# Could chicken grit substrate be killing my tank?



## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

I have a newer 125g setup that has been running for about 2 weeks. I have a couple of danio's and tiger barbs that have been in there since the first setup. I recently added a parrot cichlid and 2 sevrums and 4 tiger barbs. A couple of days later the sevrums and the new tiger barbs were all dead. (Seems like the other fish have clamped fins too) 
I have a marineland 503 canister filter, and I am using #3 size Chicken grit. I believe these are crushed quartz rocks.

I have done several water tests, my nitrates are low and well within the safe zone. The water hardness is very high, as is the alkalinity.

Could that weird substrate I used be messing up the PH in my water so bad that it harms and kills my fish?

I am thinking about switching it out for pool filter sand soon.


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

What are the ammonia and nitrite readings?


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

I am doing a 5 in 1 test and I dont think it has an ammonia test. At noon today I am bringing a water sample to a lfs for testing. According to the test, the nitrates were in the safe zone


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

Nitrates are irrelevant if the tank is still cycling which is my guess.

It would actually be a good sign if you saw some nitrates.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

gbfan10 said:


> I have a newer 125g setup that has been running for about 2 weeks.


prolly not cycled and the ammonia or nitrItes are starting to spike and burning their gills


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

I guess I should know more after the water test, but it sounds like I can keep my current substrate?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

If only two weeks, then ammonia/nitrite poisioning is almost certainly the reason for the deaths. You added a big bioload to an uncycled tank. I'm assuming by 'new setup', you're also talking about the filters as well.

I wouldn't swap out the substrate, but I would do some major water changes. That's all I'd do. Changing out substrate could just remove what beneficial bacteria is there and make things worse.


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

I think you are right, I had a bio wheel filter running and just last night installed the Marineland 503, I prob removed all the beneficial bio from my tank. In Hind site I should have left the biowheel running with the canister filter


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## codenametorch (Dec 27, 2009)

No matter what the LFS store tells you, tiger barbs aren't that hardy and are a bad choice for cycling a tank. I recently lost 20 of the suckers after being convinced by the shop that they'd be "better than danios" for the job. I had them in a 180 I was cycling and within 24 hours all had died. I've now got dozens of Danios in the tank and have only lost 2 of those.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

gbfan10 said:


> I think you are right, I had a bio wheel filter running and just last night installed the Marineland 503, I prob removed all the beneficial bio from my tank. In Hind site I should have left the biowheel running with the canister filter


Yeah, and if it's still sitting around and the biowheel hasn't totally dried out, I'd suggest putting it back on. Rinse any other media first though.


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

My water test came back all within normal except for PH, that was really high. They sold me peat moss and some buffer junk and replaced my dead fish for free.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

My personal thoughts on water quality is that it is better to do nothing to try to change the PH until I know for sure what it is now and where I want it to be. I'm thinking the fish death is more because of an uncycled tank than PH. Trying to adjust PH needs to be a slow steady process. Adding peat seems to be a hit and miss that may in fact run the PH too far the other way. I would suggest sticking with water changing and measure the water qualities before trying to change them. Many start out thinking testing is for the really experienced when in fact testing is needed by all and much more by the newer fishkeepers. It's hard for experienced folks to quess what is going on and nearly impossible for newer. Hold it steady and test before doing more. Someone once said," When in a hole, stop digging."


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Your fish didn't all die because pH was too high. I'd also suggest getting the ammonia, nitrite, and pH test kits, checking the values for yourself, and learning about what they mean before adding peat and pH adjusters. Otherwise, I can see a cycle of many trips back to this shop to buy one thing or another to deal with one thing or another. Learn and be self-reliant. Both your fish and your wallet will thank you.


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

Too many fish, too soon. Cause of death ammonia. pH, substrate, filtration, nitrates had nothing to do with it.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

While I would think ammonia would be the main cause, there are a couple other things that might come into play. The new fish could have be sick. Would not seem too likely as they should not have been together to have the same illness to kill them at the same time. More likely to be ammonia to kill both severum and tiger barbs in the same time frame. There is some small chance that the chicken grit might have some chemical, etc. that would also kill fish. Is chicken grit an item that other fishkeepers there use? I've not run across using it but if a lot use it, it should be okay. My experience with chicken grit leaves me thinking it might be crushed shells????


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## russ376 (Mar 18, 2008)

The chicken grit is most likely crushed oyster shell. I have a 55 gallon tank and I used crushed oyster shell mixed with your typical natural aquarium substrate (half n half). The shell was rinsed heavily prior to adding to my tank. The tank has been up and running for 2 years and I have never experienced any problems with the health of my fish.

I was however told by a self-proclaimed expert at the fish store that I would eventually run into problems with phosphates and algae because of the shell. I haven't had any algae problems yet, but we'll see. Perhaps someone else could offer more information on that subject.


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## SupeDM (Jan 26, 2009)

The last poster was correct The chicken grit is most likely crushed oyster shell and sometimes has crushed coral mixed in with it. This may explain the High PH. If after adding the peat moss the PH stays high I would either look into getting new substrate or some fish that like hard water with a high PH.


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

Last night I removed the stupid chicken grit from my tank, and replaced it with pool filter sand. It looks 10x better!

Here is the new sand









Here is the junk I was using..


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## russ376 (Mar 18, 2008)

Interesting, I was wrong about the oyster shell then. Perhaps the quartzite was affecting your fish. The tank looks good. I hope your problem is solved and good luck.


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

Yeah I'm sure that filling an uncycled tank with fish is ok and it was the substrate that killed all the fish. :roll:


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## gbfan10 (Jan 7, 2010)

locomotive282 said:


> Yeah I'm sure that filling an uncycled tank with fish is ok and it was the substrate that killed all the fish. :roll:


I think I had more than one factor here. I added fish too soon, removed the existing filter and replaced it with a new one (Removing Bio Filter) 
I also feel the crushed quartz may have raised my PH, as ammonia becomes increasingly more toxic in basic water.


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