43 replies to this topic

[sharna3]

Took water sample to LFS and confirmed my test kit is working. Spent some time discussing with the guys there and am now (hopefully) on the road to recovery ... eventually.

Will be doing regular water changes, feed every 3 days and of course keep testing the water.

Hopefully start to see improvement soon.

Thanks All :-)

[tranced]

there is probably enough bacteria living in the tank pad to avoid anything really nasty happening. just be sure to monitor the ammonia and nitrites. sounds like your nitrates were off the dial tho! keep changing that water... try to get them down under 40 before winter sets in, you cant really do big waterchanges in winter cos the tap water is so cold.

[sharna3]

Update -
Ammonia is very low - less than 25ppm
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - still very high ... but hopeful that they are coming down.

Water cloudiness has gone, no more dead fish and they all do seem a bit happier today. More active.

Have attached pic of tank today.

Will keep the updates coming.

Attached Files

•  Tank_040411.jpg   807.46KB   31 downloads

[sharna3]

No change :-(

[sharna3]

Yesterday - no change, although, no more fatalities .. a very good sign?

(another water change done yesterday, forgot to mention that)

Today - no more fatalities either ... about to test & post results.

Tested, and no change ....

Edited by sharna3, 08 April 2011 - 05:10 PM.

[sharna3]

Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Tested - ammonia & nitrite = 0
Nitrates - 80ppm !!!!!!!! Still high but finally have broken the 160ppm+ mark and the nitrates are DROPPING!

So happy, our perserverance with water changes, reduced feeding etc., is finally starting to pay off and the poor little guys water is starting to improve.

to everyone who gave feedback and advice and more!

[tranced]

good work! how many water changes did you need to do? and how much did you change each time?

[sharna3]

good work! how many water changes did you need to do? and how much did you change each time?

Well, we aren't done yet - but I would say in the past 12-14 days we would have done at least 9 water changes, between 30 & 50% each time. The nitrates were obviously that high :-(

[Krystal]

Keep using that simply clear as that will also consume nitrates

Good work! Thats great progress, now its come down to a detectable level it will be a bit more rewarding to see it drop.

Krystal @ Aquotix

[tranced]

Well, we aren't done yet - but I would say in the past 12-14 days we would have done at least 9 water changes, between 30 & 50% each time. The nitrates were obviously that high :-(

yow, try and work out how high they were originally! my quick n dirty calculation puts them around 2000+ ppm

[sharna3]

Keep using that simply clear as that will also consume nitrates

Good work! Thats great progress, now its come down to a detectable level it will be a bit more rewarding to see it drop.

Krystal @ Aquotix

Thx Krystal - I def couldn't have done it without your help. Simply clear still going in every 3 days. Next challenge is the worms / parasites that are also there, as 3 of the fish are showing signs of that ... but will wait til my nitrates are under control.

My ammonia is also sitting at about 0.25ppm - do I need to get some ammo lock or similar to address this ?

yow, try and work out how high they were originally! my quick n dirty calculation puts them around 2000+ ppm

Hi Tranced,
Yes - huge. That would be about right. The funny thing is I actually read today that nitrates aren't harmful ... ! Its been a battle but I think I am actually winning now

[werdna]

If nitrates werent harmful I would spend half a saturday or sunday doing water changes, neither would anyone else.
Whoever wrote that deserves to be shot, or locked in a sealed room and told not to worry cos CO2 isnt harmful.

[Bowdy]

Like the way you put that werdna

Could the reason the ammonia is still up be because your canister isn't cycled yet?????

[sandgroper]

High nitrates are harmful, over a period of time they stress the fish and weaken their immune system causing infection. How long do you think you would survive living in a sewer, fish waste and feeding are constantly polluting the water thats why we need to do regular water changes,cheers steve. PS ammonia= highly toxic, nitrite=a little less toxic, nitrate= not as toxic

[Krystal]

Dont bother with ammo-lock as it only binds the ammonia, which is okay but in your particular circumstances it can set you back as it contains a fair amount of sodium thiosulphate......excess of this can coat your filter media and provide an in-adequate surface, thus preventing bacteria to colonise properly.

Minimise the feedings......every 3 days tops at this stage and just make sure the ammonia does not get get above 0.5ppm (obviously a reading of 0ppm is desirable)

Keep it up.....it wont be this hard soon enough, it will be worth all the effort youve put in and you can go back to enjoying the tank again

The funny thing is I actually read today that nitrates aren't harmful ... ! Its been a battle but I think I am actually winning now

The beauty of the internet.....anyone can put anything on it

[MrOrange]

If nitrates werent harmful I would spend half a saturday or sunday doing water changes, neither would anyone else.
Whoever wrote that deserves to be shot, or locked in a sealed room and told not to worry cos CO2 isnt harmful.

Over react much?

When people talk of high nitrates its usually 80-160ppm as per the test kits. No that is not harmful to the fish. That's not to say its not good practice to keep them much lower, I think everyone would agree that the lower the better.

2000+ppm that requires 20 water changes to get rid of *is* likely very harmful

Sharna3 - I've already given you very detailed instructions on how to cycle your tank without chemicals. Looking for a solution in a bottle all the time doesn't really teach you anything.

Edited by MrOrange, 11 April 2011 - 06:41 AM.

[sharna3]

Update today:
Nitrites - 0
Ammonia - almost 0 (definitely less than 0.25ppm)
Nitrate - between 40-80ppm

Yeesssss! Still getting better. Much happier fish

[tranced]

back into the happy land, congrats

[sharna3]

Well - Nitrates still dropping which is good.

My nitrites are at 0, ammonia has also dropped and is just off 0 - the test result is the slightest tinge of green.

But - I did lose a fish yesterday ... I think more to that parasite problem I think is there ... poor little bugger was almost completely white. So bit sad about that.

Guys - what nitrate level is reasonable to expect to get down to???

[tranced]

under 40 for most people, under 20 if your a bit more anal about it