high nitrates
- Thread starter Turion2112
- Start date
I was cleaning 1 of the filters every 2 to 3 weeks. I have 2 filters I would alternate the cleaning between the 2. When I would clean them I found they were not that dirty and I thought that maybe I was cleaning them to much so a couple months ago I started to let them go and not clean them when I did a water change. The water still stays nice and clear.
In the ac 110s I use the ac foam spong/pad and I buy water polishing pads from Rena or Fluval cut them and put them on top of the sponge/pad. I use alot of the loose bio max for the bb. I do not use the carbon media at all.
I have always use Amquel+ as the conditioner.
Is Prime that much better them Amquel +
I did check the nitrates of the water I was adding to the tank but I had already added the Amquel to it and the nitrates read 0 ppm. I am going to test the nitrates from the tap right now and see what that is,hold on......................................................... the nitrates from the tap read 0ppm also. I have city water comes from the Delaware River I believe. I am going to do a water change a clean one of the filters and see what happens.
In the ac 110s I use the ac foam spong/pad and I buy water polishing pads from Rena or Fluval cut them and put them on top of the sponge/pad. I use alot of the loose bio max for the bb. I do not use the carbon media at all.
I have always use Amquel+ as the conditioner.
Is Prime that much better them Amquel +
I did check the nitrates of the water I was adding to the tank but I had already added the Amquel to it and the nitrates read 0 ppm. I am going to test the nitrates from the tap right now and see what that is,hold on......................................................... the nitrates from the tap read 0ppm also. I have city water comes from the Delaware River I believe. I am going to do a water change a clean one of the filters and see what happens.
Prime does everything AmQuel does, and everything NovAqua does too. Plus it's way more concentrated, so while you need a capful of AmQuel to treat 10 gallons, a capful of Prime treats 50.
Make sure you follow the instructions for the nitrate test carefully and to the letter, otherwise it will yield a false negative.
Also, clear water does not mean nitrate-free water.
I still suggest you find a way to get a pothos plant's roots in your tank.
Make sure you follow the instructions for the nitrate test carefully and to the letter, otherwise it will yield a false negative.
Also, clear water does not mean nitrate-free water.
I still suggest you find a way to get a pothos plant's roots in your tank.
Ok, a few things.
On your AC110's you should cut the sponge in half length-wise, to make more room for biomedia. These are good for mech filtration, but that huge sponge is unnecessary and is just more room to harbor the nasty crud that's helping lead to your nitrAte problem.
Also, when you say you "cleaned" them and they "aren't that dirty" do you bang them on the side of the bucket HARD? Or on a brick wall, or something? If not, you are not getting the stuff out that needs to come out to help lower your nitrAtes. I would do this on one filter one week, then the other filter 1 week later, and alternate that way with weekly water changes. (After you get your nitrAtes in check.)
Yes, Prime is far superior to Amquel+. There have been quite a few threads about it in the "Setup and Filtration" sub-forum, you should check it out, and decide for yourself.
I can't remember, do you have gravel? Are you vacuuming it? Okay, how thoroughly are you vacuuming your gravel? How deep is it? Do you stick the vacuum all the way down to the glass and wait until the water runs into the siphon clear? Just trying to cover all possible bases here.
Do you move ornaments, spongefilters, rocks out of the way, and vacuum under those as well?
On your AC110's you should cut the sponge in half length-wise, to make more room for biomedia. These are good for mech filtration, but that huge sponge is unnecessary and is just more room to harbor the nasty crud that's helping lead to your nitrAte problem.
Also, when you say you "cleaned" them and they "aren't that dirty" do you bang them on the side of the bucket HARD? Or on a brick wall, or something? If not, you are not getting the stuff out that needs to come out to help lower your nitrAtes. I would do this on one filter one week, then the other filter 1 week later, and alternate that way with weekly water changes. (After you get your nitrAtes in check.)
Yes, Prime is far superior to Amquel+. There have been quite a few threads about it in the "Setup and Filtration" sub-forum, you should check it out, and decide for yourself.
I can't remember, do you have gravel? Are you vacuuming it? Okay, how thoroughly are you vacuuming your gravel? How deep is it? Do you stick the vacuum all the way down to the glass and wait until the water runs into the siphon clear? Just trying to cover all possible bases here.
Do you move ornaments, spongefilters, rocks out of the way, and vacuum under those as well?
Hi Laticauda, thanks for responding
Yes I have been thinking about cutting that sponge/pad in half to fit more bio max media in the filter.
When I clean the filters out I remove the contents of the filter and put that in the bucket I just syphoned the dirty tank water to. I syphone the into a bucket so I use that water to clean the tank up with. I squeez the sponge/pad out and it is clean when I put it all back together.
I have the regular gravel in the tank and its about 3" deep the Texas moves it all around so some spots are down to the glass and others piled high. I do remove everthing from the tank when I clean it and wipe the glass with API glass cleaning towles. I do clean the gravel good in my opinion. I will also turn the gravel over with my hand so that it is always being moved around and there is no build up in the gravel.
As for the amquel+ I've used it since I have started in the hobby and I don't want to change for the sake of change.
thanks
Yes I have been thinking about cutting that sponge/pad in half to fit more bio max media in the filter.
When I clean the filters out I remove the contents of the filter and put that in the bucket I just syphoned the dirty tank water to. I syphone the into a bucket so I use that water to clean the tank up with. I squeez the sponge/pad out and it is clean when I put it all back together.
I have the regular gravel in the tank and its about 3" deep the Texas moves it all around so some spots are down to the glass and others piled high. I do remove everthing from the tank when I clean it and wipe the glass with API glass cleaning towles. I do clean the gravel good in my opinion. I will also turn the gravel over with my hand so that it is always being moved around and there is no build up in the gravel.
As for the amquel+ I've used it since I have started in the hobby and I don't want to change for the sake of change.
thanks
I'm fairly confident it's that sponge. Trust me, when you give it a few good wacks, the sludge will AMAZE YOU! It may "look" clean on the outside, but unless you use physical force (not just squishing it or swishing it) the stuff just doesn't come out.
Continue with your gravel vacuuming, and start really beating the sponges. Cutting them in half will also help.
As for Prime, I use it because I have many large fish tanks, and do many large water changes every week. If I used Amquel+ or NovAqua, I'd be forced to close down some of my tanks, simply because I couldn't afford dechlorinator! I buy a 2 liter bottle online and it treats 20,000 gallons. I am also a stickler for being efficient, and spending more money for the same job, and using more (watered down) product, just doesn't sit right with me, but to each his own.
Oh, and when I had gravel (I have all bare-bottom or planted tanks, so don't have to gravel vac anymore) I took the siphon, stuck it in the gravel til it ran relatively clean, picked up the siphon, and did the next 3 inches, and so on and so forth. 1/2 of the tank one week, and 1/2 the tank the next week.
Continue with your gravel vacuuming, and start really beating the sponges. Cutting them in half will also help.
As for Prime, I use it because I have many large fish tanks, and do many large water changes every week. If I used Amquel+ or NovAqua, I'd be forced to close down some of my tanks, simply because I couldn't afford dechlorinator! I buy a 2 liter bottle online and it treats 20,000 gallons. I am also a stickler for being efficient, and spending more money for the same job, and using more (watered down) product, just doesn't sit right with me, but to each his own.
Oh, and when I had gravel (I have all bare-bottom or planted tanks, so don't have to gravel vac anymore) I took the siphon, stuck it in the gravel til it ran relatively clean, picked up the siphon, and did the next 3 inches, and so on and so forth. 1/2 of the tank one week, and 1/2 the tank the next week.
