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Re: What am I doing wrong??
Your right Ryan however we are still guessing and until we actually know what is actually happening, we need to know the lvls just to be sure its not an cycling issue.
In discus limbo atm! So much to do and so little time!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
What's the temperature? How long does it take for the babies to finish the food during each feeding? Sorry to say your tank isn't cycled! adn for the bioload you probably don't have enough filter media in ur tank, put a couple of hydrosponges in addition to ur external filter, wipe the inside glass and bottom with bounty every time you change water (before you change it).
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Okay...not what I need right now with the new babies coming...lol!
I just did my water test:
Ph = 7.6
Ammonia = .25 ( never happened to me before..)
Nitrites = .25
Nitrates = 10
I need to know exactly what this means please. Did the two readings spike because the water is so funky?? I feel like lousy a fish owner! I have never had readings like this guys! And the readings were all 0 , 24 hours ago~
My readings on all my tanks have never been this...So, I'm guessing that I need to do a wc real quick? I just got off the phone with Dan, and I am the only one that has not gotten her fish yet! So, I am waiting for the doorbell as I speak...I can not answer every post right now, but I will as soon as I get these discus in their tank....
The babies in this tank are all acting fine....Is this real serious? I feed them, bh, flake, cbw, and color bits....I have no driftwood...and I am waiting for my Hydro Sponges...
I might have cleaned my filter too well....I do not do it often tho...
El, when I feed the babies, I do not give them more, til they eat every single bit! So there isnt any left over... And you think I should put more stuff in my filters?
Ron... I just heard good things about you!! umm....you were right about the readings....but they have never been this, and the tank has always been cloudy! I think Barb is right ...a voodoo tank! lol!
I initially cycled this tank, 6 weeks ago, by adding sponges from other tanks, and some of their water as well, I think...also, Cliff gave us some of his sponges to bring home...It has been cloudy from day one, but never this bad. The tank was crystal clear for a week, waiting for the babies, if that helps~
The temp is 86.7. always...even after wc....from the tap.
Okay... I shall be back cuz I hear a truck!!
Thanks guys, looks like I have all the experts helping....but I think I may have to juss deal ~
Marie~
Re: What am I doing wrong??
When another poster posted about his nickel size babies doing fine after one day I wanted to say wait a week! Then u'll be back! That's because as the fish eat and produce more and more waste in a week the cycle is at it's peak and u will get a nitrite reading. Check some graphs of how the biological cycle works in fish tanks on the web.
The truth of the matter is the tank cannot fully cycled prior to adding fish unless the bioload on it is the same as the bioload ur new fish will produce. In effect, when you add new fish the cycle begins again!
What to do? Drain out that tank completely and fill it back up with the water from your 55 gallon (not the new one) the established one. When you do a water change on ur 55 always, 1st drain ur small tank and then fill it up with the clear water from the 55 gallon tank and then refill the 55. You may have to do this for a few days before enough bacteria is established in ur small tank to handle the load. So long as the two tanks are the same temperature you could change 100% of the water in ur small tank without upsetting the fish.
Direct tapwater can interfere with ur biocycle especially if there is a lot of chlorine in the water and u don't dechlorinate before adding to ur tank.
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Ammonia = .25 ( never happened to me before..)
Nitrites = .25
Nitrates = 10
it means we were right...your tank is not fully cycled, at least not for the current bioload. and...those readings will only get worse if you add more load.
proceed with caution
Re: What am I doing wrong??
What to do Marie! Relax first. Getting anxious increases mistakes.
First, what water conditioner are you using? Add water conditioner that detoxes ammonia/nitrites. This will ease the fish and ensure they are not harmed. Second, increase wc amount and frequency. You will need to do this until the bio filter catchs up to the bio load in the tank. The most important factor atm is your discus and keeping the ammonia/nitrite lvls as low as possible. This may mean numerous wc's daily but it will be worth it.
How to avoid such situations in the future?
What you did was fine only you need to increase the bio filter size 'artifically' to handle any bio load. To do this you use the fish cycling method of adding ammonia. Adding established bio filters such as you did decrease the cycling time however the tank will cycle regardless unless the bio load is smaller.
