tank almost crashed.. please advices!!
- Thread starter giar
- Start date
Hopefully it doesn't get any lower. Have you ever considered adding media in hob filter to help raise the ph gradually.
Hello; You use a canister. I guess it is closed up somehow. Have you look inside the filter since this episode began? A very dirty filter can be an issue but not sure this can crash a cycle. First the flow gets slowed down and the water may flow around the media in stead of thru it.
Also if the media is clogged up then some of the stuff clogging it up may well be uneaten food and other organic stuff that will decay. I think the fish you have are messy eaters. It is also common for new fish keepers to overfeed, usually by a lot. If such a filter gets turned off for very long decay products toxins might build up inside and then be pumped back into a tank when the filter is turned back on.
I do not think the decay of excess food will crash a cycle as the addition of things that decay, such as food or raw shrimp, are often suggested during a "fishless cycle".
I know many have the belief that filter material should not be changed or will clean filter material by gently swishing it in only tank water.
I do not go by this method. I change out the media in my HOB's when it gets clogged up. To me the purpose of the media is to filter out solids and once clogged up it is not able to do the job. I do stagger the replacement of media in HOB's with two chambers so that one set of aged media is left in place. In HOB's on smaller tanks with only one media slot, I replace the entire media.
In both cases I leave the tubes, filter box, impellers and other bits alone. There will be bb attached on those surfaces. It is my understanding the bb are firmly attached to those surfaces as well as a bio film so even a brisk rinsing should not remove them.
I have not used canister filters so am not sure how the media may be arranged. If the filter media is indeed very dirty, perhaps there is a way to replace it in portions?
Something crashed your cycle it appears. Why this happened seems to be the main question and I do not have a suggestion for that at this point.
just checked the water again.. its been about 2 hours since my last check.
ph is now 5.4
ammonia 0.5ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 100ppm
ph is keep dropping and it freaks me out. if it goes below 5, then it just a matter of time till the tank completely crash, isn't it?
I can't do water change now. I'm totally out of sachem prime. It will be here by Monday the earliest.
The Ph drop is the source of your problem. It is known as "old tank syndrome". You need to do some serious water changes to stabilize the Ph back up but you can only do that if there's no ammonia in the water, as the higher the ph, the more toxic the ammonia. But on another hand, the higher the ph, the more efficient your BB will become, and the tank will start stabilising.
If you happen to have a KH test, I can bet its undetectable right now in your tank, causing the Ph drop. The alkalinity in a tank is naturally exhausted by nitrification, but gets replaced via adequate water changes. When a tank is "overstocked" , for one or another reason, and not maintained sufficiently, it can't handle the load, the Kh drops, the Ph plummets and you get a mini cycle....
The point is, your tank can't handle the load right now. You need to do a lot of water changing to counteract this. You need to do it fast, in a matter of days but slow enough, in a matter of many water changes, to avoid shocking the fish as right now they are in very acidic water and polluted water....if the ph keeps dropping...
What's the size of the tank, what's the stocking, what do you feed, how often, and how often are water changes done? The answer to the problem lies somewhere here.. This is not a result of something you just did in the last week. This is a result of a systematic "doing" or "not doing" for a period of time. I've done it myself in an overfed fry tank...
You need not worry about the Ph value itself, because it's just a consequence of the alkalinity being non-exsistent right now. You need to have a Kh reading of at least 2-3 in order to stabilise the Ph and thus the tank.
The best way is to test your tank and also well water for KH. If the well has a reading, your issue will be solved and maintained by enough water changes. As long as it is not zero-ing out, it will maintain a stable Ph. As I said, nitrification exhausts the Kh...And it is essential for nitrification too...
I think crushed coral doesn't do much to the alkalinity. I know soda bicarbonate will raise it, but it will be too drastic and dangerous to your fish. I'd go the large water change route because long term that's the best solution to maintain the tank.
Hello; I also think he uses well water and near I as I can tell from posts has only done water testing himself and has not had the well tested by professionals.
There have been other threads about this setup by the OP in the past I believe.
I would suggest getting a TDS meter. There are cheap ones available that are good and will last for years. To me, its the easiest and best way to monitor tank's health. If you have a measurement difference at the end of the non-water change period between tap and tank, of over 30-50ppm, there's overstocking, overfeeding going on...and it will only get worse from there, as the build up will keep happening. If you maintain the tank TDS very close to the source water, within a difference of 20-30ppm max, tank water will be fine, and your fish healthy..
C
Coryloach
my tank is 8ft L x 2.5ft W x 2ft H (240cm x 75cm x 60cm), 285 gallon tank
filtrations :
2x Fluval fx6
1x Eheim 2260
9litter Sachem Matrix for biofilter, it can hold up to 900gal tank as per product descriptions.
2x huge air stones.
2x wave makers, so no dead spot at all.
substrates I use tile. so I'm 99% no leftover food or poos. as I will be able to see it right away.
Stock :
1x HBG Arowana 35cm
1x Tiger oscar 25cm
1x Albino red oscar 25cm
3x Indonesian Tiger Datnoitds 20cm
Overfeeding?
-- havent fed the fish for 3 days since I countered this problem
Overstocking?
- I don't think so. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Water change routines?
- 50% WC every week.
How I do my WC?
- Use photon to suck up the water, turn off everything except air stones. Fill 6 cups of sachem prime (nuff to treat 300 gal), fill in the water from the photon. Once it is filled back in, turn on all the equipments.
Please tell me where did I do wrong. So I can fix it. Thanks a lot for your help! =)
Just now I bought 10 KG of crushed corals.
Since I do not want to disturb my canisters, I put it in net bag, and just put it inside the tank, hoping it will help the PH problem.
my tank is 8ft L x 2.5ft W x 2ft H (240cm x 75cm x 60cm), 285 gallon tank
filtrations :
2x Fluval fx6
1x Eheim 2260
9litter Sachem Matrix for biofilter, it can hold up to 900gal tank as per product descriptions.
2x huge air stones.
2x wave makers, so no dead spot at all.
substrates I use tile. so I'm 99% no leftover food or poos. as I will be able to see it right away.
Stock :
1x HBG Arowana 35cm
1x Tiger oscar 25cm
1x Albino red oscar 25cm
3x Indonesian Tiger Datnoitds 20cm
Overfeeding?
-- havent fed the fish for 3 days since I countered this problem
Overstocking?
- I don't think so. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Water change routines?
- 50% WC every week.
How I do my WC?
- Use photon to suck up the water, turn off everything except air stones. Fill 6 cups of sachem prime (nuff to treat 300 gal), fill in the water from the photon. Once it is filled back in, turn on all the equipments.
Please tell me where did I do wrong. So I can fix it. Thanks a lot for your help! =)
Just now I bought 10 KG of crushed corals.
Since I do not want to disturb my canisters, I put it in net bag, and just put it inside the tank, hoping it will help the PH problem.
S
skjl47
Now that you said it, I just remembered I answered the OP in the below thread about the exact same problem, just named differently...
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...i-dont-know-which-one-to-follow.681838/page-4
Now that you said it, I just remembered I answered the OP in the below thread about the exact same problem, just named differently...
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...i-dont-know-which-one-to-follow.681838/page-4
