newbee with a huge tank crash

[shellygirl55]

hi everyone!!

i posted yesterday on the welcome forum and everyone was so nice i mentioned i was having tank problems and someone suggested i start a new thred about what is going on so maybe i could get some advice. i am a newbee however, so i may sound really silly because i am just learning, so bear with me please....

i have always wanted to get in to this hobby, so i went to an estate sale a year ago and purchased my tank there...

the tank is a 55 gallon. it has a fluval 304 filter, a heater, and a bubbler. it already had caves for hiding spots and some sticks for deco and about 3 inches of gravel, and lights on top..

the tank was already stocked with fish. it had 9 neons, 4 clown loaches, a bala shark and 2 9 inch plecos, a rainbow shark, and a huge cory catfish. i talked to the daughter and she told me her parents had had the tank for 5 years, the clown loaches and cory and plecos had been in there since the set up of the tank.

had this tank up and running for about a year and everything was great. no real problems. i slowly added fish myself as well, I aquired a flounder fish and a couple of tigerbarbs, some glass fish, and a peacock eal. all was still well for months...

last week things started acting funny. the neons were staying at the top of the tank gasping for air. the bala kept swimming up to the top and banging his head on the glass, and they were all just acting funny.did several 20% water changes, vaccummed the tank a few times, did a water sample at the pet store, they told me water was fine.

I lost a clown loach, my bala shark, all my glass fish, my cory and all my neons. I did find out from the pet store that we were supposed to have those white rocks ( i can't remember the name) in our filter to keep the good bacteria. none came with the filter. so we purchased that, as well as some tetra start stuff that is supposed to put the good bacteria in the tank. we used that as directed. we have also done a 50% water change. I am at a loss as to what to do. everything is still acting crazy in my tank.

today i am going to go buy a test kit, as i don't have one and we have been taking our water to the fish store for testing. ( i did read not to buy strips) but other than that does anyone have any ideas for me??

thanks in advance for your help, sorry if i sound really unknolagable... i am learning

 

[StuG]

It sounds like maybe the tank was too overstocked for the filter to keep up with. Fishies probably did ok as juveniles but since they have grown up have started struggling.
Getting the test kit is going to help a bunch in figuring out what water parameters are out of whack.
Daily water changes until you get that test kit is probably the best approach, but post your results as soon as you have the results and you'll be able to get more specific help.

 

[iDream]

try the API freshwater master test kit, everyone here will probably tell you the same, its a bit pricey but itll last forever.

the white rocks are probably some ceramic media, and the stuff you bought to put the good bacteria wasnt what you think you bought, its a ploy by companies and it does little to nothing for you really.

just keep an eye on those fish and keep that water nice and pristine, hope everyone that survives pulls through, i always loved giant plecos

 

[BigJim]

The white rocks you're referring to are actually ceramic chunks that are used as biomedia. Basically they're tons of surface area in a very small volume. Useful, but not necessary. Aquariums have run for years without them.

The words "snake oil" get tossed around concerning the bacteria supplements. Some swear by them, most say they don't make a difference. If the tank was running for months, you have established bacteria populations. Unless you cleaned the tank or filter with chlorinated water or detergent of some kind, this isn't your problem.

+1 for the API Freshwater Master.

My guess is that the tank is overstocked and the filter simply couldn't keep up. I'm not sure I'd trust the LFSs test results either. I'd bet you'd see significant nitrates in that tank unless you're performing daily PWCs. The clown loaches, bala shark, and plecos will get too big for a 55g. They'd be ok as juveniles, and I think this is what you're experiencing. Plecos in particular put out a lot of waste.

 

[shellygirl55]

thanks all...

yes the plecos put out a ton of waste!!

what about the fluval 304? is that a decent filter or should i be looking for something else? it sure dosn't seem to do much and the tubes get clogged a lot! there is not much sucking on one side or output on the other... also a very unknolagable guy at the fish store told us to change our filter pads once a month, but just yesterday someone told me we are not supposed to change them at all?? just rince them out??

could that by my problem?

 

[BigJim]

The Fluval 304 is supposed to be a decent filter. I haven't used one personally, but I've heard good things.

