Water change question/nitrates

[CharlieTuna]

I just finished moving rocks, looking for dead fish and sucking up poo. No dead fish, not much poo. My canister (Ocean Clear) cartridge is visibly a little dirty but there is not much noticeable reduction in water flow. The sump is clean except for the silt form my well water. I will change out the canister cartridge anyway in hope that it might help. After this I will do daily W/C's until things come into line. Is this going to hurt my fish? Hoping the reduced feeding gets me back to the weekly 50% W/C's and lower nitrates. What is a reasonable nitrate level?

My test kit is an API Master Kit - only a few months old.

FWIW - this tank is way over filtered; sump with plenty of bio-media with two ReeFlo pumps moving water through it, two Ocean Clear canister filters with a 1000 gph pump for them. 3000+ gph total turnover.

 

[dayak]

did you know that over filteration causing more nitrate?

 

[dayak]

u could try doing very large WC and cut your filteration in half, check the parameter right after WC and re-check in 3 days and see the result.

 

[Bderick67]

did you know that over filteration causing more nitrate?

C'mon no it doesn't. You think that overfiltration adds ammonia to the tank? Without the additional ammonia no extra nitrite or eventually nitrates are going to be produced.

As I suggested to you 6 months ago, learn and understand the nitrogen cycle as it pertains to your aquarium. Your fish will thank you for it.

 

[ScatMan]

bunch of junk in your mechanical filters? I use canisters and those can become nitrate factories if not cleaned out once in a while

+1

try cleaning your filters out and doing some more wc's until it gets normal again. the large water changes shouldn't hurt your fish at all as long as the params (temp, ph, hardness, etc.) are the same as the tap, which it should be unless you add stuff to your tank water.

canisters are a major culprit because they tend to be purged of their decomposing waste less frequently than other filters. all of that leftover food from your wife's alleged overfeeding could be rotting away in your filters.

 

[ScatMan]

C'mon no it doesn't. You think that overfiltration adds ammonia to the tank? Without the additional ammonia no extra nitrite or eventually nitrates are going to be produced.

As I suggested to you 6 months ago, learn and understand the nitrogen cycle as it pertains to your aquarium. Your fish will thank you for it.

i think he meant that too much mech can hold on to decomposing waste (poop and uneaten food) which will leech nitrate into the tank if not removed as regularly as you would with less mech filtration.

it's not really how much mech you have, rather how often you clean it. people tend to clean it less often if they have more of it.

 

[Bderick67]

^ LoL try searching some of his past threads, then see if you think thats what he meant. This is the same guy that suggested ammonia in the tank is OK cause his fish will learn to build up a tolerance to it.


Anyhow that would be a issue with maintenance and not overfiltration

 

[ScatMan]

^ LoL try searching some of his past threads, then see if you think thats what he meant. This is the same guy that suggested ammonia in the tank is OK cause his fish will learn to build up a tolerance to it.

yeah, that's really bad advice.

i'll just let him clarify himself rather than make any more assumptions.

 

[dayak]

C'mon no it doesn't. You think that overfiltration adds ammonia to the tank? Without the additional ammonia no extra nitrite or eventually nitrates are going to be produced.

As I suggested to you 6 months ago, learn and understand the nitrogen cycle as it pertains to your aquarium. Your fish will thank you for it.

check this out, you might learn a thing or 2.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...s-not-lower-nitrates-but-it-may-increase-them
your asumption is just that your assumption and its got nothing to do with what i did when i set-up my new tank and my defends againts your attacks which i proved you with my results back then even now.

 

[dayak]

^ LoL try searching some of his past threads, then see if you think thats what he meant. This is the same guy that suggested ammonia in the tank is OK cause his fish will learn to build up a tolerance to it.


Anyhow that would be a issue with maintenance and not overfiltration

LOL, i c you in attack mode, is it what you do chasing your own tail and beating up dead horse?