Came home to my entire tank dead

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I'm sorry you lost your fish.

If other WC were done with no salt, it could in fact be that you were using un softened water, which would likely not have been as big an issue for your fish.

As to one of your questions, the water softener removes a lot of things, so not using it may be an issue. However, just in case, it's not always true that water softened water is routed everywhere in a residence. It's typically sent to the laundry and the showers (due to how soap interacts with it), but sometimes not to the kitchen. The reason is that some people have health issues with water that has been softened, so kitchen water does not get softened.

If you were not getting your WC water from the kitchen and if you have been getting buildup of lime/calcium on your kitchen pots/glasses, then there's a good chance that the kitchen is not getting softened water.
 
our house is on a well and only the hot water goes though the softner.i can notice when im running out of salt because the water gets extra soft for a couple of days when its all dissolved it must put extra through.anyways if im doing a 20% wc i use only cold when i do a 50 - 75 % wc i use hot and cold it has never bothered my fish.i also use epson salt in my tanks once in a while .there is times when i dont refill right aways but im going to pay closer attn.sorry 4 yor losses
 
I have been told by people smarter than myself that salt driven water softeners are LETHAL to aquarium fish OVER TIME... the salt buildup kills them.. the addition of salt to the system right before a water change may have killed them.. IF IT WAS me.... no more salt would be used in MY system ....sorry for your loss .. I hope you can rectify the situation so youcan safely keep fish
 
i was reading a discus thread because im interested in them and they keep water in storage containers for there wc heated and wait until it matches exactly what they have in their tanks hardcore fish keepers
 
I'm sorry for your loss.

I lost my entire tank (except my bichir - they survive anything!) a few months ago so I feel your pain.
 
harleyboy said:
i was reading a discus thread because im interested in them and they keep water in storage containers for there wc heated and wait until it matches exactly what they have in their tanks hardcore fish keepers
Click to expand...

Hmmm I just stick the hose in my discus tank XD. well every tank I do this.

Sorry for your loss OP. it sucks :(
 
Its winter in the great plains area... with the drought and during the winter in our area , the city dumps extra chemicals into the water.. plus the drought has lowered water tables increasing nitrates directly from the tap here. We frequently have winter tank dies off in this area from people who do python water changes ... we up using prime 2-3x recommended levels in winter to prevent bio die off from chloramines ...myself I store and treat water for 24 hours before use.

getting back to your water softener, the salt /brine tank does not soften your water! your resin tank provides ion exchange media that softens the water. The salt/brine tank just flushes and regenerates the ion exchange media. yes there is some residual salt left in the ion bed, however its not enough to hurt your fish , nor yourself unless you have a previous health issue or softener is not working properly. The problem with soft water is lack of buffering ability which on an over fed or highly stocked tank can be dangerous due to ph crashes, causing bio die off...causing AMM levels to rise and if the ph suddenly changes and goes high, the small amount of AMM becomes lethal due to the higher pH swing in your tank
 
My guess would be a sudden change in TDS (total dissolved solids) causing osmoregulatory imbalance as the cause of your fishes death. Osmoregulation has nothing to do with pH, and everything to do with controlling the balance of water/salt concentrations. pH has nothing to do with regards to if ones water is a hypertonic solution, hypotonic solution, or if it's isotonic. The shock part of the equation comes in when a fish has difficulty reaching equilibrium.

Going from lower TDS to higher TDS, not usually a problem, fish can become dehydrated but will adjust accordingly. Going from high to low (such as I believe happened in this case) causes a sudden rush of water to the cells of the fish, and if equilibrium is not reached in a timely manner it can essentially cause the cells to burst.

http://www.angelsplus.com/ArticleOsmosis.htm

http://www.mtfb.com/MTFBJUNE/MTFB2 pages/jacobsarticle2.htm


Sorry for your loss.
 
Sorry for your loss.. and reading up to this point.. I was going to go w/ what RD's suggested.. I was on a well with a softening system.. and had some issues when we first moved in... water kept testing fine.. but random fish would die on me... no rhyme or reason... until I got a TDS meter. I was doing 50% wc's weekly on my ray tank to keep my TDS controled.. not my nitrates ect ( granted it only made those numbers more then acceptable..)

PH swings sometimes will kill a fish or maybe 2.. but a whole system usually needs a major shock. I found once TDS's hit certain numbers for certain species ( 300+ for cardinal tetars for instance in my case) they would all just keel over like flies... no symptoms ect.. I lost a few tank-fulls of fish before we where able to figure out the issue unfortunately. Most the time they would be fine for a few weeks or even monthes.. then they would all just keel over one day. the TDS would build and build... then BAM everything dead. with water 0-0-20/-

I bought my meter for 20$ and it works well. it's prolly not the "best" but it put me in a spot to monitor things better and figure out better WC plans... Now that we moved and are on city water thats nowhere near as bad TDS wise I don't sweat it as much. imo a TDS meter is as important as a test kit to maintain ideal ststems.
 
For those on this thread that are smarter then I (and thank you so much for posting, I really do appreciate it) what do you think the best course of action is?

1. Keep the water soften full at all times, the water coming out of the faucet isn't harmful as long as it remains constant.
2. The water coming out of the water softener is toxic, find an outlet that bypasses the softener*

*I'm not entirely sure there is a faucet that is within 50ft of the tank's location that bypasses the softener. I'll have to take some pictures of pipes and find someone who knows about this sort of thing.

Also I am on city water not well.
 
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