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gtdarock
Guest
So, do you guys think it will be ok, to take out about 50 percent of water, and adding water straight to the tank, then adding salt directly to the tank-?
aquaknight
Active Member
Not really a good idea. Even if there wasn't any fish in there, the salt would settle in weird places and not really mix in well at first. Then a couple days later you're left wondering why salinity is at 1.030. Also, that would be a fairly drastic change in salinity, you'd have to do it over a 24 hour period. Not to mention, if any of the livestock would come in contact will straight salt, would be a ticket straight to burns-ville.
At this point, I would take out all of the LR and clean it. Get a 5 gallon bucket (might need something larger depending on your rock size) fill with old tank water, then piece by piece, vigorously dip/shake/etc the rock in there. The point is to get any trapped detritus/debris out. You might need to change water at some point. This should unclog pores in the LR. Re-aquascape, then do another water change of however much pre-mix you can make. After that, I would just sit back, do weekly WC's and let your bio-filters catch up.
At this point, I would take out all of the LR and clean it. Get a 5 gallon bucket (might need something larger depending on your rock size) fill with old tank water, then piece by piece, vigorously dip/shake/etc the rock in there. The point is to get any trapped detritus/debris out. You might need to change water at some point. This should unclog pores in the LR. Re-aquascape, then do another water change of however much pre-mix you can make. After that, I would just sit back, do weekly WC's and let your bio-filters catch up.
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gtdarock
Guest
Sounds great Aqua ! I will get started on that tomorrow. Many thanks, I'll let you know how it goes. By the way, how come the LR has detritus/debris, either though it looks really clean-?
aquaknight
Active Member
I'm not 100%, but for such a small load, your bio-filtration ability really seems really low for whatever reason. You've tried so many conventional ways, just trying to think of maybe something 'outside the box.' If the rocks get covered in wastes, sands, food, etc, that reduces their ability to house the proper bacteria. The outside of the rocks may look clean, but all the passages, holes, tubes, etc in the rock, may be clogged. Even in a relatively new or a lightly stocked tank, the amount of crud that builds up on the rocks is surprising.
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gtdarock
Guest
Good point Aqua, thanks. Hey Hef, most the rock I have are Figi and a lot of flat base rock. I am not sure, what the name is.
But since my tank got messed up with Nitrates, I've been doing a lot of thinking,and I think I know whats wrong. When I first started the tank I started slow with live stock. First two perculas and a hippo. And all my reading were fine, and I was changing water every two weeks. But as I started to add more fish, which was two yellow tangs and a purple tang. I started to change water once a month, and I did notice the Nitrate started to climb, but I never got worried. So I added more fish, a black puffer and a longnose butterfly. This was about Jan, of this year, and I would do a water change, 1 1/2 month later of only 20 gallons. So, I am guessing, that lack of maintenance and not staying on top of the water changes, I screwed up the tank really bad.
But since my tank got messed up with Nitrates, I've been doing a lot of thinking,and I think I know whats wrong. When I first started the tank I started slow with live stock. First two perculas and a hippo. And all my reading were fine, and I was changing water every two weeks. But as I started to add more fish, which was two yellow tangs and a purple tang. I started to change water once a month, and I did notice the Nitrate started to climb, but I never got worried. So I added more fish, a black puffer and a longnose butterfly. This was about Jan, of this year, and I would do a water change, 1 1/2 month later of only 20 gallons. So, I am guessing, that lack of maintenance and not staying on top of the water changes, I screwed up the tank really bad.
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gtdarock
Guest
Well guys, after a year long battle with high Nitrates,at reading of 100, I did a water change of half of my 175 gal tank, checked the water last night and I got a reading of 20 ! I couldn't believe it, so I did it twice and it was good. I am so happy ! Many thanks to Aqua,Hef, Prime,RCreations, Harley and also Campbell
I will stay on a schedule of every two weeks,on Tuesday's with a change of 50 gallons. That way, I'm on top of everything.
What do you guys think-?
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regina13
Guest
It is always nice to see people fix their problems and not give up. Good Job
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gtdarock
Guest
Thanks Regina
aquaknight
Active Member
Congrats on the success and continued efforts.
