Any Aquarium guys? (1 Viewer)

[TLEF316]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check.

Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.

Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter.

Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

 

[ttiger72]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

I would get more aggressive on the water changes. 25% daily or more until the ammonia is at 0ppm again. Also, have you posted these issues at fishforum or badman's sites? They really know their stuff, not discounting Fanatic's experience or anything, but they helped me get started with my lighting and plants.

 

[ditka311]

Great thread. I currently have an empty 20 gal and another empty 55 gal. I moved to my new house and the water has a really high pH. Somewhere close to 8. I had a couple cories that took fine when I first moved in. I had a large angel that went into shock almost immediately when I added it from my old tank. It was depressing to watch.

Any recommendations on what I should do to sustain a tank with this high of a pH? I am sure I can add a bunch of chemicals but would like to avoid that if I can.

We also have to run a water softener for the house. Will that affect things?

 

[TLEF316]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

I would get more aggressive on the water changes. 25% daily or more until the ammonia is at 0ppm again. Also, have you posted these issues at fishforum or badman's sites? They really know their stuff, not discounting Fanatic's experience or anything, but they helped me get started with my lighting and plants.

i guess thats my only option at this point. I just don't know whats causing the ammonia in the first place. Everything I've read says that an established bacteria colony can double in 24 hours. Yet here i am 3 weeks later. It seems like water changes will just be treating the symptoms and not the cause.edit: posting at fishforums as we speak.

 

[Skippy the one eyed Beagle]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.

i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.

my dalmation molly died earlier today.

could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

 

[ttiger72]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

I would get more aggressive on the water changes. 25% daily or more until the ammonia is at 0ppm again. Also, have you posted these issues at fishforum or badman's sites? They really know their stuff, not discounting Fanatic's experience or anything, but they helped me get started with my lighting and plants.

i guess thats my only option at this point. I just don't know whats causing the ammonia in the first place. Everything I've read says that an established bacteria colony can double in 24 hours. Yet here i am 3 weeks later. It seems like water changes will just be treating the symptoms and not the cause.edit: posting at fishforums as we speak.

Just thought about this, did you dig up ALL the hornwart roots in the substrate?

 

[ttiger72]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

What kind of Algae is it? Do you have any plants?

 

[TLEF316]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

I would get more aggressive on the water changes. 25% daily or more until the ammonia is at 0ppm again. Also, have you posted these issues at fishforum or badman's sites? They really know their stuff, not discounting Fanatic's experience or anything, but they helped me get started with my lighting and plants.

i guess thats my only option at this point. I just don't know whats causing the ammonia in the first place. Everything I've read says that an established bacteria colony can double in 24 hours. Yet here i am 3 weeks later. It seems like water changes will just be treating the symptoms and not the cause.edit: posting at fishforums as we speak.

Just thought about this, did you dig up ALL the hornwart roots in the substrate?

hornwort doesn't root. its a floating plant. It was just weighed down in the back of the tank with an iron weight. It's all gone. Only plants in there now are the two crypts, and both are alive and well.

 

[TLEF316]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

sorry to hear about your fish man. I've pulled enough dead ones out over the past week or so to realize how much it sucks. It's even worse when you have to put them down yourself.

 

[ttiger72]

Great thread. I currently have an empty 20 gal and another empty 55 gal. I moved to my new house and the water has a really high pH. Somewhere close to 8. I had a couple cories that took fine when I first moved in. I had a large angel that went into shock almost immediately when I added it from my old tank. It was depressing to watch. Any recommendations on what I should do to sustain a tank with this high of a pH? I am sure I can add a bunch of chemicals but would like to avoid that if I can. We also have to run a water softener for the house. Will that affect things?

I would not add chemicals to decrease pH or you could wind up in a yo-yo situation as you do water changes unless you have room to get 30 gallons of treated water for changes. I don't know which fish do well in high pH or plants for that matter, I know they are out there but couldn't tell you which ones.

