Too many bubbles?

[Meche]

Is there such thing as too many bubbles?

 

[Krish]

Depends...Where are the bubbles? Skimmer? In the tank?

 

[plack]

Thet wont hurt the coarls if thats what your curious about.However they can look bad and be visually irritating and usually come from the sump. Some people turn on air for a minute or so every few hours to help skim out the junk in there tank which is a nice idea.Anyway if they bother you and you have a sump see if they pop out of the return if so then there from the sump.

Paul

 

[Meche]

I love the way they look, I currently only have fish and no sump or skimmer. I was just wondering if they were bad for the fish or eventually live rock or corals.

I have 55gal with 2x 6" rena air stones and a wisper 100 pump at full tilt. It makes the water look "fuzzy" and you can follow the currents.

 

[reefnetworth]

what is your PH? if its usually low, youre taking in CO2 from the room. if so, try reduceing air intake. that would be my only concern. REEF-ON!

 

[Meche]

Nope, it is on the upper end of good (from what I've read) 8.4. I was just a little worried because I had 4 fish die with only one of them having any visible signs of being beaten up by my blue devil damsel. They seemed to be gasping for air, silly but I was thinking maybe there was air bubbles stuck in their gills.

I'm now thinking it was eather ammonia (spankin' new tank) or the store I bought them from selling me garbage. They would have sold me some 3 strips but then I asked the lfs guy what that stuff all over their fins was and he was like "um... it might be ick", so I made him put them back. Needless to say I haven't been back.

 

[reefnetworth]

how long are they living? if they are showing signs of distress, look at the anal area. if its red and swollen, or if it looks like insides are coming out. gasping and listfulness/lathergic is appearent, they may have been cynide caught. ick comes from bacteria in unhealty, unsanitary tanks. improper filter changes. (lack of) if introduced into your tank on just one fish, it can get in the sand, filter system, rocks, and as you know, other fish. there are meds to kill it if caught in time. "IF" not caught in time, the only way to completely rid of it, is to shut down, clean everything, and start over. REEF-ON!

 

[reefnetworth]

(ran outta room in my reply square) pH is acceptable in range of 7.8-8.4. out of tolerence, can damage your entire systems' well being and survival. try a buffer, but watch the Alkalinity. if you overdose it will get very high. the best way if O.D. has occured is 1-2 days off buffer. it will slowly go back to normal or below. some say H2O change, i say time. unnecessary H2O changes takes bacteria from your system before it has a chance to become benificial. (nitrogen cycle) hope this helps, if not, and you reply. i will try to help in other ways. the mentioned are the first steps and usually the "cause and fix". REEF-ON!

 

[Meche]

I had 3 die the same way: they would hang out in one cornor gasping for 1-2 day and wouldn't eat, even if food floated near them, then belly up in the next day or so. I don't think my fish had ich, I really looked them over good for that my buddy too (who knows his s**t).

Day 1 was on 7/14 so a month to the day.
pH is very stable, maybe gradually fell a couple points before I did a water change in week 3.
I got an ammonia kit last week and havent detected any (colors are a little weird maybe .25ppm? actually looks like -.25 but I know thats not possible).
Nitrite and Nitrate I've been testing for since the beginning. I've seen -ite go from 0 to 3 to 5ppm currently (peaking I hope). And -ate has been at 20ppm for a solid week.

All Ive added is stress coat and zyme coat (or stress zyme what ever its called).

and food

 

[reefnetworth]

nitrites need to be zero, thats probable cause. nitrite (NO2) @ 5, ammonia (NH3,NH4) @ .25, and nitrate (NO3) @ 20, will be lowered or gone, with a 25-30% water change. i dont treat (stress coat) unless there is no choice. water change would be my first choice. use Seachem "Prime" in tank will help with these parameters also. REEF-ON!

