What went wrong?

Question
I thoroughly cleaned the bio wheel filter before putting it in my tank.  I lost six fish before I put the new filter on my tank.

Now that ALL my fish are gone, I removed the two powerheads, the two box filters, the two overflow filters, the shells and coral from the tank.  I soaked it in bleach for a day and rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, then I rinsed again.  I also drained all the water down to about two inches above the coral bed.  I ran the diatom filter for a whole day to clean the gravel and double check for debris.  I removed a small portion of the gravel and rinsed it in clean water.

I was expecting to have new tank syndrome the next morning.  It has been three days now and still crystal clear water.  Nitrates are 10.

I am very careful as to what I spray in my house and especially around my tank.  I wiped out all the fish a few years ago by cleaning the sliding glass window in the same room as my tank.  You have to be careful with any aerosol cleaner or lysol, etc.

I am also careful about not having hand lotion on my hands or arm when working in my tank.  The same for fingernail polish.

Once the nitrates spike then level back off, I will put a couple damsels in and try again.

Thanks so much for trying to help.
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-----Question-----
The filter is the only change or new equipment in my tank.  Nothing has dropped in my tank.  I have already checked because I have two kids and that was the first thing I thought.  Ammonia is 0.  Nitrites are 0.  Temp is 78 degrees F. Ph is 8.2.  We have spring water.  No changes have been made in any way to the spring.  I have used the same water for 13 years.  I have since lost the rest of my fish.

Thank you for such a fast reply.

I hope you can help me.

Thank you.

Melissa
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-----Question-----
I have had my saltwater tank set up for 13 years.  Mostly fish only 55 gallon tank.  Recently, I had a spike in Nitrates that wiped out everything within a month.

I do all the appropiate water changes, tests, etc.  Everything is within normal limits.  Nitrates are 20 and have been stable for about 3 maybe 4 weeks.

I have an all crushed coral sea bed.  I have shells, coral, colored glass, barnacles, and plastic rocks.   

I bought 3 damsels and a clown on 3-4-07.  Early the next morning the yellowtail blue damsel had white spots and darting around and died shortly after.  About one hour later the three spot damsel died but, it looked like it was in perfect condition.  Now the other damsel and clown are trying their best to stay upright.  They both look excellent.  No spots, no fin damage, no white eyes, no color loss, no gill damage, no red gills or red spots no nothing.

I have a new Penguin bio wheel 350b overflow filter.  I also have two other small overflows for the water flow.  I also have two powerheads on a box filter at the bottom of my tank for the water flow.  All of which have new charcoal filters.  Even with all these filters, I would consider my water flow to be medium and not extremely strong.

Can you help?  PLEASE
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Is the filter the only thing you have recently changed? Could anything have dropped in the tank that could be corrosive? How are your ammonia and nitrite level readings? What is your temp and ph? When you did your water changes what was your water source? Please get back to me ASAP and I will try to help. Gerry.
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What a mystery. The only change being the filter you added should not have been lethal but I would remove it from the system and try a couple of damsels. Also should check your nitrates. Not usually lethal even if high but check anyway. When you remove the penguin filter check it inside for any packaging debris which may have become trapped and is giving off some type of poison. Silicate dry packs, etc. I am so sorry about your fish. Anyone who loves this hobby loves their fish. They are my friends and I'm sure were yours. Let's see what happens when you try some damsels without the filter. Good luck and get back to me, Gerry.

Answer
WOW, AGAIN. YOU PUT IN A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT - YOU DESERVE A GOOD RESULT. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR AMMONIA, NITRITES, PH AND SALINITY EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AND KEEP A JOURNAL. DON'T KNOW YOU BUT YOU ARE TERRIFIC. MOST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP; GOOD FOR YOU. GERRY.