# My saltwater fish are dying



## gehowell

My saltwater tank was doing good for a year then I wanted to put a coral rock in there. I purchased a new filter and lights (what the pet store suggested) and not too long after, my fish started dying and now my coral is dying. Can anyone help me? My Yellow Tang my starfish, coral banded shrimp and a couple of Damsels died. And also I started getting red alge.


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## DJOstrichHead

what are your tanks parameters and size. What kind of light did you buy (link to a webpage with it)? what are all the tanks inhabitants and what kind of coral


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## Cody

The new filter is likely the problem. You shouldn't change out a filter unless you plan to keep the same media you used in the previous filter. You are most likely going through another cycle which is killing everything.

Water parameters?


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## gehowell

the lite is 
Coralife 10,000K http://www.bestpetsupply.com/brands/Coralife/1107.asp 
and the filter is 
Emperor 400. http://www.animalworldnetwork.com/maem400fisy.html 
The tank is a 29 gallon. I took one of the filters out because it has 2 carbon filters and I thought that was too much for the tank. (I really don't think the lady at the fish store knew what she was talking about)


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## Cody

Water Parameters please?

For one, the BIO Wheel on the Emperor is a terrible idea for SW. Take that out. It will become a 'trate factory. Did you just recently switch to those?

Also, a bulb like like, singely, will do nothing for corals. That would be barely 1WPG becuase of light overflow.

Can we have a picture of the tank?


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## gymnothorax

When you replaced the filter on your tank it is likely that you lost alot of nitrifying bacteria in your filter media which resulted in an ammonia spike. In short, your tank is recycling as it builds up a new colony of nitrifying bacteria. It will stabilyze itself in time, but it is critical taht you observe your water quality over the next few weeks, and multiple water changes will probably be necessary to prevent further loss until your tank is finished cycling. What are your current water parameters and tank inhabitants? Also, as Cody mentioned earlier, though the spectrum of your new bulb will be benificial to any photosynthetic animals in your tank, the wattage will be insufficiant for coral growth.


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## gehowell

*Here is pics of my tank*



































Should I put my filter back in that came with the tank? I think all my rocks and coral is dying


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## Pasfur

Real world, real answers....

The setup you have is a freshwater setup. You have aragonite substrate and a couple pieces of live rock, but otherwise everything in your aquarium is designed for a freshwater aquarium. I question your LFS and its ability to help you in the marine hobby. Fear not, we can help... 

Given the simple nature of this system, you will want to keep EXTREMELY easy to keep fish going forward. That Blue Damsel absolutely has to be removed. It is an extremely aggressive species and its mere presence in your aquarium is stressful for ANY other inhabitant that you would choose for a 29 gallon aquarium. Replace it with a Yellow-Tail Blue Damsel, which is much more appropriate for a community tank. I would suggest that you add a pair of TANK RAISED Ocellaris Clownfish and call it a day, given your current equipment.

In contrast to your aquarium, here are the specs on my 37 gallon, which is the same size as your tank, only 4 inches taller. I use 4'' aragonite, 15 lbs live rock, hang-on 18'' tall Protein Skimmer, UV Sterilizer, Hang on filter with activated carbon, and 2 additional power heads for water flow. The tank turns 3000 gallons of water per hour. There is no biological filtration of any type, other than live rock and sand. This is how a marine system should be set up. (They only optional piece of equipment on my tank is the UV Sterilizer.) 

I am very sorry to say that you have been misguided. What additional equipment do you own? What was the original setup?


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## Pasfur

Additionally, your aquarium needs a lot more rock work. You need a lot of hiding places and places for the fish to escape. Marine fish like to swim in and out of caves and overhangs. Without this sense of security, long term success is extremely difficult.


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## Cody

Pasfur said:


> Replace it with a Yellow-Tail Blue Damsel, which is much more appropriate for a community tank.


I'm sorry, but I found this to be somewhat misleading. No offense or anything. Yellow Tailed Damsels, as well with almost every other Damsel, can be the devil in Fish Form (This means Damsels, not fsh in the Damsel family). 99% of the time the will attack other fish, and harass them to death.

I agree with everything about the scape mentioned. You need a lot more rock, a good CUC, and removal of the FW equipment if you want to see the best out of this.

Please take your Bio-Wheels out of the filter. This is a very big reason why things are dying.


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## Pasfur

Excellent point Cody. I want to clarify that I agree with you completely that Damsels are best left out of any community tank. However, if an aquarist insists on keeping a Damsel, given their hardiness they do make great fish for a beginner.... then the Yellow Tail is generally less aggressive than the other Damsels and usually safe with other aggressive species, such as Clownfish and Pseudochromis.


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