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Casualties...due to water change?


transistor

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So, theories on how this tank went wrong?

Mine is...

1) Chloromine killed filter bacteria from non-dechlorinated W/C - fish start dieing from chloromine

2) resultant ammonia spike from any feeding after this - more fish dieing

3) when dechlor juice added, broke chloromine bond but insufficient to bind all resulting & pre-existing ammonia - more fish died

4) dead fish/bacteria dropped PH through floor?? - more ammonia?

Does this sound plausable?

Transistor - the fish you listed prefer above 8.0 usually, but don't even think about changing the PH yet!!!!

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You must remember that a low pH kills beneficial bacteria unless you have a set up geared towards maintaining acidic water.

On top of stabilising the other levels, you will want to gradually bring your pH back up otherwise it will take even longer for the nitrosomous and nitrobactor to colonise the filter media and break down the ammonia effectively.

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Thats what i thought, People are always saying you should wash your filter media etc in tank water but i think it kind of contradicts doing so if you fill your tank straight from a tap dntknw.gif

People are not saying wash your filter media in tank water. What they will be saying is wash your biological media in tank water (otherwise you will kill all the bacteria). The mechanical media you can wash how you like, or indeed just replace it.

Craig

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You must remember that a low pH kills beneficial bacteria unless you have a set up geared towards maintaining acidic water.

Eh! Where did you get that from? A low pH will not kill bacteria that cycle our tanks. How could a "set up geared towards maintaining acidic water" make any difference to this bacteria?

Craig

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Hi guys

i returned home from work yesterday to find 3 dead fish... two 6 cm frontosa and a 5cm electric yellow. Now i had done a water change ( well not so much a water change just a top up from evaporation)a day or two before about 5-10% in a 6*2*2.  i just used tap water and was going to plop in some water conditioner until i realised i had run out.

i looked at the temp and it only dropped about 1 degree and returned to its original temp in an hour or so.

i assume this unconditioned water was the reason for their deaths?

how do you guys do water changes in large tanks?

how often and how much?

Any help appreciated

Cheers

Chris

I'm surprised no one has commented on the fact you lost 5-10% of water from a 6 by 2 by 2 through evaporation! That's a lot of water! It must have been also some time since you have done a water change too-boot, that is, water taken out, and replaced. I would think this is the reason why your pH is so low. Just topping up you tank from evaporation is not going to help the fish. All the pollutants that were in there, will still be in there.

There is another thread at the moment asking about the necessity of water changes. Your's is a classic example of why water changes are required.

Your's is also a classic example to those of us who keep fish and wonder if water conditioner is required. I have read in the past people who do water changes and have done so for years without the use of any sort of water conditioners. They question if a water conditioner is needed as their fish are fine. Your situation answers them.

Fix problems before they start, do regular water changes, use water conditioner, and put some buffing agent in your tank or filter such as coral or limestone sand.

You may want to think about KH generator as well, and some salts to maintain a high pH.

Don't think it was mentioned by Yew, but you could also go out and buy some bacteria in a bottle. This will replace all your tank's bacteria, and get rid of any ammonia a lot faster than just not feeding for a few days.

Craig

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transistor - how is it going? any more losses? how have you fared the last few days? Did you bet some filter squeezings or bacteria in a bottle?

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Hi ash no more losses clap.gif so far...

Have two altos in a hospital tank and i dont know when would be right to put them back.

they were the ones who suffered the most with 11 out of the 13 being sent down the caroma morgue.

When can i ajust the ph level??

Do i do this just by adding salt?

How much would i need in a 6*2*2 with a pH of 6???

Thanks everyone

Chris

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if you can get all your fish in the hospital tank id do so,then do a 100% water change on the 6footer ( save the filter media in the hospital tank) get the water right in the big tank -ph,add prime etc then slowly(a day or two) bring your hospital tank up to the same chemistry as the big tank, put the saved filter media back in the filter then the fish, i would personally replace the gravel and look into what caused the bath staining it could be metal contamination due to pipe maintainance, usually flushing your water for about 5 mins will fix this, but that ph is an indication youve been slack with water changes , make sure you change 20% a week in future thumb.gif

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Hi Chris,

you're questions seem like you don't know much about buffering or the nitrogen cycle, so it might be of you're benefit to read the following article...

Nitrogen cycle (Via TheKrib)

First & foremost, you need to get the filtration right & get the nitrogen cycle happening, cause at the moment it isn't.

you should probably buy Ammonia (NH3/4) Nitrite (NO2) and Nitrate (NO3) kits, and probably a high range pH test kit (~pH7-9) and a GH/KH kit

Then, once you get the "Nitrogen cycle" under control, you can look at buffering the water to change it's pH - here is an article regarding buffering & altering the pH - please bear in mind any pH changes should be done slowly as to not kill your fish.

Water hardness (From the SCP)

Please read both of the articles above & ask questions about aspects you do not understand - once you understand these concepts you're fishkeeping will take on a whole new perspective.

Good luck

Ash

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Hi guys...

Have done a coupleof water changes and more testing.

i was reading back through the replies and realised i had made a mistake when writing up the results before.

I wrote nitrate - 0.25 ppm and ammonia 160 ppm

When in fact it was ammonia - 0.25 and nitrate - 160ppm

From what i understand adding all the prime wll have detoxified the nitrate but it will still show up on the test results is this correct?

I need to get my water right so i can re stock my tank

My room is so boring now sad.gif

Thanks for the continued help guys

Cheers

Chris

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