HELP! Please!

[brianp]

I need some advice on how to keep my nitrite and nitrate levels low...I do regular water changes (about 5-10 gal at a time), I use a waste control supplement, and I use plenty of carbon in the filter. However, I can't seem to get the levels under control. My ammonia and Ph are good I just cant seem to figure this out. Please any advice is appreciated, my fish are quite upset.

I have a 65 gallon tank with 2 oscars (one albino about 4 inches long and one standard oscar about 7-8 inches long), I also have one pleco in the tank around 4 inches long.

I would hate to lose these fish so please help!

Thanks!

1. Eliminate the waste control supplement.
2. Eliminate the carbon and add additional biomedia.
3. Purchase a 250 ml bottle of Seachem Stability, mix well and inoculate your tank. Refill bottle to 1/2 volume with aq water, shake again and dump into tank.
4. Change 1/4 water per week...religiously, thereafter. If necessary, increase to 1/3 to control nitrate.

The wcs will control the nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are controlled by bacterial oxidation.

 

[Yanbbrox]

Increase bio filtration and w/c schedule you want to be changing at 1/2 twice weekly with the current setup, or add plants(yes it works for me with oscars)

 

[DFrank0109]

That is a valid statement...thats sorta why I was asking about the cleaning the bio balls. With the nitrites being high sounds like the bio filtration is lackin or not staying in full swing...either by cleaning the bio balls (big no no) or possibly by the tap water killing it off before he adds the chems.

not trying to teach someone to suck eggs but,

,do you de chlorinate the water change correctly so as not to upset any natural bacteria in your filter, i just added this here incase any newbies have the same probs and are looking for suggestions ,,

Yes I dechlor the water before the changes and only clean the bioballs in the aquarium water once in a while.

How oftin/times per day do you feed them the dry food?

Do you have a link to the filter you are using for info on it?

When you clean the filter...do you clean the bio balls?

I only feed the dry 1-2 times per day
And as for the filter I have no idea, it was a craigslist find that came with the tank. Don't know much about it but apparently it works well from what I was told.




I just started using a Fluval Lab Series Nitrate/Nitrite remover in the tank and so far so good. The fish have perked up a lot and are swimming around acting a little more normally, so that appears to be working.

 

[NOLAGT]

Thats just a band aid...you need to fix the root of the problem I think. You should not have to add chems to lower nitrites. Get another canister to add more bio filtration...or a power filter or something. Try not fooling with the bioballs at all for a while so you dont disturb the BB and only feed once a day or maybe every other day untill it catches up.....imo.

 

[Deaths Sting]

buy another filter and do more w/cs