Urgent Help Please-saga Of The So Called Professional Continues

[Janice]

The saga of the beware of professionals continues. Our 6 line wrasse died today. We have 2 fish out of 5 left. No one who lives in reasonable proximity to Mississauga has come forward with real estate for our reminding 2 fish. Our pj cardinal is starting to not move around like he usually does and is looking not well. If we don't get help fast we will likely lose all of our fish-that are very special to us. PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN.

All of our parameters are fine now other than our alkalinity, which is high at 9.5. We don't want to lose our baby clown. Please help if you can. And what should we do about our alkalinity?

 

[AdInfinitum]

9.5 Dkh is just about perfect....up to 11 Dkh is fine for a reef.

 

[Janice]

OK, then why do my fish continue to die? I think we will lose the 2nd last tonight.

 

[SamB]

OK, then why do my fish continue to die? I think we will lose the 2nd last tonight.

They may have been stressed from the original cycle spike

 

[Janice]

I think so.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Still showing 0 for ammonia?
Perhaps put some fresh activated carbon online to remove any possible contaminants that could have been introduced.

 

[heath]

do you have a fish store close that could maybe take them until things sort out..

so very sad..

 

[Janice]

Yes, the ammonia is still 0. So put some Rowaphos in? The only local fish store is Big Als, and they are not very generous in this kind of way. I know from others.

 

[Nick James]

Yes, the ammonia is still 0. So put some Rowaphos in? The only local fish store is Big Als, and they are not very generous in this kind of way. I know from others.

No rowaphos, carbon aka charcoal

 

[Salty Cracker]

Stop effing with it.

Let the tank mature on its own. Stop "fixing" things. Stop putting things in, stop taking things out. Just stop. You might lose fish. Just inevitable at this point.


Let me be straight. Saltwater is tough, but it's also a patience game. If you want it fixed overnight it just won't happen. I'm sorry that you got bad advice but there's no "fix it now" solution for you.

The best advice I could give you is to buy a couple of unkillable fish like damsels. If you kill those then just give up the hobby, as those things will live in turpentine. Cardinalfish are notoriously hard to keep for the beginner.

If you don't have the patience and just want people to help you, you're not going to do well in this hobby. I'm not trying to be a dick, it's just a fact. Some of us have 20+ years at this and still struggle, but the seasoned know it's a huge "leave it alone and let it work itself out" game. There's just no other way.

 

[SamB]

Stop effing with it.

Let the tank mature on its own. Stop "fixing" things. Stop putting things in, stop taking things out. Just stop. You might lose fish. Just inevitable at this point.


Let me be straight. Saltwater is tough, but it's also a patience game. If you want it fixed overnight it just won't happen. I'm sorry that you got bad advice but there's no "fix it now" solution for you.

The best advice I could give you is to buy a couple of unkillable fish like damsels. If you kill those then just give up the hobby, as those things will live in turpentine. Cardinalfish are notoriously hard to keep for the beginner.

If you don't have the patience and just want people to help you, you're not going to do well in this hobby. I'm not trying to be a dick, it's just a fact. Some of us have 20+ years at this and still struggle, but the seasoned know it's a huge "leave it alone and let it work itself out" game. There's just no other way.

It may not be the advice that you wanted to hear but Salty had the b*lls to tell it like it is.
This hobby is supremely challenging and many times disheartening. Losses are part of the hobby (that's the reason I never give my fish names and just identify them as "yellow tang, blue damsel etc) and if you continue with SW, this won't be the last time that you face obstacles.
As much as it has been said over and over, TIME and consistency are the best (only) options

 

[heath]

I'm curious what made you contact a "professional" anyway, I know that you have had issues with your tank in past by some of your post.. it is a challenging hobby (just ask me or anyone) and the key to success is patience...

you have been given some great advise and trust me I know its hard when you loose fish but, I would consider taking it... let the tank work its self out...

 

[Janice]

I hired a professional because I decided it was best to remove the live rock to eliminate the algae problem that had been created by son son inadvertently mixing up am and pm and leaving the lights on for 3 months for 24 hours without my knowing. Every method of algae elimination/management was tried on a daily or weekly basis, as appropriate,for a period of 6 months, and the tank had become never ending work instead of enjoyable. I did not have the time, knowledge, or confidence to handle the change of rock on my own to sure that nothing would die and that I would not upset the tank biology, so I decided to have a professional help me.

The suggestions that we have been impatient are unfair. We have been patient and our tank has down very well (with the exception of the algae issue), until the professional screwed everything up. We are not looking for a quick fix as several of your posts suggest. We are just trying to do things right now that we have the situation that we have, and seeking advise. We have not added anything to the tank at all, so the harsh tone of some of the posts is unfortunate. We have never used charcoal, don't know how, don't know its purpose, have an AIO, so any further advise on this would be appreciated.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Light in itself doesn't cause algae. Nutrients and light cause algae. So you're putting in excess nutrients, not removing them, and that's why you have algae issues. Swapping out the rock really isn't the solution, as the "new" rock will just fill with phosphates and then become algae-covered as well.

But hey, what do I know. Best of luck.

 

[Skim]

As Salty Cracker said it is time for patients. You may want to add some Activated Carbon and also you could try adding some Seachem Prime at a higher dose, You said your Ammonia is 0 but how are Nitrites, if they are high the Prime should help detoxify it. The other thing you may try is adding some Bacterial supplement to help boost your Cycle. You could also add an airstone to the sump boost the O2 level, can't hurt.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Sorry but Glen is absolutely right...he has gone down the long hard road of resurrecting a tank that had gone down the wrong path and the result of taking the time to turn the tank (and his own husbandry practices) around instead of trying for a quick fix...tank reboot....tear it down and do it wrong again...is that he now has a stable virtually bullet proof mature system.

Regardless of equipment failures, errors (we all make them) et al, working through the issues will always have better end results than the tear it down and restart approach. Given time...everything that blooms will die back...anything that had been caused by an excessive light cycle would have been eliminated when the light cycle was corrected. And I agree that the lighting issue was not the cause of the algae problem....

 

[Albz]

Atm colony! Use that! Go big als buy it! Its bactaria im a bottle

 

[Jewel]

Gotta agree with Salty, nothing good in this hobby happens quickly. You will continue to suffer losses until your perameters stabilise. Stop trying the quick fix.

 

[Jewel]

This hobby is so damn hard. That's why it takes its toll on people. To be successful long term in this hobby is rare. I've been at it awhile with some success but every so often something confuses the hell out of me. Phosphates was definitely an eye opener for me. I never tested for it but now I know the devestation it can do to a tank. When I'm stumped I ask the guys on here for advice. Pistol is one of those guys who will help if he can. He's been a ton of help to me. Torx as well. Eric as well. Just ask. And sometimes you just have to start over.

 

[NEC]

If your fish are looking bad and on their way downhill then why not set up a qt tank and nurse them back to health while your DT stabilizes and matures. A simple 10g tank with HOB filter and a powerhead and heater is all you need.



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