My Water Parameters are Bad

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
pirahna1950;1204672; said:
yourockit, I would wager your tank is not fully cycled. If you have another, older tank that is cycled, add water from that tank, and even the filter from the other tank for 24 hours. That would hustle up the cycleing. Your only other real option would be water changes. I dissagree on the massive water changes as you would be eliminating a lot of potentialy beneficial bacteria, the food it needs to thrive, as well as ammonia in the process. The key is the bacteria. Get as much in there as quickly as you can. Caribes are pretty tough, just don't push your luck and keep your temps around 80F. Oh, and NO FEEDING! :D
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My previous tank, 100 gallons, is empty. The filters I have on my new tank are from the old tank. Maybe the problem lies in the tank being a clear bottom tank. Because there is not substrate not enough anerobic bacteria for changing ammonia to nitrite can grow. For this reason I think that I need to add more bioballs to my cannister filters. This I will do as soon as possible. Tomorrow I will buy amquel ammo lock to make the ammonia safe. I will also look for fluval ammonia remover to put into one of my filters.
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This weekend I will begin to figure out how to build my own sump. I want to build a very cheap wet/dry sump. Perhaps one can be built in a rubbermaid tub? I need to look into it. Does one need overflows in order to operate a sump? Obviously I am unfamiliar with how sump operate. This would be my first sump. Any suggestions will be thankfully received.

And special thanks to everybody for the guidance. I am really stressed out by how my fish are. I can barely look at them right now because when I see how heavily they are breathing I know they are suffering.
 
Actully youve given us a LOT of conflicting information here. The test readings indicate that the tanks not properly cycled.

In one place you state that you do a 35%WC every 5 days and in another say the tanks been up and running for 2 days?

A Fluval FX5 is MORE than adiquate bio-filtration for a 240. Personally I'd have gone with nothing but ceramic rings in all of the center baskets but you have 2 of these beasts on that tank?

Another way of interperting your test results is a heavy ammonia spike braught on by either MASSIVE overfeeding...a dead fish or something similar...

Even a cycled tank needs time to adapt to sudden changes. The nitrite and nitrate readings indicate that your bio-filtration IS working to capacity but that that capacity has been strained....

Did you just add a large bio-load to that tank? Even when a tanks cycled that dosn't mean its safe to suddenly dump a HUGE bio-load into.

Scrap everything in the FX5 baskets except for ceramic rings and then leave the filters alone...

Pick up some prime to nutrlize the ammonia and wait for the BB to adjust to the new bio-load.

A wet/dry sump....while a good bio-filtration system is NOT the holy grail of aquarium filtration and will need just as much time as the FX5's to stabolize.
 
You and Wolf both said something that got me thinking. Have you ever cleaned these filters? If so, when and how? I had 2 eheim 2217's on my 240 along with a penguin 330 for years with no trouble.

Heres a link for a DIY sump, there are more if you look. Good luck with the sump. :D
 
I clean out our FX5's every other month...but I may extend the schedule because they don't really NEED done. One BAD mistake with the FX5 is to use the blue white 'polishing' pads...these things are junk...they compress quickly...days...into a hard mass that cuts the flow rate down to almost nothing. Without a LOT of O2 the BB in the canister either fail to develope properly or die out. You don't need anything except free flowing bio-media in the baskets and the stock foam in the outer ring.

PS...I don't remember who suggested vacuuming the gravil but it's been stated this is a bare bottom tank...

Can we get a REAL timeline on this tank?

how long has it been set up?
how was it cycled?
when were the fish added?

We can't really be much help without accurate information.
 
pirahna1950;1205038; said:
You and Wolf both said something that got me thinking. Have you ever cleaned these filters? If so, when and how? I had 2 eheim 2217's on my 240 along with a penguin 330 for years with no trouble.

Heres a link for a DIY sump, there are more if you look. Good luck with the sump. :D
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i cleaned them once. they are no more than two months old.
 
pirahna1950;1205038; said:
You and Wolf both said something that got me thinking. Have you ever cleaned these filters? If so, when and how? I had 2 eheim 2217's on my 240 along with a penguin 330 for years with no trouble.

Heres a link for a DIY sump, there are more if you look. Good luck with the sump. :D
Click to expand...

i cleaned them once. they are no more than two months old. where's the link? thanks
 
then again, on top of all the filter tweaking, you may want to add SOME substrate, it'll help with the bacteria, and it'll make your fish feel better anyways.
 
_Sushi_;1205772; said:
then again, on top of all the filter tweaking, you may want to add SOME substrate, it'll help with the bacteria, and it'll make your fish feel better anyways.
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I just broke down and added substrate last night.
 
So were starting over on a tank that has yet to fully cycle...:screwy:

Bio-filtration is something that happens naturally...NOT something we buy and install. No mater what quick INSTANT methouds you hear about...the truth is that it takes an aquarium AT LEAST 6 weeks to fully cycle and stabolize. The more you mess around with it...add chemicals...force large water changes and alter bio-loads...the LONGER it's going to take.
 
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