Is this wise? Decor cleaning

[Maridia]

Hi all. Had a question about the decor in an aquarium. I have 1 little pyramid ornament along with real wood, a couple big porous rocks and some slate rock. I squeeze clean my 3 sponge filters every month, a week apart from eachother so as not to kill all my BB all at once. I also clean my canister filter (FLUVAL 306) every month (the week that I don't clean my sponge filters). I also clean my Aqua Clear 70 (the sponge) every week, I do this one every water change as it serves for mechanical and I feel I can afford to do this with all my other bio filtration). But my nitrates remain high.

I do about 65-75% WCs every week. My tap lets out about 5-10ppm nitrates (the color looks inbetween 5-10, so it might be more like 7-8ppm. I tested my Nitrates before a WC, they were pretty high (40-80ppm, it was hard to distinguish with the colors). I then do a 70% WC. Next day, test again, 40ppm (slightly lighter, might be in the high 30s). Do I just need to do a few continuous ones daily? Or am I overstocked? My stock:

55Gallon:
10 African Cichlids (Peacocks, Domasoni, etc. All grow 4-6in max)
1 Convict SA (Please no lectures about this one, so far all are well behaved)
1 Pictus Catfish (plan on selling)
1 Ghost Catfish (plan on selling)
1 Red Tailed Shark (keeping this one)
1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco (keeping this one)

Now that I've beaten around the bush enough, my primary question is: Is it possible that so much BB are living in my rock, wood, and decor that I need to occasionally clean them all in Tap water, in hopes of removing Nitrates? Can this be part of my high nitrate problem? I have no algae and I don't see any evident/obvious filth in any part of my tank. I rake the sand (aragonite mixed with some black sand) with every water change. As stated before, I want to get rid of my pictus (needs a bigger tank and I wasn't thinking when I got him) and my ghost cat (they like schools and he has no place in a cichlid tank). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

P.S. Before I get a lot of hate for having 1 Convict with my Africans, many people have made it work, many others have not. I want to see if I'm one of those that can make it work, I have other tanks on standby if a horrible amount of fighting ensues as they mature. So please, try and stick with the subject. Thanks

 

[Freakgecko91]

Why would removing your bacteria help reduce nitrates?

 

[cole_russell]

What media do you have in your canister you might be under filtered so your nitrates could be adding up quicker.

 

[cole_russell]

Not enough bio filtration perhaps?

 

[Freakgecko91]

Nitrates won't add up more quickly due to lack of bacteria. The beneficial bacteria ingest the ammonia, and produces nitrITE as a byproduct. Another species of bacteria then ingests the nitrITE and produces nitrATE as a byproduct. Water changes remove the nitrATE, not bacteria.

 

[MICEY]

our bio-filtration is working great it converts ammonia and nitrites to nitrates

you are ether over feeding the tank to the max , have a dead fish in the tank or you have high nitrates in your tap water
the first 2 are easy to fix
high nitrates in your tap water means you need to do water changes with ro filtered water
or you might try chempure to absorb the nitrates
start by testing your tap water
and checking for dead fish
clean your gravel and fast your fish for a few days see if that helps
if you have high nitrates and low or better no nitrites and ammonia your bacteria are doing a great job
there are bacteria that will eat nitrates but you don't want them in your tank , they are used in special filters with low water flow , and are used by experts only

 

[Caliban07]

Have you checked your tap for ammonia? Seems like an overstocking issue to me. Your tank maintenance seems adequate enough. I just think the bioload is too large for that tank.


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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello Mar...

All that filtration isn't needed if you're removing and replacing so much tank water. The filters are just filtering water that's already clean. A filter system with a gallon per hour rating of 4 times the volume of the tank is plenty, because you're changing out so much water.

I change out a lot of tank water too, so I don't have to over filter and don't ever have to test the tank water. I know it's always pure. You don't have to fret about the water chemistry. The water properties will always be stable guaranteed, if you change out a lot of water. Floating plants will take in more nitrates. I like Hornwort. A heavily planted surface also provides hiding places for the more timid fish and females and their fry.

Over filtering, that's for someone in the "Water Change Slackers' Club". They should have multiple filters. That's the only thing that's keeping their fish alive, but just barely. Filters are good aerators, but only take in toxic water and return the same water, a little less toxic. High end filtration is no substitute for large, regular water changes.

Don't worry about cleaning your filters too much. The good bacteria lives on all the surfaces inside the tank. You're not going to remove too much. Bacteria reproduces to it's former level in a few hours after a good cleaning.

I keep larger tanks and have some pretty large cats too. I just keep the tank water pure and they're fine.

Keep changing a lot of tank water and do it often.

Have fun!

B

 

[Freakgecko91]

People...read the whole message..."My tap lets out about 5-10ppm nitrates (the color looks inbetween 5-10, so it might be more like 7-8ppm."

 

[Maridia]

Why would removing your bacteria help reduce nitrates?

It was my understanding that Nitrates were the by product of the final form of bacteria. The bacteria that consume both Ammonia and nitrite produced Nitrate, so that's why I pointed that out. IE. Reducing the BB, would reduce Nitrate. Silly logic, but wanted to ask.

 

[Freakgecko91]

No, they need the building blocks from the ammonia/nitrite to produce the nitrate. Basically, you lower the ammonia (less fish, less feeding, less degrading organic material, etc), you lower the nitrite, thus lowering the nitrate.

 

[Maridia]

What media do you have in your canister you might be under filtered so your nitrates could be adding up quicker.

Just what typically comes with the FLUVAL 306 canister filter. Except I bought extra bio max and filled the cups more. I regularly change the polish pads as well.

 

[squirrilah fish]

You Are overstocked, slightly. BB has nothing to do with it. BB turns waste into Nitrates. The only thing to remove Nitrates are water changes, live plants, or a resin media.

I think you would benefit from adding a bag of Purigen into your Aquclear, that's what I have, makes a world of difference. I would also recommend doing daily 50% changes for a week to get your nitrates down to as close to zero as possible. I try to keep mine under 20, doing weekly 50% changes. Also feeding less.


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[MICEY]

nitrates are the least toxic of the 3 then nitrates and ammonia which is the biggest killer of fish
something is wrong if you have high nitrates with 75% wc weekly
you may have to do 2-3 wc a week ,at least till you get rid of some of your fish

 

[Maridia]

Nitrates won't add up more quickly due to lack of bacteria. The beneficial bacteria ingest the ammonia, and produces nitrITE as a byproduct. Another species of bacteria then ingests the nitrITE and produces nitrATE as a byproduct. Water changes remove the nitrATE, not bacteria.

I too used that logic. But after doing a 70% WC, and to see such a small difference in Nitrates is what brings me here.

 

[squirrilah fish]

Are you cleaning the substrate?


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[Freakgecko91]

Can we get a full tank shot, as well as a full list of all the fish (even the "africans", if you don't know the species, post pictures). This will help a bit

 

[Maridia]

Are you cleaning the substrate?


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Yes, I stir up the sand a bit to vacuum any waste, which usually there's not a whole lot.

 

[squirrilah fish]

I churn the shot out of my sand, and pull out a lot of waste, I usually will wait 20 minutes after I churn it for it too settle.


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[mikem691]

Lets step back to the opening post
2 questions
what are you testing the nitrates with
if you are using the liquid test are you sure you are doing the test right?
I ask because if you are changing 75% of the water with little to no change in nitrates something isn't right.