help with levels in my plywood tank

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T

truck_317

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2008
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State College PA
So I set up a plywood breeding tank for my plecos and things are not going so well. The tank is made out of drylok and I used GE II silicone to seal everything. I have let every thing dry for over a week if not longer before I put water in the tank. I used new fresh water to fill the tank up and then I put a established power filter and a established sponge filter in the tank to make the cycle go a little bit faster. I did squeeze the sponge filter out into the tank so I can get the good bacteria flowing into the tank.
After a couple days I made my own sponge filter and I used a new sponge that you would use to wash a car with and cut it in half. I also used white regular PVC pipe. It still has the colored lettering on it. I also have a divider in the tank which I used egg crate and I also put a pet safe fiberglass screen which has a rubber coating over it and attached it to the egg crate so the fish will not swim threw it.
After a week all of my levels were perfect. My ammonia and nitrates were high but I did a couple 25 percent water changes to fix that problem. So I put some of my plecos in. Well all of the smaller ones died, and my only larger female also died last night.
So I tested my water today and everything still looks fine but my nitrites are at .25. So what should I do???? I have no idea now. I will be doing a larger water change on the tank today and taking some of the old water in and the new water from the water change to the fish store and have them also test it. I'm wondering if the colored lettering on the PVC pipe is whats causing the problem or the mesh divider is the problem so please get back to me on this one.
 
ok just got back from the pet store and the water tested fine expect for the ammonia and it was in the stress zone. I also had him test the water after I did the water and double dosed the prime amount the the ammonia level went down a little but it was still showing. I dont think that the ammonia would kill fish in 2 days so I think its something else.
 
I think that even though you added an established power filter and dirty media, your tank has still not finished cycling.
"After a week all of my levels were perfect. My ammonia and nitrates were high but I did a couple 25 percent water changes to fix that problem." Your levels are not perfect when the ammonia & nitrates are high; water changes will not change the fact that your tank is NOT cycled yet.

There should not be a problem with the lettering on the PVC causing any issues. I am concerned though, about using the NEW car wash sponge. There could be some problems with the material or any residue that is left from the manufacturing process.

I also am unsure if Drylok paint alone is sufficient to 'waterproof' your plywood tank long term.
 
i know that somebody was going to say about the drylok but i have other drylok tanks and had no problems. what about the fiberglass screen that i am using with a rubber coat on it that i had to cut. thats what i am concerned about. but with a uncycled tank my plecos should not be dieing in 1 or 2 days either
 
so i should take as much silicone out of the tank and try to reseal it. i used ge type 2 before to reseal a tank and did not have a problem and my buddy used type 2 on all of his tanks and he had to problem
 
GE II Window and Door is acceptable to use in aquariums. It's "Bioseal" is not the same ammonia based antifungal agent that the Kitchen and Bath versions use...

As mentioned above, you stated your ammonia and nitrates were high. Ammonia is toxic.

You stated the ammonia tested in the stress zone. A quality test will register it as X ppm. Do you know what ppm the ammonia levels were at both before and after the water tests?
 
i went to the petstore and they tested it and thats all they said. nobody has said anything about the fiberglass coated divider that i put in the tank so i guess its not a big deal then
 
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