freshwater problems

[darkreef]

I have a 55 gallon tank.
ammonia , nitrate ect all normal.
but everything i put in there dies.

so lets tell you more about my set up
this is mainly a experiment for me

first time using sand substrate, 6 plants swords, anabis , java fern
i also have slate rock from B.C, if you ever go for a drive to golden bc there is beautiful black slate on your left hand side. i picked some scrubbed it down but it in.

i do weekly water changes of 10% every friday ( with conditioner)
i have a ehiem 186 filter
air pump , heater , and basic lighting

the only fish that is doing great is my red tail black shark (hes not a bully)

what iv lost
first i started off with two chiclids and they just died with in two days
they were babies so i wasn't surprised

two cray fish - one was shy and just died. the other lasted threw two molts and i found him dead today . he had orange on his soft skin . he was super healthy and active

now im stuck with two red tail black fish but i can tell one is on his way out
hes grey , no color , not eating , i can see his heart beat threw his gills .

i got them both at the same time and one has doubled almost tripled his size , i call its a she because shes chunky , black and bright red tail. active and lovely . like i said before they dont bother with each other accept i see them dance every once in a while on a plant but the other is getting to weak


what i feed ( top fin waffers , cobalt (colorflakes)


my questions
* what am i doing wrong?
* is calgary tap water safe as long as its conditioned ?
* my slate has some orange kinda resembles rust stains (will not scrub off)
is that ok?


i can add pictures if you want . i know its alot i wrote but i just wanted to be very clear. this is my first planted aquarium and my first over 30 gallon aquarium .

im trying to get this down so someday i can own a 180+ with a fire eel

[molotov]

how long has your tank been running for? I noticed this was your first post. Perhaps you tank has not yet cycled?

[SanguinesDream]

Pull the slate out of there. It is oxidizing.

[Nano]

Yup same thing happened in my cichlid tank with some mountain rock I picked up in bc. Pulled it out problem solved
The orange rust coloration is most likely because of a high mineral content most likely iron or alike. Id suggest getting yourself some river rock instead

[darkreef]

You may be right , where can I get river rock?
I really like the look of the slate rock .
I have a lot of pieces that don't have rust look could I just pull the rust ones out?
Would I have to do a full 100% water change?
A friend recommended me to this form and I figured this be a opportunity to learn
The tanks been cycled with plants since December.

[monocus]

have you tried bcaquaria.it's more for fresh water

[Nano]

Originally Posted by darkreef

You may be right , where can I get river rock?
I really like the look of the slate rock .
I have a lot of pieces that don't have rust look could I just pull the rust ones out?
Would I have to do a full 100% water change?
A friend recommended me to this form and I figured this be a opportunity to learn
The tanks been cycled with plants since December.

Nothing wrong with posting here. Its mostly reefers but some of us know a thing or two about fresh to.

Id take a hike to a clean river, may have to get your feet wet but pick the Stones you like, personally I like flat pieces. Id pull it all out and forget about it.

[darkreef]

Yeah I'm adventually getting into a reef tank just waiting on funds so iv been browsing the site . There is a lot to know about salt don't want to jump into it.
Once I get my 180 gallon il convert my smaller tank to salt.
I'll pull the rock out right now . Should I do a water change to get the extra minerals out?

[Nano]

Originally Posted by Nano

Nothing wrong with posting here. Its mostly reefers but some of us know a thing or two about fresh to.

Id take a hike to a clean river, may have to get your feet wet but pick the Stones you like, personally I like flat pieces. Id pull it all out and forget about it.

Edit

Also 100% water change is pretty aggressive. Though its not detrimental in fresh water. Id personally just start with 50% and see how it goes from there. Wait a couple weeks before adding anymore fish again. Get some river rock or alike. Rock with heavy mineral deposits can leach all kinds of stuff into our tanks, while it looks nice it could contain, iron, copper, phosphorus, etc.. which are generally not good for out tanks. Pm me if, you have any questions as I've been in fresh water for quite some time and I'm more confident to give advice there then to reefers

[Nano]

Also. Imo

Ditch the top fin and cheap foods. Get some new life spectrum or new era either flake or pellets (preferably pellets) top fin and nutrafin etc (walmart cheap brands) tend to add a high ash content to they're foods as well as a ton of fillers which aren't generally good for the fish. You'll see better results with a good food. Though I doubt that's your problem right now, I found new life spectrum and new era to give my fish vibrant colors less poop and generally more active.