new to the hobby

[libra2178]

I set up my tank one year ago and I've been losing fish almost every two months it seems.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I set up my tank one year ago and I've been losing fish almost every two months it seems.

I am SO sorry for your losses.

Please give any specific tank water parameters or any details about your water change habits, water making (RODI or tap when mixing salt) or other maintenance.

This post takes us back to the basics:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. 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 no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[libra2178]

I don't have a RODI what is that and what's it used for? I mix my salt manually and use tap water but I put Prime
(concentrated Conditioner) to remove the chlorine and chloramine. My PH level is 8.0, Ammonia is 0.25ppm ( used a detoxifier for the Ammonia I never had my ammonia levels drop to 0? I don't know how to? Nitrite is 0ppm, Nitrate looks like it's 10ppm. My salinity is around 1.024 and 1.025.

 

[libra2178]

I set up my tank one year ago and I've been losing fish almost every two months it seems.

I don't have a RODI what is that and what's it used for? I mix my salt manually and use tap water but I put Prime
(concentrated Conditioner) to remove the chlorine and chloramine. My PH level is 8.0, Ammonia is 0.25ppm ( used a detoxifier for the Ammonia I never had my ammonia levels drop to 0? I don't know how to? Nitrite is 0ppm, Nitrate looks like it's 10ppm. My salinity is around 1.024 and 1.025.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I don't have a RODI what is that and what's it used for? I mix my salt manually and use tap water but I put Prime
(concentrated Conditioner) to remove the chlorine and chloramine. My PH level is 8.0, Ammonia is 0.25ppm ( used a detoxifier for the Ammonia I never had my ammonia levels drop to 0? I don't know how to? Nitrite is 0ppm, Nitrate looks like it's 10ppm. My salinity is around 1.024 and 1.025.

I'm really sorry for your losses. Its very strange that every two months you have fish dying, and based on above everything seems in range. Tap is suspect. Think Flint MI and lead... lead would be an example of something not being tested for

As you likely have found using search, RODI is Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water. I've never used Prime, but have heard it mentioned.

Strange that your ammonia level never drops, but suspect it is your tap. Also wondering if your tap is introducing other nasties that Prime isn't able to neutralize.

Perhaps you might consider getting a much more comprehensive analysis of your water. When I did mail order water test to verify my tank, below is one of the links that helped me decide which company to use... but then the company I chose seemed to have a different website than when the evaluation info was pulled together. I used (refer to my build thread for more info and example report). Perhaps reach out to your local water authority who supplies your water and get a copy of their report - they are required to provide info on water supplied though they don't do it down to household level and no way to know if delivery pipes have something going on.

Mail-In and ICP Aquarium Water Testing: Which Service is Right for You?

We sent identical water samples to ATI Lab, Aqua Medic AWT (Aquarium Water Testing), Triton Lab, and ICP-Analysis (CoralVue) and compare the test results.

www.marinedepot.com

 

[Azedenkae]

Strange that your ammonia level never drops, but suspect it is your tap. Also wondering if your tap is introducing other nasties that Prime isn't able to neutralize.

@Fish Think Pink @libra2178 Just an fyi for y'alls, it is quite common to read 0.25ppm ammonia even in established tanks, especially with the API ammonia test kit. Could be false positives for whatever reason, could be due to a basal amount of ammonia constantly produced from biological processes that is yet to be oxidized by nitrifiers, could be other compounds read as ammonia, or a combination of factors. But yeah, quite normal, so thought I'd let you guys know.

 

[libra2178]

I'm really sorry for your losses. Its very strange that every two months you have fish dying, and based on above everything seems in range. Tap is suspect. Think Flint MI and lead... lead would be an example of something not being tested for

As you likely have found using search, RODI is Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water. I've never used Prime, but have heard it mentioned.

Strange that your ammonia level never drops, but suspect it is your tap. Also wondering if your tap is introducing other nasties that Prime isn't able to neutralize.

