Hey there folks, I'm very excited to share my most recent struggles. I first setup my Eheim 250 and my driftwood in a 5 gallon bucket and let that run for about 4 weeks, then I setup a 30g bow front. After 2 weeks I added 3 cichlids and 2 plecos. 4 weeks later I transitioned everything from my 30g to my 55g bow front and have since added about 8 more cichlids. Once I finish building my new office I'll be transitioning everything from my 55g to my used 110g...
So at this point I've had my 55g running for about 10 weeks, I'm running the Eheim 250 with a power head pushing 850gph. For heating I've got an Eheim 300W currently set to 78.
I did a 75% water change just 2 days ago and I really regret it. I should have only done 50% but while I was cleaning my sand I lost track of how much water had been removed. To the tank seems to be going through a cycle again. My nitrites spiked from 0ppm to .50-.75ppm. My Nitrates went from 80ppm to about 20ppm and my fish were looking like they couldn't breath. I rushed to the lfs and picked up some API Quick Start and treated the water as well as added a double dosage of Stress Coat. I used warm water so the temp never dropped and so far I've had 0ppm ammonia. Today I tested the water and nitrites are down to .25ppm and my nitrates are moving back up to about 35ppm. Fish are swimming normally but waters looking a bit cloudy. Today I cleaned out the canister rinsing it with tank water and only needing to add about 10g of water after the filter cleaning.
Well I'll add a few photos of my current setup. Hope you guys like it.
So at this point I've had my 55g running for about 10 weeks, I'm running the Eheim 250 with a power head pushing 850gph. For heating I've got an Eheim 300W currently set to 78.
I did a 75% water change just 2 days ago and I really regret it. I should have only done 50% but while I was cleaning my sand I lost track of how much water had been removed. To the tank seems to be going through a cycle again. My nitrites spiked from 0ppm to .50-.75ppm. My Nitrates went from 80ppm to about 20ppm and my fish were looking like they couldn't breath. I rushed to the lfs and picked up some API Quick Start and treated the water as well as added a double dosage of Stress Coat. I used warm water so the temp never dropped and so far I've had 0ppm ammonia. Today I tested the water and nitrites are down to .25ppm and my nitrates are moving back up to about 35ppm. Fish are swimming normally but waters looking a bit cloudy. Today I cleaned out the canister rinsing it with tank water and only needing to add about 10g of water after the filter cleaning.
Well I'll add a few photos of my current setup. Hope you guys like it.
