I used double the dosage of Top Fin Bacteria Supplement on a new tank (used directly on filter media and Bio-Wheel), had a bacteria bloom on day 2, tank was clear on day 4, been running smooth ever since. It worked for me.
I need help making a decision
- Thread starter jeep07
- Start date
Are you using dip sticks? They are not very accurate, the liquid is the beast also check when it expires. I would be doing daily water changes. That ammonia reading is sky high if it's accurate. Also salt helps the fish.
When im cleaning out the filters, I'll get a bucket and fill it somewhat with the water from my tank, along with dechlorinating it. And yeah, I will be doing daily water changes untill the nitrite reading starts to go up and then I'll cut back to every other day. For the testing, I do use the liquids, API Test kit. I gotta tell you though, with doing large water changes, the fish seem happier, they're swimming at a good speed, breathing is relaxed, and they dont seem to be as teritorrial as they were. Thank u for bringing up the acquarium salt...should I use it?
Fish in the tank = bacteria in the tank. Unless it's been shocked to all heck with Meds. There will be bacteria in the fish themselves if not in the tank from the ammonia burning everything. to reiterate what Karen and Dark are saying. Bringing your ammonia down to a low level.. which I agree w/ karen 1 is safer then 3.. and will encourage the cycle to happen. Trying to quick cycle is going to likely cause more problems then good for those fish. Personally I didn't encourage a 90% WC because if too few water changes have been happening a water chemistry change of that magnitude that quick can cause PH shock. You'de have less ammonia but PH shock can do as much damage or cause almost instant death to some species. and at 20% once a month with that amount of ammonia in the system I can't think about how much ammonium was produced before the ammonia killed the bacteria in the tank. Essential your goal it to re-acclimate them to better water.. instead of in a bag.. you're using the tank.
1) You need to upgrade yesterday, That bigger tank you mentioned.. they need to be in it now. Fill it up, bag or bucket the fish.. drip acclimate them.. and add them to it.
2) sponges are better but in reference to the bio-media. It is a white ceramic ball filled bag. adding the extra sponge behind the penguin was a good idea. but put it after the cartridge before the wheel. So the water goes threw the cartridge first. The sponge won't get gunked up with junk as easy.
3) When you do your water change pull out your filter cartridge from the penguin and "shake" it in the bucket of water your throwing out to get rid of as much solid waste as possible. So every day, the cartridge will last alot longer and physically remove more solid waste from your system.
What temp is the tank at? if it's higher then 76.. lower it down to about 72. Your fish can tolerate the lower water temp. This will also slow their metabolisms down and they will eat less = poop less = keep your water from spiking so bad. Do not do this until your ammonia level is down to 1. Low temps also can allow for bacterial infections. Keep a close eye on your cats and your Clown knife for Velvet. This is the one I personally see most often with poor water quality issues. 72 is usually safe. But I've seen it happen when temps drop below 68 for tropicals.
And NO do not add salt. scaleless fish ( your Clown knife) are very sensitive to it. Poor water quality should be fixed with what you're doing. Salt is used in treating ailments.
1) You need to upgrade yesterday, That bigger tank you mentioned.. they need to be in it now. Fill it up, bag or bucket the fish.. drip acclimate them.. and add them to it.
2) sponges are better but in reference to the bio-media. It is a white ceramic ball filled bag. adding the extra sponge behind the penguin was a good idea. but put it after the cartridge before the wheel. So the water goes threw the cartridge first. The sponge won't get gunked up with junk as easy.
3) When you do your water change pull out your filter cartridge from the penguin and "shake" it in the bucket of water your throwing out to get rid of as much solid waste as possible. So every day, the cartridge will last alot longer and physically remove more solid waste from your system.
What temp is the tank at? if it's higher then 76.. lower it down to about 72. Your fish can tolerate the lower water temp. This will also slow their metabolisms down and they will eat less = poop less = keep your water from spiking so bad. Do not do this until your ammonia level is down to 1. Low temps also can allow for bacterial infections. Keep a close eye on your cats and your Clown knife for Velvet. This is the one I personally see most often with poor water quality issues. 72 is usually safe. But I've seen it happen when temps drop below 68 for tropicals.
And NO do not add salt. scaleless fish ( your Clown knife) are very sensitive to it. Poor water quality should be fixed with what you're doing. Salt is used in treating ailments.
kdrun76;4587305; said:
Some people with healthy tanks only need to do bi weekly, tri weekly, or even monthly changes. Really the end result will depend solely on how fast Nitrates rise in the tank. And quit being a drama queen with the caps and panic words.
I think the guy realizes by now that he's overstocked.kdrun76;4587305; said:
That's the problem of cycling a tank with fish in it. I did ask if he had a friend or something to hold the fish while he cycles. Ammonia = 3 is the best to speedily cycle a tank. Is Ammonia = 3 for 10 days worse than Ammonia = 1 for a month and a half?
kdrun76;4587305; said:
That's not correct. You cause wider swings in the water parameters with less frequent changes. You will see the water params rise and fall a lot more, which might give you the impression that you are having more of an effect, but lack of stability is also bad for the fish. To create the most stable environment possible, you would have a constant flow of fresh water into the system and an overflow flushing excess down the drain. (i.e. Drip Systems)
kdrun76;4587305; said:
Think we agree here.
NO salt then, and I will move the sponge. So if 50% isnt enough, how much is enough? 60,70,80%??? I will be doing another water change tomorrow in the evening, I will get my bucket, fill it with some of the acquarium water that I wont be using anymore and clean my filters in there. ANything I missed?
You will know how much to change by the water chemistry test results. If your ammonia is at 4, doing a 50% change will lower it to 2ppm. I don't think you should allow it over 1ppm, so measure your ammonia and change as much water as you need to to get it below 1ppm.
When your nitrites start to rise, they too need to be kept low. They accumulate slower and slower as time passes. You may be doing 50% daily for a week each on ammonia and nitrite, but then you sill see that less water can be changed to keep the nitrites low.
When you are cycled, you want to keep your nitrates between 10 and 20ppm. Meaning every time they hit 20ppm, do a 50% change to push them back to 10ppm. With your bioload, that will be often.
When your nitrites start to rise, they too need to be kept low. They accumulate slower and slower as time passes. You may be doing 50% daily for a week each on ammonia and nitrite, but then you sill see that less water can be changed to keep the nitrites low.
When you are cycled, you want to keep your nitrates between 10 and 20ppm. Meaning every time they hit 20ppm, do a 50% change to push them back to 10ppm. With your bioload, that will be often.
jeep07;4589413; said:
It's alot of info being thrown at you, you got the right idea going. IMO I would be doing 50% WC even after the tanks been cycled. Though those fish will outgrow that tank before it's likely cycled. I will stress again.. they need a bigger tank yesterday.
I know I know about needing a bigger tank but I cant get a tank right now. My idea was to raise them together so hopefully they would all get along. I did a 50% waterchange yesterday night, ran some tests today and ammonia was still at 8, while nitrite and nitrates were 0. So tonight I will be doing a 70% waterchange. I also bought a newer test kit (the same kind, API test kit) just to make sure that the one I have been using isnt expired or something. I also bought Penn Plaxx Cascade Bio-sponges and will be placing those inside my filtration units. Also, I was looking around for different filtration units and came across a couple I wanted to ask u guys about. First, Marineland's Emperor 200, would that be much better to have instead of my Penquin 200 cuz of the extra big bio-wheel and cartridges? Secondly, How do you guys feel about canister filtration units, it seemed to me like they work like a sump. Would a canister filtration help in anyway for my tank?
