Weird Behaviour

[ShadowBass]

Alright i have one of those gravel cleaner things, just need to attach a longer hose to be able to syphon it to the drain. Was thinking of treating the water in one of those big plastic bins, Is it o.k to use hot water out of the tap (instantaneous hot water system not the type that sits in the hot water tank) wait till it goes down to the right temp? And instead of using submersible pump i was thinking of taking the inilet of one of the canister filters out and putting it in the bucket to suck the water in the tank through the filter. If anyone knows of any issues with this let me know.

Now i've only just noticed one of my silver dollars is missing one of his side fins completely (doesn't seem to bother him) but he has what looks to be like a pimple or whitehead on his body near his rear fin, only it's completely silver unlike the pimples we get. Has anyone come across this before?

Ps. Thanks guys for keeping an interest in this thread

The only problem with a canister filter is the water has to be a certain level above it for it to siphon properly. Canisters have a pump that flows water back IN to the tank but the water coming out relies on a siphon.
If you can somehow elevate the container of water to a few feet above it it may work. What I use for my SW tank is a powerhead. I got a tube to fit in and submerse in a rubbermaid garbage can full of water.
Yes it's ok to use hot water, but you may want to dilute it with cold. It takes an awful long time to cool off, which is ok if you're going to let it sit overnight or something, but if it's really hot it still won't be cool enough within several hours.

Dunno about your silver dollar. That could be several things, hard to say without a picture.

 

[Nick660]

I think it's not worth messing about with the tubing to your canister filter, like ShadowBass says, it's not going to be easy to make that idea work. Your best bet is a powerhead or submersible pump of some sort. Choose one with a good flow rate to speed things up. Also don't forget that the bigger the bore of your tubing, the quicker the syphoning and refilling will be.

The hot water heater you have sounds ideal, with a bit of practice mixing hot and cold you'll be able to get the temp spot on.

I would try posting a close-up pic of your silver dollar's pimple in a new thread to get a few opinions on it.

 

[Space_cadet001]

1st water change - 2 person job!

Well i went and bought a 46 ltr plastic garbage bin and a hose attachment for the kitchen tap so i could get the water temp right going into the bin. Siphoned almost half the tank as i wasn't taking the water level as high this time. Took a few hours. I have a really small table so i dragged the bin from the sink over and put it on the table and managed to get the canister filters to siphon the bin without any trouble. Water is a bit cloudy atm but looks to be clearing up. Still have a couple of fish flashing but nowhere near as often as they used to be. tank is currently at 30 degrees C. It'll probably be on 29.5 when i get home. How much longer should i keep this treatment going for?

 

[Nick660]

If you are using the salt and heat treatment it's recommended to continue for 2 weeks from the time you last saw any spots on your fish.

If you get yourself some test kits for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte (API liquid tests, for example, are cheap and easy to use) you'll be able to judge when and how much water you need to change. Also how much extra Prime to add (on the container it tells you how much is needed for removing chlorine and how much for detoxifying of ammonia and nitrIte).
Ideally you are aiming for zero ammonia and nitrIte but if your tank is still not fully cycled yet you'll struggle to achieve this until it has. Remember that any that has been detoxified with Prime will still register on the tests. If levels are rising or getting dangerously high then use water changes to dilute it to an acceptable level.
Hopefully of course your tank may be fully cycled by now in which case it's the rising levels of nitrAte which will determine what water changes are necessary.

Good luck! It sounds a lot, especially when you've got a large tank to do water changes on, but that extra water volume will also be working in your favour by diluting the pollutants more. It won't stay hard work forever!

 

[guppy]

Any suggestions on the easiest/quickest way for me to do water changes? Goddamn this is gonna be a big job! I have added a biological booster (cycle; is the most common and recommended in Aust) and since treating the tank with salt and cycle the fish have stopped itching as frequently, i lost one of the green tiger barbs to the ich (no surprise, he was covered in white spots) and before i treated the tank the male discus was seen to be quite dark frequently but now since treating he has returned to a healthier colour. Will be only feeding bloodworms once daily and a couple of algae discs for the bottom feeders, put a couple of live plants in the other day but they are getting eaten alive! Really not wanting to lose too many fish as i have spent close to $1000 on the fish alone! I'm thinking i may need to transfer to another tank temporarily but only have a 2'x1'x1' otherwise at the moment. There is a bubble wall in the big tank and also a diver helmet with coloured light ball thats providing aeration. Thanks for the interest guys, still fairly novice at this fish game!

