Fish always die over night. Long read and need help.

[mcarroll]

....as in Poly-Filter®, as in Poly-Bio-Marine the company who makes it.  As in...

...and...

 

Not as in....

..or...

 

[3s1k]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try another fish this Saturday earlier in the day and see how it goes. I'll do a very short acclimation process.

 

Rob22 - I'll check for Poly filter next time I'm out. Not sure what could be contimating it. I don't use RODI water much. Most times I get it from the water line in my garage. I use a 2 way splitter that is made of Brass. Could that cause issues? I just pulled it off and found this white crud inside of it. Please tell me this isnt some lead fitting I've been using.

Edited January 18, 2019 by 3s1k

[RayWhisperer]

You don’t use rodi? Well, that’s probably why all your corals but the GSP are toast. I don’t think you’d have a problem with fish, but I guess it depends on what’s in the water.

[Rob22]

The white stuff looks like hard water deposits to me. Is it hard or soft? How do you treat your tap water? Is it city or well? If city, does the city treat with chloramines? Check out the below link. Treating with chloramines is relatively new for most areas. My water company switched two years ago. It could be that yours just happened to switch when you switched tanks. 

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.php

 

 

RO/DI is definitely preferred, but I understand not wanting to invest if you are considering dropping the tank completely. If you are going to give it a go for now I would at least switch to distilled water. Not spring or purified, distilled from the grocery store. 

[MrObscura]

Yea, I would say using tap is a likely culprit. 

[IamJoHo]

9 hours ago, 3s1k said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try another fish this Saturday earlier in the day and see how it goes. I'll do a very short acclimation process.

 

Rob22 - I'll check for Poly filter next time I'm out. Not sure what could be contimating it. I don't use RODI water much. Most times I get it from the water line in my garage. I use a 2 way splitter that is made of Brass. Could that cause issues? I just pulled it off and found this white crud inside of it. Please tell me this isnt some lead fitting I've been using.

I would say that could definitely be your problem. I would be hesitant in letting my family or dogs drink that. Check with your lfs they probably sell rodi and premixed salt. Since I’m only running a 13 gallon I just buy rodi and salt neater from them. Keep 5 gallons on hand for top offs and water changes. They only charge $.50 for rodi and $.75 for saltwater. IMO totally worth it. 

[dandelion]

Maybe some of your equipments are leaking current. The grounding probe just completed the circuit and killed your fish. Remove your grounding probe. It’s only needed when you put your hands into the water by diverting current from passing through you.

 

Grounding probe is for protecting YOU.

[3s1k]

12 minutes ago, dandelion said:

Maybe some of your equipments are leaking current. The grounding probe just completed the circuit and killed your fish. Remove your grounding probe. It’s only needed when you put your hands into the water by diverting current from passing through you.

 

Grounding probe is for protecting YOU.

Ahhh I got it ass backwards. I thought it was for using all the time. So should I just plug it in during maintenance? I juts swapped out 4 of my pumps with 1 wavemaker and new return pump. 

 

Saltwater at my LFS is $2g and rodi is $1. I've used tap water from that same faucet but without that splitter without issues. TDS out of that faucet eas 40ppm but that was awhile ago. I should check again. I removed the splitter last night and threw it away.

[dandelion]

It is a very common misconception. Electric current only kills you if it passes THROUGH you. That’s why birds can land on power lines without getting electrocuted. If they put one foot on each power line that’s a different story. That’s why wearing shoes with thick rubber sole protects you from electrocution as well: electricity passes onto you from the point of contact, but it never gets through to the ground because of the shoes. Merely having a heightened potential is fine, just as standing on the edge of a cliff is 100% fine too. It only kills you if you fall off the cliff and hit the ground.

[xthunt]

If I was in Anchorage (assuming you are) Id get some jugs and gather that water that comes out of the mountain, off Seward hwy, and test that out. Best water I ever drank. Heres a pic of what Im talking about from my last trip there:

 

 

 

 

[3s1k]

10 minutes ago, xthunt said:

If I was in Anchorage (assuming you are) Id get some jugs and gather that water that comes out of the mountain, off Seward hwy, and test that out. Best water I ever drank. Heres a pic of what Im talking about from my last trip there:

 

 

 

 

Lol I been here 30 years and drank from it once. Not a bad idea though.

