All but 3 fish died yesterday. I'm feeling defeated.

[Hemmdog]

I have not. Does it contain ammonia usually? I use a 24 hour mixing period but I am not an expert.

Always.

 

[clm65]

Lots of good advice given. Just a couple of additional questions:

1. what is your maintenance protocol with the canister filter? Canister filters can cause issues if not maintained properly. Most folks on this site would recommend a sump with biological filtration instead of a canister. Probably wouldn't cause a sudden event in your tank, but could help lead to the algae issues you were fighting.
2. how exactly did you dose the PhosphateE and the NoPOX? How much of each, and how was it added to the tank? Also, I believe the NoPOX directions state not to use any phosphate removers while dosing NoPOX. I believe this is only because you need phosphate present for the bacteria to be effective for nitrate removal, so I'm not sure it would harm anything, but thought I would throw that out there. (full disclosure, I have dosed both at the same time, but only because my phosphates were so high that they exceeded the upper range of the test kits I had and I wanted to get them within range. I saw no ill effects on my tank inhabitants).

 

[ReeferReefer]

Always.

Very interesting. There is a lot learn everyday. I'll have to check out more information on the subject. What kind of ammonia levels are we talking about?

I have always used water changes to control ammonia in QT but maybe thats not the best method?

 

[Hemmdog]

How much Nopox did you use?

 

[Hemmdog]

Very interesting. There is a lot learn everyday. I'll have to check out more information on the subject. What kind of ammonia levels are we talking about?

I have always used water changes to control ammonia in QT but maybe thats not the best method?

About .25, it helps cycle the water. As long as you mix it for 24-48 hours your good to go, it becomes nitrite by then and trace nitrate.

 

[Rscott]

You are doing a good job. It is clear to me that you have a passion for this and that you care deeply for your pets. It is very difficult losing them.

Adding live rock won't hurt. I just don't think that it would be my first coarse of action. Bacterial booster is a good solution though.

Again, I would grab a more accurate ammonia kit or use a Ammonia Alert badge. Keep Ammonia low to help your surviving fish.

You are doing a good job.

I keep hearing how good the turbo 900 fritzs is if you can find the refrigerated one locally?

 

[Peter Jason]

Lots of good advice given. Just a couple of additional questions:

1. what is your maintenance protocol with the canister filter? Canister filters can cause issues if not maintained properly. Most folks on this site would recommend a sump with biological filtration instead of a canister. Probably wouldn't cause a sudden event in your tank, but could help lead to the algae issues you were fighting.
2. how exactly did you dose the PhosphateE and the NoPOX? How much of each, and how was it added to the tank? Also, I believe the NoPOX directions state not to use any phosphate removers while dosing NoPOX. I believe this is only because you need phosphate present for the bacteria to be effective for nitrate removal, so I'm not sure it would harm anything, but thought I would throw that out there. (full disclosure, I have dosed both at the same time, but only because my phosphates were so high that they exceeded the upper range of the test kits I had and I wanted to get them within range. I saw no ill effects on my tank inhabitants).

I clean the filter weekly as advised by a friend. I keep the carbon in there. I rinse the canister out, and I also replace phosguard. I only dosed NoPox twice. I dosed about 3ml

 

[tripdad]

The Ph being so low indicates a poor gas exchange or a room too full of CO2. Try more surface agitation or even an air stone, in the sump is fine. The API ammonia kit is suspect so take it with a respectful skepticism. The thing no one has mentioned is that Triggers excrete a lot of ammonia, so.... if you were borderline on processing it then this , along with the NOPOX may have just pushed it over the edge. Don't let it get you angry or down, just learn from it and move forward. It doesn't always take a huge dose of ammonia to kill. And remember if the API kit can be falsely high then it can be falsely low also. In other words, ammonia could have been more than .25, who knows? Did you test nitrites? Over the next day or so if you did have ammonia then you should see a nitrite spike to confirm as the cycle progresses. Always look for a confirming event, a back up to your theory, before concluding you were right about something. In other words....slow down on actions a touch. In this case I agree you had to act, and water changes are the safest bet. There is a small downside versus the upside. In crises ALWAYS aerate with an airstone or a pump aimed at the surface. No downside, all upside. Good luck and hang in there!

 

[Peter Jason]

The Ph being so low indicates a poor gas exchange or a room too full of CO2. Try more surface agitation or even an air stone, in the sump is fine. The API ammonia kit is suspect so take it with a respectful skepticism. The thing no one has mentioned is that Triggers excrete a lot of ammonia, so.... if you were borderline on processing it then this , along with the NOPOX may have just pushed it over the edge. Don't let it get you angry or down, just learn from it and move forward. It doesn't always take a huge dose of ammonia to kill. And remember if the API kit can be falsely high then it can be falsely low also. In other words, ammonia could have been more than .25, who knows? Did you test nitrites? Over the next day or so if you did have ammonia then you should see a nitrite spike to confirm as the cycle progresses. Always look for a confirming event, a back up to your theory, before concluding you were right about something. In other words....slow down on actions a touch. In this case I agree you had to act, and water changes are the safest bet. There is a small downside versus the upside. In crises ALWAYS aerate with an airstone or a pump aimed at the surface. No downside, all upside. Good luck and hang in there!

