midas blenny and twelve line just died, why??? help please!

[jhoorfar]

i have a 24g aquapod that's been up and running for two years now. i have a red christmas wrasse, midas blenny, and a twelve line wrasse, and a fire shrimp. all fish have been in the tank for a few months now. i came home today and found my midas blenny and twelve line dead. they were doing fine yesterday and they were eating. my water parameters are: ammonia-0, nitrates-0, nitrites-0, ph-7.8, temp 76. i do weekly water changes, however, i haven't been able to do it for the last three weeks, but like i said my params are great. i just did a water change though. and my other fish is doing well and so are all the corals. any idea why my fish just randomly died today? any help will be greatly appreciated and if there's anything else i forgot just let me know. thanks

[reefnetworth]

i keep my Ph @ 8.4-8.5
Temp. @ 80.0F
ALK @ 3.8-4.0
CaCl2 @ 450ppm
Mg @ 1370-1385ppm
check your Alkalinity... you didnt post it! that may be the problem.

[Playa-1]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Are you dosing any thing?
Using medications?
How are you testing ph?
What is Alk and Salinity?
Are you running a skimmer?
Is it cold outside?

[reefnetworth]

ya' i forgot salinity Playa-1, and the meds too!


BTW Playa-1, still LMAO at your avatar!!! its just to cool man!!!

[jhoorfar]

sorry totally forgot salinity, it's 1.023, i've been adding b-ionic parts 1&2 once a week, i try not to do it that often because the once a week water changes have kept my calcium levels high (i use coralife salt) and i'm not adding any meds or anything else to the tank. it is cold in my room, i don't have a skimmer, i just have live rock rubble in one of the chambers in the back and some cheato in the tank. unfortunately i don't have a alkalinity test kit and a friend is going to test my calcium for me. i'm just confused because they were doing great and this all happenned literally in less than a day, there were no signs warning me like there usually is. thanks for the help guys

[Playa-1]

You need to know what your ALK is before you dose ALK. The 2 part addative is not only a Calcium supplement but it is also a Alkalinity Supplement. If the ALK was inline then my next guess would be low o2 due to poor gas exchange.
You also stated that ph is 7.8, I would be curious to know how you're testing for ph.

[reefnetworth]

never dose without testing fisrt, been there, done that, a long time ago and i paid the price as you are now.
as long as the room isnt freezing, your heater should be able to keep the temp. pretty steady.
i would look for a good skimmer at a reasonable price also, they have some good ones for nano tanks.
ask in this forum, or goto the nano forum and ask there which is best to suit your needs.
i have a rule on skimmers, get one that is rated 3X's the tank.
I.E. 24G get one that can handle 75G or at the least a 50G. you will thank yourself later, trust me.

[jhoorfar]

i'm not dosing that often though, only once a week, if even that. i could understand the poor gas exchange could be an issue, however, would the fish be fine one day and then dead the next? i'll have to get my hands on an alk test kit. i went to petco and they tested my water for me, so whatever test kit they used is what was used to test ph.

[Playa-1]

Ya, they could be here today and gone tomorrow in a 02 poor environment. You could also have an electrical short in the tank.
Something could have contaminated the tank. It could be lots of things. You could be getting huge ph swings when the heaters are running or something. It's best to get your own test kits so you can get some timely info.
If I were to make a guess I would say that your tank runs critically low on o2 to begin with and something happened today to push it over the edge. The fact that the PH is on the extreme low end of the recommended range for our tanks, also suggests a gas exchange issue. Then you think hmmm, it's winter, the house is all closed up and maybe the heaters kicking on. Add that to the fact that there is no skimmer which is also instrumental in the gas exchange process. To me it's starting to add up.

[jhoorfar]

that makes sense playa-1, that's pretty much the scenario i have. how can i improve gas exchange, especially since i don't have a skimmer and i won't be able to get one anytime soon. thanks so much for all the help, things are starting to come together

[Playa-1]

The best thing you can do is get a skimmer. The skimmers have an air intake. Run a line from the air intake on the skimmer to fresh air. The skimmer will pull in fresh air and aerate your water.
The only other options I can think of are to open a window to allow fresh air into the room and point the powerheads at the surface of the water. An airstone with a fresh air supply could help. A sump with macroalgae also helps with gas exchange. The skimmer is by far your most effective option.

[jhoorfar]

i'll try to work on getting a skimmer but for now, so you think an airstone, maybe in one of the back chambers so it doesn't have to be seen will help? thanks again

[jhoorfar]

so i moved my koralia up so it's agitating the surface of the water more and i'm leaving the lid open for now until i can get an airstone or anything you else you might suggest.

[Ronny#66]

Is alk the same as KDH mine runs 8-9 KDH

Ronny

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by Ronny#66
Is alk the same as KDH mine runs 8-9 KDH

Ronny

My test kit has a sliding scale for dkh and meq/L. Two different ways of measuring ALK.

[Rae C.]

Are there any jumpers in your tank? I 'd be careful leaving the lid off, maybe just prop up one side a bit. Moving your power head was a good move, expect a bit more salt creep on your lighting though.

[jhoorfar]

no, no jumpers here. i get a lot of salt creep as it is so, yea im used to that. haha

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by jhoorfar
so i moved my koralia up so it's agitating the surface of the water more and i'm leaving the lid open for now until i can get an airstone or anything you else you might suggest.

You might open a window and let in some fresh air.