 

[ttiger72]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

I would get more aggressive on the water changes. 25% daily or more until the ammonia is at 0ppm again. Also, have you posted these issues at fishforum or badman's sites? They really know their stuff, not discounting Fanatic's experience or anything, but they helped me get started with my lighting and plants.

i guess thats my only option at this point. I just don't know whats causing the ammonia in the first place. Everything I've read says that an established bacteria colony can double in 24 hours. Yet here i am 3 weeks later. It seems like water changes will just be treating the symptoms and not the cause.edit: posting at fishforums as we speak.

Just thought about this, did you dig up ALL the hornwart roots in the substrate?

hornwort doesn't root. its a floating plant. It was just weighed down in the back of the tank with an iron weight. It's all gone. Only plants in there now are the two crypts, and both are alive and well.

I've got nothing then. And until you can find the cause it's pretty much constant water changes, I had a similar problem with a very small tank 5 gallon. After about 3 weeks of daily water changes, feeding every other day and some bio spira it was back to normal. Thankfully it was a guppy who was tough as hell, and he survived.

 

[ttiger72]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

sorry to hear about your fish man. I've pulled enough dead ones out over the past week or so to realize how much it sucks. It's even worse when you have to put them down yourself.

Yep that sucks, esp when it's due to the mouth of another fish that maimed them.

 

[ttiger72]

4 pics of my tank. In the background behind the Ocelot Sword was Ludwigia Repens that had to be removed because my filter intake is there. I took out a ton of it, it has really grown well as have most plants in the tank.

 

[Skippy the one eyed Beagle]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

What kind of Algae is it? Do you have any plants?

yes i have plants. over christmas i was gone for about 10 days. i purchased an auto feeder and it WAY overfed my fish so when i got back i had major algae growth on the walls and plants. i cleaned up the walls but the plants had a bunch of algae.it was recommended that i add a phosphate remover to my filter to help take care of the algae.the algea looks black on the plants. not sure what kind it is

 

[ttiger72]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

What kind of Algae is it? Do you have any plants?

yes i have plants. over christmas i was gone for about 10 days. i purchased an auto feeder and it WAY overfed my fish so when i got back i had major algae growth on the walls and plants. i cleaned up the walls but the plants had a bunch of algae.it was recommended that i add a phosphate remover to my filter to help take care of the algae.the algea looks black on the plants. not sure what kind it is

The black on the plants sounds like black brush algae, which sucks. I have had it before. The way I got rid of it was larger water changes and an algae remover, I will look up the name tonight and post what it is, short of that nothing I did helped because I couldn't do a blackout (no light in the tank for 10-14 days) since I have a planted tank. The other thing that helps is Seachem's Flourish Excel, it's a liquid CO2, people have found that very helpful in choking out brush algae. Take a medicine syringe and squirt the excel directly on the black algae. This partially worked for me, but didn't get rid of it completely.

 

[TheFanatic]

Thanks for the response. I've got 2 hang on back filters running. 1 is an aquaclear 110, the other is a 50. I have enough filtration for a tank almost twice my size. I've got 2 sponges and ceramic rings running in the big one, and a sponge, carbon and ceramic in the little one. I i use water conditioner(de-clhorinator)Every water change i do. (25% every week) Other than maybe a few strands of java moss that is stuck to a piece of drift wood, there is nothing decaying. I've stripped the tank down to the bones to check. Did a 25% water change this afternoon. Ammonia is still showing up over 4. That just doesn't seem possible. It didn't reach 4 when i was using pure ammonia to cycle the tank 7 months ago. It's like someone is secretly pissing in the tank while I'm away at work.Bio filtration was fine for 7 months until the infamous exploding hornwort incident of about a month ago. However, all remnants of that vile plant have long since gone. This tank had ZERO ammonia since i added fish, and at one point, had almost twice the bio-load it currently has, without a 2nd filter. Everything I've read about rummy nosed tetras says they are supposed to be an indicator of poor water quality, yet my shoal has been thriving. Other than the littlest one (who is half the age of the others) they always have bright red noses and swim together all day long. They eat like crazy. The cardinals too. No problems.