[IamJoHo]

2 hours ago, 3s1k said:

Ahhh I got it ass backwards. I thought it was for using all the time. So should I just plug it in during maintenance? I juts swapped out 4 of my pumps with 1 wavemaker and new return pump. 

 

Saltwater at my LFS is $2g and rodi is $1. I've used tap water from that same faucet but without that splitter without issues. TDS out of that faucet eas 40ppm but that was awhile ago. I should check again. I removed the splitter last night and threw it away.

Yeah that’s a little pricy but might be worth the initial investment to rule out the water. You could also set up a rodi filter at home but if you are getting that much build up on a fitting you might be replacing the various filter stages pretty quickly. 

[mcarroll]

A buck or two a gallon isn't too bad for a smallish tank.....<55 gallons IMO.   

 

At 20% water change per week and 5 gallons of evaporation, you'd be carrying about 5 gallons of RODI and 10 gallons of saltwater per week to maintain a 55 Gallon.... about $25 per visit. 

 

Again, this is the level where I think it makes sense to think about installing your own RODI system....you'll pay for a brand new RODI system with every 5-10 visits at the above rate.  (Depending on the system you compare with.)

 

If you have anything smaller than 55 Gallons then costs will be proportionally less.  A 10 gallon should run you about $12 a week....a 5 Gallon should run about $6 a week.

 

Once you have more tank than 55 gallons, you end up hauling (IMO) an uncomfortable amount of water....to me that's when buying an RODI system makes a lot more sense.   

 

That said, I've seen folks with 150 gallon tanks lug water for decades just because in their opinion it was less hassle than worrying about maintaining a filter and giving up the space for water storage. 

 

YMMV. 

 

There's no wrong way.  :-)

[IamJoHo]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

A buck or two a gallon isn't too bad for a smallish tank.....<55 gallons IMO.   

 

At 20% water change per week and 5 gallons of evaporation, you'd be carrying about 5 gallons of RODI and 10 gallons of saltwater per week to maintain a 55 Gallon.... about $25 per visit. 

 

Again, this is the level where I think it makes sense to think about installing your own RODI system....you'll pay for a brand new RODI system with every 5-10 visits at the above rate.  (Depending on the system you compare with.)

 

If you have anything smaller than 55 Gallons then costs will be proportionally less.  A 10 gallon should run you about $12 a week....a 5 Gallon should run about $6 a week.

 

Once you have more tank than 55 gallons, you end up hauling (IMO) an uncomfortable amount of water....to me that's when buying an RODI system makes a lot more sense.   

 

That said, I've seen folks with 150 gallon tanks lug water for decades just because in their opinion it was less hassle than worrying about maintaining a filter and giving up the space for water storage. 

 

YMMV. 

 

There's no wrong way.  🙂

That’s nothing. On the show Tanked they are filling with 4.4 gallon premixed water. Hahahahaha. Also guessing they use a few of them to advertise for the company that makes the premixed water then probably uses their own water. 

https://www.chewy.com/natures-ocean-nutri-seawater-natural/dp/162622?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Nature's Ocean&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj4biBRC-ARIsAA4WaFiZyKey7jI5JUCwoUlP_O80DV_89KzOTcjfD8mxMS6uvmLWayLBB24aAm6DEALw_wcB

[Coinee]

36 minutes ago, IamJoHo said:

That’s nothing. On the show Tanked they are filling with 4.4 gallon premixed water. Hahahahaha. Also guessing they use a few of them to advertise for the company that makes the premixed water then probably uses their own water. 

https://www.chewy.com/natures-ocean-nutri-seawater-natural/dp/162622?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Nature's Ocean&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj4biBRC-ARIsAA4WaFiZyKey7jI5JUCwoUlP_O80DV_89KzOTcjfD8mxMS6uvmLWayLBB24aAm6DEALw_wcB

Holy shit, that is ridiculous. Why would anyone buy that? Mixing and measuring the salt + water is so simple a 5 year old could do it. 

[IamJoHo]

2 hours ago, Coinee said:

Holy shit, that is ridiculous. Why would anyone buy that? Mixing and measuring the salt + water is so simple a 5 year old could do it. 

