I agree about mechanical that's what i lack .my fx5 is the only mechanical i have but every week i connect a sock to one outlet thatdoes a nice job of cleaning the particles.i think it's the build up of organics because i too am on the other side of what you said about the tiles and bacteria living on that surface area.and theirs no lack of square feet.if my tank were barely keeping up with 1200-1300 gallons of water and a small load i think at some point i would find ammonia . No???
my ray tank started producing very low levels of nitrites why??
- Thread starter calgaryflames
- Start date
I would think so on finding traces of amonia when you test how far down in the water do ya do this ????? I was corrected a couple years back because i always tested on the surface if ya go down a foot or so it's a more true reading and no matter what you should get trace amonia ...But you are talkin to a turnover Junkie right here i have two 1 1/2 returns 5 inches from the bottom on either side of my 10 footer and five 3/4 returns on top and have 6000 gph at the tank so i mix my water pretty thorughly..Dont like small jet type returns want the turnover but i don't want them in a wash machine ya know
i have gone inside my tank the eductor i use blow so hard i can almost not stay in one spot the circulation in that tank of mine is amazing.i have two 2" outlets and two returns 1 1/2"s one dumps water from a few inches for oxygen and about 15' of head off the pump.the other has a 3/4" eductor jet that blows the bathing suit off me when i go in their!!! the pump i use is turned on low its 1 .5 horse power and can push 7500 gph but i have it set so it blows about 5000 and with the amount of head i put above it probably 4500gph is what i estimate it pushes through the ultima.all the unltima says is not to undersize the pump and too make sure not to exceed 75gpm or 35psi which i am at 10psi and probably pretty close to the 75gpm marker!!what i am saying is that my water is well mixed but i will try and see if i get a different reading lower or on the calm side of the tank. you can see the shape of my L tank.one side is calmer
That is kinda what i was getting at possable dead spots even well mixed tanks can have them ...It may be your readings are the same or you may find something worth a shot tho.....
do you guys think i should turn off the drip add prime and let the tank catch up,maybe its the damb dripper
i suspect that the drip maybe cleaning out too much water! the nitrobactor maybe not established because it never has to because the tank is always cleaning so much water out!!! than every few months when theirs a build up of organics/shrimp crud it cannot handle it, that would explain the low reading i am getting now.
why do i have enough ammonia converting bacteria and less nitrifying bacteria.probably because ammonia gets produced first and quickest before the drip system cleans it out that bacteria has had the chance to colonize into what it needs to be.the nitrifiying bacteria maybe not that established because it doesnt get a chance.this is why i am suggesting turning the drip off and maybe once a week just do old fashion water changes to help establish that nitrobactor colony. i dont see any harm in it but again i am not very experienced in drip systems and advanced aquatics.and i cold run the risk of ammonia spikes. maybe just turning the drip down will be better idea??? any thoughts on what i have just said does it even make sense???
why do i have enough ammonia converting bacteria and less nitrifying bacteria.probably because ammonia gets produced first and quickest before the drip system cleans it out that bacteria has had the chance to colonize into what it needs to be.the nitrifiying bacteria maybe not that established because it doesnt get a chance.this is why i am suggesting turning the drip off and maybe once a week just do old fashion water changes to help establish that nitrobactor colony. i dont see any harm in it but again i am not very experienced in drip systems and advanced aquatics.and i cold run the risk of ammonia spikes. maybe just turning the drip down will be better idea??? any thoughts on what i have just said does it even make sense???
i also would like to mention my ph is swingy here.i dont know if ph can effect nitrobactor,but i just tested the tank and its ph of 8 and my tap water is 6.5,tomorrow i will test the tap again and literally it will be way different.it changes everyday could ph changes have any effects on bacteria colonys???
something is going on my rays are starting to stress out a bit.all i can do is add prime to fight nitrite and hope this will pass.and i may have forgoten to mention i did do a large water change on the weekend like 50% of the tanks water over two days.
i dont understand how some people can do 100% water changes in a day and not effect the bio filteration or damage the colonys with in the tank and system.how do they make it work something is wrong in mine for sure .
between ph swings daily to slight readings of nitrite , i can almost not tell on the test tube after i do a nitrite test but its around .15 - .20 estimated.i am using the api test kits.like hulon said theirs always a slight reading but this is just a bit more than slight and probably the reason why my rays stopped breeding attempts a bit ago.if i crack this here i bet they go at it again.
a friend had mentioned to me a while ago that he had some sort of similar issues and his final diagnosis was the filters were full of shrimp bits.and just because i cannot see the reading on my test kits doesnt mean its not their.and i really think i am dealing with the same thing.
i dont use any real realiable sorce of mechanical filteration.i do on other tanks ,like filter socks in sumps.maybe i need to add a sump.actually i am going to this weekend.this is a simple fix ,a fx5 on a 1200 gallons is not enough mechanical filteration.it does a bit but i think this comes down to i need better mecanical filteration.i think its due to the drip keeping water too clean and not allowing for enough nitrifying bacteria to develop.
something is going on my rays are starting to stress out a bit.all i can do is add prime to fight nitrite and hope this will pass.and i may have forgoten to mention i did do a large water change on the weekend like 50% of the tanks water over two days.
i dont understand how some people can do 100% water changes in a day and not effect the bio filteration or damage the colonys with in the tank and system.how do they make it work something is wrong in mine for sure .
between ph swings daily to slight readings of nitrite , i can almost not tell on the test tube after i do a nitrite test but its around .15 - .20 estimated.i am using the api test kits.like hulon said theirs always a slight reading but this is just a bit more than slight and probably the reason why my rays stopped breeding attempts a bit ago.if i crack this here i bet they go at it again.
a friend had mentioned to me a while ago that he had some sort of similar issues and his final diagnosis was the filters were full of shrimp bits.and just because i cannot see the reading on my test kits doesnt mean its not their.and i really think i am dealing with the same thing.
i dont use any real realiable sorce of mechanical filteration.i do on other tanks ,like filter socks in sumps.maybe i need to add a sump.actually i am going to this weekend.this is a simple fix ,a fx5 on a 1200 gallons is not enough mechanical filteration.it does a bit but i think this comes down to i need better mecanical filteration.i think its due to the drip keeping water too clean and not allowing for enough nitrifying bacteria to develop.