I just redirected my powerheads to the surface of the water. Nitrites are at zero. What ammonia test would you recommend?

 

[Peter Jason]

The Ph being so low indicates a poor gas exchange or a room too full of CO2. Try more surface agitation or even an air stone, in the sump is fine. The API ammonia kit is suspect so take it with a respectful skepticism. The thing no one has mentioned is that Triggers excrete a lot of ammonia, so.... if you were borderline on processing it then this , along with the NOPOX may have just pushed it over the edge. Don't let it get you angry or down, just learn from it and move forward. It doesn't always take a huge dose of ammonia to kill. And remember if the API kit can be falsely high then it can be falsely low also. In other words, ammonia could have been more than .25, who knows? Did you test nitrites? Over the next day or so if you did have ammonia then you should see a nitrite spike to confirm as the cycle progresses. Always look for a confirming event, a back up to your theory, before concluding you were right about something. In other words....slow down on actions a touch. In this case I agree you had to act, and water changes are the safest bet. There is a small downside versus the upside. In crises ALWAYS aerate with an airstone or a pump aimed at the surface. No downside, all upside. Good luck and hang in there!

I just redirected my powerheads to the surface of the water. Nitrites are at zero. What ammonia test would you recommend?

 

[Peter Jason]

The Ph being so low indicates a poor gas exchange or a room too full of CO2. Try more surface agitation or even an air stone, in the sump is fine. The API ammonia kit is suspect so take it with a respectful skepticism. The thing no one has mentioned is that Triggers excrete a lot of ammonia, so.... if you were borderline on processing it then this , along with the NOPOX may have just pushed it over the edge. Don't let it get you angry or down, just learn from it and move forward. It doesn't always take a huge dose of ammonia to kill. And remember if the API kit can be falsely high then it can be falsely low also. In other words, ammonia could have been more than .25, who knows? Did you test nitrites? Over the next day or so if you did have ammonia then you should see a nitrite spike to confirm as the cycle progresses. Always look for a confirming event, a back up to your theory, before concluding you were right about something. In other words....slow down on actions a touch. In this case I agree you had to act, and water changes are the safest bet. There is a small downside versus the upside. In crises ALWAYS aerate with an airstone or a pump aimed at the surface. No downside, all upside. Good luck and hang in there!

I just redirected my powerheads to the surface of the water. Nitrites are at zero. What ammonia test would you recommend?

 

[Peter Jason]

95% of y'all are so encouraging. It warms my heart. I'm feeling really bummed still, but all of your kind words really help. Thank you all.

 

[tripdad]

What ammonia test would you recommend?

It's not so much about which "one" as it is about backing up your reading. If you had an ammonia badge and the API and they back each other up, then fine, assume you have a valid reading. Just try and back up any single reading/event with corroborative(?) evidence before accepting and acting too fast. I get it, fish were dying. We all would have jumped as it's very hard not too, we care.

 

[Rscott]

Im pretty happy with myself that the NooooBB was the one who thought to ask about pH!



Try the red sea test kits
I have had issues with fluval API and salifert.

 

[clm65]

95% of y'all are so encouraging. It warms my heart. I'm feeling really bummed still, but all of your kind words really help. Thank you all.

I hope I'm not in the 5%! I think you will find the people on this site both extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I've been on other forums (fish as well as other hobbies), and this one is by far the most positive as far as people trying to help each other succeed. We all have had issues, some of us more than others, but the brain trust here helps us resolve them. So hang in there and don't give up! It really is a rewarding hobby, albeit a little challenging at times .

 

[ReeferReefer]

We have all had losses and most of the time its because of something that we did or didn't do. We can relate to losing our pets.

In a recent video by BRS they mentioned that reef keeping is the most technically challenging residential pet ownership that exists today. We are bound to make mistakes. As long as you can move forward, you will be fine.

 

[clm65]

I clean the filter weekly as advised by a friend. I keep the carbon in there. I rinse the canister out, and I also replace phosguard. I only dosed NoPox twice. I dosed about 3ml

Sounds good. Your NoPOX dose is lower than the instructions on the bottle, which is good. How about the PhosphateE? How much and how did you add it?

 

[Peter Jason]

Sounds good. Your NoPOX dose is lower than the instructions on the bottle, which is good. How about the PhosphateE? How much and how did you add it?

I did half the dose. I added only one cap full.

 

[BeejReef]

All these theories are really interesting. Guessing, I'd tend to agree. Just don't forget that new predator fish is also a variable... aggression or disease are still in play.

 

[clm65]

I did half the dose. I added only one cap full.

Did you dump it all at once into the DT? The reason I ask is that PhosphateE (as well as PhosphateRX and others) is (or contains) lanthanum chloride (LaCl). LaCl binds with phosphate to form a flocculent that can be mechanically removed from the system via filter or skimmer. It is generally recommended that you mix it with RO/DI water and slowly drip it either directly into a 5-10 micron filter sock or directly into the skimmer intake. I'm not sure what would happen if the full dose was dumped into the tank in one shot, and your fish inhaled it?