[Quan]

I just set up my tank with CaribSea Caribbean Live Sand Pacific Black Reef. I also put a drift wood in it. Will this sand not work with fresh water cichlids? I used water conditioner and also used the water clarifier and let it sit for 5 hours before I put in my juvile cichlids.

They acted funny and after 3 hours they just sat at the bottom and died. The water temperature is at 78.

I just replaced the water and conditioned it again. I'm going to buy a goldfish in 2 days and see how he reacts to the water. Anyone have this issue?

 

[KaiserSousay]

Sorry,
With all the avenues available for information on how to successfully start up a tank.
With endless pages devoted to nothing less than step by step guides.
Online forums aimed at all levels of experience.
General and quite specific guides on fishless and with fish methods for new tanks.
Product advertisements and reviews of the effectiveness of anything you might stick in a fish tank.
It has got to the point where a guy would have to go out of his way to fail in the way you describe.
Before posting, I looked at your previous postings, yes, all of them.
I got to admit, I`m scratching my head.
With all you have put up before, to now post the above.
Well, it just put a boggle on me.
Sorry the fish died, for sure.
Pretty sure my posting will not go over big with you.
Harsh on my part, but it is how I feel about it.
Sorry if you get P.O`ed about it, but you put it out there for me to read and comment on, just like the rest of your postings.
Starting up a tank has not changed in the 18yrs. since you last had fish.
If anything it has got a great deal easier.

 

[zimmy]

Did you cycle the tank (i.e. have beneficial bacteria established)? Google "fishless cycling" if you don't know what I'm referring to.

 

[Quan]

I appreciate you taking your time to write all that and appreciate you reading my thread(s). Yes, I had a 20G then eventually a 75G many years ago in which I cleaned and setup many times. Did not have the luxury of the internet to research fish cycling. Never did my fish die when I did 100% water changes. This is just a 36G and I did all the same steps I've done in my previous experiences.

I was just curious if the sand I was using wasn't suitable for fresh water, since I've always used gravel.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

If it's truly "live" sand, then no, it's not suitable for freshwater. It's cultured with saltwater bacteria/life, as well as saltwater... Did it come wet? In a plastic bag?

 

[GTZ]

Sorry,
With all the avenues available for information on how to successfully start up a tank.
With endless pages devoted to nothing less than step by step guides.
Online forums aimed at all levels of experience.
General and quite specific guides on fishless and with fish methods for new tanks.
Product advertisements and reviews of the effectiveness of anything you might stick in a fish tank.
It has got to the point where a guy would have to go out of his way to fail in the way you describe.
Before posting, I looked at your previous postings, yes, all of them.
I got to admit, I`m scratching my head.
With all you have put up before, to now post the above.
Well, it just put a boggle on me.
Sorry the fish died, for sure.
Pretty sure my posting will not go over big with you.
Harsh on my part, but it is how I feel about it.
Sorry if you get P.O`ed about it, but you put it out there for me to read and comment on, just like the rest of your postings.
Starting up a tank has not changed in the 18yrs. since you last had fish.
If anything it has got a great deal easier.

Wow, DB. How about just telling him what he's doing wrong? It's posts like this that cause people to not bother asking questions for fear of being made to look stupid.

 

[zimmy]

If it's truly "live" sand, then no, it's not suitable for freshwater. It's cultured with saltwater bacteria/life, as well as saltwater... Did it come wet? In a plastic bag?

I'm not familiar with this particular sand but I believe Caribsea has a line of wet sands for freshwater also...in which case it wouldn't be the cause of the fish dying and, at least theoretically, would assist in beneficial bacteria forming in the tank.

I replied to your question in a rush this morning and didn't mean to suggest that not having cycled the tank would have caused the death of your fishes. A tank that hasn't been cycled won't kill fish in only three hours. You didn't mention it though and it stood out as a significant oversight.

More information would help people help you figure out what went wrong.

Where did you get the driftwood and how did you prepare it before putting it in the tank? Could there have been something toxic on the wood?

Was there anything else in the tank (decoration wise) that you used bleach on recently?

What was your pH level in the tank? Could it have been drastically different from the tank the fishes were coming from?

How long did your fishes travel before you got them and did you dump the bag water into the tank?

I'm sure there are other questions that need to be answered before determining what went wrong.

If it was me, I would hold off on putting the goldfish in the tank till you figure out the problem.

 

[AlainVirgin]

Is this your sand?

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=7318

If so it's a live sand for sure.

You should check the PH too, if the difference is significant from where the fish come from you need to gradually mix the water to adjust them in an acclimatizing bucket. The guy at the LFS will acclimatize some of his fish all day (he'll oxygenate the water in the bucket) if they come from somewhere with drastically different water parameters.

