My Marine Adventure

[gregswimm]

 

[Chris7]

Thanks but there nothing like the ones i have. Mine are white, they look like a long worm but curled up. i will see if i can get a picture.

I am sad today. I have come home from work and one of the clown fish had died. Really random. Everything seemed fine today and there was no sign of illness.

The only thing i have done today is add another power pump. Are you supposed to just put them straight into the tank from the box. I should have read the instructions.

I am guessing its something to do with that but im not sure. i moved the other power head i had. I am thinking maybe he swim into the power head i moved. I am really shocked and worried. I hope there is nothing in there that will kill the other clown fish or my blenny. When i see the dead clown he was on the bottom (he was dead) then the shrimp started to scratch at him (i am guessing the shrimp didnt kill him)

Help please.

Its a bit of a long shot i know as it could be many things. Just shocked more than anything.

 

[gregswimm]

My first guess would be that the powerhead stirred up detritus and caused an ammonia spike. I will need to know where you parameters stand and what powerhead you added to the tank.

 

[Chris7]

Hi Greg, What do you mean where my parameters stand. And i added a Boyu surpasser submersible pump. Model FP-38

http/www.ebay.co.u...984.m1497.l2649

This one here.

Thanks.

The Clowns like to swim into the current of the pump, Which the other one is doing now and its next to the glass, Maybe they have been swimming into the current and then its pushed him into the glass or a rock and like knocked him out. Or am i thinking too much into it.

 

[gregswimm]

Parameters as in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Ca, Mg, KH, pH etc.

Also, that pump is not ideal to create current in the tank, its better used to move water through a line. The reason it is not ideal is that it creates very laminar flow and can damage corals.

1350 L/H is a ton for that tank. I had a 1000L/H powerhead in my tank and even when pointed at the surface it created a TON of flow in my 110L tank (76 cm long).

Always point strong pumps at the surface to break up the flow here is my old powerhead. I had to put it on a timer to give my fish a rest.

 

[Chris7]

ok thanks. I did a test just the other day results a few posts back.

I will do another when i get in from work today.

I will also move the powerhead, I did think of turning it off a while and giving the clown fish a rest as all he seems to do is try swim into it against the current.

 

[Chris7]

OK.

PH 8.0
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 20ppm

Salinity 1.025

They are the only tests i have currently. I only have live rock, crabs, shrimp, 1 clown, 1 algae blenny, 1 starfish .

The tests are the same as they always have been. So i am guessing putting that pump in killed the clown fish.

I am guessing i should remove the pump i bought and maybe buy a less powerful one as i have a few bits on the bottom where there isnt much if any flow at all and food and other things seem to accumulate there.

 

[Chris7]

It seems my Nitrate is high and can cause disease within my fish.

I read water changes take this down but i have been doing 20% maybe a little more every week since i have had the tank. It does not seem to be going down. I think i have been feeding the fish too much as i was worried they wasn't eating enough.

So i have now cut down on feeding and will continue to do water changes.

Has anyone got any tips on getting Nitrate down please. Thanks.

 

[Chris7]

Right, I have changed a few things.

Took that pump out, I had a sponge in the first compartment and it was full of horrible stuff, I have now removed that as i read somewhere it can make Nitrates high. I have the skimmer in the first compartment, cheato in the second, In the 3rd i have carbon and rowa phos. and just the normal pump in the final chamber.

Do i need something to stop all the dirt and horrible stuff getting through the chambers.

 

[Donya]

I have now removed that as i read somewhere it can make Nitrates high.

The "nitrate factory" idea is a myth. Filtration media doesn't produce nitrate out of thin air - the nitrate is a direct product of how much ammonia is being created. Take away the ammonia and you take away the nitrate, so it's a matter of figuring out what's making that excess waste or why the nitrate isn't being taken up by something else (macroalgae, DSB, etc.). If you take out a sponge, you've just removed bioloical filtration that was helping convert ammonia/nitrites into nitrate and you may see some spikes in ammonia/nitrite as a result while other media colonizes to compensate. The only way to cut down nitrates is to either start at the source by cutting down ammonia production (less waste) or stepping up removal at any point in the process from ammonia to nitrate.

If your filtration is trapping lots of debris like uneaten food, that is a source of excess waste. The options to get rid of it are to either cut down on feeding (don't starve the animals though; if it gets to that you need less animals), clean the innards of the filter pretty regularly, or use some sort of a prefilter to keep food from leaving the tank so that CUC and other animals can consume it before it breaks down.

What are your nitrate readings right now?

 

[Chris7]

Thanks Donya, I believe the Nitrate readings are 20ppm. I have the colour chart to match. It has been like this for some time. I did the same test on the salt water from the lfs and it was 0ppm.

I have just changed 20% of the water as i removed a few things. I will re check tomorrow night.

 

[Donya]

20ppm isn't ideal, but it's not really what would strike me as a danger zone for the sorts of fish you've got. If you're having fish illness triggered by stress, there's probably something else at the root of it. What disease(s) specifically have broken out and were the fish quarantined for any length of time before going in the tank?

 

[Chris7]

No there is not any disease as far as i know. I had a clown fish die yesterday but im guessing it was a freak death as i put a new power head\pump in to push the water around but i believe it was too strong and im guessing it killed the clown. I am not 100% sure but that was yesterday, I was worried there was something wrong in the tank but there might not be.

I was just worried and checked things.

So 20ppm is ok, How would i get this down as it didnt seem to go down with regular water changes.

 

[gregswimm]

Maybe take out the rowaphos. Having some phosphate in the water will help the chaeto grow.

20 ppm is and the end of the 'safe zone' for fish but far from ideal.

Nitrates won't directly cause fish illness but they will weaken the fish's immune system making them more susceptible to illness.

Where is your fresh water coming from? If you are using tap water it is likely that all the nitrate is coming from the tap, in this case you would be better off not doing w/c to lower nitrate but concentrate on harvesting your chaeto. Make sure you are providing your chaeto with light (not incandescent or halogen). And when feeding, remember that the fish's stomach is roughly the size of it's eye, feed no more than it can eat in 1min (a single bite of flake food is enough for it to survive).

 

[Donya]

I had a clown fish die yesterday but im guessing it was a freak death as i put a new power head\pump in to push the water around but i believe it was too strong and im guessing it killed the clown. I am not 100% sure but that was yesterday, I was worried there was something wrong in the tank but there might not be.

Strong current won't kill a fish like that. More likely there was already something wrong with the clown, probably before you got it since it was pretty new if I read right.