsels died. all that i have left in my tank is my eel, mandrin, and a sand cleaner goby. i feel heart broken having to flush away my beloved first fishies... sunny and tweedledum (who isn't that dumb lol.) went into my sisters tank and are doing fine but she just has a nano and i dont want to over load her bio with more than 2 fish... they are tiny damsels but still i'm worried about them.


i'm not sure what to do... i have no clue whats killing them.. at all! the water is 100% fine minus the murkiness, theres hardly any waste on the sand at all (my hermits are good about that) and theres no signs of disease, my fish all go through QT before adding them. nothing new has been added since my eel but the fish dissapearing was happening before he came...

i'm thinking about going and getting another tank and starting a whole new cycle and starting from scratch while praying that my 3 remaining dudes make it.

my question is this...if i was to use the LR i have right now what should i do to clean it of any problems it may have (could they be the cause of the cloudiness?).. i was thinking of like.. "curing" them for a week or so while the water is getting mixed for a good while. then adding LS... can i add the old or is that a bad idea?? i don't want to stir up garbage while trying to keep my others alive... do i have to use all LS too? i've seen people with playsand but i'm afraid that would harm them?

i'll be using all my same filter and powerheads and lighting so that won't be a problem

and any tips on what i should do with my 3 remaining? i'm scared to death that i'm going to lose them, i haven't seen any copepods and i keep feeding the tank for my mandrins sake but i'm worried that if i start a whole new tank that there wont be any.. could i add in about 5k of them to start when its finished cycling?



:( i'm beginning to think i wasn't cutout for reef fish... give me something like from monterey area's salties and i've got that down... these reefies seem to give me a hard time :grumble:
 
I dont think the problem is your rock.
Mantis,maybe.
But lets start with your equipment.
What are running on the tank right now?
 
my equipment is:

150 wt elite heater
korolia 2 pump
HOB penguin 200
coralife 50/50 high output light...

i was thinking of getting a different filter and maybe going with a 35 g tank for this one... i had seen a filter that goes into the corner and you can put different filter medias in it... it goes inside the tank in the corner and is tall and black, not sure of the brand


also, is it best to stick with LS or can i use some playsand? i have read stuff on it but wasn't sure what you experts all thought ;)
 
If your going to upgrade,be sure to get a good skimmer.I actually think that would help you current tank too.IMO,anything over 10 gallons needs a good skimmer.
But I'd like to see you upgrade to a bigger tank too.:D
On the sand,I heard of people using playsand without any problems.I personally didnt like the way it looked when I tryed it.I'd get some dry aragonite sand and seed it with the sand you already have.Theres no need to pay extra for bacteria that we really have no of know is actually there.
Then all you'll need is plenty of rock,some more water flow in the tank,and a good skimmer.
 
what kind of skimmer would you suggest? and is it okay to scoop out my sand right now even while i have 3 fish still living in the tank? i don't want to cause an ammonia spike or stir up the stuff too much... the cloudiness has gone away finally but not after losing almost the whole tank :(

and with my current rock should i move it now or move it in a few days? I plan on going tomorrow to get all the stuff, i'd do it right now but my sister is graduating tonight which i'm not allowed to miss :p bummer eh? lol.

and i'm wondering if i should just buy pre-mixed water from the LFS? is it cheaper that way and will I set off a huge cycle? and can my fish be moved soon? i'm so worried about all this D: i still don't know where i'm going to put this new tank lol.... my 50 will be different because i will have everything in place way before but... eesh!
 
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If the coudyness is gone,dont get in a hurry about switching over.Besides that,if you have a mantis and you move the rocks,your gonna move the mantis too which aint gonna help you none.
When you move the sand,your need to do that with the tank empty.Then you need to wash it good in fresh water.Wash it untill the water is completely clear.
Use as much of your old water as possible,but pre-mixed will be fine for the rest.
And do this when you can take your time and not be rushed.Its a job to swap tanks,but it can also be fun.
 
If you had all those fish in a 20 gallon tank, my best guess would be that the tank was just overstocked and overloaded. A 20 gallon tank can support two or three fish, max. Stocking too many fish can lead to a tank crash, which sounds like what has happened.
 
thats what we thought at first but there wasn't a ton of fish in there, when one would die, i'd replace it... or it would move, my sister also has a 20g tank so some where in there, i just posted pictures of both
 
It sounds like you had a lot of fish in there. How many? As I said, more than 2 or 3 (especially since you have an eel) is pushing it.
 
From your first post in this thread:

Sharkie said:
Alright, last night my clown and three damsels died. all that i have left in my tank is my eel, mandrin, and a sand cleaner goby.
Click to expand...

So you had those 6 fish in a 20 gallon tank? And didn't you just have some other fish die too that are not included on the list above? There's your problem. Tank crash. It's typical to see that happen in an overstocked tank. And your tank was way overstocked. You had at least 6 fish in a 20 gallon tank, when that tank's capacity is 2 or 3 at most.
 
Were you testing for Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates when fish were dying? If you had a tank crash, these chems would have spiked. Also, any temperature swings? The tank should change no more than 3 degrees in 24 hours. Sudden salinity changes?
 
sen5241b said:
Were you testing for Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates when fish were dying? If you had a tank crash, these chems would have spiked. Also, any temperature swings? The tank should change no more than 3 degrees in 24 hours. Sudden salinity changes?
Click to expand...

all of those levels were at 0. i even took water samples to both of the LFS i go to when purchasing anything... they also tested 0 there.

the temp is always at 78 degrees and the salinty is always spot on at 1.025

and Biff, I had 6 fish yes, which was more my dads doing than anything bringing em home for me, which is why my sister setup a tank to take part of the load so i only had my 3 fish... i figured with me doing so many freaquent water changes i could handle that amount of fish in there... no one seemed stressed and no one fought over spots, everyone had their little area and were super friendly
 
i think you need a bigger tank sharkie like say for example a 241 gallon tank with.... i dont know... maybe a 56 gallon sump and... i'm just grabbing random numbers now... a 36 gallon fuge...:bounce:
 
LOL OMG i would LOVE to have something that big!! haha... but... since i live at home i don't think the rents would fly for something THAT big...

i've got my hospital tank with my eel in it, hes the only one that made it.. my mandrin disappearead *cries* and i searched for him all evening... can't find him.


this blows :(
 
Youte,
If she is upgrading anyways, wouldn't an iodine or freshwater dip for her LR take care of any shrimp or crab as she's transferring from the first to the second tank?

If you choose to go this route, make sure you use tongs to pick up each piece of LR. Those little devils will cut you good.
 
Iodine wont do anything for a mantis or crab.It'll help with by thining out stuff like flat worms and nudis.
You can however shoot some vinegar into the predators hole,assuming you know which one its in.That will usually run them out.
 
hmm okay, well my eel is still alive an i am going to move him shortly to just an LS & LR free tank for the time being, hes looking pretty bad, and theres a scratch on his tail that wasn't last night... i'll put in some fake rocks for him to hide but for now i think thats all i can do until i get this nasty out! :(
 

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