Perhaps you might consider getting a much more comprehensive analysis of your water. When I did mail order water test to verify my tank, below is one of the links that helped me decide which company to use... but then the company I chose seemed to have a different website than when the evaluation info was pulled together. I used (refer to my build thread for more info and example report). Perhaps reach out to your local water authority who supplies your water and get a copy of their report - they are required to provide info on water supplied though they don't do it down to household level and no way to know if delivery pipes have something going on.

Mail-In and ICP Aquarium Water Testing: Which Service is Right for You?

We sent identical water samples to ATI Lab, Aqua Medic AWT (Aquarium Water Testing), Triton Lab, and ICP-Analysis (CoralVue) and compare the test results.

www.marinedepot.com

thank you i was also wondering would you recommend I need a skimmer?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

thank you i was also wondering would you recommend I need a skimmer?

I am a skimmer person, but not everyone is skimmer person. do you NEED one, no. But I don't know why you are losing fish every two months. If I had to chose between ICP mail order test and skimmer, I'd go with the ICP mail order test... need to figure out what is happening Also today is a holiday for most, but call your water board tomorrow and see about getting a report since you use tap.

 

[libra2178]

I am a skimmer person, but not everyone is skimmer person. do you NEED one, no. But I don't know why you are losing fish every two months. If I had to chose between ICP mail order test and skimmer, I'd go with the ICP mail order test... need to figure out what is happening Also today is a holiday for most, but call your water board tomorrow and see about getting a report since you use tap.

ok im going to look into buying a ICP test. I also wan to post a picture maybe you'll notice anything I wouldn't. I currently have three triggers which are currently about 3 inches each in a 75 gallon. dry rock that has algae I think. uh I had snails but I only put them to clean the tank before my Blue Line trigger eats them. I have three chocolate chip str fish and one red star fish, also a Astraea turbo snail. they currently have cloud eyes. im not sure.

 

[libra2178]

I am a skimmer person, but not everyone is skimmer person. do you NEED one, no. But I don't know why you are losing fish every two months. If I had to chose between ICP mail order test and skimmer, I'd go with the ICP mail order test... need to figure out what is happening Also today is a holiday for most, but call your water board tomorrow and see about getting a report since you use tap

 

[Azedenkae]

ok im going to look into buying a ICP test. I also wan to post a picture maybe you'll notice anything I wouldn't. I currently have three triggers which are currently about 3 inches each in a 75 gallon. dry rock that has algae I think. uh I had snails but I only put them to clean the tank before my Blue Line trigger eats them. I have three chocolate chip str fish and one red star fish, also a Astraea turbo snail. they currently have cloud eyes. im not sure.

Hm... I kinda wonder.
1. How long did your longest-lasting fish last? Did every fish die every two months, or did some survive for longer?
2. How are the other live stock, how long do they last?

 

[libra2178]

my longest was a snowflake eel and blue niger trigger each has last 9 months but is now dead. after that, I waited and I bought a bi-color angelfish it died and koran angelfish it also had died. this is my most recent. but about 6 months when I first started to put fish in I had lionfish two them which also died. 9 fish have died in a never all in the same always weeks apart. I've also only had my introvert in my tank for a Little while my starfish and one snail are the only ones that never died. current in my tank I have three triggerfish with cloud eyes and I am treating them for it. but I'm scared they might die as well. thank you guys so much for responding back. @Azedenkae

 

[Azedenkae]

my longest was a snowflake eel and blue niger trigger each has last 9 months but is now dead. after that, I waited and I bought a bi-color angelfish it died and koran angelfish it also had died. this is my most recent. but about 6 months when I first started to put fish in I had lionfish two them which also died. 9 fish have died in a never all in the same always weeks apart. I've also only had my introvert in my tank for a Little while my starfish and one snail are the only ones that never died. current in my tank I have three triggerfish with cloud eyes and I am treating them for it. but I'm scared they might die as well. thank you guys so much for responding back. @Azedenkae

No problem. If you had fish for nine months, then I feel doubtful that it has something to do with your water parameters directly. That's a very long time for fish to live if parameters are off enough.

Given that you also had starfish that lived all that time... that too is interesting.

I wonder if you eventually introduced disease with some sort of new purchase eventually that caused the first deaths, and the disease just remained in your tank and kept on killing additional fish off. That really sounds like the only possibility.