Saltwater meltdown

[Bagelboy]

Had a meltdown in January. Lost all fish overnight. Tank was seemingly stable. Fish were long time residents. I had added some NoPo to the tank to help with phosphate level, which was moderately high (.15). Thought it might be related to NoPo. Had also broken down and cleaned the filter days before the meltdown. Inverts were unaffected. Let the tank cycle for more than a month. Rechecked all levels this week: 0 ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Phosphate was .07. Decided it was time to reintroduce some fish. Bought 3 seemingly healthy damsels. Brought them home and dripped them for 2 hours. They looked fine. Added them to the tank and they all croaked within about 90 seconds. I am totally at a loss as to next steps. I have no clue as to what the problem might be, or even what to check or test for. Water looks great. Minimal amount of algae. Would greatly appreciate any suggestions. FYI, I have a 37 gallon bowfront tank with API canister filter and Coral Life skimmer. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[Freshwater Tropic]

Hmm... That is definitely an issue...

Couple things I'd like to know more about...

1.) How long was the tank up and running for before the January Meltdown?
2.) What inhabitants were in the tank & how many of each?

Another thing I'm curious about, You have slightly elevated Phosphate but 0 ppm Nitrate? Usually(not always), they go hand and hand. For fish to be dying within the 1st 3 mins, there's either something wrong with the supplier or your system. I'm sure you've heard & read it time & time again, but this is where Quarantine tanks come in very handy. Gives you time to monitor the fish and give them a smooth transition. Another thing to look at is how old are your test kits? They do have a shelf life unfortunately.

On a side note, Canister filters are "Iffy" with SW. They are known to create a lot of Nitrates in a system unless maintained every few days. They trap detritus in the canister and give food and waste a lot of time to breakdown. Versus the Filter sock method that would be changed out ever 2-3 days removing the detritus before it has time to break down.

Do you run any reactors of any sort(i.e. Bio pellet reactor)?

I'm sorry you've experienced these issues. I can assure you we'll help you figure it out. Don't give up yet. We'll just take it 1 step at a time.

[Bagelboy]

Tank was up for just over a year. Inhabitants included 1ea: lemon peel angel, royal gramma, tank raised oscellaris clown, 2 green chromis and 3 damsels. There were also a shifting star, 6 or so hermit crabs and a dozen assorted snails. My test kit is perhaps 18 months old. Use a Hannah checker for phosphate which is probably 10 months old. Don't use any reactors.
Wasn't aware of canister issues. I have been out of the loop for years. Back in the day, when I got started, they were the best way to go. Will investigate filter sock method.

[ScottFish]

Welcome to the Forum BTW, and sorry to hear of your meltdown.

[Freshwater Tropic]

So, would you say this happened right around the same time you added NoPo? What NoPo product are you using exactly?

All and all, I'm very curious as to what's changed all of a sudden after a year of no issues. In my opinion, for a 37 Gallon tank, you're a little over stocked. Which would lead me to believe Nitrates could be higher than your test kits showing. Unfortunately, it's very hard to tell. Usually, the inverts would be affected too though. For fish to die so quickly, something must me leaching into the tank. If possible, check with your local fish store(LFS) and see if they offer water testing. If so, I'd have them check it to get a second opinion. Most of the times, LFS's use premium test kits that offer a little better reliability than your standard API test kit.


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[Bagelboy]

The first meltdown happened the day after I used Red Sea NO3:PO4-X. Never added it again after first meltdown. I will have my water tested are LFS and see what it reads. Will post results later. Thanks for your input.

[Freshwater Tropic]

No problem! I'm thinking that NoPo could be the culprit. I've never heard of issues myself with NoPo(Especially Redsea as I've used it myself), but there's a first time for everything. Being it's the most recent thing that's changed with the tank, it's hard not to point the finger at it.

While I'm thinking about it, I never asked... do you use tap water or RO water?

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[Bagelboy]

I use tap water with Amquell added.

[Freshwater Tropic]

Just out of curiosity, I would maybe take a sample of the Tap water to be tested also. Sometimes that could be a culprit. I have never used Tap water in any of my SW aquariums yet. I've always used RO-DI water. Let me know what the results are of the LFS water tests.