Nid help Urgently,livestocks dieing !!

Hi everyone,i just set up my 1st marine tank bout a month ago,its a 2.5 X 1.5 X 1.5 tank.
using canister for filteration and there is also a protein skimmer & a
chiller,current temp is 26'C.
Current pH is 8.2

I am experiencing sudden increase in salt level,salt level will be fine,than suddenly increase in 1 or 2 days,than after changing water,it repeats. And
most of my live stocks dun live more than a week.
i saw some white spots appearing on the body of the fish and the fish usually die few days
after getting tis white spots. I seriously dun know the reason why tis white spots appear.
My coral also died few days ago.
Now my tank is very empty. I am really stuck and duno wad to du next !!

I really need as much help from bros n sis here.
Thanks for viewing.

[willkee]

Hi bro,i face the same problem when i first started keeping marine livestock few yrs ago.can elaborate more like how long have u cycle ur tank,sanity lvl,Kh lvl,Ca/Mg lvl,..etc so that is easier for others to help.

[KaLiB]

The whitespot is due to a parasite. This is quite a common disease in the marine aquarium. The parasites must have a fish host to survive as living on a fish host is part of their life cycle. So by keeping the aquarium fish free for 1-2months should eradicate the parasites in the tank.

Its unusual for the salt level to increase on its own unless you have been adding salt to the aquarium. What device you use to measure the salinity? Hydrometer or Refractometer?

What sort of fishes have you kept? Some fishes are doomed to die right from the start as they are quite impossible to keep alive in the typical home aquarium.

How do you acclimatize your livestock to the tank water? This is quite an important process especially for more sensitive species like shrimps.

[Galatea]

what salinity are you maintaining and what is your form of water top up?

Originally Posted by willkee

Hi bro,i face the same problem when i first started keeping marine livestock few yrs ago.can elaborate more like how long have u cycle ur tank,sanity lvl,Kh lvl,Ca/Mg lvl,..etc so that is easier for others to help.

My tank have been cycled close to 1 month bro.
From the results of my test strips,

NO3-0
NO2-0
GH->21'd
KH-13'd

Originally Posted by KaLiB

The whitespot is due to a parasite. This is quite a common disease in the marine aquarium. The parasites must have a fish host to survive as living on a fish host is part of their life cycle. So by keeping the aquarium fish free for 1-2months should eradicate the parasites in the tank.

Its unusual for the salt level to increase on its own unless you have been adding salt to the aquarium. What device you use to measure the salinity? Hydrometer or Refractometer?

What sort of fishes have you kept? Some fishes are doomed to die right from the start as they are quite impossible to keep alive in the typical home aquarium.

How do you acclimatize your livestock to the tank water? This is quite an important process especially for more sensitive species like shrimps.

My salinity lvl for now is 1.022
I usually leave the bag in the water for 1/2 hour,filling the bag wit
my tank water for every 10 min for 1/2 hr befor releasing the fish.
I went to tis marine shop at CCK,they told me tat im not suppose to use canister for filteration. and they told me tat i nid to use purified water during top up. i guess now i have to change to a sump tank

And Thanks for all your replies,really appreciate it

[dnsfpl]

cck lfs beside qian hu? if so might not be your tank problem

you might want to try getting your livestock from CF instead

cheers

[KaLiB]

You dont necessarily have to use purified water for water top-up. I just use normal tapwater treated with a proper water conditioner(make sure its suitable for marine use) all this while.

You may want to increase the acclimatization period, 30mins is a little short IMO. I typically spend around 2-3hrs to acclimatize the fish. I use a 1.5litre mineral bottle with a valve & short rubber tube attached to the base to drip tank water into a container with the fish in it.

This is what i do:
1)Clean bag with freshwater and then float it in the tank for 30mins(Do not open the bag yet)
2)Open the bag and pour the contents into a small pail(Take note of water level)
3)Fill the 1.5litre mineral bottle with tank water and drip(approximately 3drops a second)
4)When I estimate that the water volume has doubled, I remove around 50% and continue dripping until water volume has doubled again.
5)If its known to be sensitive to water parameter changes, I usually repeat step 4. I repeat step 4 when acclimatizing shrimps.
6)Let the fish sit in the container for another 30mins.
7)Gently net the fish out of the container and into the display tank.

This is just a rough guide and you do not have to follow this but IMO, dripping is one of the better ways to reduce the shock.

Canister filters can be used in marine aquarium, just that they need to be cleaned frequently to prevent choking and the buildup of nitrates.

[SunnyDay]

Originally Posted by dnsfpl

cck lfs beside qian hu? if so might not be your tank problem

you might want to try getting your livestock from CF instead

cheers

Bro Dnsfpl, dun jump into conclusion so soon. Although, I do understand some people have bad experience with this LFS. I think it is better to check what is the source of the problem.

Bro, with is your ammonia reading? Do you have a sand bed? Did you stir your sand bed? Or maybe move your rock? Can you tell us your procedure of cycling the tank? R u using a refractmeter to measure the salinity?