Buy a water changer like those made by Python, they are not costly and a big help. http://www.aquariumpros.com/p-PYT00205,PYTwc.html

That cat seems to be a Glencoe tandan (Neosilurus hyrtlii)

 

[Space_cadet001]

O.k well i haven't seen signs of ich for a while, however the fish are still flashing occasionally. I have managed to get nitrate and nitrite test strips... Nitrate is at... 90ppm. . . I know this is bad, really need to vacuum the gravel, will be doing this A.S.A.P. I was curious though if the high nitrate would be causing the fish to flash, or is it possible that the ich is still in the tank???

 

[niblit]

I really think you are doing too much too fast

 

[Nick660]

O.k well i haven't seen signs of ich for a while, however the fish are still flashing occasionally. I have managed to get nitrate and nitrite test strips... Nitrate is at... 90ppm. . . I know this is bad, really need to vacuum the gravel, will be doing this A.S.A.P. I was curious though if the high nitrate would be causing the fish to flash, or is it possible that the ich is still in the tank???

Zero ammonia, zero nitrIte and ideally nitrAte as low as possible, is what you're aiming for. Frequent water changes is the way to get your nitrAte down and keep it there. Of course how low you can get it does depend numerous factors ie. bioload, amount of feeding, and on how much nitrAte is in your tap water supply to begin with. Increase the size, and/or frequency of water changes until your nitrAte levels become stable at an acceptable level. I would initially aim to get down to maybe 40ppm (being realistic), then work out what water changes you need to do to maintain it at that level. After that you'll have a good idea of what's achievable.

Fish do flash occasionally without there necessarily being any big problems - depends on how frequently it is. You may find it gets less when you get your nitrAtes a bit lower and your tank returns to normal after the ich treatment has stopped. Remember it's advisable to continue with heat and salt treatment for at least 2 weeks after the last signs of spots have gone. When you do stop, just stay aware and keep a close eye on them so you can detect any signs of further disease quickly.

Good luck.

 

[Space_cadet001]

Once again thanks guys for all your interest. You may not believe this but... when i bought my filters i tried to open them to have a look but couldn't because they were vacuum sealed. I asked the guy at the fish shop and he said don't worry you don't need to open them until you have to clean them. Well... In trying to get the Nitrate down i vacuumed the hell out of my gravel but every time i was running fresh water back in the tank through the filter there was bits of gunk coming out, so i took the filter apart only to find out that the carbon, chemi rocks (not sure if thats the right name, but chalky white rocks none the less) and noodles were all still in sealed plastic bags in the filter! Since unpacking these and doing WC the nitrate has come down a bit (still not at 40ppm) and the water is the clearest I have seen it yet. (Finally!) Also looking to get "java fern" to plant in the tank as I've heard these are slightly poisonous so the fish don't eat them, as every thing else i've planted in the tank has been consumed within 2/3 days.

 

[Nick660]

^^^ OMG! That explains a lot!

In that case I would continue to keep a close eye on your ammonia and nitrIte levels. Change water as necessary to keep them as close to zero as possible. Presumably your beneficial bacteria is currently living everywhere in your tank (attaches to hard surfaces) apart from the filter media which is where the majority of it should be!
In a month or two I would remove the carbon and replace it with more biological filter media. Carbon initially absorbs toxins but after a length of time will deteriorate and start to leach them back into the water. Remember, when cleaning your filter media rinse it through with aquarium water to avoid killing the bacteria living on it. The idea when cleaning a filter is to remove the sludge which is clogging it but not to clean off the beneficial bacteria attached to the media, sponges, etc.

Also, remember that nitrAte is not removed by your filter - only by regular water changes.

Java ferns are a good choice for hardy low light level plants. A lot of fish will avoid eating them but not all species unfortunately! Good luck.