Two things. If a Filter says it can power a 100 gallon tank it means it can really only do a 50 gallon. Cut everything the filter company says in half. Second, trust your fish and not the test kit. I would do frequent water changes but if everything is doing well, how in the world could the Ammonia be 8 PPM?

 

[TLEF316]

i would agree with that, except I'm still losing fish (2 in the last week) So technically the fish arent doing well. I wanted to start planting and re-stocking next weekend, but i dont want to do it if there is still a problem.

I've got an aqua clear 110 and a aqua clear 50, i believe. i should be good as far as filtering goes/

 

[TheFanatic]

i was having issues with algae and it was suggestion (i think by the fanatic) to add a phosphate remover to my aquaclear filter.i put it in last week and my tank is having issues. the water is cloudy so i did about a 50% change. PH is testing at 7.4.my dalmation molly died earlier today.could the phosphate remover be causing these issues? i also yanked my amazon sword out today. it was looking pretty bad.

What kind of Algae is it? Do you have any plants?

yes i have plants. over christmas i was gone for about 10 days. i purchased an auto feeder and it WAY overfed my fish so when i got back i had major algae growth on the walls and plants. i cleaned up the walls but the plants had a bunch of algae.it was recommended that i add a phosphate remover to my filter to help take care of the algae.the algea looks black on the plants. not sure what kind it is

The black on the plants sounds like black brush algae, which sucks. I have had it before. The way I got rid of it was larger water changes and an algae remover, I will look up the name tonight and post what it is, short of that nothing I did helped because I couldn't do a blackout (no light in the tank for 10-14 days) since I have a planted tank. The other thing that helps is Seachem's Flourish Excel, it's a liquid CO2, people have found that very helpful in choking out brush algae. Take a medicine syringe and squirt the excel directly on the black algae. This partially worked for me, but didn't get rid of it completely.

Black Hair Algae is a mean SOB. Only 3 fish eat the stuff. Siamese Algae Eaters (Algae Sharks), rosy barbs and some Killifish native to Florida. More plants will help as they will eat up the phosphates that the hair algae feeds on. A phosphate remover helps as well. Couple more things. Cut back on the food being fed to the fish. Cut back the amount of time the light is on. Yank any leaves that have the hair algae on it. Scrape it off air hoses or any other equipment. If it is growing on rocks, flip the rocks over. And of course water changes help a lot. When buying ferts make sure they do not have any phosphates in them. I generally use Kent...

 

[TheFanatic]

i would agree with that, except I'm still losing fish (2 in the last week) So technically the fish arent doing well. I wanted to start planting and re-stocking next weekend, but i dont want to do it if there is still a problem. I've got an aqua clear 110 and a aqua clear 50, i believe. i should be good as far as filtering goes/

Then do the water changes...And you are fine on flitration. IT's just not enough for a tank twice the size. You are good though...

 

[TheFanatic]

4 pics of my tank. In the background behind the Ocelot Sword was Ludwigia Repens that had to be removed because my filter intake is there. I took out a ton of it, it has really grown well as have most plants in the tank.

Sweet tank. Love the Madagascar Lace on the left. Never had luck with that stuff....Nice job...

 

[Skippy the one eyed Beagle]

when i first got the tank the guy i bought it from gave me a bunch of driftwood as well.

i put it in the tank and the water started to turn yellow. is that normal?

i took the wood out because i didnt want a yellow tank

 

[ttiger72]

4 pics of my tank. In the background behind the Ocelot Sword was Ludwigia Repens that had to be removed because my filter intake is there. I took out a ton of it, it has really grown well as have most plants in the tank.

Sweet tank. Love the Madagascar Lace on the left. Never had luck with that stuff....Nice job...

Thanks, there are some really nice pieces of driftwood in the tank but you can no longer see them through the plants. For some reason I have never had much of a problem growing anything in my tank, which is nice. I thought the lace was going to die, it wasn't growing much, but then all of the sudden it took off. If you're interested I can send you my next clippings, I took about 3 or 4 leaves this last time.

