Fiferjanis
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I've had my tank fully cycled with a HOB filter, but added a canister 2 days ago. Today the ammonia (which had been steady at 0) was 0.5
I did a 25% water change, which brought it to .25 and used a half-dose of ammonia safe tabs (it's all I had left). I'll continue with water changes until it's gone, but why the spike? Is adding an additional (new) filter like cycling the tank again? Is it killing/not enough bio filter? I didn't change the HOB filter pads, because I figured that bio would help establish the other filter. Should I get some of this bacteria stuff from the store and add some to the canister, or just be patient and let it establish?
I suppose the real answer is probably overfeeding in trying to find something my loach likes. I just can't tell if he's getting enough, because everyone else is such a glutton. Vacuuming doesn't yield left-over food, just poop. Also, I have black sand, rather than gravel, so would that affect the bacteria colonies?
Biology and chemistry never made inherent sense to me... But until now, I didn't need them much! ;-P
I did a 25% water change, which brought it to .25 and used a half-dose of ammonia safe tabs (it's all I had left). I'll continue with water changes until it's gone, but why the spike? Is adding an additional (new) filter like cycling the tank again? Is it killing/not enough bio filter? I didn't change the HOB filter pads, because I figured that bio would help establish the other filter. Should I get some of this bacteria stuff from the store and add some to the canister, or just be patient and let it establish?
I suppose the real answer is probably overfeeding in trying to find something my loach likes. I just can't tell if he's getting enough, because everyone else is such a glutton. Vacuuming doesn't yield left-over food, just poop. Also, I have black sand, rather than gravel, so would that affect the bacteria colonies?
Biology and chemistry never made inherent sense to me... But until now, I didn't need them much! ;-P
