Serious Problem with the Tank

[Atif]

In My salt water the Aquarium amonia is 1mg/l please suggest is their any immediate remidy to deal with. Waiting for your reply

[EWC88]

Wish I could help ya on this one but I'm still a little bit new.
Figured I would reply to keep this thread at the top so someone who knows could answer you right away.

-Erich

[Utahcoralfarmer]

Please tell me about your system. How long has it been setup? what size tank, what type of filtration, how much live stock do you currently have, how much live and sand?
The first thing I would do would be a large w ater change however your tank is going to have to develope the natural benificial bacteria to deal with this problem.
Is this something that just happend? Did you just add some new rock, sand or livestock? Did you just have some stuff recently die?

[masonicman]

How old is your tank?

[griss]

Yes, a few more details about the tank set up would be very helpful in helping you.

[Atif]

My Aquarium consist of one very very small anemone, one butteryfly fish 4inch, one tang 3inch, 2 dominos, 2 demsils, 4 nemos fishes I put all this stuff on Sunday of this 11 nov, 2007. but today 13 nov i founf 2 small dominos and one demsil is missing and a days before the colour of the domino is become fade i think that they might be died but i dont found their bodies till now i am affraid for my other fishes but they seems to be fine but my butter fly is little damge a little upper from the mouth i think today but they are taking their feed in a proper manner. Please guide me what will i do in this sistuation and my water salinity is 10.22 i dont have the amonia and nitrate meter please guide if i have how it should be and i any one have the price idea for these item. I have bucket filter which i make on yesterday after putting the filiter media in it.

for the butter fly fish i think its raccoon anyway i will later also paste the picture over here for idea. And please also let me know if i found the anemone should i put it into the seprate aquraium or leave it in the same aqurium. waiting for you pleople reply. And yes i i have dead rock is about 7 pcs and their weight is almost about 20 - 25 KG and one live rock is 1.7 KG. As i heard that if you put one live rock in the system it turns the dead rock also in the live rock please advise me that should i increase the live rock or not. Sorry i dont have the clean-up crew in tank (snails, hermit crabs) please advise me what kind of clean up crew i should put in the tank and when.

Todays update:
Today i lost another nemo so in total i lost 2 nemos and i also tried to access the we site but i am failed and i tried it about 4 hours but it might be happen due to some server problem so it makes me little panic and i visit the Central reef web site here due to some readings i got little information and daady suggest on the forum that i have to change the water immediately to avoid the further any loss so i made the change in 20% of water to decrease the ammonia i just complete the job and then i again try to open the web site and now i am sucessfull anyway now fishes seems to me little relax.
For anemone i also think that butterfly may have dined it and i try to find it but unable to get it or its dead body its very small in size.
Live Rock: okay i will increase the live rock but i think if i increase it at this stage i might be make more disturbance in the biological balance. so i think first the things will be settle down and then we will think about to add any other items in this.

"" I have one canister filter
Are you doing maintenance on this weekly? I'm guessing maybe not?""

Please explain this sentence that how i have to maintain it and after how long period i choud change the media in this canister filter.

Well even before the water change the water is not smelling at all. It seems fine and no problem.

More Information about the Aquarium:
I have 4inch bed of dead commanly avilable sea sand. I am using coral life salt which comes in the bucket. I have one canaster filter, one live rock (1.7KG),7 Dead rocks (20KG), one undergravel filter (made Up Of PVC pipes and put the airstone in it and it have 2 outlits ), One good power head, one 4feet long mairne tube light, one airpump with 2 nosels, air pump is running 6 airstones at the different place of aquarium.


Finding Test Kits:
After wasting the whole day finally i get the ammoina test kit and and PH strips well for nitrogen and nitrates they are not avilable in any LSF shop in my city some one promise me that he will give it to me after one week so i am waiting that he might full fill its promise but this stuff is pretty expensive in my country i bought only one test kit for 100 us $.

