Tank Crisis

[catfishkid]

Here's the low-down; I just got back from camp on Friday night and found out the the power went out Thursday and the filter hadn't been on since. The water was cloudy and the tank full of gunk. I put in airstones and re-started the filter and was going to deal with it today. My dad and I did a big cleanup; big water change, clean out and refresh of filter, everything looked pretty okay.

About an hour ago I went back to check on things and all of my fish were very sluggish and I even thought a few were dead. Possibly the worst sign was that my SA bumblebee was out of his hiding hole. All of the fish are currently alive and accounted for, but don't look so good. So I tested the water immediatley and had the following results:

pH: 7.5 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 5 ppm
Nitrate: 160 ppm

Someone please help! Either tell me what I did wrong (i'm assuming the massive water change) or how to fix this, any and all advice would be very appreciated!

 

[TMaier]

I'm not an expert but I think the massive water change is probably why the fish are still alive. I think you need to do another one.

 

[Caliban07]

I'm not an expert but I think the massive water change is probably why the fish are still alive. I think you need to do another one.

+1. Your fish tell you everything you need to know when something is wrong and the first port of call should be a large water change. Make sure temps match closely and the water has been dechlorinated.

Biological filters wane pretty quickly when the pump stops working. Mainly due to lack of oxygen.


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[TMaier]

Here's the low-down; I just got back from camp on Friday night and found out the the power went out Thursday and the filter hadn't been on since. The water was cloudy and the tank full of gunk. I put in airstones and re-started the filter and was going to deal with it today. My dad and I did a big cleanup; big water change, clean out and refresh of filter, everything looked pretty okay.



About an hour ago I went back to check on things and all of my fish were very sluggish and I even thought a few were dead. Possibly the worst sign was that my SA bumblebee was out of his hiding hole. All of the fish are currently alive and accounted for, but don't look so good. So I tested the water immediatley and had the following results:



pH: 7.5 ppm

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 5 ppm

Nitrate: 160 ppm



Someone please help! Either tell me what I did wrong (i'm assuming the massive water change) or how to fix this, any and all advice would be very appreciated!

Any update?

 

[The_Desacrator]

160 ppm is like literally off the chart. I don't even think my kit has a color for that high.

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[TMaier]

Did you do another 50% water change?

 

[Barliman]

I'm not an expert but I think the massive water change is probably why the fish are still alive. I think you need to do another one.

Agreed. If your nitrates really are 160+ (what kit measures that?), you need to do at least one more massive water change.