fish death

I've been plagued with poor fish survival in my tank, over the past year
and a half i have lost 6 clown fish, some within the first 3 days, the rest
within two weeks, ive also lost two blue damsels, and apparently today while
i was acclimating two clowns [last try before i scrub the entire tank] my
bicolor dottyback decided he had enough of the tank and jumped out. I've
been racking my brain on whats been going wrong with my tank, nitrogen
levels, not enough disolved oxygen, acidic ph, but when i do my tests
everythings within norm, even temperatures have been steady at 78 degrees.
If anyone has a clue as to whats going wrong, feel free to comment.

-----------------------
75 gal tank
30-40 lbs live rock
80 lbs live sand
1200 powerhead
250 watt titanium heater
150 watt glass heater
1500 Cascade canister filter with pads and 1 liter Matrix bio-media
protein skimmer

-------------------------
1 emerald crab
several blue legged hermits
one turbo snail
2 astrea snails
1 bi-color dottyback [if its still alive]
2 common clown fish


If these two clowns dont make it, the next step is to tear down the tank and
put it in storage.

I also have 8 quarter sized soft corals and 3 mushrooms which are all doing
well...

What are your water readings? (Ammonia, PH, Salinity, Nitrites,
Nitrates, Temperature, etc).

"...." wrote in message ...
I also have 8 quarter sized soft corals and 3 mushrooms which are all doing
well...

Ammonia = 0
ph = 8.3
nitrite = 0
nitrate = 9 mq/L
temp = 78
calcium = 490

And as far as all of my resources show its within normal paremeters.

Two ideas:

1. Is your skimmer working well? Before skimmers were popular, it was common
for tanks to become more deadly as time went on. Could be your skimmer is
not skimming out enough crud.

2. When you do water changes, what is the source of the water you use? Is it
premixed with salt before adding to the tank and fully conditioned? I like
to use Reverse Osmosis water from the local water & ice store ($.25/gallon).

If neither of these seem suspect... try posting your inquiry at
reefaquariumguide.com forums with as much info as possible... the gurus on
that board may have some other ideas?

Dave

"...." wrote in message
. ..
Ammonia = 0
ph = 8.3
nitrite = 0
nitrate = 9 mq/L
temp = 78
calcium = 490

And as far as all of my resources show its within normal paremeters.

Update: I've left the lights out on the tank since adding the clownfish, and
revitalizing the dottyback I checked on it tonight, the clowns are doing
well, still getting used to the tank size and currents; and the dottyback is
hiding in a piece of barnacle, apparently still very shocked , but alive.

The important thing is they are all still alive.

As far as the skimmer goes, I think its time to take it appart and do some
maintenence, its not quite working up to par, thanks for the suggestion.

Water changes are bi- to tri-weekly, but i am moving it up to smaller once a
week changes. Like a gallon or so a week. And once I can convice my wife to
let me make another investment in the tank, I will get an RO unit. Right now
I am using well water from the tap.

Are you drinking this well water too? Maybe it should be tested !! At the
very least use a water conditioner that will remove any heavy metals. I
would certainly be skeptical about using well water for a marine aquarium.

Like I said buying RO water at one of those "Water 'n Ice" stores is only
about $.25 - $.30 a gallon... I bring my own 7 gallon containers and load up
with good RO water for each water change.


"...." wrote in message
. ..
Update: I've left the lights out on the tank since adding the clownfish,
and
revitalizing the dottyback I checked on it tonight, the clowns are doing
well, still getting used to the tank size and currents; and the dottyback
is
hiding in a piece of barnacle, apparently still very shocked , but alive.

The important thing is they are all still alive.

As far as the skimmer goes, I think its time to take it appart and do some
maintenence, its not quite working up to par, thanks for the suggestion.

Water changes are bi- to tri-weekly, but i am moving it up to smaller once
a
week changes. Like a gallon or so a week. And once I can convice my wife
to
let me make another investment in the tank, I will get an RO unit. Right
now
I am using well water from the tap.

U aren't using ozone in your skimmer, are you? mike.
PS Sal****er fish are not all that delicate as the 'authorities claim. In my
opinion, any marine aquarium fish which survives the wild collection
experience and makes it to the local dealer, and is eating and appears okay,
MUST have a fairly sturdy constitution. Yesterday, I scrubbed the walls of
the tank and stirred up the gravel ( with all fishes in the tank)and then
drained fifteen gallons of my 92 gallon tank out, and replaced it with ten
gallons of distilled and five gallons of tap water, not dechlorinated, and
the fish are looking fine today I also add the salt and mix it right in the
aquarium with the fishes present. I say again, in my opinion, most
sal****er aquarium fishes are fairly sturdy animals. the only time I have
lost any fish was when I had a problem with ich a few months back, and as
soon as I treated the tank, all remaining fishes quickly grew healthy again.
I would advise you to get someone( someone who has a demonstrated ability to
keep sal****er fish healthy in an aquarium) over to your location and let
them see exactly what goes on in your aquarium , and see if they have any
suggestions.
"...." wrote in message
. ..
Update: I've left the lights out on the tank since adding the clownfish,
and
revitalizing the dottyback I checked on it tonight, the clowns are doing
well, still getting used to the tank size and currents; and the dottyback
is
hiding in a piece of barnacle, apparently still very shocked , but alive.

The important thing is they are all still alive.

As far as the skimmer goes, I think its time to take it appart and do some
maintenence, its not quite working up to par, thanks for the suggestion.

Water changes are bi- to tri-weekly, but i am moving it up to smaller once
a
week changes. Like a gallon or so a week. And once I can convice my wife
to
let me make another investment in the tank, I will get an RO unit. Right
now
I am using well water from the tap.