how often is too often?

[Lgsasquatch]

If your tank is cycling ie has ammonia and nitrite results ( as chizzel stated) and you havnt by the sounds of it killed of BB by cleaning filters sunstrate etc id be asking why? has it been established long is there adequate filtration on it? Adding more fish to a cycling tank is just going to increase the levels. Do you need more filtration before adding more fish are you over feeding causing rotting food to increase the level's cleaning the substrate out to remove fish waste, and not rely soley on the biological breakdown? what are the new type of fish

It has been running for a few months now with a rena xp4 canister, idk if i am killing too much bacteria when i clean out the filter pads. I am working on building a 55 sump for the tank so eventually i can remove the canister. I have sand on the bottom of the tank, when i did the first water change i vacumed the sand ass much as i could with out sending it all out the window. I am thinking of waiting on the new fish untill i get a bigger tank(will need one anyway).
I am wanting to get an arowana, i know they are sensitive to temp, ph and nitrates.

 

[johno27]

Your doing the right thing now and that is all that matters. Aros get huge and with your current stock I would look into something at least 8'-3' if not larger for the next tank. I would go with a sump or a bio reactor for sure canister filters are not really designed for keeping monster fish.

 

[Lgsasquatch]

I was looking at a 210 but I couldn't work out a trade. So I have decided to go after a 250 at the smallest, something 300 to 400 would be preferred. Hopefully the next payday I can order the 2 sponge filters i need and more bio balls so I can get the dump installed.

 

[Undertheradar]

It has been running for a few months now with a rena xp4 canister, idk if i am killing too much bacteria when i clean out the filter pads. I am working on building a 55 sump for the tank so eventually i can remove the canister. I have sand on the bottom of the tank, when i did the first water change i vacumed the sand ass much as i could with out sending it all out the window. I am thinking of waiting on the new fish untill i get a bigger tank(will need one anyway).
I am wanting to get an arowana, i know they are sensitive to temp, ph and nitrates.

If I read this right you only have one canister filter? If your loosing to much BB when cleaning your mechanical filtration it sounds as though you havn't got enough surface area of your bio filtration to break down ammonia ( I clean all my mech at once with tap water with no cycling). I would get another canister fast ( second hand) on there as its going to take a while to get your sump established with the waste only ever increasing, ie you will be running both at the same time. Also I run 200 with a sump and still use a large canister with the suction from the sump and the discharge to the tank because if your sump pump fails there is still water flow over your bio keeping BB alive and breaking down waste. Hope this help

 

[Lgsasquatch]

If I read this right you only have one canister filter? If your loosing to much BB when cleaning your mechanical filtration it sounds as though you havn't got enough surface area of your bio filtration to break down ammonia ( I clean all my mech at once with tap water with no cycling). I would get another canister fast ( second hand) on there as its going to take a while to get your sump established with the waste only ever increasing, ie you will be running both at the same time. Also I run 200 with a sump and still use a large canister with the suction from the sump and the discharge to the tank because if your sump pump fails there is still water flow over your bio keeping BB alive and breaking down waste. Hope this help

I planned on running both filters for a while, but eventually only the dump. The last time I had a pacu, three oscars and 2 plecos in a 120g with only a sump and had no problems. This 55g sump is at least twice the size of the last one and three times the size of the canister (not including the center section of the sump witch I want to put some plants).

 

[Henryng]

Is ok to change water very often but very slowly add water back to your tank to let your fish get use to the added water.. I do not know how much chlorine are there in your country tap water. I suggest whenever you wash your tank, you should wash your canister as well. if your tap water is high chlorine then it will also kill all your good bacteria in your canister and causing a outbreak of bad bacteria to your tank and might kill all your fishes. Luckily you only keep big fishes like pacu which can withstand bad water condition. Remember if your pacu is bigger than your arowana, it may kill your arowana. Make sure you watch for an hour or more without you moving aroung the tank. Always remember to let your arowana get use to the tank and add tank water to your bag before letting your fish to your tank. This process should take you about half to an hour before putting your arowana to tank. Note: i have seen alot of dead arowana's not going through this process even happen to me.

 

[Undertheradar]

I planned on running both filters for a while, but eventually only the dump. The last time I had a pacu, three oscars and 2 plecos in a 120g with only a sump and had no problems. This 55g sump is at least twice the size of the last one and three times the size of the canister (not including the center section of the sump witch I want to put some plants).

the reason i run a canister with a sump is that if the sump fails if your away for the weekend or even when you go to work it could seriuosly reduce the risk of BB dieing off and your fish. Either way you need more surface area now for BB to grow know to efectivley break down the fish waste water changes will help a lot but its going to be a constant battle. good luck

 

[HackJob]

Nitrates kills the fish slowly over a period of time. I would start by more often water changes. If you can keep up with it then consider adding to the tank. If you can't keep up with it, I suggest looking into getting some plant to eat some of the ammonia and nitrite before it becomes nitrate. The best way to think about it, is the fish are swimming in their own pee and stale water. Would you like to stay in an air tight room with no new air?

On the other hand, the water you keep adding depending on the source may have chlorine from the tap. To much, and it kills off the BB, and then you have an uncycled tank, and the fish die from ammonia poisoning. That tanks very little time. So there are many happy mediums. 50% every other day, although you may want to do a large 80% just to get the nitrates back to reasonable levels.

Pacus get big.

You know you really should be doing the water changes more often. Get a python that makes it easier, it would be a better investment as a fish keeper than another fish. At least looking into it, and asking questions about means you are serious about getting better at it.

 

[Lgsasquatch]

I took out all the carbon in my filter (it was old anyway) and replaced it with more bio media. I have a second canister filter but it needs a few parts and media before I can set it up. I think I will run all threeof the filters, 2 canisters and a 55g sump. That should solve the BB isue and give me plenty of filter options.