Pretty sure it’s probably given to them to advertise. No way they could be legit using it considering a lot of the tanks are 800-1000+ gallons. 

[3s1k]

I was planning on getting an RODI unit but my water pressure is only 45psi. The cost of the RODI unit and pump to increase pressure was beyond my budget. So, I top off with tap and get 6 gallons for water changes every so often.

Edited January 19, 2019 by 3s1k
Grammar

[3s1k]

Update. Went to my LFS and they tested all the parameters. Everything looked good nothing unusual. I explained what's been going on. They did mention the Talbot Damsels I bought, they had a few die on them as well so he gave me a blue Damsel they had for 2 weeks to try out. They wanted me to follow up with them in a few days on the fish and want to get this figured as well. I asked him how they would like me to acclimate and he said to float the bag to match the temperature and then scoop the fish and put him in the tank. LFS said he doesnt mix water to match salinity. So I floated it for 30min and gently scooped the fish out with my hand and set him in the tank and disposed of the rest of the bag water.

 

Salinity - 1.023

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - less than 5ppm

PH - 8.1 - 8.2

 

They threw in a small clean up crew and I got a Duncan coral to test as well. GSP's are looking good with the WaveLink PH. My old skimmer I throw in the rear chamber is sucking up tea colored water which is better than nothing. Fish is swimming around the tank and eating some flakes.

 

So things I done so far:

 

Swap out all the pumps for new ones

Swap out all heaters for new ones

Added the protein skimmer back

Removed the grounding probe

Verified water parameters

 

Will post an update it this guy survives the night. I hope he does.

 

Posted from my phone if there are gramma errors.

[3s1k]

Well, I was pretty heartbroken when I didnt see him this morning and then out of a rock cave he came out and swam around. What a sigh of relief. I still cam say the mystery is solved but glad this dude is alive.

 

Keep everyone posted.

[Newstead]

Glad he made it through the night! Keep us updated.

[Recci]

1 hour ago, 3s1k said:

Well, I was pretty heartbroken when I didnt see him this morning and then out of a rock cave he came out and swam around. What a sigh of relief. I still cam say the mystery is solved but glad this dude is alive.

 

Keep everyone posted.

Yeah those blue damsels are about as hardy as marine fish get. 

[3s1k]

Ok wtf, the fish died. I checked on him at 8am and he was sleeping in the corner but was active. Got home at 530pm and he was dead next to a rock.

 

The Duncan coral head I bought looks great and the clean up crew is very active. I had the Kessil set to acclimate mode starting at 10%. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

34 minutes ago, 3s1k said:

Ok wtf, the fish died. I checked on him at 8am and he was sleeping in the corner but was active. Got home at 530pm and he was dead next to a rock.

 

The Duncan coral head I bought looks great and the clean up crew is very active. I had the Kessil set to acclimate mode starting at 10%. 

Do all your fish die with mouths gaping open like the pic? Seems like a lack of oxygen issue.

[Coinee]

33 minutes ago, 3s1k said:

Ok wtf, the fish died. I checked on him at 8am and he was sleeping in the corner but was active. Got home at 530pm and he was dead next to a rock.

 

The Duncan coral head I bought looks great and the clean up crew is very active. I had the Kessil set to acclimate mode starting at 10%. 

Have you checked oxygen in your tank?

[Snow_Phoenix]

Either there is something depleting the oxygen in your tank, or you don't have enough flow/oxygen to begin with. My leopard bush fish (FW) died a few months ago the same way - (looked exactly like your damsel with a gaping mouth), and it was only then I realized my secondary filter in my 70G had failed. Most of my fish were breathing rapidly, but a quick addition of a backup filter and 50% WC helped increase oxygen levels back to normal and restabilize the tank. I think the same applies for your damsel. I'm not sure if this was the issue that caused all the previous fish deaths you've been experiencing, though. 

 

Fish can die from a variety of reasons. Given how stressful shipping them to stores are, most saltwater fish arrive sick or unhealthy. Have you tried getting fish from a different store for a change? You might also want to QT the fish before adding them directly into your DT. Just to observe if they're eating and behaving normally first.