dayolddonuts
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2022
- Messages
- 11
Hi all,
I am new to aquariums, and to forum posts. Please forgive me if I'm a bit off on protocol.
About a month ago, I set my environment. Here is what I have.
90gal glass tank
Fluval FX4 canister filter
Fluval Plant 3.0 light
Hydor heater
I have a few live plants, and a couple of wood decorations. All wood decorations are from a well know pet store and not just picked up off the ground (I do know better than that)! The substrate is sand with a couple of mesh bags filled with lava rock underneath to make hills.
One of the sticks started "sprouting" white algae after a couple of days. After doing some research on this, I've found that this is typical of some wood decorations, and that it is harmless to fish, some even eat it. So I went to the pet store, and asked about it. They said to give the tank a week, and then put in a few fish to start working on the cleanup. So I got a couple of bristlenose plecos, 3 lamp eye and 6 neon tetras. I also got 4 shrimp, three of which got killed almost immediately by the lamp eyes, but that's another story. Anyway, the tank just seems to be going downhill. I have green algae all over the place now, the white algae has turned brown/black. The sand is getting a layer of dirtiness on top of it. After two weeks, it looks pretty nasty in there. The water quality is good I think. Is there something I'm missing there?
PH = 7.0
NH3/NH4 = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 0
Temp = 76
I've given the plants the recommended dosage of fertilizer, but they are all turning brown and dying. I worry about the fish a bit, but they all seem fine. There is nothing out of the ordinary about the behavior, nothing to indicate any sickness. In doing a bunch of reading, there are multiple thoughts out there. Some say leave it because it takes time for good bacteria to multiply and start to work. Changing tank water sets this back because you throw out the good with the bad. Another school of thought is to change part of the water as with regular cleaning, but I wonder about this because it might not be going through nitrogen cycle.
I know a new tank goes through a nitrogen cycle which is unavoidable. Maybe this is just that, but how long do I let it go? Not having seen it before, I don't know if this is still normal. It looks like there may be some poo floating around too. In hindsight, it might not have been a good idea to get the fish when I did, but in my defense, I was doing that at the suggestion of the pet store.
Is my filter working properly? Water is cycling through it, and I see the water "blowing" out of the outlet tube, so I suppose it's working? The motor is humming and feels like it's working.
Any help is very much appreciated!!
I am new to aquariums, and to forum posts. Please forgive me if I'm a bit off on protocol.
About a month ago, I set my environment. Here is what I have.
90gal glass tank
Fluval FX4 canister filter
Fluval Plant 3.0 light
Hydor heater
I have a few live plants, and a couple of wood decorations. All wood decorations are from a well know pet store and not just picked up off the ground (I do know better than that)! The substrate is sand with a couple of mesh bags filled with lava rock underneath to make hills.
One of the sticks started "sprouting" white algae after a couple of days. After doing some research on this, I've found that this is typical of some wood decorations, and that it is harmless to fish, some even eat it. So I went to the pet store, and asked about it. They said to give the tank a week, and then put in a few fish to start working on the cleanup. So I got a couple of bristlenose plecos, 3 lamp eye and 6 neon tetras. I also got 4 shrimp, three of which got killed almost immediately by the lamp eyes, but that's another story. Anyway, the tank just seems to be going downhill. I have green algae all over the place now, the white algae has turned brown/black. The sand is getting a layer of dirtiness on top of it. After two weeks, it looks pretty nasty in there. The water quality is good I think. Is there something I'm missing there?
PH = 7.0
NH3/NH4 = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 0
Temp = 76
I've given the plants the recommended dosage of fertilizer, but they are all turning brown and dying. I worry about the fish a bit, but they all seem fine. There is nothing out of the ordinary about the behavior, nothing to indicate any sickness. In doing a bunch of reading, there are multiple thoughts out there. Some say leave it because it takes time for good bacteria to multiply and start to work. Changing tank water sets this back because you throw out the good with the bad. Another school of thought is to change part of the water as with regular cleaning, but I wonder about this because it might not be going through nitrogen cycle.
I know a new tank goes through a nitrogen cycle which is unavoidable. Maybe this is just that, but how long do I let it go? Not having seen it before, I don't know if this is still normal. It looks like there may be some poo floating around too. In hindsight, it might not have been a good idea to get the fish when I did, but in my defense, I was doing that at the suggestion of the pet store.
Is my filter working properly? Water is cycling through it, and I see the water "blowing" out of the outlet tube, so I suppose it's working? The motor is humming and feels like it's working.
Any help is very much appreciated!!