not confusing...there is just no room for anymore filters.. none at all. so what should i do about adding more media...and how could i have the same problem on 2 different tanks...thanks alot
I'm Fed Up...Im out of answers
- Thread starter bumpylemon
- Start date
since you have AC's, I would just use the one filter pad and put 2 bags of bio on top of at least 2 filters (in the case of the 55). I believe you already ditched the carbon bag from the AC's. The filtration you have should be plenty. I've never used one of the canister filters you have, so I wouldn't know where or how to add more bio. I'm sure someone else will come up with more ideas. My biggest problem wasn't flow, but the type of media I was using in my XP3 canisters (pot scrubbers).
bumpy, it looks to me like you have plenty of media, and now it's rinsed out so it can work. and you're vacuuming your gravel, so you know there is no dead fish or food or waste in the tank.
you tested your source water and you said there is no ammonia in the source water, i'm assuming it's your tap water? is it treated with chlorine? or chloramine? if it's chlorine you can age the water before you use it for water changes and it won't kill your beneficial bacteria anymore. if it's chloramines your best bet is to find a reputable water dealer (you do NOT have to buy water from the LFS, water stores are far less expensive) and purchase water or build your own RO/DI unit at home.
someone mentioned a sewer smell? was that you? i had that problem with an unstable tank, before we knew about the ammonia problem with our tap water. We added a small amount of crushed coral to the substrate (less than 10 lbs in the 100 gallon tank) and the sulfer/sewage smell went away and the tank stabilized. i now keep a layer of crushed coral (not much) under the decorative substrate in all of my tanks.
Marineland doesn't make Bio-Spira anymore, they sold out to Tetra and the new stuff they sell is called Safe Start (i think), try to find an LFS that still keeps it refrigerated. The bottle says "do not expose to heat" and they still pack it in insulating foam for shipping, but it doesn't say "refrigeration required" anymore so most of the LFS's are putting it on the shelves. This stuff will give your Beneficial bacteria a jumpstart getting going again..
as the tank cycles you will see at first, high ammonia.. do 25 - 50% water changes every other day to dilute the ammonia (no other reason), it will NOT make the ammonia go away and it will NOT help the tank cycle.
after a few days you will start to see Ammonia AND Nitrite in the tests.. and still no Nitrate to speak of. Continue doing 25 - 50% water changes every other day to dilute the ammonia and nitrite.
after probably a week you will start seeing Nitrates FINALLY.. and the ammonia and nitrite levels will go down quite quickly. usually within a day or two. when the ammonia and nitrite readings are at 0, as they should be, do a 50% water change. At this point your tank is completely cycled.
from this point on you do water changes only as needed to keep the water parameters stable. ammonia and nitrites should always be 0 and nitrates should be between 0 and 30 PPM, when they get higher than that you do water changes till it's correct again.
when you do water changes, as long as you don't take the water level below the intake tubes of the filters there is no reason to shut them off. shutting them off only kills off beneificial bacteria. don't do it.
as far as your filter media goes, the mechanical filter foam pads get pulled out and squeezed out very well in tank water at every other water change (HOB or intank sponge filters). and the canister filter foam pads get pulled out and changed every 6 months. then i take the foam pads i pulled out and clean them very well and run them through the dishwasher with no dishsoap through the sanitizing rinse. and then let them air dry until the next time they need to go into the cansiter filter and change them out. And i always keep an extra brand new set in the box incase the ones i pull out of the canister aren't reusable because they do deteriorate over time.
hope that helps.. i know it's longwinded..
you tested your source water and you said there is no ammonia in the source water, i'm assuming it's your tap water? is it treated with chlorine? or chloramine? if it's chlorine you can age the water before you use it for water changes and it won't kill your beneficial bacteria anymore. if it's chloramines your best bet is to find a reputable water dealer (you do NOT have to buy water from the LFS, water stores are far less expensive) and purchase water or build your own RO/DI unit at home.
someone mentioned a sewer smell? was that you? i had that problem with an unstable tank, before we knew about the ammonia problem with our tap water. We added a small amount of crushed coral to the substrate (less than 10 lbs in the 100 gallon tank) and the sulfer/sewage smell went away and the tank stabilized. i now keep a layer of crushed coral (not much) under the decorative substrate in all of my tanks.
Marineland doesn't make Bio-Spira anymore, they sold out to Tetra and the new stuff they sell is called Safe Start (i think), try to find an LFS that still keeps it refrigerated. The bottle says "do not expose to heat" and they still pack it in insulating foam for shipping, but it doesn't say "refrigeration required" anymore so most of the LFS's are putting it on the shelves. This stuff will give your Beneficial bacteria a jumpstart getting going again..
as the tank cycles you will see at first, high ammonia.. do 25 - 50% water changes every other day to dilute the ammonia (no other reason), it will NOT make the ammonia go away and it will NOT help the tank cycle.
after a few days you will start to see Ammonia AND Nitrite in the tests.. and still no Nitrate to speak of. Continue doing 25 - 50% water changes every other day to dilute the ammonia and nitrite.
after probably a week you will start seeing Nitrates FINALLY.. and the ammonia and nitrite levels will go down quite quickly. usually within a day or two. when the ammonia and nitrite readings are at 0, as they should be, do a 50% water change. At this point your tank is completely cycled.
from this point on you do water changes only as needed to keep the water parameters stable. ammonia and nitrites should always be 0 and nitrates should be between 0 and 30 PPM, when they get higher than that you do water changes till it's correct again.
when you do water changes, as long as you don't take the water level below the intake tubes of the filters there is no reason to shut them off. shutting them off only kills off beneificial bacteria. don't do it.
as far as your filter media goes, the mechanical filter foam pads get pulled out and squeezed out very well in tank water at every other water change (HOB or intank sponge filters). and the canister filter foam pads get pulled out and changed every 6 months. then i take the foam pads i pulled out and clean them very well and run them through the dishwasher with no dishsoap through the sanitizing rinse. and then let them air dry until the next time they need to go into the cansiter filter and change them out. And i always keep an extra brand new set in the box incase the ones i pull out of the canister aren't reusable because they do deteriorate over time.
hope that helps.. i know it's longwinded..
what!!itsbadlands;2462698; said:
you dont beleive that chlorine kills your beneficial bacteria?
i was laughing in agreement with you about the poster you quoted-and i think the original poster is now on the right track with picking the right info outta all these repliesfreshwaterz;2464887; said:
freshwaterz;2462558; said:NEVER RINCE ANY PART OF YOUR FILTER WITH TAPWATER.....ALWAYS USE TANK WATER!!
the chlorine in the tapwater kills your beneficial bacteria
If you have well established bio media it is unecessary to preserve the bacteria on a sponge which is used for mechanical filteration. now this would not be true if all your filter had was a sponge in that case you would never want to get chorine etc. on it. Most quality filters use sponges for mechanical filteration.
to each his own but I prefer to get my sponges as clean as possible with hot water. I also wring out the sponge thoroughly as to not get tap water on my bio whe reintroducing the sponge. Im also overfiltered so worse case and I did destroy bio in one filter I have plenty more while that one rebuilds
here's an idea: why not rinse the mechanical in hot water, ring it out really well and then wash it in settled tank water? That would get it the most clean and would alleviate the possibility of chlorine from the tapwater that's left in the sponge killing any bio.