That WC seems good for now. How are you doing it though? Taking water from the display or sump? Once you restock, I can see dropping 50gals from the display being stress for the fish. And the commercial-grade kits we have can only match temp, pH, and salinity so close, and with more sensitive fish, I'd suggest maybe 25gals every week instead?
That WC seems good for now. How are you doing it though? Taking water from the display or sump? Once you restock, I can see dropping 50gals from the display being stress for the fish. And the commercial-grade kits we have can only match temp, pH, and salinity so close, and with more sensitive fish, I'd suggest maybe 25gals every week instead?
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gtdarock
Guest
Thanks Aqua ! About taking out half of the tank water, I pumped it out from the display. And I had two 20 gal trashcans and one 40 gallon trash can, pre-mixed for about two days with a Seachem p.h. buffer, a Seachem Stability added and a Amquel +, to remove chlorine and etc. I was a little worried about taking out so much water, that it would effect the percula and Orbit bat. But these two guys are strong ! That's why I added Stability, so it added bacteria. If you say 25 gallons a week, then I'll go with that. IMO, the previous water changes I did, of
32 gallons every two weeks was doing nothing for me. But I guess it was my fault, because I would never keep up with the two week schedule. So you say 25 gallon every week -? I will check my readings everyday, to see if it goes up, which I hope not. And how long should I wait to add something back to the tank -? I was thinking of something hardy, a small SFE-?
32 gallons every two weeks was doing nothing for me. But I guess it was my fault, because I would never keep up with the two week schedule. So you say 25 gallon every week -? I will check my readings everyday, to see if it goes up, which I hope not. And how long should I wait to add something back to the tank -? I was thinking of something hardy, a small SFE-?
aquaknight
Active Member
Hmm, wondering about that chlorine. I'm sure it's nothing and just probably is just a wild goose chase, but if you have some free time, I might consider a trip to a local pool store, and see if they'll test a sample of your chlorine. Ask them to double or triple strength the test to see if there really is any chlorine in the water. It's just dropping drips from a bottle can really only be so accurate. Or even if a chlorine test kit is cheap enough, consider one to use till the RO/DI comes in.
For your water change schedule, I'd say stick to the 25gal weekly/50gal bi-weekly schedule for a month. After that, your old schedule of 32gals biweekly sounds good. Just monitor levels and adjust. Could really go either way and you may even do less, just as long as you keep doing the changes.
For adding another fish, I'd say wait a month since the levels dropped to 10, just to be safe. If you wanted to, you could set up a QT tank, then you could 'stagger' the introduction. That way the eel's QT time (basic 4-week timeframe pending no problems) is up right when the tank is ready for him.
For your water change schedule, I'd say stick to the 25gal weekly/50gal bi-weekly schedule for a month. After that, your old schedule of 32gals biweekly sounds good. Just monitor levels and adjust. Could really go either way and you may even do less, just as long as you keep doing the changes.
For adding another fish, I'd say wait a month since the levels dropped to 10, just to be safe. If you wanted to, you could set up a QT tank, then you could 'stagger' the introduction. That way the eel's QT time (basic 4-week timeframe pending no problems) is up right when the tank is ready for him.
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gtdarock
Guest
Hey Aqua ! I'll look into a test kit for chlorine, if I can find one for a good price or I might checkout a pool store. I will definitely keep up with the water changes from now on. Should I test the water every week-? I did a test today and the Nitrates are at 20.
I also got two bags of cheato today, so there in the refuguim with the DSB. I'll wait on the eel, till everything is perfect.
Its a great feeling to test my water and get a low Nitrate reading, after such a long battle with it.
I also got two bags of cheato today, so there in the refuguim with the DSB. I'll wait on the eel, till everything is perfect.
Its a great feeling to test my water and get a low Nitrate reading, after such a long battle with it.
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gtdarock
Guest
Thanks Hef !
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gtdarock
Guest
Tank is doing great guys ! Nitrate is at 0 !
I did add some sugar, and it helped out better.
I do have a spike of ammonia, since I removed half of my tank water. I was wondering, should I just leave the tank alone, and the ammonia will go down-? If so, how long-?
I did add some sugar, and it helped out better.
I do have a spike of ammonia, since I removed half of my tank water. I was wondering, should I just leave the tank alone, and the ammonia will go down-? If so, how long-?