Help a newbie, please

[splitload]

I have a 29 gallon tank that has been set up for approx 5 months. I have one yellow tail Damsel that has survived since the start.

The water quality is as follows.

Ammonia,nitrates, nitrites, are 0, alk @ 14.5, ph @ 8.2, sg 1.024, temp 78,no detectable copper levels, phosphates are less than 0.25.

Other than the aforementioned Damsel nothing will survive in the tank.

Fish last a couple of days, crabs (hermit) last a couple of days and snails (4 different types) last less than 8 hours.

The tank has been set up for 5 months, and since I can't get a clean up crew to last, nor fish I am ready to dump it and put guppies in.

There is about 20 pounds of live(?) rock in the tank. It was alive when placed in the tank, not sure now.


Any ideas what may be the problem?

[blennydude]

Your alk is way high. Are you dosing alk? Are you using ro/di water? Are you acclimating your livestock? When I purchase a new fish/invert I float the bag to match temp, then I will open the bag and let in a little tank water every 15 minutes for about an hour. You especially have to do this w/ snails for they are very sensitive to sg change. There is definitely something off w/ your tank. Do you have a 29 biocube?

[splitload]

No it is not a bio-cube, just a regular tank. I have been told by several so called experts that 14-18 is ideal for alk. I do float and add tank water slowly but not as slowly as you do, I will try that and get the alk down. what is the ideal range?

Thank you for your advise.

[leebca]

Reconsider the parameters, okay? In this post you'll learn more things to consider about water quality. But one important thing to learn is that alkalinity, magnesium, and calcium are not just things to keep in range but must also be kept in balance. Slowly move these into balance according to the instructions in this link: What is Water Quality

Water quality is usually the culprit. Review your maintenance procedures, look for any sources of water contamination, check your source water (are you using tap water or what?), and other situations of potential water quality matters noted in the above link.

Nitrate levels of 0 are not reasonable. So either your test kit is wrong, you haven't actually done such a test, or there is something unusual about your system. This is worth more investigation.

I also don't know the things you're adding into the aquarium. What additives do you use? How do you control pH? etc., etc.

There is a high probability that one of the things in the above link or this post is your likely problem.