Hi slick fork.
Just some random thoughts:
Instead of using tap water try using R/O water for a water cooler till your unit is hooked up. I refill a 5G. container for $3 at my grocery store. It's a cheap alternative for a small tank.
I'm wondering about the temperature variations the fish (and corals) might experience from a LFS in Calgary to Olds to your tank. Depending on the weather they could go from LFS tank temp to car temp to your house temp to your tank temp. The water volume in a normal fish bag isn't very much. You could try using a small cooler (for a sixpack) for transport. It's not the highs and lows that's hard on marine species as much as it's the oscillations in between.
Welcome to nano land! Small tanks look cool and seem
to cost less but managing the water chemistry and temp variations is very difficult. There is so little water volume to act as a buffer. I've gone from a 33G. to a 75G.display/55G.sump softy tank and still find balancing water chemistry challenging.
Can you take a pic of your tank, and in particular, how your powerheads etc.. are situated? I'm trying to visualize that much flow without blowing substrate everywhere. Just curious.
I don't know why your fish died. Sometimes these things happen. We test the parameters and troubleshoot but there's a lot going on that we don't understand as well. I recently bought 5 Chromis for my tank. 4 took to the move happy as clams but one immediately separated itself from the school, hid in a corner and died 8 hrs later ?????
BTW: I've been to Olds before (used to live in Calgary). Had my choice of Hort. college there or in Langley (I chose Langley). I guess the grass is always greener on the B.C. side
Good luck with your tank.
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herbal health shop