i need help now

[draco]

please help me my tank is crashing and i am watching my fish die. i am panicking and i need help please.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

What happened? Did anything precipitate this, or are you without a clue? What are your tank parameters? Pics?

People are going to need more information if they're going to help you out!!

[draco]

im am sorry i am kinda breaking down. i know that i have high nitrates i have been doing water changes every day about 15%. but it was well on its way down. everything else has been fine. my fish are in a bucket of fresh saltwater and i feel so awful.i have 2 clowns and 2 firefish and a jaw fish. my tank has been going for almost 1 year and i have only had one death ever that was so long ago. were do i start to make this better.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

How are your corals? What kinds of behavior are your fish exhibiting to make you think they're dying?

[draco]

well one died. and they were trying to jump out of the tank. they are doing better in the bucket now. there gills were pushed out before they have relaxed now and are swimming not convulsing, but i cant leave them in the bucket. my corals are not so good i have a frog spawn that is just pulled in really far and my leather is leaning and my kenya is to. also my shrimp are alive and look fine(kinda wierd), and i haev feather duusters which dropped their plumes a few days ago, but now the worms are crawling out but when i touch them they go back in. and i found many dead bristle worms in my tank.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

That's tough. What water are you using? My immediate thought was that you were doing lots of water changes, and THEN things started to die.

If it were me, I'd do some large water changes (with RO/DI water) and run some carbon in the canister filter or something. Take any foam pads or filters out and just run carbon.

How's the temperature?

Don't know what else to say, man. I'm certainly not an expert...maybe someone else can chime in here.

[draco]

that i can do, but what should i do with my fish until i can get my water going good. i just noticed that they now have ich i think. i know what it lookes like in fresh water i dont know about saltwater, but it is tiny white dots. should i set up a smaller tank with just my fish and surviving coral? or risk putting them back? i do not want to do anything to hurt them. should i change all my water?(i know that is not usually good although i was told can be done)

[Ruth]

Need more information. What are all of your levels at:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Calcium
Alk/DKH
Magnesium

What size is your system and what did you have in there? What filtration?
Out of curiousity what salt are you using?

[draco]

my ammonia and nitrite were fine, my nitrate was on the high side a few days ago, and has been dropping, my alkalinily is in the normal range and my ph was 8.2. i have a 55 gall with a prisim protien skimmer, a fluval 304, 2 seio powerheads, power compact lighting, and i have 62lbs of live rock, i took it slow adding things, i listened to everythiing everyone told me. i have 2 fire fish, 2 clown fish, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 fire shrimp, zoos, leather coral, kenya coral, frog spawn, and hammer all my coral is just tiny frags no bigger than a fist, lots of hermits and i had a royal gramma just got her about 3 weeks ago.

[MikeP]

If you can set up a hospital tank then do it. If your fish are showing signs of ich then you can treat them with medication on their own in the hospital tank. I would leave your main tank as it is and keep monitoring it. What level is the salinity at?