something_fishy
Aquarium Advice Activist
I don't know why I did this but I did. You know when you want something new in your tank, you just want it and there is nothing that is going to stop you, well maybe its just me. Anyway, I had a 5 year old fw 33gl tank that was running fine, I got tired of it. I decided I wanted brackish. So, in my head I knew that I should start from the beginning, cycle and all. But I decided to lie to myself and figured that if someone else told me that I could just convert my system without a problem, then I would do it and blame them for any mishap!!!
Well, salt water kills freshwater bacteria!!
So basically I started from scratch anyway, but with 4 puffers and 2 bbee gobies in there with it all. The addition of the salt for brackish killed off the biological fw filter sponges and created a nice ammonia soup. So after two weeks of daily 20% water changes and ammo lock and everything else under the sun, I am FINALLY starting to get diatom blooms.
The great thing in all of this is that I did not lose any fish, I spent quite a bit on salt and supplements , but no fish loss.
The lesson learned, go with your gut and take the time to do things right the first time, you'll save yourself a lot of grief!!!!
P.S.
Please someone tell me that the diatoms are a good sign and all of this is coming to an end.
Well, salt water kills freshwater bacteria!!
So basically I started from scratch anyway, but with 4 puffers and 2 bbee gobies in there with it all. The addition of the salt for brackish killed off the biological fw filter sponges and created a nice ammonia soup. So after two weeks of daily 20% water changes and ammo lock and everything else under the sun, I am FINALLY starting to get diatom blooms.
The great thing in all of this is that I did not lose any fish, I spent quite a bit on salt and supplements , but no fish loss.
The lesson learned, go with your gut and take the time to do things right the first time, you'll save yourself a lot of grief!!!!
P.S.
Please someone tell me that the diatoms are a good sign and all of this is coming to an end.
