Lots of my fish have died. Could it be the water pH or ammonia?

There are so many reasons that could explain why most of your fish died. Unfortunately, we really can't give you a definite answer without having complete information about your aquarium and the fish you lost. You can always submit a question to our email support staff at http://www.aquariumpros.com/features/email.htm, and provide complete information so we can determine the true cause of your problem. The reason could possibly be ammonia, as in many cases, when a lot of fish die in an aquarium, it is due to either over-feeding, over-stocking, or adding fish too rapidly to an aquarium. See our stocking guideline FAQs for more information.

Top
What causes cloudy water and how do I take care it?

Cloudy water is caused by many different factors, and each requires different treatment. Cloudy water may be due to: 1)An algae or bacterial bloom caused by not using adequate filtration or leaving the lights on too long. 2)Ammonia in the water caused by stocking the tank too quickly, over-stocking or over-feeding. 3)Particles in the water caused by not cleaning the aquarium enough, or from not properly washing gravel when you set-up the aquarium. To learn more about how to stock the aquarium or feed your fish properly, consult our FAQs and articles. We have already addressed those issues. To find out if you have ammonia in the aqaurium, you need to get an ammonia test kit and test your water. If you get a reading, you should not add any more fish until the levels are zero, and you should change 25% of the water every week. It is also a good idea to use an ammonia neutralizer such as AmmoLock. If your water is cloudy and green in color, you have an algae bloom. You should cut back the number of hours the lights are on to no more than ten hours a day. You should buy an algacide treatment. We like Algae Destroyer by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. Use the algacide until the problem goes away, doing 50% water changes twice a week in between treatments. Do not use algacides on a permanent basis! That will eventually kill your fish. If you suspect you have a bacterial blom, you probably only have a hang-on power filter on the aquarium. Buy and install an undergravel filter, preferably operated by powerheads, and the problem will go away within a few weeks. If you think you have a particulate problem in the water (you should actually see very tiny particles), you probably only have an undergravel filter. You should buy and install either a power filter or a canister filter and the problem should go away in a few weeks.

Top
I have just purchased a 75 gallon tank. What is the weight of 75 gallons of water?

Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, so your 75 gallons weighs about 623 pounds. However, don't forget the weight of the tank, gravel and decorations. If you need to consider total weight, using ten pounds per gallon is safer.

Top
Is there any type of salt that can be used as a replacement for Aquarium salt, as I am having trouble finding the right salt in fish supply stores.

If you are referring to marine salt used in a saltwater tank, then the answer is NO! You cannot substitute any type of salt for packaged synthetic marine salt in a saltwater tank.

Top
I have a 20 gallon hexagon tank. My water has been cloudy now for a couple days, and I also have 2 small catsharks. Could it the catsharks? If not will they be okay?

There are many causes for cloudy water. These are some of the most common: 1) Too many fish. 2) Adding fish too quickly to a new tank. 3) Over-feeding the tank. 4) Not enough filtration. 5) Using antibiotics. 6) Too much light. As cloudy water is common, we have answered many questions regarding this problem. You can browse our FAQ and find several answers to all of these potential causes of cloudy water. Buying a good aquarium book would not be a bad idea either as the causes of cloudy water are usually due to making very basic mistakes.

Top
All our fish are swimming at the top of the tank in an upright position as if trying to breath. Have tested the water PH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. All testing appears normal. Do you have any suggestions as to what we may be able to do?

You have too many fish in your tank or the tank is polluted by something in the water. When fish are gasping at the surface, they are running out of oxygen. It also sounds like you are only using a hang-on power filter. A water change needs to be done immediately and then you should consider up-grading the filtration by adding an undergravel filter which may be used with a power filter, and/or getting rid of some fish. We also suspect that you may be using a liquid reagent test kit and your reagents have expired. The rule for stocking a freshwater tank is one inch of fish per gallon of water. Check our FAQ for stocking the aquarium, feeding the fish, and water change information.

Top
I live on the coast and I have read 4 different books that have said fresh salt water is ok if kept in a dark cool place for 2 to 3 weeks. Is this true and is this the best choice or is there a better solution?

That would depend on how clean the coastal water is. For example, I once lived near Portsmouth, NH, but would never consider using water from near there. Also, you run the risk of getting decay from rotting organics in the water. Your best bet is to use synthetic sea salt mix and good pure water such as reverse osmosis water.

Top
I live in the country and have well water. There is a very high level of rust in the water. My 55gal tank turns light brown and cloudy after it gets room temp. I change the filter often. What can I do? Does carbon filtering make it worse?

The ultimate soilution to your problem would be to invest in a reverse osmosis system to purify the water before use in your aquarium. However, another solution exists. A company called Poly Bio Marine makes a filter media called Poly Filter, which will remove many pollutants from the tank, including iron oxide. Carbon filtration will not make the problem worse, it will actually help. I would recommend a cansiter filter loaded in part with carbon, and Poly Filter.

Top
I live in Denmark and just purchased 2 butterfly cichlids and I was wondering what RO water is?

RO is an abbreviation for Reverse Osmosis. Reverse Osmosis filters will take tap water and remove all the pollutants and chemicals that may be in the water either from natural sources or as a result of modern water treatment methods.

Top
I live in the country and have a well with hard water. We have a water softener plus a reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water. The output of the RO system is pretty minimal. I have a 20 gal. aquarium (freshwater) which we started with distilled water. Should I get a larger R/O system or keep using distilled water?

That is some very hard well water Ken. We sympathize with you and think your efforts are quite admirable. You're doing a great job with the equipment you have. As you have determined already, most "home" drinking water RO systems are not adequate for aquarium use. Those smaller units are designed to make small quantities of drinking water, not large volumes of ultra-pure water for an aquarium. You are taxing the RO system by making so much water with it and we suspect the membrane and/or cartridges need changing. Yes, we do feel that a reverse osmosis system is your best bet, and with that kind of hardness, we would recommend an over-sized four-stage unit so that you don't go through a lot of membranes and get a good output. The output of an aquarium RO system will have a pH of about 6.5 and will contain almost 0.0 dissolved solids and hardness. With the kind of hardness you're talking about, a 50 gallon per-day, four stage RO system is the way to go.

Top

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7

Was this page helpful?

Frequent Aquarium Questions