Tank destroyed in 1 week

[anthonys51]

It's not so much the 4 fish. You probably overfeed. The bacteria in your tank couldn't keep up. I wouldn't keep 4 damsel in a 10 gallon tank. Probably wouldn't keep any. They can be very territorial. They will ever go after your hand when you put it into the tank. When you do add fish don't feed to much. Shrimps abd inverts are better for such s smell tank. Msybe 1 goby too. Just don't feed. You can buy water at lfs. Just make sure they don't charge you more than 1 dollar a gallon for fresh water. You can buy distilled water at supermarket for .69 cents a gallon

 

[Luis Figueroa]

I have the same unit. I was thinking today. How often did you change the the filters out?

Before I had the di resin I changed it yearly but I didn't have acros in my tank then. Now once the resin is exhausted I see 1 - 2 tds on the meter and that's when I change that cartridge. I change the filters every 6 -8 months now. As long as it's not over 3 on the meter you should be fine.

 

[ironman20725]

I gotta get a meter

 

[Luis Figueroa]

I gotta get a meter

Oh yeah. I wouldn't go without one. I have the one channel on the output but some people have the dual channel for input and output readings. Bulk reef Supply has a good one.

 

[paintballer1]

This morning the ammonia was at .25 ppm so it go better with a 40-50% water change

 

[macnets]

what about nitrites

 

[paintballer1]

Zero

 

[ahiggins]

Nothing gave me false readings I was using API but I never waited the 5 minutes to let it set I just always thought it was a correct reading instantly

LOL im sorry but this is such a silly point.
chemistry (the test) is set to work a certain way, it needs time to react with the molecules suspended in water.
But Im glad you figured out what it was....I knew it had to be ammonia-it sounded just like when I had a spike in the 40.

 

[lock562]

Your tank is too small for that many fish, lack of RODI recipe for death

 

[paintballer1]

Update the final fish a blenny has passed going to change water 100% this weekend

 

[buckroe07]

sorry for your losses. At least you will have a clean start and are armed with more knowledge. Take it a little slower and research more on the type of fish or inverts you would like that would be happy and thrive in a smaller tank. Keep us updated on what you plan next. It's exciting!

 

[ebushrow]

You don't need to do any water changes at this point. Just test the water and let the bacteria build up....as ammonia goes down nitrites go up, then nitrites convert to nitrates. In a fish only I would highly doubt a nitrate reading of 0 especially with tap water.

 

[Luis Figueroa]

Maybe you should start of with a bigger size tank(biggest you can go) because they are a little bit more forgiving with swings. Cycling of the tank is always going to happen no matter what size. If you could get enough live rock I'd say 1lb per gallon that would help out the process especially if it's live rock from a good source.

 

[paintballer1]

So I could the water that's in there now

 

[paintballer1]

I'm sorry I meant to say: so I can just leave the water that's in there now?

 

[paintballer1]

Ok I bought a new test kit and I'm getting ammonia .25 ppm, nitrite .25ppm, and nitrates was 10 ppm

 

[Luis Figueroa]

Yeah... no need to change water right now it'll cause the cycle to last longer.

 

[Areseebee]

Did the tank ever actually undergo a cycle where you saw it progress through ammonia to nitrite to nitrate?

 

[paintballer1]

I thought it did yes but my test kit was all kinds of messed up so I switched from API to the Red Sea one which was highly recommended to me

 

[sghera64]

Depending on the college you are attending, they might have a chemistry lab that has an RO/DI unit in it as many analytical methods require pure water. It might be worth it to ask if you could "bum" a 5 gallon jug of water off of them every other week.