COMPLETE NOOB but very addicted :)... NEED HELP

dan17bias

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Hey Everyone,

I live in the middle of nowhere ohio and the near pet store is an hour away. None of them sell RO/DI water and i dont have a good spot currently to store water. I am working on a space to store water but it will be a couple of weeks before it's ready.

My question is that i have had the tank setup for about a 6 weeks. I fully cycled the tank but at 4 weeks i added 2 clowns, 2 peppermint shrimp, and 2 conchs. They were all doing fine but about 6 days after both clowns died :(....

I checked my temp, PH, specific gravity, KH, NH3, NO2, NO3... All of them seemed to be fine (listed below), i did call my pet store to ask what may have happened and unfortunately they we useless...

I waited did a 50 percent water change, tested and waited two days and tested again. Temp fluctuated a little and the specific gravity went to 1.024.

I did what maybe you guys will shun me for and added a butterfly and 2 clowns. Again all thriving then a week later they all started swimming really slow and i tried to quarantine them all but all 3 guys didnt make it.

I am not sure what info i can give that might help, so any questions, advice, or guidance would be so helpful.

I am in the middle of nowhere with no resources other than you guys :/,

Temperature
- 78 degrees
pH – 8.4
Specific Gravity – 1.025
Alkalinity – 8 KH
Ammonia – 0
Nitrite – 0
Nitrate – 0



Thanks a head of time!
 

Bryn

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Welcome to R2R... A lot of issues could have been the root of your problem, and maybe nothing you could have done. It could have been ammonia burns on the gills from the store from when they where shipped in, showing up a week later, or an underlying problem that you or the store did not spot. Write down some symptoms you noticed, and maybe someone will have an answer. Sometimes in this hobby, things happen and we can only guess.

Never shun you, maybe make fun, but we all have to learn, and truthfully we have all made mistakes, in fact a man who never makes a mistake has never done anything, or as my daughters first grade teacher would say, the only perfect one was crucified... ;Woot

So a couple of things to remember, and learn.

1. Learn how to hurry up and wait.
2. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
3. Never make multiple changes at one time, and wait before making any more changes. Waiting = Sometime's days


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dan17bias

dan17bias

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Welcome to R2R... A lot of issues could have been the root of your problem, and maybe nothing you could have done. It could have been ammonia burns on the gills from the store from when they where shipped in, showing up a week later, or an underlying problem that you or the store did not spot. Write down some symptoms you noticed, and maybe someone will have an answer. Sometimes in this hobby, things happen and we can only guess.

Never shun you, maybe make fun, but we all have to learn, and truthfully we have all made mistakes, in fact a man who never makes a mistake has never done anything, or as my daughters first grade teacher would say, the only perfect one was crucified... ;Woot

So a couple of things to remember, and learn.

1. Learn how to hurry up and wait.
2. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
3. Never make multiple changes at one time, and wait before making any more changes. Waiting = Sometime's days
I am actually going out of town to Gatlinburg, TN tomorrow through next Tuesday. So we are going to enjoy our shrimp and conchs for the until we get back.

I am not sure how to proceed other than monitoring the next fish very closely and writing down what i find.

Thanks for the pep talk :)
 

BighohoReef

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Welcome to Reef2Reef! You won't get shunned you do you for your tank. The best advice I can give with where you are at right now is that you take it slow and research everything that you put into your tank. The patient reefer is the rewarded reefer! Get some posts going in the general forum with questions. Also post a pic of your tank, we are a picture loving group:) We're here to help! Welcome

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Starkrost

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Welcome to R2R! I'm sorry for your early loss. As a new reefer, I know it's very frustrating. And being patient is even tougher!! Maybe look at some additional tests (e.g., mag, calcium, PO4). Read more articles. Make a wish list. If you're thinking about corals, maybe look up corals for beginners (zoas are one of my personal favorites). It's not easy being new but everyone here has been super fantastic and patient with my rookie questions. I'm sure you're in the BEST place to be :)
 

block134

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Welcome to R2R!!!! You will get a lot of good info here and lots of positive help.