Don't change your filter pads until they're completely falling apart, then do it one at a time. These pads house a lot of beneficial bacteria. When you do a PWC, rinse the pads in a bucket of old tank water. I do this with the media in my HOBs about once a month. The hoses, housing, and baskets can be scrubbed well in regular tap water. I'd clean the filter really well first. Scrub all the hard plastic pieces with a brush. Vinegar dip anything that's coated in mineral scale, especially the impeller. A little gunk can really slow down filter flow.

 

[XimeD]

+1 on not changing the filter pads (rinse in old tank water and NEVER clean your filter and gravel vac on the same day).
+1 on the API freshwater master test kit.
+1 on daily PWC until you get your test kit (get a python if you don't have one, they are absolutely worth it!)

Don't worry about sounding unknowledgeable, everyone has to start somewhere and you've come to a good place you care enough about your fish to educate yourself, kudos!

Here's a site that I like to recomend, I haven't been in this hobby for long and like you, I came to this forum knowing next to nothing with my ammonia through the roof and everyone here was very helpful. This stocking site I am giving the link for is VERY VERY conservative on its stocking and a lot of people here don't like the site for this reason, but IMO it is a good site for beginners to get a "feel" for stocking.

AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

 

[mattrox]

I run a fluval 304 on an overstocked cichlid tank 4ft in length, the volume is roughly 60 Gal. I have the hexagonal ceramic rings, the Fluval "prefilter" fluval pre filter media - Google Search= and the bio max fluval biomax - Google Search .

I do at least 30% pwcs.

What was in the filter baskets before you got the ceramic stuff?

 

[Andrewz00]

yup... very curious as to what media is actually inside the filter itself.... how offten have you cleaned it?

as one of our members put it in another thread:

In fact, as I've posted elsewhere, the filter is where the majority of crud builds up in an aquarium. Cleaning your filter is like flushing their toilet.

+1 for the API master test kit... its the only one ive ever used.
+1 for PWCs till you get your test kit.

AqAdvisor is a great starting point for a beginner.... it is slightly conservative but thats a good thing when first starting out.

Also, how long do you keep the light on?

 

[ChizerBunoi]

If I recall correctly the fluval came with a starter ceramic ring (hexagon shape) and the ceramic rings (round shape - hagen biomax). Both essentially are for the biological filtration but do look different in shape and size.

@mattrox - didn't see your inital comment.

Your first post said that they were up at the top gasping for air. You could try lifting the output tube from the fluval so that it agitates the water surface, causing more oxygen exchange. If that water noise is too annoying then a bubbler and air pump would work just as well.

 

[happygirl65]

Question for you....Shellygirl...when you cleaned the tank did you normally stir up the gravel at all?

The first time I had a tank I didn't realize how important it was to vacuum the gravel, not just to get the gunk out but to keep anaerobic bacteria pockets from building up...I didn't move decor around and really dig down etc....if one of these pockets gets disturbed it can release nasty stuff in the water...I had a major crash where everything died...learned a lot from that. If you stir it all up good each time you clean it you will prevent them from forming and save a lot of headache. Of course if they are already there you don't want to release too much at once, just work a small section with each water change until you eventually get the whole bottom of the tank stirred up.

I agree with the advice given here already.

That said, it sounds like high nitrates (which I personally accomplished as a newbie by just topping off followed by a real water change every three months or so. gave them all the pop eye ) which I followed with a GOOD cleaning of the tank which released the anaerobic bacteria pockets...it was catastrophic failure.

I agree with the advice given on how to make it better. The main thing is at this point, nothing too drastic. 20% changes daily sounds about right to me as it will slowly bring things back to normal without overly stressing the fish. You could even do 10% twice daily to keep the fresh water coming in.
Also how often do you clean the fluval and how drastically? They usually have sponges that can just be rinsed in de-chlorinated water...the same goes for any kind of media in there, you don't have to replace it. I liked to buy the cheap square filter sponges a pet-smart and toss them in there, it was so easy to rinse them.

Make sure you also have adequate surface agitation which will help oxygenate the water. With a canister filter you want to make sure you get some surface movement with bubbles or something.

Good luck and WELCOME!