phosphates were high

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 12:43 AM

we had some casualties !!!!!!

when i did my water check everything was fine but the phosphates. they were a bit higher than 0. would this have killed the fish?

how can i lower it?

rip mandarin
rip sunburst anthias
rip purlpe yellow striped anthia(forgot the name)
rip naso tang

Im soo madd i felt like retiring and selling everything...but the wife smack me arounnd and told me i couldnt...shes addicted lol

Charlesr1958 · 11-01-2007, 01:48 AM

Sorry to hear of your losses, but no, phosphates would not have been an issue, nor would nitrates for that matter. Were the fish showing any signs or visible problems? Have you recently added anything to the tank?

Chuck

radridz3 · 11-01-2007, 04:06 AM

It was probably because of the way you did your water change. Salinity and gravity where probably off a little bit. Or you changed the temp or just plain shocked the crap out of it. What r your processes for water changes. Here's my steps
1. 5 gallon bucket with ro water and add salt and a powerhead. Let sit for 24 hours till disolved. Check salinity and temp. Oh also ph very important. Usually my makeup water is a lower ph so I add buffer and let it stir for about an hour. Then I check parameters again before introducing it into the sump(never the tank). A mandarin and tang are sensitive so any little water changes will send them into shock and death. My brown powder tang is my alarm system . When he's not happy is when I test the water . But if he's good I now the waters good. I also have a couple of corals to act as an alarm also. Hope this helps and hope you didn't lose to much money..

mynd · 11-01-2007, 07:55 AM

why not show us your parameters for the following things and maybe we can figure out what happened?

Nitrites
Nitrates
Ammonia
PH
SG
Temperature Swings / Average
DKH or KH depending on test kit

Telling us those things might get us on the proper track.

**JF2381** · 11-01-2007, 08:13 AM

Casanova - Was it you that had a service company come and do a very large water change?

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 12:00 PM

yeah i had about a 60-70 gallon water change about a week or 2 ago....
i did my checks temp is at 79
all my water parameters were at 0 except for the phosphates.
i check:
amonia
nitrites
nitrates
ph
alk
salt
dkh
calicium
phosphates

all the fish were fine except for the naso he wasnt eating for the longest and he finally passed but everyone else croaked one day to the next.

first victim was the sunburst
later that evening i saw the other anthia past and right before i went to bed my mandarin died.

nothin new was added or changed

eveyrthing was perfect

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 12:03 PM

the water change comes straight from the ocean its not mixed from ro water and bags of salt... str8 from the big blue

alfani · 11-01-2007, 02:35 PM

60-70 gallon water, probably it put your system back into cycle mode. why the need to change that much water also ocean water might be contaminated and filled with negative things

**Deepwater** · 11-01-2007, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfani

60-70 gallon water, probably it put your system back into cycle mode. why the need to change that much water also ocean water might be contaminated and filled with negative things

Not sure that it go in cycle mode. You only cycle the rock , once that is cycled it shouldnt go thru a cycle. Or , it changed the parameter of the water to quick. If he had problems with nitrates,nitrites and so on and changed that to fast. It could put those fish into shock. They one he mentioned are 50/50 shot to being with. sunburst ,mandarins are hard as is , JMO .

radridz3 · 11-01-2007, 02:54 PM

Why Would Anyone Use Ocean Water Thats Just Plain Reclus. Ro All The Way!!!!

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 02:57 PM

so u think the water chnage twoo weeks ago affected the fish now ?? doesnt make sense

**Deepwater** · 11-01-2007, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casanova1016

so u think the water chnage twoo weeks ago affected the fish now ?? doesnt make sense

all para are good right ? if they went into shock at that time and stopped eating it could be.

Only thing you did diff is the water change. unless you have stray current in the tank for a faulty pump ,heater , try and check for that.

Banned · 11-01-2007, 03:35 PM

Your PBT died of ick. Did other fish have ick as well?

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 03:51 PM

pbt died of ich cuz he wasnt eating. none else died of ich everyone else was eating

is there anythin else i havent tested that i should

**Deepwater** · 11-01-2007, 05:06 PM

did you notice if the other fish were rubbing against the rocks. If the PBT had ich , then the tank had ich. Ich can only ive if it has a host (fish).

How long have you had these fish ,and when was the last one introduced to your tank?

Casanova1016 · 11-01-2007, 05:29 PM

well the naso was done for i had a post aout him when the pbt died

the mandarin i had for 3 mths...loved that guy
the anthias were the latest addition... about a week ago

no one should signs of ich after the pbt

no one was rubbing the anthias were hiding a ltittle but would swim and eat fine

**Deepwater** · 11-01-2007, 05:34 PM

anthias as in sunbrust ? if so they are not easy to keep. 90% of the ppl dont have luck.

PBT and the naso ,must of DOA from ICH. Mandarin may of DOA of the same. WHat other fish do you have in your tank. I would also try to put a uv on the tank

fritz · 11-01-2007, 08:05 PM

Mandarins can't get ich, ocean water is fantastic but I hope they treat it accordingly before they put it in your tank (sounds like they didn't). Ocean water can carry red tide and a host of other toxic things. Ocean water can also bring in all manner of parasitic isopods. Ocean water up here is far lower in SG than reef water would be. Our alk and calcium are also way off from reef water.

Build ups of certain gases will also drastically alter the ph of the water. The rapid death you describe can only be brought on by shock. Bottom line is the 60 to 70 gallons of water that was added did not match the water that was removed in chemistry. When doing large water changes it is SUPER important that the incoming water exactly match the outgoing water. Water changes are literally blood transfusions for your fish. Parameters that are off enough will kill them.

Another possibility is the vessel that they stored the ocean water in. Had it been sitting too long or had some sort of residue on it it could have poisoned your fish. Either way I would contact the maintenance company and say:
"My tank was fine, you guys did a large water change and everything died very soon thereafter." Pretty open and shut.

kimoyo · 11-01-2007, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radridz3

Why Would Anyone Use Ocean Water Thats Just Plain Reclus. Ro All The Way!!!!

What are you kiddin, I would use clean ocean water wayyyyy before I used RO and salt water. And in Florida, hell yeah I would be on the beach with a pump every other week.

**Deepwater** · 11-01-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fritz

Mandarins can't get ich, .

Opps i totally forgot , i think gobies are the same ,not 1000% thou ,loss of memory

eyes: