killrsheep
Aquarium Advice Regular
About Half a year ago i got a 16g fishtank and three small 25pesos a piece koi fish (thats roughly 2 dollars each) , i had done quite a bit of research, and i thought i was doing a half decent job, they seemed happy but i turn to you guys to help me out from "noobing" out on this one, most importantly i just want my Finned frendz to be happy
i am having a brown algae problem (maybe diatoms?) its everywere!,
So far this is how i have cared for my tank:
- Cycled it when new before adding fish
- changed my cheap Resun waterfall filter for a fluval 105 (stocked with 3/4 carbon and 1/4 Ceramic)
- took all decorations and gravel out once, brushed them with aquarium water, sundried and then put back in, water was not changed
- i do PWC (30%) once a week, just recently ive changed to 10% PWC each 2 days or so, i use that water to clean only one decoration each time (and once a week to clean my filter)
- used to feed em daily (all they can eat for 3 minutes or so), now i feed em every 2 days (this is bcuz i left them one week on vacation food and when i got back the tank was as clean as it was when i left... no leftovers from vacation food tho)
- no direct sunlight on my tank since i installed it, no air drafts either
- Lighting is on a timer, timer goes on from 10am till 6 pm
- all my fish (3) were added at the same time from the same LFS, acclimated first and ive been watching them a lot to ID when they get sick, so far they have been healthy
i have tested my water and on average i get:
before pwc when i have the brown algae:
ph 8.0, Hardness 300ppm, Alkalinity 300ppm, Nitrate 80, nitrite 0, amonia 0
1 or 2 days after a 30% PWC (done weekly)
ph 7.5, Hrd 150, ALk 180, Nate 40, Nite 0, Amm 0
ive read the instructions on the test kit to lower my hardness and alkalinity and Nitrates but id like some advice from a real person
sorry for the long post...
i am having a brown algae problem (maybe diatoms?) its everywere!,
So far this is how i have cared for my tank:
- Cycled it when new before adding fish
- changed my cheap Resun waterfall filter for a fluval 105 (stocked with 3/4 carbon and 1/4 Ceramic)
- took all decorations and gravel out once, brushed them with aquarium water, sundried and then put back in, water was not changed
- i do PWC (30%) once a week, just recently ive changed to 10% PWC each 2 days or so, i use that water to clean only one decoration each time (and once a week to clean my filter)
- used to feed em daily (all they can eat for 3 minutes or so), now i feed em every 2 days (this is bcuz i left them one week on vacation food and when i got back the tank was as clean as it was when i left... no leftovers from vacation food tho)
- no direct sunlight on my tank since i installed it, no air drafts either
- Lighting is on a timer, timer goes on from 10am till 6 pm
- all my fish (3) were added at the same time from the same LFS, acclimated first and ive been watching them a lot to ID when they get sick, so far they have been healthy
i have tested my water and on average i get:
before pwc when i have the brown algae:
ph 8.0, Hardness 300ppm, Alkalinity 300ppm, Nitrate 80, nitrite 0, amonia 0
1 or 2 days after a 30% PWC (done weekly)
ph 7.5, Hrd 150, ALk 180, Nate 40, Nite 0, Amm 0
ive read the instructions on the test kit to lower my hardness and alkalinity and Nitrates but id like some advice from a real person
sorry for the long post...