Alfredshouse is gone.....

[hillegom]

Sorry to hear of your loss.
Very suspicious. High nitrates, and your corals are ok? Would not your coarls die before the fish. I hope they do not, but why all the fish?

[fkshiu]

Exactly how high were your nitrates? Fish can and will survive in much higher levels of nitrates than corals can and nitrates don't usually cause sudden mass deaths.

Secondly, how exactly do you think the FX5 caused the spike?

The most common cause of "death by filter" is if it was left off for a long time which caused everything in there to die. Within the sealed confines of a canister filter like the FX5 you would have had a lot of hydrogen sulfide gas build-up. As a result, when you turn the filter back on, all the nasty H2SO3 will literally cause a monstrous fart from hell which gases everything dead in the tank. Do you detect any rotten egg smells?

Not trying to cross-examine you here, just wondering perhaps there might have been another cause.

[o.c.d.]

Really sad to hear.I was going to say the same thing as Fkshiu. Did you make sure that your heater isn't faulty or stray voltage. and when you measured Nitrate not Nitrite. I really not trying to insult you this is tragic but you should really be sure what caused it so it never happens again and other can be taught your hard lesson.

[alfredshouse]

Nitrate was at 20( maybe from the dead fish????)!!!
Nitrite was at 0.25
Ammonia was at 0.0
SG was at 1.025
PH was at 7.6 which is really weird, I was thinking it was a faulty test, but second test kit confirms it is correct
Temperature 76.7

On Tang Daddys suggestion we tested KH and its 200mg/l!!!!!!
We are now doing another water change, we did 1/3 this morning.
If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them. Just dont call me an idiot, Ive already cried enough today. Thanks

[andestang]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Exactly how high were your nitrates? Fish can and will survive in much higher levels of nitrates than corals can and nitrates don't usually cause sudden mass deaths.

Secondly, how exactly do you think the FX5 caused the spike?

The most common cause of "death by filter" is if it was left off for a long time which caused everything in there to die. Within the sealed confines of a canister filter like the FX5 you would have had a lot of hydrogen sulfide gas build-up. As a result, when you turn the filter back on, all the nasty H2SO3 will literally cause a monstrous fart from hell which gases everything dead in the tank. Do you detect any rotten egg smells?

Not trying to cross-examine you here, just wondering perhaps there might have been another cause.

This is all true, I have a FX5 that I run on my Koi tank during the winter. I find it gets restricted fairly easily especially if your using the water polishing pads. It pretty much quits running and needs to be disconnected and totally cleaned out (the smell will knock your socks off) If you don't your headed for trouble. You really have to pay attention to the output for any reduced flow. Really sorry about all your fish, the bad side to the hobby.

[subman]

The Nitrate spike could just be from all the dead fish. Anything new added latley?

[alfredshouse]

Yes, I did add some stuff this weekend

Bubble Tip Anemone
Zoas
Green Mushroom
2 Dartfish
2 Gudgeon
1 Cleaner Wrasse
Pair of Cinnamon Clowns
2 Tangs


this is a 160gl that has been up for 14 months

[fkshiu]

That's a lot of livestock to add at once. The presence of nitrite indicates a cycle has occurred meaning that it could have been ammonia.

I'd still crack the FX5 open and give it a sniff.

[subman]

still just very odd to lose all the fish overnight and the corals are still alive. some more investigation is needed i think.

[alfredshouse]

The ammonia was at 0.0
Nitrate was at .8
I know it was alot of fish at once, but there were only 3 in there and I didnt expect them all to die.
I opened the FX5 and it didnt stink like rotten eggs, Checked it two weeks ago.
I did another water change tonight, I changed 50% and the KH is still high, its at 140, with a safe range of 100-125,

Im going to take my water to AA tommorow and get them to test it.