So drain water, refill water, and add dechlorinator directly after that? It's non city water and comes from our well water system as we are unincorporated, so probably not the best water then?
Did I just kill my fish?
- Thread starter ChiPerf
- Start date
"Well water" doesn't have chlorine so there's no need to add dechlorinator, does that sound weird? Some reason people want to add this and that to make the water better? Don’t add chemicals unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Your issue could be a couple things:
Water changes in general are stressful to fish but very important. More, smaller water changes, are better than less, larger water changes.
Also, stirring up the gravel when refilling the water can release toxins related to rotten food and poo that were imbedded in the gravel. Moving aquascaping around like large rocks or drift wood can also release toxins to the water. It's best to use a gravel vac to remove your water, if any crap is down there imbedded in the gravel it will be pulled out the siphon. Then refill without putting the hose all the way to the bottom, this keeps the water from pushing into the gravel and getting to those pockets/dead areas in the gravel.
Your issue could be a couple things:
Water changes in general are stressful to fish but very important. More, smaller water changes, are better than less, larger water changes.
Also, stirring up the gravel when refilling the water can release toxins related to rotten food and poo that were imbedded in the gravel. Moving aquascaping around like large rocks or drift wood can also release toxins to the water. It's best to use a gravel vac to remove your water, if any crap is down there imbedded in the gravel it will be pulled out the siphon. Then refill without putting the hose all the way to the bottom, this keeps the water from pushing into the gravel and getting to those pockets/dead areas in the gravel.
I'd recommend getting a thermometer and finding out where to have the faucet when refilling form the optimal temperature. Even if it feels close it could be off more than you think.
Thanks guys. I did put the hose almost right at the bottom of the tank this time and did stir up quite a lot of crap at the bottom. I guess I won't do that again. I'm gonna get an FX5 filter this weekend just to be sure the filtration is adequate and at least rule that out.
check your ammonia, removing the AC filter removed bacteria and the tank is probably mini cycling.
Not sure what mini cycling is, but with my limited knowledge and what I am picking up trolling on here, you are probably correct. I'm sure I stirred up some crap at the bottom of the tank which is just sitting there because the gravel is fairly new and there was no external filter with bacteria in it because I changed it. Plans for the future include an FX5 arriving today, no water changes at the same time as filter changing/cleaning, and only one side of the filter pad being changed at a time. That should keep things stable I would guess. It just pisses me off I killed two fish by not understanding all this.
If you're having trouble stirring crap up when adding water back in, try putting a plate upside down in your tank. Then, make sure the water going in is hitting the plate and not the gravel. This should prevent stirring up of the gravel.
I typically don't mess with filters the same time as water changes. I imagine that you changed water, the water was cold and dropped temps more than 2 or 3 degrees between that, the chlorine and then new unrinsed carbon probably was a perfect storm. I would test your water and observe the temps.
