Help!!! All the fish are dying!!!

[rtcbubbles]

Help!!! All the damsels are dead!!!

Here's all the info I can give ya!!!

The tank was set up on December 8, 2010. It is a 240 gallon tank with a 55 gallon sump and a fluval fx5 running on it. Before I set it up as a salt water tank it was a freshwater tank set up for over a year. I changed 95% of the water when it was first set up, added 200 lbs of sand and 200 lbs of rock. I added a skimmer (ASM), two powerheads (Koralia) and a nano powerhead in the sump... I let the tank run, taking readings. the tank went through an ammonia spike and the subsequent cycle took place. The water is currently reading 0 on ammonia and nitrates and 10ppm on nitrites. tank is ~76 degrees with a salinity of 1.023. It is going to be a FOWLR set up. PH is 8.2.

I must admit I did NOT put on a uv sterilizer ,and I did not take the Alkalinity. reading

I added 3 damsels they were dead in a day
3 days later I added 4 damsels they were dead in a day
3 days after I added 3 more damsel with the same result
I then added a damsel from my reef that was alive for a year and it died in two days.

All the fish were bought from different LFS and were dripped to acclimate.

any ideas other than the obvious ie parasites in water/ alkilinity hogh/low as I am working on those solutions..

Thanks

EDIT:

I am well versed in Marine tank having a reef for three years and a 10 gallon nano for a year and a half. not to mention the ten years of fishkeeeping prior, freshwater, brackish, little, big etc...

 

[marki24]

damsels are very hardy fish. Either they were sick in the first place or your water parameters are really off the charts. Its difficult to determine exactly their cause of death. I recommend you take your water sample and have someone test it to see if they are getting the same results.

 

[Sumbub]

Has your tank ever been treated with copper when it was a freshwater tank? You still have nitrites so your cycle is not finished yet. It needs to read 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates before you can consider testing with fish.

 

[marki24]

Also, do not add anymore live creatures into your tank until you get this resolved. Since your tank is up and running for less than a month I do not believe you are ready adding fish to it. Take it slow you will be better in the long run and so will your fish.

 

[fishman1069]

Up top when you mention your params you said 0 on th trates and 10 on the trites. Did you mean to say it the other way? If not its definatley the trites. Nitrites are highly toxic to fish. If not I have no clue what could be killin them so quickly. Maybe you have a mantis shrimp as a hitchhicker

 

[asianer]

The tank cycled in less than 4 weeks?

 

[Arati]

your tank is not done cycleing yet.

when you cycle a tank first there will be ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrate, when the nitrate is down below 2 you can add fish. please do some reading about cycleing a sw tank. nothing is wrong with your tank, its just not ready yet. you have to wait until its done cycling. it takes 90 days about. so no more fish no more light stop and wait 90 days.

http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~terry/Common/respiration.html

I've noticed lately the number of new members asking questions regarding cycling tanks, and while reading the new Dr. Foster & Smith catalog I found an article entitled "Take Time to Understand the Nitrogen Cycle." So here's the article, and I hope you all enjoy this great information:

Understanding the nitrogen cycle is fundamental in keeping a successful aquarium. It keeps the water free of toxic compounds that result from the respiration of its inhabitants and from the decay of waste products and uneaten food. When we understand this cycle, we can anticipate situations that affect this process and prevent potential loss of fish.

What is the nitrogen cycle?
The nitrogen cycle is the process by which various bacteria convert harmful organic waste in the aquarium into less toxic substances. It involves 4 steps:

1: Fish, plant and invertebrate waste, as well as dead organisms or uneaten food, begin to decay, producing toxic ammonia. Even at low levels, ammonia can burn the gills of fish and choke off their oxygen supply.

2: Bacteria called Nitrosomonas consume the ammonia, but create a chemical byproduct called nitrite in the process. Although nitrite is highly toxic (preventing blood from carrying oxygen), fish can typically withstand twice the amount of nitrite in their water than ammonia.

3: Next, bacteria called Nirobacter consume the nitrite, and in turn relase a less toxic chemical called nitrate.