HTH
In discus limbo atm! So much to do and so little time!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
I am confused~
It was cycled 6 weeks ago? Now it isnt? So, you want me to put water from the established 55gal , into this 35gal? During wc?
I am sorry if I am just not getting this....also I have always used tap water. I add Prime. Never a problem. I have no choice.
Cary told me when I got my discus from him back in Sept to use tap water. That is a good thing, cuz that is all I have! lol!
Marie~
Ron...sorry if I offended you!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
When was the last time you made a change in this tank? i.e added fish, removed filters, washed filters in tap water, changed your routine, etc? I thought you said you've had cloudy water for a while? Do you have a thermometer to check the temp? Put ur hand in the water (OUCH), does it feel warm or cold when u put ur hand in?
Last edited by Elcid; 01-04-2006 at 03:25 PM.
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Marie,
Water itself doesnt have much bacteria count to sufficently affect the bio filter. The best is to use established filters like you did.
During those 6 weeks that you cycled this tank, what did you use to 'feed' the bacteria?
I believe your tap water is fine as long as you use Prime to detox the chlorine and ensure the temp matchs the tanks temp. Add prime right away to detox ammonia/nitrite lvls and do some wc's. You can either increase the volume or you can increase the frequency or both if you can.
In discus limbo atm! So much to do and so little time!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
If your bio filter has conked out, you might try to reseed it with a product called Bio-Spira. I've only used it once, but it seemed to help with a nitrite spike I experienced. Other products that claim to provide nitrifying bacteria are probably a waste of money, but a lot of knowledgeable people seem to believe in Bio-Spira. It's a refrigerated product and is expensive (I think around $20 for one treatment), but might be worth a try. Where I live, only the better (as opposed to PetSmart/Petco) shops have it.
Re: What am I doing wrong??
If you can get your hands on it, certainly try it. I have never been able to as its not sold up here.
In discus limbo atm! So much to do and so little time!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
J,
I used that in addition to seeded sponges when I got my babies, and i had no problems at all. It was instantly cycled. I mentioned it to Marie also.
Ron, do you think she may have washed some of the good bacteria away when she rinsed her sponges?? Carol or someone like that said that it is very hard to wash away the bacteria. What do you think?
Candy
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Hard to really say candy! I know that it is possible to rinse bacteria from your filters however this is going to depend on where the bio colony primary lived. That is why I mentioned the 2 part filter previously. If you bio primary lives where it is suppose and where you count on it being, rinsing sponges will not affect the primary colony. However, if the colony primary colonized in the sponge and it gets continuly rinsed daily, you will have problems. Eventually the bacteria will continue to colonize the bio media such as the ceramic rings however it take time.
In discus limbo atm! So much to do and so little time!
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Originally Posted by Elcid
When was the last time you made a change in this tank? i.e added fish, removed filters, washed filters in tap water, changed your routine, etc? I thought you said you've had cloudy water for a while? Do you have a thermometer to check the temp? Put ur hand in the water (OUCH)
El~ I change water every day. Havent added any fish since we got the babies from Cliff. And yes, the water has been cloudy for a while. Always infact! The temp is, once again, 86.8... I wipe down all walls and squeeze intake sponges in tank water in a bucket...every wc....
Recently i just cleaned the filters...
Re: What am I doing wrong??
Ur filter isn't working correctly and ur tank isn't cycled........You said you put a sponge at the intake? Does that slow down the flow a lot? For now remove if it does so that more flow goes through the filter. I'm not too familiar with the Top Fin unit? The sponges in the filter, does the water flow through them and doesn't just bypass around them? I was wondering what kind of thermometer you are using to measure temperature, do you have one that goes in the water (the old fashion type) with the glass tube or is it one of those stick on the outside type? Sometimes, if ur temp is too hot > 90 F, then it takes more time for ur tank to cycle. Put your hand in the water if it feels hot, it's probably more hot than it should be it should feel cool when you put ur hand in. Watch out, as ur tank cycles the ammonia and nitrite will become too high and damage ur fish, so change water more. Either that or move those fish into ur 55 and don't change the water until the cloudyness clears indicating that ur cycle is completed...
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