 

[Meche]

my understading is that stress coat and prime are the same except prime has the added benifit of nitrite and ammonia removal. I've read other threads that suggest the (synthetic) removal of these two will slow/stop the growth of the bacteria that will convert them to nitrate. My situation is not the same as this guy's (I only have 4 fish) but I think similar.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16251&page=2 post#24 by skimerwisperer

Thanks for the help, just trying to understand why.

 

[reefnetworth]

Prime is a natural detoxifier, not a synthetic. it is for detoxification of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrite. it allows them (NH3,NH4,NO2,NO3) to be removed without water change. it helps the fish restor its own slime coat. not a synthetic that produces a slime coat. hydrosulfide salts, (sulfer) and DI water are the only ingredients. i dont know the ingredients of slime coat. IMO, i wouldnt use it in my tank. hope this helps you to understand. have a great day and REEF-ON!

 

[reefnetworth]

sorry for the time reply lapse. i work nights, this is my afternoon, 4:40 a.m., and sleeping by 6:30 a.m. my answers are to the best of my knowledge, i dont answer to any question i dont know. i usually can refer you to a site or another member with knowledge of the subject. i dont mind being questioned on my advice, or my experience. (16+ years) i may sometimes be direct and to the point, it might seem rude to some. its not intentional. again, have a great day & REEF-ON!

 

[LakeEd]

Meche,

It sounds as if your tank is relatively new... and still in its initial cycle. Just guessing from your answers above... but your ammonia level has peeked, and now dropped... and now your nitr"i"te is rising. As it rises, so will your nitr"a"tes. Then your nitr"i"tes will drop to zero (as should your ammonia by this time), and you will then take care of your nitr"a"tes with regular water changes.

During this initial cycle... the high ammonia & nitr"i"te levels are very VERY hard on fish... quite often causing their demise. This is possibly the problem you have been seeing.

Personally... your tank NEEDS to go thru this initial cycle... to develop the nitrifying bacteria to take care of normal waists. I wouldn't use any trick "additives" during this cycle... just be patient, and things will balance out on their own.

 

[Meche]

sorry for the time reply lapse. i work nights, this is my afternoon, 4:40 a.m., and sleeping by 6:30 a.m. my answers are to the best of my knowledge, i dont answer to any question i dont know. i usually can refer you to a site or another member with knowledge of the subject. i dont mind being questioned on my advice, or my experience. (16+ years) i may sometimes be direct and to the point, it might seem rude to some. its not intentional. again, have a great day & REEF-ON!

I appreciate your advice greatly, I was just trying to understand what looked like a contradiction to me. It now looks like there are two ways to skin a cat in this case. I didn't take it as blunt or rude, I just didn't want you too. Just tryin' to pick your brain.

I mean come on, how could I not trust a guy whos nickname is "no mechanical filtration" ! :lol:

I have a "tank sitter" till next wed as I am in TX, so nothing is going to happen now anyway. But I'll let you know what happens when I get back.

Thank you all

 

[reefnetworth]

cycle time has nothing to do with ick. the cycle time is as crutial as the water changes to fallow. if your fish are dying of ick, not cycle being completed. they are two sepserate subjects. nitrite is exrtemetly hard on fish. nitrate is tollerable in amounts of up to 50ppm (high range test) in saltwater. this would be deadly in freshwater. ammonia can be acceptable in very low amounts. but it needs to be greatly reduced and/or eliminated. stress and unhealthy systems from the place of purchase is usually the prime suspect. your LFS may be purchasing from a bad vendor. do a water change, add "Prime" 5mL to 50 gallons and test water. then tell me what the results are. even if you dont use the "prime" do a water change and test before adding anything. if you are useing tap water, some utilities permit small amounts of ammonia in their systems. hope this helps & REEF-ON!

 

[Meche]

Ammonia=Nitrite=Nitrate=0

I checked it when I got back and all is well. I used tap to setup but since, I've used distilled.

Let me know what you think about...cycled... now what?