 

[ttiger72]

when i first got the tank the guy i bought it from gave me a bunch of driftwood as well.i put it in the tank and the water started to turn yellow. is that normal?i took the wood out because i didnt want a yellow tank

Yep totally normal, usually you should soak your driftwood for a week or so changing the water daily to get that "yellow" out. Also, make sure you soak it in conditioned water because the wood will soak up any of the chlorine or other chemicals/metals in the water.

 

[TLEF316]

when i first got the tank the guy i bought it from gave me a bunch of driftwood as well.i put it in the tank and the water started to turn yellow. is that normal?i took the wood out because i didnt want a yellow tank

gotta soak the wood in hot water for a few days. Change the water as often as possible. Drift wood leaches tannins, which are actually beneficial to the fish. However, most people dont like to look at it.

 

[TheFanatic]

when i first got the tank the guy i bought it from gave me a bunch of driftwood as well.i put it in the tank and the water started to turn yellow. is that normal?i took the wood out because i didnt want a yellow tank

Very. Tannins in the wood discolor the water.Put it in a bucket outside and fill it with water. Drain the bucket and refill everyday until the water you pour out is clear.

 

[TheFanatic]

4 pics of my tank. In the background behind the Ocelot Sword was Ludwigia Repens that had to be removed because my filter intake is there. I took out a ton of it, it has really grown well as have most plants in the tank.

Sweet tank. Love the Madagascar Lace on the left. Never had luck with that stuff....Nice job...

Thanks, there are some really nice pieces of driftwood in the tank but you can no longer see them through the plants. For some reason I have never had much of a problem growing anything in my tank, which is nice. I thought the lace was going to die, it wasn't growing much, but then all of the sudden it took off. If you're interested I can send you my next clippings, I took about 3 or 4 leaves this last time.

I appreciate the offer, but I don't have any room in my SA planted tank and I'm pretty sure my Africans would make that into a nice snack...

 

[TLEF316]

just did another test. Ammonia is definitely lower, but still somewhere around 4ppm (according to this kit) I just don't see how this can be accurate. Everyone is really colored up and moving around. The clown loaches have never looked better. I'm not going to spend the 45 minutes to do a water change. I have faith that the tank is ok. Crossing my fingers, i guess.

edit: also, i stopped at petco on the way home to get water conditioner and flake food. (decided that 2+ year old food could be an issue and it was better to be safe than sorry) Anyways, it seems like every time i go there, their tank of clown loaches is always overrun with ich. All of them are pale white, flicking all over the place (if they are still moving at all) and look like someone just poured salt all over them. They'll probably die by Thursday, just in time to be replaced by next week's shipment. That sucks. I would never buy a fish from there(although I've been tempted a few times)

 

[TLEF316]

Also, is there any way i could put Bosemani rainbow fish in my tank once it is planted? They are so awesome looking (all the rainbow fish are really) I just think they would be too active for a community tank with corys and small tetras.

 

[ttiger72]

Also, is there any way i could put Bosemani rainbow fish in my tank once it is planted? They are so awesome looking (all the rainbow fish are really) I just think they would be too active for a community tank with corys and small tetras.

Rainbows should be fine, not sure of your numbers or plans but they like schools of 5 of more and will get about 4" if memory serves correctly. Also, I wouldn't add anything until your numbers are stabilized and I would do the water change. If it's 4ppm now, tomorrow it might be at 6ppm or 8ppm again. Everything could be looking good since your numbers came down in 24 hours by 4ppm. If your tap say 0ppm and your tank says 4ppm then there definately is something going on in the tank.

 

[TLEF316]

o, i certainly won't be adding anything with this issue going on. I do know better than that.

I do have some doubts about the validity of the test. I just find it hard to believe that fish as fragile as rummy nosed tetras and clown loaches wouldn't be showing the effects of ammonia levels this high.

 

[ttiger72]

o, i certainly won't be adding anything with this issue going on. I do know better than that.I do have some doubts about the validity of the test. I just find it hard to believe that fish as fragile as rummy nosed tetras and clown loaches wouldn't be showing the effects of ammonia levels this high.

