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Thanks Saratogatan and Vogata for your replies.
Some more info to clarify: These are my first fish and this is a brand new 500 gal Q-tank I built while I work on my 7,000 gal main pond. I wanted to be sure to have a quarantine/treatment tank finished, runnning, and established before I finished the main pond. I wanted to get some cheap fish to practice and start learning the necessary husbandry/stewardship skills required of this hobby. Being a *new* system I expect the bio filter to take a little bit of time to get established (6-8 weeks?). The NO2 and NO3 are just now showing up so I believe that the bio filter is just starting to get established. Do you not need some NH3 to get the proper bacteria started and established in the bio filter? I expect to see the NH3 start to drop off in a week or two. The stocking level is one 8.5" fish, five 5"-6" fish, and one 3" fish. I believe this may be caused by one of the following:
1) Improper additions of sodium thiosulfate or residual chlorine from the water changes. I have been carefully measuring the dosage for the 10% water changes by the instructions but I have yet to be able to find a good Chlorine test kit to be sure (only have those cheap pond dip strips). I do have activated carbon in my TT so any chlorine remaining should be removed after one pass through the system.
2) Salt burns. Maybe I messed up the salt dip solution I put them in when I first brought them home or: being a newbie knucklehead I was just sprinkling the salt into the pond to maintain the .3 salanity level the first week. Some salt would remain until it dissolved around the pump inlet for an hour or two. I am now completley dissolving the salt into solution and adding slowly during the water changes.
3) Burns from the Titanium tube aquarium style electric heater.
4) Chemicals leaching from treated lumber. I used treated lumber for the coping around the raised tank that is located under cover on the porch and did not seal it. I added a green house cover to the tank to conserve heat because of the TT . I am wondering with the all the humidity and condensation that is running down the walls inside if it is contaminating the water by leaching chemicals from the lumber.
5) Some yet undisclosed parasite, bacterial or viral outbreak.
Thanks,
Lester
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