Another Ick question...

[fishman]

ok makes sense. And again I appreciate your willingness to keep explaining to me these things. First of all, all of the fish are still doing well. They are eating and swimming as normal. Keep in mind the QT tank has been set up with fish in it since 1/27. So based on what you have said above, I should be nearing the end of the ammonia spike. I did go ahead and put the Turbo Stop as well as the Prime in last night. The way I see it, it cant hurt.
The PVC parts have brown algea on them as well as the back and side walls. I hope your right in that this is a good sign. What amazes me is that I have had this setup running for 2.5 weeks and this is going on. I guess if I wasnt doing the past water changes, the fish might have died and I would have had no idea why.
Also I assume the salicylate is the powder form of test kits? If so I have one of those here at the house. Its a test kit by Aquarium Systems. I have used this in the past. I will test tonight and see what I come up with. If I use the salicylate test kit, is it an accurate reading?
Thanks again for the all help.

 

[steve-s]

The brown algae won't hurt much as long as it doesn't get out of hand. Personally I wouldn't worry about it for now.

Also I assume the salicylate is the powder form of test kits? If so I have one of those here at the house. Its a test kit by Aquarium Systems. I have used this in the past. I will test tonight and see what I come up with. If I use the salicylate test kit, is it an accurate reading?
Thanks again for the all help.

The salicylate kit will work most often, you just need to match the color change as soon as it occurs.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Ok so my dottieback was really stressed last night about 11 PM. I heard him surfacing trying to get air. I did a 25% water change and added some Prime. After that he was fine. All of the other fish are good. I tested last night before the water change and it was .3-.4 ammonia and .2-.3 trites and less than 10 trates. So I guess I will be doing water changes....I sure hope this works and will knock out the ammonia...how long does it take to do so? Days, weeks? I just feel bad for the fish. Im not going to touch anything inside the tank...just syphon out the debris from the bottom each night. And when I do rinse the filters it will be with water from the tank.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[steve-s]

So I guess I will be doing water changes....I sure hope this works and will knock out the ammonia...how long does it take to do so? Days, weeks?

Anywhere from a few days to a week would be a good estimate. It really depends on the waste being produced. As long as the water changes keep the toxins at bay, your fish should be fine.

How often do you feed and how much?

Cheers
Steve

 

[quarryshark]

Depending on the bioload it can take IME 7-10 days, but the water changes always works for me.
Follow Steve's schedule and they shouldn't stress too bad.

 

[fishman]

Steve/Quarry
Well I did a water test tonight before I did my evening water change, and the ammonia was .10 which was down from last night at .3-.4 and trites were 30 or less and no trates. I did a water change this morning as well of about 15%-20%. I also rinsed the HOB filters out in the QT water this time!!! Lesson learned. I didnt do any vigerous cleaning either...just sort of tried to get any loose stuff off of the filter pads. And Im not going to touch the PVC or anything inside the tank from now on.
Also I feed every other day and not a lot either. I make sure all of the fish get something. I also clip a small peice of Nori in each day. But I do make sure I syphon all of the reminents out when the clip comes out at night. The only thing I feed them every other night is mysis.
All of the fish are eating well for sure. Im going to do another small water change in the morning as well as one at night tomorrow and maybe this will knock down the ammonia some more. Also I am using the powder test kit. I did try the drops test kit and your right they give no reading. So the powder does work.
Any and all other suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks again for all the help!

 

[quarryshark]

Cool!! Sounds like you are getting there.
I know the algea makes the qt ugly, but it does help.

 

[fishman]

Test tonight before the 2nd water change of the day was as follows:
Ammonia = less than 10 (was around 10 last night)
Trites = .50 (up from last night (30) for some reason)
Trates = 10 or less...probably 0

I hope this isnt a bad sign. Going to keep after it. This will be the 3-4th day I have been doing this so Im almost there if the week to 10 day thing is my luck!! I sure hope so!!
Thanks again for the help

 

[steve-s]

Not a bad sign actually more of a good one. The ammonia is staying in check and the increase in trites could simpley be from the bacteria doing it's job. Depending on how much water you're changing out each time, you might just need to increase the volume of each water change a bit.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Well last night I tested and ammonia was still around 10 and the trites were down to around 30. But I got up this morning to find my dottieback surfacing again. Did my usual 25% water change if not more....and all was well. I dont usually test in the AM just the PM...
Also I rinsed the drop in filters from the HOB filters. How often should I rinse these? Also once the levels drop, do I need to take these out completely one by one?
Im going to be really glad once my levels are right...this is getting old doing 2 water changes per day. I dont mind one every other day but this is nuts!!

