api algae marine fix-fish dying

Discussion in 'Algae' started by chum, Sep 4, 2013.

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  1. chum

    chum Coral Banded Shrimp

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    been using this product for 4 weeks and really has reduced my hair algae. the big problem is that i have had two fish die in the last week. never had this problem before. has anyone ever used this with negative results ? i believe the api must be to blame.
     
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  3. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    I have known a couple people that had issues.

    1st: Have you tested for Ammonia to see if your biological filter is failing?
    2nd: Are you turning off the skimmer during treatment and do you have adequate oxygen if the skimmer is off?
    3rd: Are the fish dying at night?
     
  4. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
  5. chum

    chum Coral Banded Shrimp

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    thank you for all the help. i will test for ammonia tomorrow when the sun is up.i run a aquaripure nitrate filter without a skimmer. been running it for 8 months. i had one fish die at night and not sure about the other one.i thought i was doing great with algae dying.
     
  6. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    The problem with miracle snake oil products is the outcome can never be guaranteed. One must assume all possibilities before using. I personally don't recommend them at all, but rather, find and fix the nutrient issues that are causing algae problems. If a successful reef tank came in a bottle, everybody would have one.

    My only guess is that by killing the algae, you've destroyed what was feeding on Nitrate and Phosphate, allowing them to spike. The algae is also now releasing all it had once absorbed, as well as producing Ammonia from the die-off. I'd suggest testing Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Phosphate, changing water as necessary to get them back in line, then start a more aggressive maintenance routine.
     
  7. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    I agree 1000% Well said Mr. Bill
     
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  9. chum

    chum Coral Banded Shrimp

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    i had been doing biweekly water changes of 5%. i am going to start doing 5% weekly and see how that goes. thanks for the input.
     
  10. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    There are many facets to proper tank husbandry and maintenance; change all the water you want, but if something is being neglected, you're just wasting time and salt. Let's start at the top...

    WATER: Do you use RO/DI filtration? Tap water contains a plethora of contaminants; phosphates, nitrates, dissolved minerals and heavy metals that effect your chemistry, and the list goes on.

    STOCK: What size is your tank, how many and what type(s) of fish do you have, what do you feed, how much and how often?

    FILTERS: Do you have mechanical filtration? If so, how often do you clean/change the media? Do you have a skimmer and/or media reactors?

    CuC: Do you have a cleanup crew to help with leftover food and detritus?

    Water Change Tips: Before starting, blast your rockwork with a turkey baster to clear out detritus from between the rocks. While removing tank water, vacuum the surface of the rocks and sand. Be sure to vacuum out any loose algae, as well.

    HTH
     
  11. chum

    chum Coral Banded Shrimp

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    hello mr bill,thanks for the reply. i do use a 4 stage coralife ro/di unit.the tank is a 66 gallon corner tank. i have 3 chromis,3 pajama cardinals,2 clown fish,court jester goby,shrimp goby,flasher wrasse,and a firefish. i also 3 soft corals and a couple of zoa frags. a cleaner and pistol shrimp.and some scarlet hermit crabs.i feed them 2 cubes of thawed frozen sfbb a day. i double strain them in ro water before going into the tank.i use a 200 micron sock that i change every weekend. i also run a aquaripure nitrate filter.
     
  12. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    How old is the RO/DI unit? Do you have a TDS meter? If not, you need one. If so, what is the TDS reading? (If not zero, you're still adding impurities to your tank... replacing dirty water with dirty water doesn't help).

    You may need to clean or change your sock more frequently. Trapped detritus breaks down into DOCs, fueling Nitrate production.

    With 12 fish in a 66g, I'd suggest a good skimmer, GAC reactor, or both. That would drastically reduce Nitrate production by removing DOCs before they can be metabolized by the nitrifying bacteria.

    I would not put much stock in a Nitrate filter. Denitrification is an extremely slow process, and from all I've read, the performance of denitrators is questionable, at best. Your best "denitrator" is proper maintenance.

    HTH :)