Luca Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 (edited) Hi I am a fish keeper who has been keeping fish for the last 2 years. I set up a waterbox aquarium that 32 gallons. Below is what it looked like 2 weeks ago After coming home from a week vacation the water level was a little low. The fish were doing fine though. So I topped it off with about 2 gallons of water. After I did that a day later the water is cloudy and most tetras and guppies died. Some plecos too. Plants are melting and I have no clue what to do. That was 2 days ago and the past 2 days I did 2 60% water changes. They have not helped with fish conditions. Water is a little less cloudy though Things to consider 1) I use well water that I have been for 2 years and did not add any water conditioner because I have not in 2 years and everything has been fine. 2) my well is running a but low in water (I don’t know if this matters) Edited July 19 by Luca Clarity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 have you done any water testing? test both the water coming out of the well, and the water in the tank. need to figure out if the issue is the tank itself, or the water you are adding to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 I will test tomorrow can’t today but fish were fine before added water then died day after. It’s not the tank water. But even if water is funky out of the well I don’t understand how 2 gallons could effect 32 gallon tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabdewulf Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Don't know where you are but here in central PA, sulfer is a big issue in well water from coal/fracking. Don't know if that applies but maybe something similar sipping off the top of your well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 My well is a personal well not town week and I live in ma but thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 On 7/19/2024 at 2:05 PM, Luca said: I will test tomorrow can’t today but fish were fine before added water then died day after. It’s not the tank water. But even if water is funky out of the well I don’t understand how 2 gallons could effect 32 gallon tank The water change timing could totally have been pure happenstance. The tank water could still be the issue. I run off personal well here in SC and we have sulfur water in nearly every drilled well because they cross contaminate the bacteria that causes it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 What can I do if there is a contaminet in my well? But also I have been using it for 2 years and when I did a water change a 2 weeks before the water top off everything was fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 What are all of the tanks actual parameters, and your actual stocking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 Was 7.8 ph and like 10-20 nitrates normally. No amonia in about 6 months. I had 8 serpe tetras 8 emperor tetra and a guppy litter of like 20 with a pair of plecos and about 10 babies And a few neons and danio from 2 years ago. I understand it could be a little overstocked but it had been running perfect for 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonkley Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 Sounds like the cycle crashed which led to fish death which lead to more fish death. Maybe your phone dropped to low 6 and then came back up from fresh water 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 Is that even possible. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that I add water and the next day stuff went wrong. Because it had been like 14 days since last water change. And even if well got contaminated would 2 gallons hurt that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattP Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 (edited) Bummer. Sorry to hear of your tank troubles. Edited July 20 by MattP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 What is your maintenance schedule like? Do you do water changes, or do you just top off the tank off? How often do you test your parameters? A lot of things are possible here, and the more information you can provide the more the community could help you get to the bottom of the issue. Perhaps you only top off water, and over the 2 year period you’ve had tons of things accumulate in the water because you’re topping off and not water changing. Perhaps your kH was depleted, your pH crashed because of it, you had fish die, that created ammonia, and that crashed your cycle. Maybe something happened with the well water. Maybe there was a contaminant that got into your tank that has nothing to do with the 2 gallon top off, but the timing has you set on the water going into the tank being the issue. If you could provide parameters including kH and gH, your normal water change schedule, etc those things could be helpful to either rule out potential issues, or could help illuminate some things we haven’t thought of yet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 No question it is a frustrating occurrence. more than once, I have been handed a surprise to humble me in this hobby when I start to feel I am getting a handle on it… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnkissed Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Maybe adding 2 gallons of water created a significant swing in water parameters. When I have to top off i make sure it's not more than 1/2 gallon at a time, but that's what works for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 Ok and to answer mantince question I do 50% like 5 times a month and trim and check health and all that every day. I spend prob an hour a day looking and caring for my tank I promise u matience is not something I take lightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 Also I did testing ammonia spiked at 3 ppm. Don't know how but I got it back to normal today. Fish eating and no heavy breathing. Stuff like this is why I hate seeing youtuber vids w no water changes. I don't know if its my 8.0 pH that makes it swing so much in parameters but its always something I have to be careful of. Thanks to everyone on this forum for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggaz Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 (edited) Cloudiness is a sign of a bacterial bloom. Could be something in your well that really likes the stuff in your tank... I'd definitely get your water checked if I were you. You might have a recent contamination problem that could possibly end up affecting your own health. Edited July 21 by daggaz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnkissed Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 On 7/21/2024 at 1:05 PM, Luca said: Also I did testing ammonia spiked at 3 ppm. Don't know how but I got it back to normal today. Fish eating and no heavy breathing. Stuff like this is why I hate seeing youtuber vids w no water changes. I don't know if its my 8.0 pH that makes it swing so much in parameters but its always something I have to be careful of. Thanks to everyone on this forum for the help I think YouTube videos should be used as a guideline. Different places have different water. What works for one night but work for others. There's no one fits all solution. And like @daggaz said, check your water for your own health too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Melting plants are probably contributing to the ammonia levels. An 8 for the pH is going to of course mean your ammonia levels are going to be higher than the lower pH. I ask questions about everything that you were doing so that I and the others can get as much of a complete picture so we can help. I lean to the tank having something happen leading to the ammonia spike. The plants melting will definitely affect the ammonia as they break down. I had some melt due to my floaters covering the light a bit. It was pretty quick too almost over night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonkley Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Honestly it sounds like you are spending way too much time on maintenance. If you're just as rigorous with your filtration that can be impeding your beneficial bacteria. Fish want stable water, not half of their tank changed every week. What's your kh? Maybe you need a buffer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) On 7/21/2024 at 10:12 PM, Lonkley said: Honestly it sounds like you are spending way too much time on maintenance. If you're just as rigorous with your filtration that can be impeding your beneficial bacteria. Fish want stable water, not half of their tank changed every week. What's your kh? Maybe you need a buffer. Original Post stated coming home from vacation and topping off around 2 gallons in a 32 gallon tank that precipitated the issue… If I walked in after a vacation and the tank looked fine but a little low and I topped off a bit of water and then saw a big die off occur, I would be running tests on every parameter I had a test for on both tank water and tap water before doing anything else. I would probably get a sample of tap water to send out for more extensive testing to get clarity if there was anything in it, either from low water levels in well, or from sitting unused in house during vacation. I probably would not be consuming it until I got tests back. It may have been due to water sitting in pipes unused for a while and once water was flushed out it is fine now. It may have been from low water levels in the well. I would want to have it tested. Fwiw, I sort of doubt original posters water change schedule or filter maintenance schedule before this unfortunate experience occurred precipitated this incident. Edited July 22 by Pepere 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 On 7/19/2024 at 1:49 PM, Luca said: So I topped it off with about 2 gallons of water. After I did that a day later the water is cloudy and most tetras and guppies died. Was there any hint of rotten egg odor that you discerned when you filled the container to add? Hydrogen sulfide levels can rise in water that sits in pipes for a period of time, esp with some wells.. flushing the lines clears it out… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 I did not notice rotten egg smell and I could not have tested the water before hand because I did not have my test kit at that house. A relative who lives 20 mins away had it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 On 7/22/2024 at 8:23 AM, Pepere said: Was there any hint of rotten egg odor that you discerned when you filled the container to add? Hydrogen sulfide levels can rise in water that sits in pipes for a period of time, esp with some wells.. flushing the lines clears it out… well or city water, if no water has been used in a week, its a good idea to run the water for a minute or three prior to use. for fish tank, or your own consumption. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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