One thing I feel might be an issue is it can be hard to fully cycle a reef tank. A lot of people recomend a few months before anything is added. I was also wondering what you used for your salt mix?

I recomend to always quarentein everything that goes in the tank.

Feel free to browse the forums here for all of the great questions and answers others have asked in the past.
 

Starkrost

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I am actually going out of town to Gatlinburg, TN tomorrow through next Tuesday. So we are going to enjoy our shrimp and conchs for the until we get back.

I am not sure how to proceed other than monitoring the next fish very closely and writing down what i find.

Thanks for the pep talk :)
LOVE GATLINBURG!!!!! Many forgotten hours at Ol' Smoky Moonshine :cool:
 

Arabyps

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Welcome. It sounds to me like there was an underlying issue with the fish. I assume you purchased from an LFS? Did you quarantine the fish before putting them in the DT? Quarantining is a best practice when you don't know if the fish may be carrying some disease or other physical issue. In my case, I purchase from suppliers who perform 30+ day professional quantize protocols before releasing the livestock for sale. Best to you.
 
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dan17bias

dan17bias

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Welcome to R2R!!! Lots of helpful information here, it could be a possible velvet outbreak in your tank per why all the fish are dying. I would definitely QT your next fish and hopefully find the cause of the fish dying in your main tank!
Thanks my friend will definitely do so
 
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dan17bias

dan17bias

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Welcome to R2R! I'm sorry for your early loss. As a new reefer, I know it's very frustrating. And being patient is even tougher!! Maybe look at some additional tests (e.g., mag, calcium, PO4). Read more articles. Make a wish list. If you're thinking about corals, maybe look up corals for beginners (zoas are one of my personal favorites). It's not easy being new but everyone here has been super fantastic and patient with my rookie questions. I'm sure you're in the BEST place to be :)
Before i posted this i did pick up a refractometer and the red sea "Foundation Pro" kit from BRS. It came with test for KH, Mg and Ca. None of the fish looked sick at all, they had no visible signs of stress other than a really slow swim before i lost them.

I pray it's as east as my Mg or Ca levels being extremely off...
 
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dan17bias

dan17bias

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Welcome to R2R!!!! You will get a lot of good info here and lots of positive help.

One thing I feel might be an issue is it can be hard to fully cycle a reef tank. A lot of people recomend a few months before anything is added. I was also wondering what you used for your salt mix?

I recomend to always quarentein everything that goes in the tank.

Feel free to browse the forums here for all of the great questions and answers others have asked in the past.
Thanks for reaching out... I am using Instant Ocean sea salt.... Look i am willing to wait as long as possible but if my levels are all okay how do i know the tank is fully cycled?
 
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dan17bias

dan17bias

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Welcome. It sounds to me like there was an underlying issue with the fish. I assume you purchased from an LFS? Did you quarantine the fish before putting them in the DT? Quarantining is a best practice when you don't know if the fish may be carrying some disease or other physical issue. In my case, I purchase from suppliers who perform 30+ day professional quantize protocols before releasing the livestock for sale. Best to you.
Yepper i bought them from a local LFS. They are the only store close. Unfortunately i did not... I think i may have learned a valuable lesson this go around.
 

BeltedCoyote

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Welcome to R2R!! Please don’t feel like you can’t ask questions, that’s basically what R2R is here for!

sounds like your experience could stem from a few issues. For one, you may be adding too much bio load too fast for your system to handle. Just remember, just because a tank is cycled doesn’t mean the biological filtration is robust enough to handle a big change in bio load. Thats something that just takes time.

another issue could be the fish themselves. Did they eat? Did you notice any of the tell tale signs of illness? Where did you acquire them?

keep us updated so we can keep helping!
 

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Definitely make sure you are using Seachem Prime or some sort of good quality water conditioner / dechlorinator . I’m in California and they add chlorine and chloramine to our water supply, both of these kill RO/DI Carbon Block filters pretty quickly ... therefore I always treat the end result with Prime.
 
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