I'm stumped... :(

[wrmiller]

OK. What is the appropriate way to read this darn thing? If I hold it a little out from the card and don't lay it right against the card (Image 1) I am getting that I am at about 20ppm Nitrates. If I lay the test tube against the card it looks like it is at about 40-80ppm. What is the appropriate way to read these darn things? I have seen folks display theirs in post before and usually they have them standing up which to me says that most people must hold them out from the card a little at minimum?

 

[wrmiller]

I guess i will just assume the worse case and use the darker reading. I hold all of the other tubes against directly against the card and they seem to give accurate readings that way.

I think I will get ready and do a partial water change a little later today and rinse out the filters a bit. I must say though, my tank is looking crystal clear now which I am very happy of. I'm wondering if it is the Aqueon 10 I added from my QT tank? I am impressed with that little filter I must say. I would replace my AquaClear 70 with the Aqueon 55 but I saw some reviews that said that they were loud. Seems strange being that the name of filter is Whisper. LOL!!!

 

[wrmiller]

I guess i will just assume the worse case and use the darker reading. I hold all of the other tubes against directly against the card and they seem to give accurate readings that way.

I think I will get ready and do a partial water change a little later today and rinse out the filters a bit. I must say though, my tank is looking crystal clear now which I am very happy of. I'm wondering if it is the Aqueon 10 I added from my QT tank? I am impressed with that little filter I must say. I would replace my AquaClear 70 with the Aqueon 55 but I saw some reviews that said that they were loud. Seems strange being that the name of filter is Whisper. LOL!!!

I said in the above that my tank was looking crystal clear and it was to the eye. When I did the water change though the water that I removed was very clear but green in color. Yuck! I guess green in and you get green out. I'm sure I'm still removing water from when the earthquake hit and I was forced to put in not so clean looking water. Fish seem to be extremely happy right now after the approximate 50% water change.

 

[wrmiller]

Hey, eco:
I have settled on the size of the tank I will be getting to replace my 37 gallon. I'm going to get a 60 gallon. (48x13x24). It fits best where I want to put it in my office and I will still be able to keep my chair I have in there. Do you think a Fluval 405 would do a decent job on a 60 gallon for me? I would also run my small QT tank HOB filter on the tank also when nothing is in QT. I really don't want to put the extra money out for FX5 and I don't think it will fit well in a 13" deep stand. I'm hoping you come back and say that 405 should do the job on a 60 gallon but expect and appreciate your honest opinion. Or would I be better off to do two HOBs? I really wanted to stay away from the HOBs though because without them I can sit the tank farther back against the wall. Thanks!

BTW. I got my official health department report on our water. It says that my "Nitrate-Nitrogen" level is 4.7 ppm. Maybe that is a different type of Nitrate reading they do vs. the way that we test our water for our fishes? Just in case my test kit is tainted though I will be picking up another this week since my Nitrate solutions are getting low anyway. I'll let you know.

 

[eco23]

A 405 would be perfect for a 60. If you decided to go much bigger I'd vote for a fx5...but on a 60 gallon there's no problem

I'm not sure how the county measures no3 compared to how API does...I'll do a bit of digging but probably won't find more than you do. At my work we don't normally test for contaminants (that's done through an independent lab) because we don't want fear based sales...we focus on benefits of our products instead of all the potential crap in the water which is bad for you.

 

[wrmiller]

A 405 would be perfect for a 60. If you decided to go much bigger I'd vote for a fx5...but on a 60 gallon there's no problem

I'm not sure how the county measures no3 compared to how API does...I'll do a bit of digging but probably won't find more than you do. At my work we don't normally test for contaminants (that's done through an independent lab) because we don't want fear based sales...we focus on benefits of our products instead of all the potential crap in the water which is bad for you.

Thanks, eco! I appreciate the confirmation that the 405 will be suitable for a 60 gallon. That indeeds makes me very happy to hear.

My fishes seem to be happy and doing well in my tap water since I haven't started using the RO yet so I think I'm just going to deal with it as is and as long as I'm doing my water changes and maintenance I hope it will continue to do good. I am going to start bringing water from my folks and storing it to mix with my water for changes so I'm starting to feel good about my situation again.

According to health department we do not need any filtration on our water for drinking and cooking so for that I am happy.

Thanks for any research you do but don't spend much time. My family is safe so thats what was most important to me. My fishes seem happy also so that is a real bonus.

 

[wrmiller]

Hey, eco!
I picked up a Fluval 405 today at PetSmart. Should I hook it up and allow it to run along with my AquaClear HOB still on the tank or would I be okay to remove the AquaClear and just put the BioMax from the AquaClear in the new Fluval canister mixed in with the new media? I would like to remove the AquaClear if you think I can just mix the old BioMax with the new with little problem. I don't want to start carrying a lot of buckets this week though since I'm going to be out a lot. I am going to leave my small QT HOB still on my main tank also with the 405.

???