Results :
Ph 6 ~ 7
Salinity 10.22
Ammoina is 1mg/L

Anyway thanks for all of you people for such care and attention to keep my hobby alive.
__________________
Freshwater:
Fishes: 2 giant gouramis, 9 inch size of each round aquarium 36 inch hight, 30inch width.
Marine Aquarium:
Size: 60 inch length, 24 inch height, 12 inch width Approx 75 Gal
Fishes: 1 tang, 1 butter fly Raccon, 2 clown, 1 Stripe demsil

Well i already change the water and do it agian after 2 to 3 days whatdo you think about the Ph becuase i read that the ideal PH is 8.3 and mine is nearer to 5 ~6 anyway tomorow i will also try to get the digital meter to check it so please give me little information about it. And for Qt i have to buy it please let me know if its necessary then i will buy it tomorow as well. Or keeping the water change in the same aquarium is solve my problem

[sanababit]

no comments

[Billybeau1]

Atif,
[welcome]

You gotta slow down. This is a hobby that needs a little experience if you want to keep marine fish alive. You have to start slow and get comfortable with your tanks water parameters and feeding and such.

You have many issues to deal with before you can feel comfortable adding fish.

For starters, if your s.g. is 1.022 (not 10.22) it needs to be raised. 1.025 to 1.027 is a good place to be. You'll need to add more salt. And this is assuming your method of measuring specific gravity is ok.

Biological filtration is very important. Your tank needs to have the ability to break down ammonia which the fish make every day. Ammonia is extremely toxic it salt water fish.

Read as much as you can. You have a lot to learn.

If your tanks pH was 5 to 6, your fish would all probably be dead, so you have testing issues as well.

[Atif]

Would you like to tell me how i raised my Ph please let me know about this.

[uscharalph]

This is a new tank?

[pablodub01]

Ok... I'm no expert but

The tank was put together on Sunday 11 nov... and you put live stock without cycling the tank?

Also you have 25kg of rock and only 1.7Kg of Live rock? theres virtually no biological filtration in the tank)

Also theres no skimmer and you are running 6 airstones for aeriation?

etc, etc, etc.......................

This looks like a recipe for disaster.. not impressed that the fish are disappering quickly...

I recommend you to start researching from the beginning... the most important part of putting a Marine tank together is preparation... you need to know the basics of the hobby, then research on the needs of the creatures you'll keep on your tank to create a peaceful balanced environment, then study how to deploy your project so nobody gets hurt in the process...

Pablo

[cartouche]

Totally agree...

In all honesty your going too fast and with some of the questions your asking you have nowhere near enough knowledge.... The livestock should not suffer because of your in-experience.

There are far too many issues to deal with.!

Take the livestock carefully back to where it came from.... and do some reasearch, your hearts in the right place but you will kill everything with your current strategy and equipment.

Write out a plan of how you want to set a new tank up, there are specific cycling (maturing the tank & generating the correct bacteria) proceedures to follow. I think your to far down the line for any advise from here to be of use, so I say again save the livestock and start again....... SLOWLY..... have a plan..

Maybe start a thread here and we can guide you through....

You need to know firstly what sort of system you want... Reef or fish only?

You need to calculate the volume of water, this along with which style you wish should determine you substrate (sand, cushed coral etc) and the amount of live rock needed. (for live rock to seed dead rock is a fairly lengthy period... this will not happen over night...probably a year + is more realistic)

Also you need the correct heater/s lights, water flow, UV steralizer and whether you need extra filtration in the form of a sump or external cannisters etc.... This has to be known and purchased before you start ideally .... Then go get some test kits

Assuming you do have the basics? Thermometer, Hydrometer etc.

When the substrate and rock are in along with the correct salanity of water then you have to WAIT 6-12 weeks for the whole system to cycle....do not add any livestock (with the exception of a clean up crew after a few weeks) ... not even damsells, you WILL kill them.

When all the test kits read the correct readings after cycling - and you've had your algae blooms, then you can add fish, SLOWLY!

Maybe one fish every two-four weeks, if you add to much at once you will overload the biological system and there's no way that benificial bacteria will ever cope, so the fish's waste will literaly poison the water. Also there are stocking limitations to consider.

There are many other things to think about but the above is just about the basics. I would definately try and save what you have by taken them back.. then take stock, and start again. Find someone local who can help and advise. I don't mean to be patronising in anyway as you seem really enthusiastic, but you have do this the 'correct' way or it will/has ended in disaster.

PLEASE, START AGAIN... SLOWLY

Keep us posted....

[jefnalyssa]

I agree with cartouche.