4: Nitrate requires anaerobic conditions, which are not common in most aquariums, to be converted into harmless nitrogen gas. Therefore, water changes and proper feeding regimen are the most effective ways to keep nitrate in check.

The nitrogen cycle and your new aquarium:
New aquariums lack adequate number of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter necessarty to efficiently complete the nitrogen cycle. Because of this, the aquarium must be "cycled." Cycling is the process of establishing and maturing bacterial colonies to a sustainable level where they can provide efficient biological filtration.
To build your aquarium's bacterial colonies, you need to provide a source of ammonia (such as fish or live rock) for the Nirosomonas to feed on so they can live, reproduce, and colonize. You can use commercially available bacterial additives to quicken the cycling process. You can also use a small amount of gravel (substrate) from a healthy and well-established aquarium to seed your new aquarium. Since this gravel already houses beneficial bacteria, it helps speed up the cycling process. If you question the source of this gravel, it is the best not to use it and wait for the bacterial colonization to occur naturally.

Bacteria levels climb during cycling:
During cycling, bacterial populations increase steadily, but are not yet able to keep up with ammonia and nitrite. With daily testing you will know when you've reached the point where bacteria populations have grown and sustained themselves successfully to keep in pace with ammonia and nitrite production. When bacterial population peaks, both ammonia and nitrite levels begin to drop to the point where they are undetectable by testing- balance has been achieved. Ammonia production is in balance with the rate of biological filtration.
Now it's time to stock your aquarium. Add fish and livestock to your system gradually since your system will once again need time to adjust to the increased ammonia added by each specimen by growing additional bacteria.

 

[Dre]

Why did you sacrifice so many fish? :irked:I think you were trying to cycle your tank using Damsels.Your nitrite is too damn high.:irked:Stop killing fish.

 

[KathyC]

I have a few of questions:
Where did the rock come from and was it cured already?
Where did you get the sand, what kind is it?

The Nitrite reading is 10ppm on what type of kit?
How old are your test kits? Brands?

Why did you leave 5% of the old water (from FW days) in the tank and what kind of shape was that in?

How were the fish behaving before they died?

Can you post a pic of this tank please?

 

[SaltyFlip]

11 Damsels within 2 weeks or so?! Like what almost everyone is saying, your tank is probably not ready and you should hold back for two weeks or so.

 

[Master Shake]

cycling doesnt just depend on the amount of time you wait, gee i wonder why all the fish are dying... that would be the nitrites. My guess is you started with dry sand and dry rock, neither live cuz then this would not be a problem. stop adding fish!!! especially damsels, cuz if they do live you will never get them out of a 240. Dont buy any of that bottled bacteria trash, go to your lfs and ask them so squeeze a bunch of their dirty filter pads into a bucket or a bag and put all of that nice dirty filter juice straight into your tank, let it sit for a few weeks and re-test.

 

[stunner620]

where are you getting your water?

 

[reefs247]

ok 1st of all they fish were not sick he said he got them from diff lfs, 2nd copper doesn't matter because probably every fish store runs copper in their fish tanks I agree tank is def not done cycling. Wait it out man as all ithers said stop killing fish.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Cycle isn't finished that is why the fish are dead

 

[Dre]

ok 1st of all they fish were not sick he said he got them from diff lfs, 2nd copper doesn't matter because probably every fish store runs copper in their fish tanks

and 3rd no one should add fish in a tank with nitrite at 10ppm that is cruel, i can understand if he didn't know but he did, there is no excuses. And what excues do you have ?

 

[dubs]

ok u already have alot peeps telling stuff already i dont believe that u add 400 lbs of life and cant keep demsels alive i got few demsels those thing are hard to kill anyway u should def work on ur water before adding anything more to ur tank

 

[reefs247]

What excuse do I have? What are you talking about?

 

[anthony27]

sorry for your loss :/

 

[Jzhou]

throw a few dead shrimps in there fomr the super market, up the temp to 86 and give it a few weeks. Its like everyone says, your tank isn't cycled yet. Also how are you acclimating fish? I find that is one of the largest issues with new converts.

 

[stunner620]

also maybe u should buy a refractometer