Did you recently put the fx5 on there? doesn't sound like you're that overstocked... If its a change in filtration your tank might just be cycling...
High Nitrates?
- Thread starter lighthouse39183
- Start date
thats just what i would dolighthouse39183;2901181; said:
i never reccomend mixing new world cichlids with africans because:
-the enormous agression between them
-it is simply unnatural and i think makes the fish uncomfortable
-i feel that mixing them makes a tank look random and unprofessional
just my opinions
and if you dont have another tank for them you can always put up a for sale thread here
The Fx5 has been on the tank from the start. It is cycled. Has been running since November 2008. I have gradually added the african cichlids. I wouldn't have put the new world cichlids in with them except I already had them and they need the big tank. The tiger barbs were never intended to stay in the 125g. I just put them in there after it was cycled to have a few more fish since my tank was practically empty. I thought with a filter that would handle a 400g tank I would be okay with a little heavier stock. I'll just have to remove the barbs and pictus and see how things go. The other fish get along fine. They have all grown up together and don't have any problems getting along. I have been considering adding an AquaClear 110 to the opposite end of the tank from my Fx5. I could load it down with a nitrate remover.
I just ordered an Aqua Clear 110 HOB filter to put on the other end of the tank. Hopefully this will increase the circulation in the tank and help handle the bio load.
If it's nitrates and not nitrites or ammonia it seems like it's handling the load just fine - nitrate is the end product of the load being handled.
What kind of decoration/rockwork do you have? My 125 (which is more overstocked than yours) has only trace nitrates but every once in a while they start to build up because there's one dead spot without water circulation behind and under a rock pile and giant driftwood tree where the siphon can't reach. Every month I have to take out all the rocks and there is literally a pile of waste there that accumulates over time. It's like a poop treasure trove. I'd be willing to bet that you've got a dead spot in your tank that you can get at if you shift things around. Every tank should get a deep cleaning every now and then anyway.
All this talk has me wanting to go de-rock my african tank. The nitrates are creeping up a bit in there and it's due.
What kind of decoration/rockwork do you have? My 125 (which is more overstocked than yours) has only trace nitrates but every once in a while they start to build up because there's one dead spot without water circulation behind and under a rock pile and giant driftwood tree where the siphon can't reach. Every month I have to take out all the rocks and there is literally a pile of waste there that accumulates over time. It's like a poop treasure trove. I'd be willing to bet that you've got a dead spot in your tank that you can get at if you shift things around. Every tank should get a deep cleaning every now and then anyway.
All this talk has me wanting to go de-rock my african tank. The nitrates are creeping up a bit in there and it's due.
I move the artificial rocks around when I do the water changes and clean the gravel there as well. It doesn't look like I'm having a problem with too much poop in the tank. I keep it cleaned out. I'm just wondering if that many cichlids in the tank is too much bio load for the one filter and it's becoming a nitrate factory, even though I do regular cleanings on the tank as well as the filter. I usually clean the filter every two weeks. I was just going to try and make it to the one month cleaning but it doesn't look like I will be able to do that.
