FLUVAL edge 2 43ltr

[Nightstalker318]

Hi all..
I was recently given one of these tanks for my Birthday. Tjouhht Id do something different this time and had a go at aquascaping... put in a few rocks made a few moss trees and must admit for a first attempt its a lovely looking thing ot is . I managed to do a fishless cycle in 3 weeks all water stats were spot on so I thought lets get 5 cherries and 12 small neon tetras.
2 of the cherries didnt make it the neons are fine... tjen about 2 weeks later I noticed that the cherries couldnt keep up with the waste ao I checked the stats and all was ok.. I added 4 Amanos and 3 ottos and 4 small endler guppies. Thats it no lore the tank is stocked.... then on my last pwc I took water stats...ammonia was great 0ppm but my nitrites had shot up to 5ppm ?
I have not over fed the tank, but could it be that its over stocked? I was under the presimprion that I could put in 19 small fish in there and the cleanup crew shrimp did not count... I've done 2 big water changes, one yesterday one today and the nitrite is still high... also whilst cycling the rank my nitrite test was purple..when the cycle was completed the purple turned to blu within 5 min now it starts blu but goes purple within a few mins? Thats confused me a little....
And advice is much appreciated...

 

[Fresh2o]

When the fishless cycle was complete, how much ammonia was it able to process in 24 hours? Sounds like the nitrite to nitrate phase is incomplete.
Also, why do you say that RCS could not keep up with the waste?


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[Nightstalker318]

When the fishless cycle was complete, how much ammonia was it able to process in 24 hours? Sounds like the nitrite to nitrate phase is incomplete.
Also, why do you say that RCS could not keep up with the waste?


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Over night the ammonia levels whent from deep green 5 to 8ppm to 0.
I mlnitored the water stats for 5 days before adding fish..all went to 0 over a 12hour period..for me the tank looked cycled :-/
I had put in some pellets for them and over 2 days the RCS didnt touch them. As soon as the amanos arrived the leftovers were gone over night...the RSC look nice but I believe the Amanos are the better cleaning crew... the bottom of the tank with them and the rsc is spotless
Ive now also added bacteria to the tank and am lookming at adding anothe filter but cant make my mind up what type of sponge to go for.

 

[Fresh2o]

The bioload is not unreasonable for that size of tank. I do wonder when you stated that all parameters went to zero...does this include nitrates as well? Converting 5-8 ppm of ammonia should result in a large amount of nitrates. The fact you are seeing a high nitrite level means that either the nitrite to nitrate conversion was disrupted or never fully matured. At this point performing water changes to keep the nitrites down is your best bet. I don't have experience with that brand of bacterial additive so I cannot comment on it.
Amanos are more effective for cleanup compared to RCS. Not saying RCS are slouches; amanos are larger and more assertive when it comes to feeding.


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[Nightstalker318]

Hi,
thanks for your reply.
The Nitite levels spiked after the Amonia-Nitrite conversion. I then done a 50% water change. I then kept an eye on the levels for about a week before adding the fish. the Amonia and Nitrite were at 0 and the Nitrate was slightly elevated but red like it was when the spike happened.
I added the fish and on my next water change found that the nitrites had shot right back up. I couldnt find anything to bring the levels down, done water changes and those didnt do anything. I then contacted you guys online and at the same time found (I cant recall the name of the stuff) a sollution which levels the Nitrite and ammonia prettymuch instantly.
I now feed the fish every 2 days a pinch or 2 of food and then guaranteed on the 3rd day the nitrite will have gone from 0 to .25ppm.
I then put in 10ml of this solution and the Nitrites are gone.
Now in the short run this seems good but looking forward I dont want to have to do this all the time and shouldnt have to.
Do you know if the filter would eventually build up more friendly bactaria to tackle the Nitrite, or am I fighting a losing battle here? I could try to fit in another sponge into the filter I have, there is about half an inch space in the cartriage....

look forward to your reply.
regards
Rob