EMERGENCY

[Kelsey Fletcher]

all of my fish are dropping like flies because they dont have enough oxygen in my tank due to over load in bio what do i do?!?!?!?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Water changes would be the best course of action and I would add an air pump to the tank. Do you have a protein skimmer on the tank?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Water changes would be the best course of action and I would add an air pump to the tank. Do you have a protein skimmer on the tank?

+1 for this, air pump to put o2 back in the water, and water changes to take out the over bioloaded water and replace with fresh saltwater.

 

[redfishbluefish]

As mentioned, an air pump with an aerator. I'd also check for ammonia because of your relatively new tank and all those fish. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish.

 

[Jeepguy242]

I was thinking ammonia also

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Read through your previous thread, gonna have to say that water changes and some major adjustments in terms of gas exchange are needed now. Most reef tanks get adequate gas exchange through an open top or having a screen covering the top of the tank. A skimmer will also help oxygenate the water and provide nutrient export, so I would try to get one of those fairly soon.

 

[GoVols]

As mentioned, an air pump with an aerator. I'd also check for ammonia because of your relatively new tank and all those fish. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish.

+1

 

[Jr'sReef]

Face all pumps towards the surface and let your return pump run at full power to move as much water as possible. I’d also run Chemi-pure to try and remove as much as the toxic compounds released by the dead and dying fish and bacteria.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

I did a water test yesterday and the ammonia was at 0.0. I just did a water change but another one of my fish are on their way out

 

[Crabs McJones]

I did a water test yesterday and the ammonia was at 0.0. I just did a water change but another one of my fish are on their way out

what test kit are you using?

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

API marine test kit for both reef aquariums and just salt aquariums

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

So how long do I wait now before i know its safe for the powerheads to go back down and back to normal?!?! And is there anything I should get to prevent this from happening?!?!?!

 

[erky]

whats your salinity

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I did a water test yesterday and the ammonia was at 0.0. I just did a water change but another one of my fish are on their way out

How much water are you changing?

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

salinity is 1.026 and I did about a 10% water change. Should i do more? And is there anything else i can do?!?!

 

[erky]

if you can do more than 10% that will help, but the damage might already be done.

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

You can get an air pump in there.
You can rehome some of the fish, especially that tang.
You can remove your glass lid.
You can get an addition powerhead to increase flow and gas exchange.
You can install a protein skimmer.


What kind of filtration are you running on the tank?

 

[GoVols]

I did a water test yesterday and the ammonia was at 0.0. I just did a water change but another one of my fish are on their way out

Did you test for nitrites?

 

[GoVols]

On another note:
If your ph is low and you bring it up by oxygenation. Then, if you do have ammonia, it could become toxic at a higher ph.

I'd go with bigger water changes while oxygenating the tank, but a lot of the fish bio-load, is going to have to go.
JMO...

 

[Jr'sReef]

To remove some fish to decrease bioload and oxygen demand, is good advice, however it may cause and elevate stress on everyone in the tank far more than they already are. It’s a double edged sword at this point. You can physically see your inhabitants so make that choice according to how you see things.
In the past, I have ran a poly filter when things out of the norm begin and I can’t figure or pin point the problem. It seemed to work every time. It is very efficient at removing harmful stuff in the water, heavy metals, copper, someone sticking their hands in with some unknown chemical or what not on their hands etc ... not that this is your problem but if you don’t know what’s going on it can clear up water issues pretty effectively