Help with my tank!!!!!!

All my fish died thursday in my 55g marine tank. however none of my snails, crabs, shrimp, polyps, or coralline algae have died and all seem to be doing fine. i have a few ideas to what may have happened but ill tell you everything i can to help diagnose the problem so i can restore my tank. My tank has 35lbs of live rock with some coralline and polyps growing on them (the polyps are the only corals in there and theres only about 5 baby ones). It has roughly 60 lbs of live sand, a 55g power filter, a 1300 gph powerhead, and a venturi skimmer with a 225 gph powerhead. The lighting is 215 watts of 50/50 actinic. my tank was stocked with 1 clarkii clownfish, 1 yellow tang, 1 blue tang, (Im planning on setting up a 125 gallon tank when the tangs get bigger but they were only about 1" so i think they were fine in the 55g for now) 1 humphead bannerfish, 2 false percula clownfish, 1 four striped damsel, 1 peppermint shrimp, 10 cerith snails, 20 blue leg hermit crabs, and 2 turbo snails. The tank has been running since early august. Here are a few problems that i have with my tank that i am aware needs to be taken care of.

1. I was unaware that you need to add trace elements to your tank when running a protein skimmer and i was not doing so

2. The clarkii liked to dig in the sand next to the filter so the filter got clogged without me knowing due to the sand getting sucked up

3. I have a really crappy protein skimmer that produced some microbubbles into the tank

let me know what you guys think could have caused my fish to die thank you so much

 

Well.... I think you had your tank somewhat.. if not fairly overstocked.. ( not just because of the tangs, but in general).
it could of been a oxygen problem, or a voltage problem..

Did you test your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and Ph levels? salinity? ( what kind of test kit do you own? and is it expired?)...

did you get all your fish from the same vendor? did you ask him to feed before buying? if so were they eating?

If i am correct, you only need to dose if you have coral. SPS i think.. (not sure if others need dosing, if you do constant water changes).

 

Did all the fish die at once? It sounds like they did from your post but just wanted to get a better time line. If so then it was more of a major problem then the ones that you listed. I would test the water as I am sure you will get a better idea of what went wrong once you do that.

One of the parameters has to be way off for them to all die so quickly. Did you add anything or change anything in your tank in the last week? It could of been from some kind of external poison from a change or addition.

 

I agree.. WOW 7 fish & two of them being tangs. 55gal is too small for 1 never mind 2 of them..

Yes, some dosing would need to be done even without coral. All fish have a dKH level that they need to be at, which you'd be dosing alkalinity. Tests are very important to make sure all levels are fine. Poor oxygen or leaking voltage would be my next thing I would check. The animals that would use more oxygen would die off first, which would be your fish.

 

sorry i cant believe i forgot to post my test results and yes all my fish died on the same day of 10/14. I have 2 test kits and they are the API Saltwater and reef master test kit and i just bought them in august so they arent expired. My fish were eating just fine and having 0 problems. I got most of my fish from Petco, however i got the clarkii from a friend (he didnt like him moving his rock i guess) anyways heres my test results

ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Phosphate 0
Calcium 440 mg/L
Carbonate Hardness 10 degrees dkh or 179 ppm KH
Salinity 1.023

these were taken the day the fish died and i just tested the water again and its identical except Nitrates are 0 due to a 50% water change

 

how do i test for voltage?

 

do you have a sea cucumber?

 

Here you go..

How To Test for Stray Voltage

1. Purchase or borrow a voltage meter. Analog is better than a digital one, but digital will work.
2. Turn the selector to "120 AC Voltage".
3. Insert the tip of the black probe into the third or "grounding" hole in an electrical outlet.
4. Insert the metal tip of the red probe into the tank water.
5. Watch the meter needle for any movement. Any needle movement indicates a voltage leak in your system.

How To Identify the Voltage Leak Source

• One at a time, disconnect each electrical appliance (heaters, pumps, lights, chiller) associated with your tank, retesting for voltage as described above after each unit is disconnected. Heaters and pumps (powerheads) are the most frequent cause of voltage leaks.

How To Solve the Voltage Leak

• Replace (recommended) or repair the faulty unit. Test the tank once again to make sure that you have eliminated the problem.
• Install a simple grounding probe in the tank to avoid damage to the tank inhabitants. This may temporarily take care of the symptoms of stray voltage, but it does not cure the cause of the problem.

Many aquarists test their tanks for stray voltage on a regular basis as a part of their normal tank maintenance routine. Detecting a voltage leak problem in its early stages can help eliminate or reduce problems in the future.

 

Ah, yes. When those die they can wipe out a tank.

 

That's sux! All the fish gone ... If there was some voltage in the water, will the corals still be fine?