Do you have a LFS other than Petco to go to? Ask them to test your water as a validity test. Which test kit are you using? I can only imagine what a pain water changes in your tank might be, I had a 5 gallon that was painful to do EVERY single day.I am not sure why those fish are surviving, but if your PPM increases slowy fish can adapt, them may not be happy but they can adapt. What all have died so far?

 

[TLEF316]

Test kit is the API master test kit. It seems like its the one that everyone uses. There is one small fish/pet store near me, so i guess i could ask them to check my water (although they are probably just using the same or a similar kit)

I don't buy anything living from the chain stores. Most my fish/plants come from Absolutely Fish, which is pretty much the best store in the state. (check the website. its unreal) The Clown Loaches came from the small local place. The danios and peppered corys came from another shop that i thought was good, but it turns out i just happened to show up on the one day the tanks have been clean in the past 6 months.

edit: and i did the water change. (25% again, as any more takes forever) I'll do another test before i go to sleep./

 

[TheFanatic]

just did another test. Ammonia is definitely lower, but still somewhere around 4ppm (according to this kit) I just don't see how this can be accurate. Everyone is really colored up and moving around. The clown loaches have never looked better. I'm not going to spend the 45 minutes to do a water change. I have faith that the tank is ok. Crossing my fingers, i guess.edit: also, i stopped at petco on the way home to get water conditioner and flake food. (decided that 2+ year old food could be an issue and it was better to be safe than sorry) Anyways, it seems like every time i go there, their tank of clown loaches is always overrun with ich. All of them are pale white, flicking all over the place (if they are still moving at all) and look like someone just poured salt all over them. They'll probably die by Thursday, just in time to be replaced by next week's shipment. That sucks. I would never buy a fish from there(although I've been tempted a few times)

Clown Loaches are VERY susceptible to ich. I recommend buying as many CL's as you plan on having in a tank all at once and pray for the best. Too many times I've heard stories about someone who bough more after having some established in his tank and the new ones were all stressed from the move and got ich and gave it to the established CL's. I just added three 1 inch CL's to my 110. Can't drop cories into an African tank to maintenance. I have to do it with Synodontis cats (bigspensive) and loaches (not cheap either). I think I have more money in Syno's and Loaches than I do in peacocks!?!?Do your water changes when you can. This is supposed to be a hobby not a profession. The fish may be colored up but you are still losing fish. Like I said, do water changes when you can. Daily might be extreme, but a couple of times a week till it levels off would be good. Get the tank stabilized and add fish slowly. Those Rainbows would be fine but better in a school as another poster mentioned.

 

[TheFanatic]

Test kit is the API master test kit. It seems like its the one that everyone uses. There is one small fish/pet store near me, so i guess i could ask them to check my water (although they are probably just using the same or a similar kit)

I don't buy anything living from the chain stores. Most my fish/plants come from Absolutely Fish, which is pretty much the best store in the state. (check the website. its unreal) The Clown Loaches came from the small local place. The danios and peppered corys came from another shop that i thought was good, but it turns out i just happened to show up on the one day the tanks have been clean in the past 6 months.

edit: and i did the water change. (25% again, as any more takes forever) I'll do another test before i go to sleep./

I would stick to 25% changes for now. Any more is going to stress the fish too much. Do frequent small ones till it levels off and larger ones once the tank is stabilized. To make the water change go more quickly do what I do. I have a 25 foot hose attached to the fat syphon tube. I run the hose out the window instead of to buckets to haul to the tub or toilet. If a window isn't close run it to the toilet. Take the fat piece to a hardware store and buy hose that fits that is 25 feet long.

 

[TLEF316]

Id need like a 50 foot hose to get it to any tub or toilet. The windows aren't an option. I don't mind taking the water out (25% is only 4 buckets worth) If i have someone helping, i can do it in 2 minutes. The pain in the ### is re-filling it. Gotta get the temp right and lug it halfway through the house. Then, i have to pour it in very slowly so i don't send all the sand flying.

Its not a big deal when I'm only doing it once a week. Its just a pain now that i have to do it so much more often.

