Ready to call it quits with fishkeeping

[SassyAngel111]

In the last week we have lost 5 fish 3 rainbow's and 2 coray's. I had posted last week about my fish eating my plants and since then we had lost the above fish. Here is the parm for the 90gl tank
PH 8
No3 10
NH4 .25
No4 0
the above using the AP test kit
GH 900
KH 130
these I used the Nutrafin test kits
filters: 1) rena xp3 the set up on this is 2 30ppm filters on bottom, then 2 20ppm filters ontop of that, center I have one box of the chem stars then the top I have a microfiltration+
2nd filter) it is a fluval 204 I have the 2 foam blocks for the side then on the bottom tray I have a filter sponge, center tray has clearmax then the top one has a polishing pad.
The fish just started dying when we added the fluval filter?
I just did about a 20 gl water change or should this be more?

 

[mgamer20o0]

how long has the tank been set up? whats all in the tank? one thing to worry about in the summer time is the temp of the water going into the tank. i know it can reach around 90s out of the tap.

 

[dkpate]

Ammonia and nitrIte should be 0, always.

 

[SassyAngel111]

The temp has been stable around 76.5 Right now the only fish that I have is 3 barb's 2 rasboro's 2 gold algea eater's, 5 bumblebee goby's, and 4 glass shrimp and 3 snails, this tank has been set up for about 9 months

 

[BigJim]

Did you clean the filter or replace filter media recently? Did you add dechlorinator when you did your water change? Your water parameters suggest you're cycling, but you should be past that if the tank has been set up for nine months.

 

[mommytron]

you may be experiencing a mini cycle if you changed out the filter media. that is where most of your BB is. just keep up on water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible.

 

[SassyAngel111]

Ok I did find the remains of one cory that had settled under one of the logs in the tank that we could not see. As for the filters I did just change them about 1 1/2 wks ag, the only new thing that I had added was the fluval clearmax which is suppose to remove phosphate, nitrite and nitrate, so not sure if that contributed to some of the problem or not.

As for the nitrite with our well water the nitrites stay around 5. at all times, the only way to get rid of this is to mix part R/O and regular tap together. Or not sure if I should try the fluval clearmax again?

 

[BigJim]

Did you wash your filter media with tap water? If you have chlorine in your water, it'll kill off much of your bacteria population and cause your tank to go through another cycle.

I'm hoping you have nitrates, not nitrites in your well.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

When you say you did change filters are you saying you just added a new filter and kept the others or added a new filter and got rid of the others?

If the water your putting into the tank (tap water) is good (not too hard etc..) then you really don't need to put extra filtration items like clearmax IMO. Let the filters/fish/bateria do their job. Just a thought.

 

[SassyAngel111]

we replaced the filters since the box for the rena filters say to replace every 3 months.

As for the hardness of our water is GH 900 KH 130 not sure if I need to divide or multiple these numbers by anything else? The test kit is the nutrafin brand.

 

[mommytron]

you don't need to replace your filter media unless it is falling apart. by replacing them all at once, you lost most of your BB (beneficial bacteria) which results in a mini cycle. you will just need to very closely monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels to keep them as close to 0 as possible until they stabilize and stay 0 on their own. from now on, when replacing filter media, only do it if it's falling apart, and only replace one of your filter's media at a time, giving at least a week or two before changing out another filter's media. this will give the new media time to become established with BB.

 

[BigJim]

+1 That filter replacement schedule is there so the manufacturers can sell more filter cartridges.

You'll need to do a lot of PWCs until your tank parameters are back to normal.

 

[SassyAngel111]

Mommytron and BigJim, Thxs for that. As for the parameters are nitrites never fall below 5.0, so how could I get this down to 0, w/o having to mix R/o and tap together to get this.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I think your GH and KH are really high.
I have the same or similar readings on tap water and have gone and got a 100gpd RO unit. now my Gh and KH are very low.

How many drops on GH and KH when you tested them?

 

[SassyAngel111]

Using the nutrafin test for the GH it took 45 drops for the kh it took 15 drops ph is at 8.5 I know the only way to pring this down is by useing part tap and part RO water, so not to drop the PH to low.

 

[WhiteDevil]

45 drops is ALOT.

the GH and KH will effect the fish more then a Ph drop will at this point.

I had the same issue, I run full treated R/O water now I keep the Gh at 4 drops and KH at 3 drops with the correct amount of equilibrium,acid buffer and alkaline buffer, I treat a 45g holding tank only not the entire 210 as I do PWC's twice a week.

Using part tap to majority RO will help on this, I did KH and GH tests with 4 oz of water, 3oz was Ro 1oz was tap to get my Gh and KH down to manageable numbers.

I would do some testing on RO water to find your correct Gh and KH, I think gh ideally should be between 3-6 drops as well as KH but with KH taking less drops then the KH. My Ph went from 6.4 sustained down to 5.1 and my fish were fine, lethargic but are doing just fine. The fish I keep in that particular water quality requirements tank are discus and as I said THEY were OK with the Ph drop, however I did QT them while I fixed the water parameters and then reintroduced them.

PM me if you need further assistance on this issue. Its completely 100% fixable and a pretty easy fix at that.

 

[SassyAngel111]

WhiteDevil, I did some tests tonight and if I was to mix half tap and half RO then I can get the GH to change with 2 drops and the KH with 3 drops, and the PH down to 7.5 ppm So now my question is how much of a water change should I do at a time to get my GH KH and PH within limits or should I just add RO water for the top offs and then when I do water changes just make sure that the change water is within these limits. Thanks for the help with this

 

[WhiteDevil]

What size holding tank do you have for your RO unit?

A seperate water tank is almost a must, as the water is really cold.

I have a 45g holding tank that has a heater in it and thats where I use the equilibrium,acid and alkaline buffers.

I do 20% changes twice a week(7 days). You could drain the tank and refill it with the RO/Tap mix, you arent taking any bacteria out doing it that way.

You are going to have to test daily the GH and KH and PH to make sure the tank doesnt have any adverse effects which it shouldnt.

 

[SassyAngel111]

The RO unit I have is only hooked up to a 5gl holding tank, even though the membrane is rated for 75gpd.

As for the water being really cold that is not an issue here in AZ. As for our water the water company in the town that we live in is well water, and not sure what type of filtration they use before it is dispursed to the community.

Next thing is if I can achive the correct balance between the gh,kh and ph would I need to use the equilibrium,acid and alkaline buffers or will this be a hit n miss thing?

The next thing is I guess I will have to find a bigger container to hold the change water, as the only thing I have right now are 2 18gl totes that I use now for water change.

 

[WhiteDevil]

the seachem products, the buffers and equilibrium will maintain constant levels, but it is a weekly dosing and is to only be done with PWC's not top offs.

take my advice, those totes wont hold water well at all, I had a 45g tote and it burst in the middle of the night, not I have an actual water holding tank made specfically to hold liquids. think ATV sprayer container.