what is wrong with my nano tank

[rich nyc]

My alk is 3
salinity 1.023
ph 7.5
ammonia 0

I have had a nano tank for about a year. A few months ago my dart fish mysteriously died . Since then every fish i add dies within a day or two. My clown fish pair, clown goby and sailfin blenny have been fine for a year. No spots or anything. Thanks, Rich

 

[Maritimer]

It's very possible that you have ich or even velvet in the tank, but your resident fish have built up an immunity to it. Fish can develop an immunity to these parasites that lasts about six months, and limits the parasite's ability to feed from that fish, while leaving new arrivals vulnerable.

Have you noticed any behavioral symptoms among the fish that died? Rapid breathing, hiding from light, swimming into the flow of powerheads, etc? Were any of your fish (new or existing) given any preventative treatments or a QT regimen?

~Bruce

 

[Crabs McJones]

All of your levels are low. Your alk should be 8, and your ph should be 8 to 8.3, what is your nitrate levels? What acclamation are you doing? Do you qt before adding the fish? When you say nano tank what gallon are we talking about? Need more information

 

[Segalplayer]

Yea I run my alk at 8.5. I use Red Sea reef foundation part B for alk. Mine was at 6.2 and had to raise it to 8.5. Did half a dKH every day measuring with the Hanna checker.

 

[rich nyc]

I have not been able to get the pH up .
I have an innovative marine 20 penninsula.
I have a quarantine tank now that my main tank has 3 weeks of fallow left. I was thinking of maybe qt the fish have now once I get the others back into my main tank and I guess I would just put my fish in my sump until the fallow is over so I could start quarantining some new fish.
My fish behave normally imo. Clowns live in my bta. clown gobie hides in birdsnest and my blenny is a weird looking dude but eats like a pig. I did lose a cleaner shrimp though my peppermints are fine as are my inverts. I just order ghost skimmer and am in the process of making a hang on the back chaeto reactor.

 

[Segalplayer]

Still would raise alk tho

 

[Maritimer]

I suspect that if you can bring that alk up, your pH will follow.

Do it gradually, though.

~Bruce

 

[4FordFamily]

Sounds like velvet to me.

 

[Humblefish]

I suspect that if you can bring that alk up, your pH will follow.

Do it gradually, though.

+1 You need to stabilize both your alk & pH to be in line with Table 1 here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

I don't know if a pH of 7.5 is low enough to kill fish/corals/inverts, but it's not helping anything.

 

[rich nyc]

thanks. what is the best way to raise alk

 

[Maritimer]

You can use sodium bicarbonate. Mix it with RO/DI, and add it slowly into a high-flow area. Probably don't want to raise the levels by more than 1-1.5 DkH per day.

~Bruce

 

[steelwrap]

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
Use plain old baking SODA don't raise it more than 1dkh a day. Use calculator to get dose amount

 

[Humblefish]

You can use sodium bicarbonate. Mix it with RO/DI, and add it slowly into a high-flow area. Probably don't want to raise the levels by more than 1-1.5 DkH per day.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
Use plain old baking SODA don't raise it more than 1dkh a day. Use calculator to get dose amount

+1 Although Sodium Carbonate will raise both alk & pH. Sodium Carbonate is just "baked" baking soda: Spread baking soda onto a clean baking sheet, and bake at 300F for 1 hour. This process drives off water and carbon dioxide from the baking soda, and the result is an effective dual buffer. Switch back to using just "regular" baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) once desired pH has been reached (so you don't continue to drive the pH up).