 

[quarryshark]

Also I rinsed the drop in filters from the HOB filters

I wouldn't do that right now. Its another area for the bacteria to accumulate on IMO. Just quickly siphon up the uneaten food. How the PH doing?

Also once the levels drop, do I need to take these out completely one by one?

I wouldn't.

I dont mind one every other day but this is nuts!!

I feel you pain. :|

 

[fishman]

Ok...so I tested tonight and came up with 0 ammonia and 20 or less trites. I sure hope this is right. Whats weird is I took some water from my tank this morning at 6 AM and at lunch had it tested. They said (with the same test kit) that I have .40 ammonia and .50-60 trites...weird...BUT I did find my PH is hovering around 7.8...Going to slowly bring this back up as well...Still going to do 2 water changes tomorrow and see what happens.
Also going to leave the filters alone too for now. Willl let everything get settled.
Thanks for the help
D

 

[quarryshark]

I did find my PH is hovering around 7.8...Going to slowly bring this back up as well...Still going to do 2 water changes tomorrow and see what happens.

May want to buffer the change water. More gradual way to raise it.
So glad things are leveling out for you, you have worked hard.

 

[fishman]

Yes I buffered the change tonight already. I HOPE things are leveling out...we shall see with tomorrows test of the water....thanks again for the help...
Also I really want to send $$ to this website...Who do I sent it to? I cant send much but a little is better than nothing. I will do that soon if you tell me how...
Thanks

 

[quarryshark]

I'm sure reefrunner69 and fishfreak would appreciate anything you can afford. Your participation in the site is the most important thing. Just go here if you wish to donate.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/donate.php
Whats cool about it is that you will then join the exclusive group known as the Aquarium Advice Alumni.
Keep us posted.

 

[steve-s]

Also going to leave the filters alone too for now. Willl let everything get settled.

The filtration media only needs to be cleaned when it becomes noticabley affected by detritus accumulation. I said weekly as a guideline, not a rule. Overcleaning will impeded the proper growth of bacteria.

I guess the easiest way to guage when it needs cleaning is when you see any real elevations in water toxins or filter efficiencey is affected.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

Steve/Quarry
Well for 4 days straight I had the ammonia at 0 and trites at 10 or less....as of yesterday they both started climbing on me...I rinsed one of the 3 spounges/filters tonight and will do one in the morning. Im concerned about them rising...what am I doing wrong? I havent been feeding any more than usual and have still been doing 2 water changes a day...one in the morning and evening.
Do I need to REPLACE the HOB filters or just rinse them good??? I thought I had it whipped....PH is around 8.0 I think.....going to get a test kit tomorrow to be sure. It was around 7.8 but I have been buffering the water every change now...
Per the last post the HOB filter is getting slower and slower so I assume I need to rinse or change them...

 

[steve-s]

Steve/Quarry
Well for 4 days straight I had the ammonia at 0 and trites at 10 or less....as of yesterday they both started climbing on me...I rinsed one of the 3 spounges/filters tonight and will do one in the morning. Im concerned about them rising...what am I doing wrong? I havent been feeding any more than usual and have still been doing 2 water changes a day...one in the morning and evening.

You can be doing everything right and still have this happen. It does not sound like it's something wrong really, moreso it's just not going as planned.

How much water (%) are you changing each time?

Do I need to REPLACE the HOB filters or just rinse them good??? I thought I had it whipped....PH is around 8.0 I think.....going to get a test kit tomorrow to be sure. It was around 7.8 but I have been buffering the water every change now...
Per the last post the HOB filter is getting slower and slower so I assume I need to rinse or change them...

Never change the filters only lightly rinse them. You don't actually want to "clean" them in any real sense, simpley remove excess foods and detritus that slow down the flow and lower water quality. A little bit of stuff is of no concern.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishman]

I am doing anywhere from 15-25% 2x per day. Like I said it got to 0 for 4 days and Im not doing anything different..
My only concern with the filters is the biowheel on the HOB arent even movving any more. Even after the rinse. I think the filters are so clogged its not helping any to rinse them. I dont want to change them either but I almost have to rinse them daily for any proper water flow to move through them.
What if I put a couple more spounges in the tank itself for say a week for bacteria to grow, then pulled one of the filters and replaced it, then the other say a week later??

 

[quarryshark]

What if I put a couple more spounges in the tank itself for say a week for bacteria to grow, then pulled one of the filters and replaced it, then the other say a week later??

That would be a good idea IMO under the circumstances.