Is my tank a death trap?

Dinkin's Aquatic Gardens
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MarcW said:
Sounds like I have to to get a qt tank set up. Heck I've already put upwards of $600 in this tank and fish. I guess if I want living fish, spend some $ on a qt tank. Thanks!
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It doesn’t need to be fancy. I use my original 14 gallon biocube from when I originally started back in 2010. If I didn’t have it then a $10 10 gallon from petco, cheap Wal-Mart pre set heater, HOB filter, and pvc fittings gets what you need.
 
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MarcW said:
Hi. So, we set up a 40 gallon fowlr tank. Let it stew with the rock and live sand and a couple of snails for a few weeks. Had an algae bloom, and the little white copepods, so thought all was well. Put a few fish in. They all got white spots and died a few days in. Waited another week or 10 days. Put a few fish in. White spots and death. I assume ich, so I leave the tank empty and running for six weeks, which I read would get rid of all the ich. Put a couple of fish in and they seemed great. Week goes by, so I put a couple more in. Everybody was all good for about three weeks, and now they are all dying off in the order I introduced them. I've had a freshwater tank for 7-8 years, so I'm not a complete novice, but this is our first attempt at salt. Throughout all this, test strips have been perfect, including amonia, salinity has been perfect. Using ro water for top off. Do I just have to get rid of everything and start over? Do I have a tank of death? Any input or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm almost ready to give up and make it fresh water, but I really love the saltwater fish...
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If you had ich which you appears to have, 6 weeks Fallow isn't enough. (76 days is what you should do)

Read this:
www.reef2reef.com

Fallow periods: Going Fishless

Please see this updated information on fallow periods: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/45-day-fallow-periods.805213/ Jay Hemdal 7/13/2023 The reason to go fallow (fishless) is to eliminate a fish disease from your DT (display tank). Going fallow works because you are denying the disease a...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com

I once had a tank wipeout (all fish) and I did 3 months no fish, and haven't had a problem since.
Yout tank/rocks will also age during that time, so it's not a waste of time. (Maybe boring wait...worst case)
I did do vinegar dosing during that time, to increase bacteria. I ramped up, and then when Fallow period was done I ramped down. Since that Vinegar treament, I also eliminated all the nasty brown algae and cyno problems I had before.
 
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Are you testing your water parameters? You haven't posted any numbers from tests, which would be really helpful for us to help you, ya know? ;)

Others here are discounting ammonia, etc...I'm not so sure. What test kits does your LFS use? API? Could be meaningless depending on a few factors...I personally used 4x the amount of Fritz TurboStart in my old Biocube14 and it still took 8 WEEKS to fully cycle, I monitored parameters 2x daily using Salifert test kits. A "few" weeks and then adding fish doesn't seem right to me.

Have you used a voltage meter to test for stray voltage? Happened to me before, had no idea why everything was dying and then the voltage meter showed me that my NEWEST pump was introducing an electrical current into the tank.

Salinity, temp, etc, how are those things managed? Do you use an ATO? How often are you checking temperature? How often are you testing?

Personally...I'd wait at least 8 weeks of the tank being set up before adding ANY fish. I think a CUC earlier than that is usually not an issue, though you may suffer some casualties.

Use this time to perfect your water parameters. All of them, even the ones that don't matter to fish. You'll get better and faster at doing the tests and gain an understanding of the tank...

"As they say", we aren't keeping reefs here, we are keeping WATER. The reef comes after.
 
Ecoscape Reef Rock
Welcome to the greatest forum on the internet! Seriously though, things will get better. Stick with it! When things go right it is very rewarding and when it goes wrong you’re just one step closer to getting it right! Reef on!
 
Instead of waiting 76 days(I like 3 months better) you could tear the tank down, washing everything down in some bleach water(gravel,rocks tank) and rinse with clean water really good, then start over. It would take less time to start cycle over than waiting 76 days and you could get a QT up and running too. At least this way you would have fish sooner.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Welcome to R2R
This read might also help you.
www.reef2reef.com

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
 
BRS
MarcW said:
Hi. So, we set up a 40 gallon fowlr tank. Let it stew with the rock and live sand and a couple of snails for a few weeks. Had an algae bloom, and the little white copepods, so thought all was well. Put a few fish in. They all got white spots and died a few days in. Waited another week or 10 days. Put a few fish in. White spots and death. I assume ich, so I leave the tank empty and running for six weeks, which I read would get rid of all the ich. Put a couple of fish in and they seemed great. Week goes by, so I put a couple more in. Everybody was all good for about three weeks, and now they are all dying off in the order I introduced them. I've had a freshwater tank for 7-8 years, so I'm not a complete novice, but this is our first attempt at salt. Throughout all this, test strips have been perfect, including amonia, salinity has been perfect. Using ro water for top off. Do I just have to get rid of everything and start over? Do I have a tank of death? Any input or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm almost ready to give up and make it fresh water, but I really love the saltwater fish...
Click to expand...
I appreciate all the great advice. So I have one damsel that's not dead yet but I know his days are numbered. Everybody else has gone to the great toilet bowl in the sky. I will set up a qt tank and hopefully 76 days after the damsel goes, we'll be all good. One more question-if we see white spots on a fish in the qt, do I treat with copper? If I treat with copper in qt then put in dt when all looks well, will the fish carry copper into the dt and kill all my inverts? Thanks in advance
 
This is a good read to start with...

www.reef2reef.com

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
 
Tidal Gardens
Look, we all have death traps. Even with QT. The best we can do is try to avoid it, but it Does happen. You will have losses. You will have absolute failures. You will also fall in love with your tank and sometimes get it totally right! Here is the best place to learn how to make that happen!
 
Dinkin's Aquatic Gardens

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

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  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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