 

[eco23]

Hey, eco!
I picked up a Fluval 405 today at PetSmart. Should I hook it up and allow it to run along with my AquaClear HOB still on the tank or would I be okay to remove the AquaClear and just put the BioMax from the AquaClear in the new Fluval canister mixed in with the new media? I would like to remove the AquaClear if you think I can just mix the old BioMax with the new with little problem. I don't want to start carrying a lot of buckets this week though since I'm going to be out a lot. I am going to leave my small QT HOB still on my main tank also with the 405.

???

Cool . You can just move all the media over. You won't lose any noticeable amount of beneficial bacteria. Just switch it over and call it a day

 

[wrmiller]

Cool . You can just move all the media over. You won't lose any noticeable amount of beneficial bacteria. Just switch it over and call it a day

Awesome! Thanks so much for the information! That will be on my to do list first thing tomorrow. Woot, woot!!!

 

[wrmiller]

Awesome! Thanks so much for the information! That will be on my to do list first thing tomorrow. Woot, woot!!!

I installed the Fluval 405 today. It's really quiet and nice. Although a bit too powerful for my 37 gallon aquarium I think. I had it on full and when my tiger barbs would cross the input stream it would blow them upside down across to the other side of the tank. I kind of think they liked it though because they kept doing it. LOL!!! I turned the lever about half way back on the canister to reduce the flow. Even at half it is still giving me plenty of flow and surface agitation. It should be perfect for my 60 gallon when I get it. I'm thinking sooner rather than later. I was saying that I was going to wait until toward the end of the year or just after the first of the year but I'm getting antsy and really would like to go ahead and get it.

I didn't cut the input wand on the 405 although I would like it a bit higher in the tank. Because the 60 gallon is going to be about 3 inches taller than my 37 I figured I would wait. I have the minimum 3" from top of gravel that is recommended so I will deal with it in the 37. I may even just pull some additional hose out the back and move it up a little. I'll do that tomorrow though.

Does Fluval make any other kind of output nozzle? I saw that they used to make trickle bars or something for some of their older filters? Do they make such a thing for the 405? Or is there a two way similar to what the FX5 has? Right now I have my nozzle pointing at a 45 out from the right corner. Is that best or do you think I should aim it directly toward the front of the glass? Drives me crazy that the tubing because it was curled up makes the return nozzle cockeyed in the water and not straight. There's that OCD kicking in again.

I did cut the tubing that came with the filter so I will have to get replacement tubing when I get the 60 gallon. I wanted to do it right for the 37 regarding the tubing and I think the tubing is fairly inexpensive so I figured just replace that when it comes the time to do so.

One other things I saw today that I want to get for my new 60 gallon when I do it is a Fluval E300 heater. It's really cool. Has an LCD digital thermometer built right in to the unit. Really cool. It runs like $50ish for the 300watt model.

I put my old AquaClear BioMax in with the new becteria media in the 405 and so far so good.

 

[wrmiller]

Here is another question for someone that has me puzzled. I have always had one tiger barb that was extremely plump. Looked like she was always either pregnant or was just a huge pig and ate too much. She turned up dead this morning and her belly was just huge. Is it possible that she maybe had some sort of parasite or something? If so, is there a treatment that I should perform to ensure that it didn't spread to any of my other fishes? Maybe she had worms or something? Do fish get worms? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!

 

[wrmiller]

Hey, eco:
Couple questions for you. Had my 405 unhooked and not running for about 2-3 hours today. I didn't drain it or anything but just unhooked it while setting up the new tank. Any harm done to the BB? I'm hoping not.

Also, instructions say that from bottom of filter to waterline should be 4.5 feet or less. I'm at about 2 inches shorter than that so have 2 inches to spare. Would you still recommend me sitting the 405 up on something to elevate it a bit? Thoughts?

Bummer but my QT filter I had been running on my main tank, it doesn't fit over the lip of the new tank. I will have to invest in a new QT filter that will fit. Arrrrr!!!

I still need background, glass canopies and lighting. I'm very pleased with the 60 gallon show sized tank. Perfect size for where I wanted it in my office. Let me know what you think. . The fishes are loving it.

 

[eco23]

Hey, eco:
Couple questions for you. Had my 405 unhooked and not running for about 2-3 hours today. I didn't drain it or anything but just unhooked it while setting up the new tank. Any harm done to the BB? I'm hoping not.

Also, instructions say that from bottom of filter to waterline should be 4.5 feet or less. I'm at about 2 inches shorter than that so have 2 inches to spare. Would you still recommend me sitting the 405 up on something to elevate it a bit? Thoughts?

Bummer but my QT filter I had been running on my main tank, it doesn't fit over the lip of the new tank. I will have to invest in a new QT filter that will fit. Arrrrr!!!

I still need background, glass canopies and lighting. I'm very pleased with the 60 gallon show sized tank. Perfect size for where I wanted it in my office. Let me know what you think. . The fishes are loving it.