 

[DrTim's]

You need to measure some water quality parameters
start with the obvious
ammonia
nitrite
pH
even chlorine

Fish dying within 3 hours is a sign of is acute toxicity or lack of oxygen. The live sand can have lot of organics and you wrote "let it sit for 5 hours" truly sit with out water movement? no filtration?

My guess is lack of oxygen

 

[krfhsf]

For get the sand you need to do this. The sand is fine but no miricle.
good luck bro.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... ycling.php

 

[PfunMo]

I don't think this can be laid to a lack of cycle. While it would do him in at some point, it would not in three hours. Toxic some way, whether from sand or something simple like soap from the tank being cleaned at some point. Lesson here is to never trust anything you put in the tank until it has been cleaned correctly by yourself. I've seen tanks really abused during the rush of moving. Thinking of all the things that might be loaded into a tank during a move shows you must clean them before you set them up. At this point, I would drop back to start and make sure all parts of the tank are safe.

 

[DGT]

Sorry,
With all the avenues available for information on how to successfully start up a tank.
With endless pages devoted to nothing less than step by step guides.
Online forums aimed at all levels of experience.
General and quite specific guides on fishless and with fish methods for new tanks.
Product advertisements and reviews of the effectiveness of anything you might stick in a fish tank.
It has got to the point where a guy would have to go out of his way to fail in the way you describe.
Before posting, I looked at your previous postings, yes, all of them.
I got to admit, I`m scratching my head.
With all you have put up before, to now post the above.
Well, it just put a boggle on me.
Sorry the fish died, for sure.
Pretty sure my posting will not go over big with you.
Harsh on my part, but it is how I feel about it.
Sorry if you get P.O`ed about it, but you put it out there for me to read and comment on, just like the rest of your postings.
Starting up a tank has not changed in the 18yrs. since you last had fish.
If anything it has got a great deal easier.

Wow, DB. How about just telling him what he's doing wrong? It's posts like this that cause people to not bother asking questions for fear of being made to look stupid.

I think the message was do your homework!

 

[GTZ]

Sorry,
With all the avenues available for information on how to successfully start up a tank.
With endless pages devoted to nothing less than step by step guides.
Online forums aimed at all levels of experience.
General and quite specific guides on fishless and with fish methods for new tanks.
Product advertisements and reviews of the effectiveness of anything you might stick in a fish tank.
It has got to the point where a guy would have to go out of his way to fail in the way you describe.
Before posting, I looked at your previous postings, yes, all of them.
I got to admit, I`m scratching my head.
With all you have put up before, to now post the above.
Well, it just put a boggle on me.
Sorry the fish died, for sure.
Pretty sure my posting will not go over big with you.
Harsh on my part, but it is how I feel about it.
Sorry if you get P.O`ed about it, but you put it out there for me to read and comment on, just like the rest of your postings.
Starting up a tank has not changed in the 18yrs. since you last had fish.
If anything it has got a great deal easier.

Wow, DB. How about just telling him what he's doing wrong? It's posts like this that cause people to not bother asking questions for fear of being made to look stupid.

I think the message was do your homework!

Clearly, however it was the method of conveyance that left a lot to be desired. Last I'll comment on it.

 

[DGT]

I think the message was do your homework!

Clearly, however it was the method of conveyance that left a lot to be desired. Last I'll comment on it.

Yes, the message was blunt but I understand the frustration given the amount of info that is readily available and the number of these types of posts that show up.

 

[PfunMo]

We all get frustrated at times. But then the world is far from a perfect place. I was in a shop last week and a lady was refusing to buy the kids any more fish.

QUOTE: They all just die anyway after we do all that tank cleaning and mess.

Sometimes we just have to bite our tongue!!

 

[Quan]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I finally got it under control. Did some "homework". I got a few tiger barbs to cycle the tank. Everyone is swimming and eating now.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

Looking at your signature - where are the other fish being kept? A different tank? If so, you could very, very quickly cycle your new tank by putting its filter on the existing tank for as little as a day (a lot of people here will suggest 1-2 weeks, but I've had tons of success with as little as overnight) then putting it back on your new tank and adding a few fish (your 3 barbs) immediately.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck, and keep an eye on those water conditions. Barbs are hardy, but you don't want to torture the poor things with excessive ammonia levels

 

[DGT]

Congratulations on your success thus far! Learn as much as you can and you will be rewarded with many more.

Dave

 

[Quan]

Thanks. Well, it looks like my convicts are about to breed. I didn't think this would happen so fast since they are still rather small. So exciting!