I just took readings now, looks like nothing much has changed. On the left is aquarium water and on the right is tap water. So will have to do a lot of 50% water changes over the next few days
A transparent patch on Flowerhorn tail fin-What disease is it ?
- Thread starter knasahs
- Start date
Looks like the tank is finishing a cycle. Nitrates still high with a nitrite reading shows the end of a cycle. Keep up with the water changes until nitrite is at zero and the nitrate drops below 20ppm. The lower the better. From that point on you can do regular weekly maintance to keep the nitrates at an acceptable level.
While you are added, give the filter and filter pad(s) a good rinsing. All the poop and organic gunk trapped in the pads and at the bottom of the filter contributes to nitrate. Use tank water, not tap water, to rinse out bio media.
Thank you. How many days of 50% water change would it need ti bring the nitrate level down ? Yesterday's results weren't encouraging but it was only the first day of 50% water change. I did one today too,planning to test water again on tuesday to see what effect four 50% water changes have had.
Good you mentioned this. I opened the filter head today and was surprised to see a lot of dirt accumulation. I'm thinking I should clean only one filter pad a day to avoid upsetting the cycle.
I can't say how long it will take, keep changing the water and test before each water change. The skull gave you good advice substrate vacumming and rising the filter media in tank water will not upset the cycle as longa as you use tank water and not tap water. Keep the tank clean and use declor with the water changes. Filter naintance and substrate vacumming are as important as water changes. once you start doing this I think you will see the numbers start to come down. As long as you have a nitrite reading the nitrates will be elavated once the nitrite is consumed and the tank is clean the nitrates will come down.
Thank you for the help! I've always vacuumed the substrate whenever a water change is done. Will rinse the filter pads with tank water tomorrow,retest and post results here on tuesday mostly.
Meanwhile, this is how the fish looks today. The other fins have also starting having small transparent patches.
Meanwhile, this is how the fish looks today. The other fins have also starting having small transparent patches.
So the water changes,substrate vacuuming and filter media rinse has helped reduce the nitrate level to 5-20 ppm,which I think is ideal. I think I can now go back to weekly water changes. However, pH seems to be high at around 8.2 or 8.4, fish is behaving normally though. No signs of stress,loss of appetite etc. I'm thinking the pH of the tap water is high. I'm going to wait for a week or so before I decide on whether or not to buy chemicals to help reduce the pH. How much water should I be changing weekly from now on ?
L to R
1st pic-pH,Ammonia,Nitrite,Nitrate
2nd pic-pH,high pH
L to R
1st pic-pH,Ammonia,Nitrite,Nitrate
2nd pic-pH,high pH
I would not attempt to change the ph of the water with any chemicals. If the fish is acclimated to the ph or your tap water leave it alone. I would test your tap water and see what the ph is out of the tap. As far as frequency and volume of water changes, let the numbers be your guide. As long as you are keeping the nitrates below 20ppm you should be ok. This may require 2x wc a week or one a week, there are a lot of variables, stocking level, feedings, filtration (bio-mass capacity) etc. Test weekly and you will see what your tank needs. After a while you’ll know how much and how often. GL
Thank you Tom. Was just reading on using chemicals to treat the water for pH and most recommend not to do so. I'll keep up with the weekly water changes and tests to find what works best for the tank. Is it possible that the nitrate spike was due to overfeeding ? Ammonia and Nitrites have always been at 0 though.
Yes it is very possibile overfeeding can cause an increase in nitrates. Nitrate is the end of the line in the nitrogen cycle and are removed by water changes.