Caught me just in time...I was about the plug in the iPad and head to bed

No harm done to the bacteria. If they were left in there for an extended period they can die from oxygen deprivation...but a few hours won't make a bit of difference.

I'd say as long as you've got good flow through the filter theres no issue. I know the canisters are gravity fed, so I'm sure there's limits...but I'd assume as long as you're close to their range, and it seems to be working fine there's no issue (just assuming there).

What I'd do in your case is stick the extra HOB in the closet, load up your 405 with extra ceramic media (like 3 of the 4 trays filled) and if you need to set up a QT just pull out the bio-media you need, stuff it in the QT filter and call it a day. That's what I do and have never had a problem.

Oh well, off to bed. Chat with you later

P.S.- Tank looks great...when are you gonna load that thing up with some real plants?!

 

[wrmiller]

For the last 2 days my fishes have all pretty much been sitting in one corner at the bottom of the tank and not being their usual active selves. I checked water conditions and everything looks normal. The first couple days in the new tank they were being normal and exploring things and very active. I noticed yesterday that they mostly just hoover just above the gravel in one corner and don't move too much. Any ideas?

With the old aquarium I had the light on a timer so that it came on the same time each day and went off at the same time each night. Could their gloom have something tondo with me not having lights for my new tank yet?

My water is also looking somewhat cloudy but that is to be expected I think since the water will be going though changes since it all being a new tank. I expect it to last about a week as that is about how long it lasted in my last tank.

Any ideas or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[wrmiller]

For the last 2 days my fishes have all pretty much been sitting in one corner at the bottom of the tank and not being their usual active selves. I checked water conditions and everything looks normal. The first couple days in the new tank they were being normal and exploring things and very active. I noticed yesterday that they mostly just hoover just above the gravel in one corner and don't move too much. Any ideas?

With the old aquarium I had the light on a timer so that it came on the same time each day and went off at the same time each night. Could their gloom have something tondo with me not having lights for my new tank yet?

My water is also looking somewhat cloudy but that is to be expected I think since the water will be going though changes since it all being a new tank. I expect it to last about a week as that is about how long it lasted in my last tank.

Any ideas or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Well, for whatever reason all 4 of my tiger barbs died today. The other fishes seem to be getting back to normal though. The tiger barbs seemed to develop shredded fins or something. Not sure what the issue was. They just stayed on the bottom basically for the last two days and when I went in earlier today two of them were sucked to the filter intake and the other two were floating. Like I mentioned though, the other fish seem to be getting back to normal. I'll see what happens over the next few days.

 

[eco23]

Well, for whatever reason all 4 of my tiger barbs died today. The other fishes seem to be getting back to normal though. The tiger barbs seemed to develop shredded fins or something. Not sure what the issue was. They just stayed on the bottom basically for the last two days and when I went in earlier today two of them were sucked to the filter intake and the other two were floating. Like I mentioned though, the other fish seem to be getting back to normal. I'll see what happens over the next few days.

Sorry dude ...that sucks. Are your water parameters holding steady?

 

[wrmiller]

Sorry dude ...that sucks. Are your water parameters holding steady?

Yea, they seem to be holding steady.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 20-40 ppm
pH: 7.8

Perhaps the stress of the moves from the 37 to the 10 QT to the 60 was just too much for them. Strange thing is that they were fine Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Sunday was the day the new tank was set up so they were fine for 2.5 days. I'm not going to dwell on it. The other fish are acting fine now but one of my clown barbs is MIA. I think he is inside the fake tree stump and refusing to come out.

I'll keep my eye on it over the next couple of days. Hopefully no more fatalities.

 

[wrmiller]

You know. I just thought about something that didn't dawn on me until just now. My 37 was fully dosed with salt because I was treating Ich and had just finished the treatment. I didn't add any salt to the 60 before adding the fishes. Do you think that the fact that the 60 didn't have any salt in it might have caused too much stress for the little buggers? Totally stupid on my end. I was so excited about setting up the new tank I didn't even think about the salt. Perhaps the tiger barbs were more sensitive to it or something? I'm not sure of course but that is the only thing that I can think about that I overlooked. Arrrrrrrr!!!

 

[eco23]

You know. I just thought about something that didn't dawn on me until just now. My 37 was fully dosed with salt because I was treating Ich and had just finished the treatment. I didn't add any salt to the 60 before adding the fishes. Do you think that the fact that the 60 didn't have any salt in it might have caused too much stress for the little buggers? Totally stupid on my end. I was so excited about setting up the new tank I didn't even think about the salt. Perhaps the tiger barbs were more sensitive to it or something? I'm not sure of course but that is the only thing that I can think about that I overlooked. Arrrrrrrr!!!

That's something I don't have an answer on...but it definitely sounds plausible. I don't think it's that they're sensitive to salt...but if they weren't acclimated slowly to the tank without...the sudden shift in salinity could be involved. Just an assumption on my part...honestly I don't know