Maybe your lfs will give you credit if the fish live once you return them.
If you have questions post a thread with them. The people here are great about helping everyone out know matter what experience level you have.
Try buying stuff online if your lfs is so expensive. Check out all the sponsors here.
Good luck

[dbuesking]

Great advice cartouche. It is easy to see the beauty of a reef tank but can not happen over night. I spent 2 mo. researching before I started putting my tank together. I still learn something new every day about the hobby.
Atif , you need to start slow and get the proper tools to enjoy this wonderful hobby. You can learn a lot from RC. I can't tell you how many questions they have answered.

[masonicman]

Yes, Please slow down and take alot of this advice and you will reap the benefits.

[cartouche]

I think we have all learnt something by our mistakes, i'm certainly no marine guru ... I look at some of the 'tank of the months' and its mindblowing what some of the guys knowledge and equipment is...

Atif... you can get by on the basics and have a very fulfilling hobby, there is no need to spend a fortune, but everything has to be compatible... the whole set up is only as good as its weakest component.

If you have

tank
stand
water
heater
salt
lighting
filtration
UV steralizer
substrate
rock (preferably with a certain amount of live rock...the more LR the better the filtration)
power heads for circulation...
test kits...

Then your on your way to a good basic set up.... ideally set it all up with that equipment, leave it to cycle while you learn and look into an RO unit and stock etc etc... also how and when to do water changes...stocking levels that suit your setup...



Good luck... don't get dispondant!

[jackfrost]

Think of what you are doing as an expensive cycling.....

Water changes should be made daily, and keep taking measurements !

[Zestay]

take all your lifestock back to the fish store.
keep all your rock and sand in the tank.
throw away your canister filter. get a skimmer turn it on 24/7
check your tanks levels again next week
also shame on you fish store for selling you all of that stuff for a new tank. they are trying to make money and they did. they also killed a lot of livestock and some creatures that could have been some of the coolest things in the world but now youll get a new set that just arent the same. ... anyways. someone link this guy travis stevens thread...

[Atif]

Thanks Guys for such care and really today i asked my lfs totake back the fishes and take the live rock but he refused to do so he said that his policy is not to take back and he is only marine lfs in my city anyway now i have to deal with this either its expensive So guy's please hel me in this matter that how i deal with it and please help me to save them. so please advise me how much i make the water change and here i need to mention one thing either i dont explain in a proper manner or either you people dont understand that my aquarium is filled with water 6 months before and after that it having only one anemone and on 11th nov i put all these fishes and live rock so guys this is the actuall sistuation and please inform me now how i deal with it.
thanks once again

[jefnalyssa]

What water are you using to fill yout tank? Is it tap water?

[Zestay]

ok well now where getting somewhere.
so you had a tank set up for 6 months with a tiny tiny bio load.

than you added a bunch of fish and rock and over loaded you systems normal small amount of life it suppourts.

when you added those rocks you added BILLIONS of bacteria to your system. and caused a cycle.
my reccomendations to you are as follows now that we know whats kinda going on

one keep the rocks in your tank
take the live stock back the the fish store. if he wont take them. ask another customer in there if they can hold onto them for a few weeks.
wait untill all your test kits read
this will prolly take a few weeks.

0 ammonia
0 nitrate
and 0 - 10 nitrite
do a 10 - 25% water change

than slowly ( 1 fish a week ) add the fish back to your system.

[Atif]

Zestay i have told you that before this he is not taking back and even not interested in holding it now the stuff remains with me

[Chibils]

If you can't find anybody to take them (not even a customer in the store), then leave everything as it is. Do not add anything to the system. If a fish dies, remove it as quickly as possible. Hopefully someone else can help more.

[Atif]

Well if you people want to see some of my aquarium images you can go to the web site http:\\www.aquriacentral.com on fourm and below is the detail

Aquaria Central > Marine Topics > General Marine
Serious Problem


i have posted the images over their please comment on it if possible and guide me

[Atif]

I have add the some salt to increase the salinty 10.024 and relocate the power head to produce the good flow and increase the airraton in the aquarium after adding one more air pump of two nosel i think it will also help to increase the Ph any way today i think their is no mortaily and the sistuation seems to be undercontrol and i will also check tomorow the ammonia test