Tank crash?

[Niki_up]

1. Retest your parameters.
2. Do not rinse media in fresh water always use old tank water.
3. 80f is to hot for guppies they can handle it some times but they are more temperate fish not tropical.
4. Agree possible parasite or disease added with new fish.
5. Also agree that with that long of an established tank a wc wont wipe out enough bacteria to cause a recycle. Its in the substrate, on the decor, in the filter on the glass. You would have to remove everything let it all dry out for days or bleach it to kill all the bacteria.

Yesterday I did another 20% water change and added a bubbler.

today I just re-tested and moved my seachem ammonia alert into the tank not sure how long it will take for the ammonia alert detector to kick in but I’ll give it a few hours to adjust.

todays year results.
Ammonia - between 0 and 0.25 ppm
NI - 0
NA - 0

Today I will be turning down the heater to get a temp of about 78.

 

[Niki_up]

1. Retest your parameters.
2. Do not rinse media in fresh water always use old tank water.
3. 80f is to hot for guppies they can handle it some times but they are more temperate fish not tropical.
4. Agree possible parasite or disease added with new fish.
5. Also agree that with that long of an established tank a wc wont wipe out enough bacteria to cause a recycle. Its in the substrate, on the decor, in the filter on the glass. You would have to remove everything let it all dry out for days or bleach it to kill all the bacteria.

Also I was wondering what’s wrong with cleaning filter media in new water that’s been dechlorinated?

 

[Rocksor]

Also I was wondering what’s wrong with cleaning filter media in new water that’s been dechlorinated?

Nothing if you let the new water circulate in a bucket for 1 hour with water conditioner, prior to using it to rinse the media from your tank.

Do you have chloramine in your tap water? Check your water report. This could be water is registering as ammonia in your tank. Seachem ammonia alert is one of the best tests out there to detect harmful ammonia (the 0.25ppm ammonia may actually be bound harmless ammonium). See what it says.

 

[Niki_up]

Nothing if you let the new water circulate in a bucket for 1 hour with water conditioner, prior to using it to rinse the media from your tank.

Do you have chloramine in your tap water? Check your water report. This could be water is registering as ammonia in your tank. Seachem ammonia alert is one of the best tests out there to detect harmful ammonia (the 0.25ppm ammonia may actually be bound harmless ammonium). See what it says.

I don’t let my water sit for an hour, I fill a sink add prime clean filter media, and repeat.
So it’s been 2 hours since I added the seachem alert and it’s saying 0 ammonia. So I’m assuming your correct it’s a false positive from the chlorimines in my city water (yes they use chlorimines where I live).

so everything is registering as 0 in my tank... i would expect to see some nitrates in this tank...even though it’s lightly stocked and moderately planted.

does anyone know if zero carb can “go bad” does it need to be changed out ever?

 

[FreshyFresh]

Many of us do fin level water changes with no problems whatsoever. Also, unless your water changes are taking days to do then BB won't die, even if exposed to air for a couple of hours. Their mucus membrane protects them.

Exactly.

The only way a fin level water change could be a problem is if the tank is so badly neglected the TDS has been driven high, causing a large pH change between new and old water.

The other possibility is maybe some harmful component in your tap water that your dechlorinator can't process.

Other than that, there is zero science or evidence to support large water changes being bad for a nitrogen cycle.

 

[Niki_up]

Exactly.

The only way a fin level water change could be a problem is if the tank is so badly neglected the TDS has been driven high, causing a large pH change between new and old water.

The other possibility is maybe some harmful component in your tap water that your dechlorinator can't process.

Other than that, there is zero science or evidence to support large water changes being bad for a nitrogen cycle.

I agree that’s why I can’t wrap my head around the guppies all dying!!!

something else to note, all 5 of my other tanks get the same treatment for water changes and filter cleanings. And this is the only tank I have problems with.

I’m thinking the guppies are from a bad source, though they do look healthy in the store before I bring them home.

So far I’ve had 6 females die on me and the lfs replaced them and tested my water (their results is what made me test my water only to find out they were correct with their readings) And they are trying to tell me that my tank isn’t cycled and that 80% water changes is too drastic.

 

[twentyleagues]

For simple safety sake just dont rinse your bio in tap water. Its just a very common practice and safety measure. You are basically killing alot of your bacteria if the prime doesnt do its job. Why take that chance?
As for all the other stuff its quite possible they are an inferior quality fish or not acclimated to your conditions.

 

[Blakewater]

People seem to be missing the point of my advice. Im not a scholar on BB breakdown but I do know in general that doing 80% water changes will cause a tank to recycle if done improperly. It is not solely the 80% of open air that does it, 80% of tap water that is mixed with dechlorinator in the tank will not be fully neutralized and can very easily start a new cycling process, especially if it gets sucked through the filters before the dechlorinator can act on it. That is one of the reasons why Im saying 80% is too much, because at a lower percentage you have the original tank water to act as a "buffer" and while it still can damage BB it will be a much less intense situation and can prevent a full cycling. At .25 0 0 it doesnt really matter what exactly caused it, the point is your tank is going through a new cycle, thats obvious. So I would just suggest giving it a water change as often as possible with pre treated water. try to feed light as well. Certain products can also help make it less stressful on your fish temporarily such as Microbe Lift Night Out II but this is simply a "painkiller" for the situation and you will still need to do frequent water changes.

 

[Niki_up]

For simple safety sake just dont rinse your bio in tap water. Its just a very common practice and safety measure. You are basically killing alot of your bacteria if the prime doesnt do its job. Why take that chance?
As for all the other stuff its quite possible they are an inferior quality fish or not acclimated to your conditions.

I usually have to rinse the sponge filter twice and a 30g tank usually doesn’t have enough water to clean the filter properly...I guess I will try to use the tank water.

 

[esoxlucius]

My filtration system is big enough that I have large areas for mechanical and bio. My bio is the engine of my tank and I very rarely touch it, maybe a quick rinse once per year in tank water.

My mechanical side, however, is sponges and what not, stuff that gets clogged if not cleaned properly. So ALL my mechanical gets a thorough wash under the tap in warm water, every water change. It gets a proper blitz. It's squeezed and squeezed until the water runs clear.

Some may gasp in horror at this practice but I don't care about losing the minimal weekly build up of good BB in my mechanical side, because my bio side is what matters to run my tank. And this practice has served me well for years.

It could be that the tiny bio side in that small aquaclear 70 isn't that efficient (and what's this "zoe carb" you mention?). And then by washing your mechanical media, which will contain some BB, in treated tap water, which I agree is very very risky if one week you get a poor mix or whatever, then you've killed some bacteria that your system very much relies on due to your inefficient bio side.

If this is indeed happening then you will get a mini cycle which can cause issues. You may say, "but i've always done it this way and been fine up to now". That may be so but as I said, it just takes one bad mix in your sink and you'll be in trouble.

I can understand that you can't really give it a thorough rinse in tank water because it'd probably take half your tank to rinse it really good. But I believe what i've said above could be the crux of your problem.