As I said, the issue is systematic, and not a result of the last 3 days. I tank goes bad over time, which is months, and not over 3 days....Hence most of us don't experience issues when we skip one or two water changes only, or overfeed here and there. But do that more often, you're bound to have issues early or later.
You don't need to answer to me if your tank is overstocked or not. Its a question you need to confirm for yourself and the well being of your fish. As I mentioned before, get a TDS meter. I'd imagine anyone that can afford a 285 gallon tank can spend 20 bucks on a TDS meter. Test your tank and well water .....you'll know if the tank is overstocked then, as if it isn't, the test results will not be different by much, if any.....A glass box measurement and fish numbers mean nothing on its own.
What you've been doing maybe sufficient and even more than a lot other folks are doing. But in your case is not enough. I am not suggesting you're neglecting your fish in any way. Metaphorically speaking, for example if you're a wild man in the jungle, just searching for food is not enough to feed you. You need to catch something first.....
The name "old tank syndrome" is misleading. It doesn't matter how old the tank is. It happens when the tank can't handle the bioload. When I had "old tank syndrome" in my fry tank, the tank was only a few months old. If you've done fishless cycling by dosing ammonia, not doing water changes, and tested the KH, you would notice that the Kh plummets in a matter of weeks, due to the high "bioload" which in this case is ammonia from a bottle. You leave it drop to zero, and you get what they call "stalled cycle".
hello; It is just a name. I have been educated myself in the last few posts.
Hello; The nice thing is we each get to run our tanks any way we wish. Good luck and I hope you find a path to a healthy tank.
It seems my 50% weekly water change might cause this? It is written there that excessive water change may caused old tank syndrom
