persistent nitrites... should i change to a canister?

[Gazingatstars12]

Update: water is still a little cloudy. But the ammonia dropped to zero and the nitrites are still around. 25

Theres definitely a sifference between this cloudiness and the old cloudiness. Before the cleaning it looked dirty and had a yellowish cast to it... Now it's more gray

 

[jlk]

Sounds like you have a bit of a bacterial bloom happening. Have some patience and stay on top of your testing and water changes.

 

[Gazingatstars12]

Time for another update and another question

Nitrites dropped to 0 yesterday so I went ahead and took the old media from my Hob out of the canister and filled up a bucket enough with tank water to swish around the media basket in to get some dirt out

Nitrites are 0 again today and nitrates are between 20 and 30. I'm going g to do a pic but I was wondering how long I should wait before I start worrying g about the bacterial bloom not clearing up. Its not getting worse at least.

I also noticed I'm getting some diatoms... More so on the side where the filter output isn't. And worst on the glow in the dark plant my girlfriend insisted on having in there.

Suggestions on finding where the problem is coming from and eliminating it? Or is this expected and should I just ignore it for now?

 

[jlk]

That's great your tank settled down! The bloom will clear- just have some patience. A few extra water changes will not hurt either. Although I do not see any severe diatoms in your pic (granted, I'm on my cell), they typically will get worse before they start to burn out. Once again, some patience is needed. Wipe them off prior to a water change and reduce your lighting a bit if you don't have live plants. If they persist, then you may need to investigate your water a bit further (silicate and phosphate levels). It's been my experience that they usually go away on their own within a few months. Extra water changes/cleaning seems to help keep them in check, too, but I don't know if there's any science behind this. Just how I have dealt with them as they certainly are annoying.

 

[Gazingatstars12]

Yeah when I posted the thread I looked at the picture on my cell and they didn't show up too good. They're small but dotted all over the plant. I ordered a silicate test kit on amazon to find out if there's any in my tap water..

Mainly I'm posting anything I'm noticing going on in the tank in case something is a symptom of something I'm doing wrong and just not realizing it

And patience is frustrating sometimes :-\
Its hard when I see my dwarf puffer tank and everything is going great. The water is crystal clear, the parameters are perfect, not a speck of algae. Then I look 3 inches to the right and I see problems i want to fix but am struggling to do so

I guess that's the difference between planning out stocking while fishless cycling, and trying to figure it out as you go. I started off keeping fish about 10 months ago with the 2 goldfish I won at a carnival and a 5 gallon tank set from petco. Before I discovered this website I figured the 20 gallon would be plenty big enough for a fish that I thought was normally kept in a bowl. I hadn't even heard of the nitrogen cycle at the time. Now, I'm absolutely amazed that 2 of my original fish survived that toxic soup I called a tank back then. I cant imagine what the parameters were in the 5. I never even changed the water... I didnt know I had to. It seems like ages ago but it was only a few months.

I know I still have a ways to go, but Its amazing how much I've learned, mainly thanks to this forum, since then.
Hopefully one day I'll be able to give as much back to the forum as its given to me

 

[Gazingatstars12]

Picked up a phosphate kit in the store today. Tap water has 0 and between .25-.50 in the aquarium. I did 2 25% wc over the last few days and it looks like it's just about cleared up. Diatoms are starting to die off I think and the bloom hasn't sprang up again. I'll be getting the silicate kit this coming week.

Other than that ammonia and nitrite is still 0 and nitrates are around 5-10

I think i finally got it figured out


Thanks for everyone's help. I couldn't have done it without u guys.

 

[jlk]

Great to hear!!

 

[Gazingatstars12]

Ok tap water tests negative for phosphates but it looks like I have around 2 ppm of silicates in the tap

 

[Gazingatstars12]

BUT... I just looked at the brand new silicate test kit and noticed it's expired... It exp about 4 months ago. Do the testing compounds really go bad or it doesn't matter?

 

[Gazingatstars12]

Forgot to post pic

 

[jlk]

I will be honest, with this test, I don't know how an expired chemicals would affect the results. Hopefully, someone else can chime in with more input! Or contact the manufacturer directly.

 

[Gazingatstars12]

I think it's made in Europe somewhere... Hopefully there's a line I can call in the us. If not I'm going to contact the buyer on amazon and see if I can get a replacement

Just for giggles, let's talk hypothetical and say for a minute that the results are accurate. I'm dumping silicates into the water for the diatoms to feast on every time I do a wc. Is it possible to wait them out if that's the case?

I know about ro units and am willing to buy one if necessary, but I don't want to jump into buying expensive equipment if i don't have to
ive read about how it can deplete things from the water that are important... Then you have to start adding suppliments

Or am I wrong and this only applies to planted tanks?

 

[Gazingatstars12]

discontinued!!

I did some reading online and apparently the rep from salifert who several distributors knew on another forum dropped off the face of the earth and no one ever picks up the phone in holland/netherlands or wherever this company is. Also a lot of people also say that the expiration dates on their products are grossly overstated since its shipped from so far away

The email I got back from amazon said that its been discontinued and to just dispose of it since its probably no good. I got a refund and bought a seachem kit for the same price so when I get it I will post back with (hopefully) accurate results

*frustrated*