 

[TLEF316]

this morning's test shows levels down again, somewhere between 2 and 4 PPM. Looks like there was ammonia and the water changes are doing some good. I'll continue to do them.

 

[ttiger72]

Id need like a 50 foot hose to get it to any tub or toilet. The windows aren't an option. I don't mind taking the water out (25% is only 4 buckets worth) If i have someone helping, i can do it in 2 minutes. The pain in the ### is re-filling it. Gotta get the temp right and lug it halfway through the house. Then, i have to pour it in very slowly so i don't send all the sand flying. Its not a big deal when I'm only doing it once a week. Its just a pain now that i have to do it so much more often.

Have you thought of getting a Python or a Lee's gravel vac/fill system?

 

[ttiger72]

this morning's test shows levels down again, somewhere between 2 and 4 PPM. Looks like there was ammonia and the water changes are doing some good. I'll continue to do them.

Very encouraging!

 

[TLEF316]

Id need like a 50 foot hose to get it to any tub or toilet. The windows aren't an option. I don't mind taking the water out (25% is only 4 buckets worth) If i have someone helping, i can do it in 2 minutes. The pain in the ### is re-filling it. Gotta get the temp right and lug it halfway through the house. Then, i have to pour it in very slowly so i don't send all the sand flying. Its not a big deal when I'm only doing it once a week. Its just a pain now that i have to do it so much more often.

Have you thought of getting a Python or a Lee's gravel vac/fill system?

Nah, i use a regular gravel vac and 4 gallon buckets. I take the water to the front door and dump it over the porch. I re-fill from the kitchen sink.

 

[TheFanatic]

Id need like a 50 foot hose to get it to any tub or toilet. The windows aren't an option. I don't mind taking the water out (25% is only 4 buckets worth) If i have someone helping, i can do it in 2 minutes. The pain in the ### is re-filling it. Gotta get the temp right and lug it halfway through the house. Then, i have to pour it in very slowly so i don't send all the sand flying. Its not a big deal when I'm only doing it once a week. Its just a pain now that i have to do it so much more often.

Have you thought of getting a Python or a Lee's gravel vac/fill system?

This is what I have. Two 25 foot Pythons connected together. Run it to my floor drain in the basement and out the window upstairs. I just crack the window and the screen 2 inches and run the hose out it. Underneath that window is a flower bed. Best flowers of the bunch...

 

[TheFanatic]

If you want to read a REALLY cool thread about a guy that doubled the size of his 5000 gallon tank to house his 5 foot fish that will get to 12 feet in length check this out

 

[TLEF316]

ammonia down again, did another water change. Lost 1 cardinal tetra today, but he was sickly looking from the start. He always looked like he was missing a fin or something. Plus, the upper half of his body was always cloudy. Others look fine.

 

[phthalatemagic]

How old are your fish?

When you purchased them, did they appear in perfect health?

It may not necessarily be the water in your tank.

IMO you should take a water sample into a LFS and ask them to test it for some water borne bugs.

I don't know much about fresh water, but you may also want to consider the possibility that some of these fish were caught using HCN, which makes it easier to catch them - problem is that they die afterward. If used "properly" the fish doesn't show clear symptoms of HCN poisoning for a week or longer. Keep in mind, I don't know if they do catch fresh water fish using this method, but if so it could be the issue. Maybe Fanatic or some fresh water expert can let us know.

 

[TLEF316]

All of the fish in the tank have been there for at least 2.5 months. The longest I've had any is like 7 months. Most were bought from the top store in NJ. Everyone was fine until the exploding horwort episode of about a month ago.

All the fish appeared fine when i bought them. I wouldn't have taken them otherwise. The peppered corys and danios came from a pretty crappy store (i didnt find this out till the 2nd time i went back) The clown loaches were bought from a small local shop and the ones in the tank have not had problems (1 of the original 3 died after 4 days) All of the tetras, the rams, the shark (RIP) and the pandas came from Absolutely Fish in Clifton, NJ. Outstanding shop.

