What the heck happened?

[Larry Licata]

Peeps, I have a newly setup 30g tank that has been cycling for 15 days. I have a new penguins 330 filter with bio wheel which has been running since the initial fill. The initial water fill made the tank cloudy for approx 10 days and it cleared up after that. Temp has been regulated for over a week at 76 f. All seemed to be going well. I checked my chem levels before going to my lfs.
Tds is approx 330. Due to added aquarium salts
ph is 6.6
Nitrate, nitrite and ammonia all tested at 0ppm this morning.
I purchased 3 small tetras to get some fish in the tank and start breaking in this tank. These poor guys didn't make it 4 hours. I am not sure what happened. They started off looking fine. Any help to help me figure out what happened would be appreciated. So bummed that I killed these guys off.

 

[FallenPepper]

If it wasn't your water parameters them most likely an acclamation issue or just sick fish but I'd cycle your tank a little longer just to be safe

 

[AquaBarb]

Id say your tank isnt fully cycled with it only 15 days in. Like Fallenpepper as said id cycle it longer before adding anymore fish. I usually leave mine 4 weeks before adding fish if im starting from scratch. If your tank is heavily planted it could cycle a bit quicker.

Good luck

 

[Larry Licata]

Agree... Will do a 75% water change and start the clock again.... Looking at right around the start of fishing season here.. ( now isnt that ironic)

 

[Essjay]

How did you cycle the tank?

Ways to cycle a tank before getting fish include:
adding ammonia from a bottle or adding fish food
using mature media from another tank
putting lots of live plants in the tank
adding a bottled bacteria product, though that is better used in conjunction with adding ammonia/fish food to feed the bacteria while they settle in.


The fact that your water was perfect before adding fish does not mean it was cycled unless you did one of the above. It just means nothing had been added to the tank yet so it was plain tap water.

 

[Retired Viking]

You could try Tetra SafeStart Plus it works fast. I prefer doing a silent/planted cycle myself but Tetra SafeStart Plus worked for my bother-in-laws 20 gallon. SafeStart would be adding a bottle bacteria product as @essjay said.

 

[Larry Licata]

How did you cycle the tank?

Ways to cycle a tank before getting fish include:
adding ammonia from a bottle or adding fish food
using mature media from another tank
putting lots of live plants in the tank
adding a bottled bacteria product, though that is better used in conjunction with adding ammonia/fish food to feed the bacteria while they settle in.


The fact that your water was perfect before adding fish does not mean it was cycled unless you did one of the above. It just means nothing had been added to the tank yet so it was plain tap water.

I cycled my tank by dropping in my bio-wheel from my well established tank and let it Bob around for a few days. Restarting cycle process. Will use expired filter media instead. That must have been the issue.

 

[Byron]

No one has yet asked about those "salts" you say you added...exactly what were they? And how much? TDS at 330 is high for soft water fish, and salt if you mean common salt sodium chloride like aquarium salt should never be added to soft water fish tanks except to treat a specific issue. Sodium chloride does seriously impact freshwater fish.

 

[Metalhead88]

If the fish died in less than 4 hours, your water is either just flat out poison, the acclimation process went wrong, or the fish were weak and you just got stuck with them.

It seems that it's option 1, there is something seriously wrong with your water. The only thing you really need to add is prime or something to remove chlorine. I only use salt when treating disease.

I would say that letting a bio wheel bob in water for few days would do next to nothing as far as growing bacteria goes.

Even if your tank wasn't cycled, it would take a few days for ammonia to build and to effect the fish. Something is seriously wrong here.

Was this tank new from the store or used?

 

[utahfish]

330 TDS is pretty high. TDS takes into account all dissolved organics.
That would be my first guess, especially if they came from a tank with half that TDS and werent acclimated. Tds up around 300 and up is for hard water fish like african cichids. Tetras need tds to be closer to 100-150 as they are a soft water species so doubling their tds requirements probably no bueno.

 

[Back in the fold]

I second that motion to have plants. A tank just starting out with no fish for a month but with plants seems to end up running pretty good. Also, heed what @Byron says about the salt.

 

[Back in the fold]

@Byron this would be a good time to re-post your three part article on TDS. TDS is a more in depth subject than just a simple numerical reading.

 

[Waterstrider]

I agree that this is no cycling issue.
3 hours for a few tetras? I don’t think they could produce enough ammonia in that time.
suspect salt

 

[Larry Licata]

No one has yet asked about those "salts" you say you added...exactly what were they? And how much? TDS at 330 is high for soft water fish, and salt if you mean common salt sodium chloride like aquarium salt should never be added to soft water fish tanks except to treat a specific issue. Sodium chloride does seriously impact freshwater fish.

This is all great info... I will bring down my tds to what you suggest. I will be restarting my cycle and adding Tetra Fast start.. I will be re-adding fish right around the start of baseball season. Byron--> I have been adding API AQUARIUM SALT Freshwater Aquarium Salt and using the directions on a the box as a guide (1Tbs per 5 Gallons) and only adding salts when I do water changes, not when adding water. I will be bringing down the TDS in both my tanks to around 150 ( roughly half) by using treated / buffered tap water. not using table salt!

 

[Larry Licata]

@Byron this would be a good time to re-post your three part article on TDS. TDS is a more in depth subject than just a simple numerical reading.

Yes! Please share.... Its funny starting ( and now re-starting) a tank has basically give me the opportunity to really learn so much more about fishkeeping and the chemistry behind it ! i do appreciate everyones input!