set up tank again and fish are dying

[talktomrgibson]

i have just set up my tank again after moving house, had 3 fish in a holding tank until i could get the big one set up again, i've read about doing the fishless cycle before putting fish in and seen the option for using a small number of hardy fish to get it going too.

I opted to try the cycle with the 3 fish i had, one bristlenose, one bronze cory and a hatchet. The hatchet is fine but the cory is not doing to good, swiming around sideways and looks like he might not make it, i'm putting him stright back in the holding tank now so hopefully he'll be ok. The bristlenose didn't make it though.

the tank has been up since the 17th and i have been testing the water each day, i put driftwood in the tank yesterday that i collected from the beach.

the water parameters are as follows:
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
pH 6.5
Temp 29
Hardness 71.6

all tested with the API kit.

could it be the driftwood that is causing this or would it be something else?
thanks in advance.

[Nev]

Any ammonia is bad for fish. The driftwood would be soaked with salt and would be best left in a bucket for a while to let all the salt leech out.

Just move the filter material from your holding tank to the new one and the cycling will be over in fraction of the time.
An old seeded sponge filter will do the job.

[BettaBetta]

You can also use Seachem Prime up to x 5 the recommended dose - it will bind ammonia and render it safe for fish. You'll still get an ammonia reading on testing, but at least it will be safe. I double/triple dose during the last stages of a cycle once fish are in at 0.25.

Also, using Seachem Stability will help speed things up dramatically, especially if you can secure seeded media from your holding tank or another tank you trust, and mix it in with your new tank's media.

[lpiasente]

It will be the wood from tghe beach. It will send your ph through the roof and also make the water very salty. I had wood sfrom the beach soaking for months then on the roof of our shed for nearly 2 years and it still wasn't suitable for the tank. I would recommend you take it out for sure

[aquafrogstuff]

I agree, it's the driftwood. Take it out and do some water changes. I'd keep the water changes up for at least a week.

[swampy1972]

I used to put a teaspoon of rocksalt per 20L of water each water change when I had Discus without a problem so I doubt it's your DW. Many people use salt in low doses as a general tonic to ward off minor infections. Since I started doing it none of my fish ever had a problem

[Exotic Aquatic]

a full cycle takes 3-6 weeks, usually 4... tank is still way too young for fish.

the driftwood may cause an issue, although salt is generally not too much of an issue, ocean water contains many other elements and calcified minerals that will raise you PH, and or are simply not found in fresh water. Seawater residues will be mostly chlorides, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and alike, but also some other things like molybdenum, bromine and even sulfur... best not use it, although in a large enough tank it shouldnt pose too much of an instant threat.

I would have to say that the tank just isnt cycled yet, and shouldnt house fish untill all reading are 0 (or slight nitrate reading at most).

Hope this helps!

Good Luck, let us know if any of us on the forum can help further.

[lpiasente]

The salt and what ever else it contains from the driftwood causes the ph to rise up to 8.5 and it is very very very very salty it is nothing like adding salt to your water. By adding saltt yourself you are able to control the amounts you are adding. A bit of driftwood taken from the beach has likely been floating around in the sea and is soaked in it. Believe me I tested it for months (well over a year actually) as I really wanted to add a beautiful piece of driftwood I found on the beach to my tank. After a few days the tank still tasted like saltwater and it wasn't even a big piece. The fish did not like it one little bit.

[BigDaddyAdo]

The salt and what ever else it contains from the driftwood causes the ph to rise up to 8.5 and it is very very very very salty it is nothing like adding salt to your water. By adding saltt yourself you are able to control the amounts you are adding. A bit of driftwood taken from the beach has likely been floating around in the sea and is soaked in it. Believe me I tested it for months (well over a year actually) as I really wanted to add a beautiful piece of driftwood I found on the beach to my tank. After a few days the tank still tasted like saltwater and it wasn't even a big piece. The fish did not like it one little bit.

The OP has clearly stated that the Ph is 6.5.

Why is everyone looking for other culprits? THE TANK ISN'T CYCLED!!!!

[lpiasente]

Well if you also look the driftwood was put in yesterday. Dead fish ???? I would be taking it out.

[lpiasente]

just out of interest did you retest the ph the day after the driftwood went in.

[talktomrgibson]

hi, been a while since i posted this one! i the cory ended up fine and is still in the holding tank, the hatchet fish survived fine, and everything has been going ok with cycling, i still think my ammonia and nitrate levels are lower than expected, after nearly 4 weeks i'm seeing:

0.5 ammonia (up from 0.25 last week)
5 Nitratea (up from 2.5 last week)
and still 0 on nitrites...

all measured in mg/l

does this seem ok ?

[Exotic Aquatic]

odd... you should have 0 ammonia, minimal to no nitrite and high but lessening nitrates at this stage of the cycle.

Imagine each stage as a glass, the first pours into the second, and second into the third, the third often never completely empties (but should given the right stock ratio and filtration media) but does for the most part.

...then again there are other factors that can cause things to stop making sense, like foreign matter on your hands, old carbon, a hidden dead fish, fertilisers, certain substrates, UV sterilzers, kids, old nets, medications, the list goes on.

My 2 cents, leave it a couple more weeks without touching anything... all logic says it will come good on its own eventually!