 

[TheFanatic]

I have documented the process of the conversion of my 110 on Monster Fish Keepers. You've seen some of the pics. I have posted pics of some recent additions like a Syno Pultipunk, and syno decorus and some great peacocks that I bought...

Here is the link

 

[Tick]

I'm 5-6 weeks into our aquarium. We have 6 zebra danios, 6 headlight/taillight tetras, and 3 glofish (danio variants). It's a 30 gallon tank.

Last week, we started to get brown algae, and it's spreading. I'd say that it covers 10-20% of the glass at this point.

I found this site: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm

"Brown algae" (diatoms)

This is often the first algae to appear in a newly set-up tank, where conditions have yet to stabilise. It will often appear around the 2-12 week period, and may disappear as quickly as it arrived when the conditions stabilise after a couple of months. It is essential to minimise nutrient levels to ensure the algae disappears - avoid overfeeding and carry out the appropriate water changes, gravel and filter cleaning, etc. Limiting the light will not deter this algae, as it can grow at low lighting levels and will normally out-compete green algae under these conditions.

Do the experts here agree with this?Also, I'm confused about water changeovers. We changed 20% at both two weeks and four weeks. Was that too much, just right, or not enough for a new tank? I get conflicting information on how often to change out water on a new tank.

 

[ttiger72]

I'm 5-6 weeks into our aquarium. We have 6 zebra danios, 6 headlight/taillight tetras, and 3 glofish (danio variants). It's a 30 gallon tank.

Last week, we started to get brown algae, and it's spreading. I'd say that it covers 10-20% of the glass at this point.

I found this site: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm

"Brown algae" (diatoms)

This is often the first algae to appear in a newly set-up tank, where conditions have yet to stabilise. It will often appear around the 2-12 week period, and may disappear as quickly as it arrived when the conditions stabilise after a couple of months. It is essential to minimise nutrient levels to ensure the algae disappears - avoid overfeeding and carry out the appropriate water changes, gravel and filter cleaning, etc. Limiting the light will not deter this algae, as it can grow at low lighting levels and will normally out-compete green algae under these conditions.

Do the experts here agree with this?Also, I'm confused about water changeovers. We changed 20% at both two weeks and four weeks. Was that too much, just right, or not enough for a new tank? I get conflicting information on how often to change out water on a new tank.

Right now I would change 25-30% water weekly until your levels stabilize. BTW diatoms won't hurt your tank, just make it ugly until it clears up. Do you have a test kit? That was very helpful to me to know when the cycle was finished and to help identify any issues I have had with water quality.

 

[ttiger72]

I have documented the process of the conversion of my 110 on Monster Fish Keepers. You've seen some of the pics. I have posted pics of some recent additions like a Syno Pultipunk, and syno decorus and some great peacocks that I bought...

Here is the link

Very nice Fanatic I think the next tank I do will be bigger 110ish and be straight up Africans. My current tank isn't big enough and is not the right setup, too many plants not enough rock.

 

[TLEF316]

well, this figures......

I suspected one of my heaters may have been having issues a few weeks ago, but i have 2 and the temp and had only briefly dropped a degree or 2, so i figure no big deal. Last night i check after my water change, and the temp had dropped about a degree, but i figure i may have just put in some slightly colder water.

Well, i check this morning and we have dropped 4 degrees overnight. Houston, we have a problem!!!

Am in the process of changing out 25% of the water for water at the top of the tolerance spectrum (like 78 degrees or so) to raise the temp a few degrees again. I've wrapped the tank in towels and need to wait till 9 Am when the stores open to buy new heaters. Anything else i should do?

great use of a PTO day, i must say

 

[TLEF316]

no deaths. Picked up 2 200 watt Aqueon heaters. Each one says they are good for a 55-75 gallon tank, but i figured I'd go with two again just to be safe. (Is there any danger in doing this? I wouldn't think so since they shut off once the water reaches the required temp) I'm pretty sure i broke the old ones by not un-plugging them before i did a water change. I forgot about that.

Either way, I'll be home all day to monitor the temp.