I've had a bad shoulder so my other half has been looking after our tanks, I've just done a test and my ammonia is 0.5 and nitrates are 40! We had some trouble with keeping the nitrates down a while back but got those down to about 20 with Amquel, I think my other has been doing the nitrate test wrong as he's been telling me it's 0-5, I should of thought it was wrong and tested myself. Now I'm back to with high nitrates and ammonia, whats the best thing to do now? Start using the Amquel again or try daily water changes? I don't really like using lots of chemicals. I have 4 leapord frogs and a peppermint in there that I'm worrying about. Hope someone can help. Thanks
Need advise please
- Thread starter BECKIN1507
- Start date
Oh and also I've put some new plants in both my tanks and I now have little worm things in both tanks, I've never had these before are the harmful to my fish? I saw a couple been eaten by the fish
Should probably increase the frequency of water changes, that's the best way to keep nitrates down. Might have to look at your filtration if you're picking up ammonia, means either your filters aren't cycled (but then nitrates mean they are at least partically) or you have inadequate filtration for the biological load in your tank.
As far as the worms go, what do they look like? Small white worms? Could be planaria which are often associated with a tank that has been overfed & has excess biological matterin the tank. Goes along with the water parameter readings your getting. Increase water changes & cut back on feeding.
As far as the worms go, what do they look like? Small white worms? Could be planaria which are often associated with a tank that has been overfed & has excess biological matterin the tank. Goes along with the water parameter readings your getting. Increase water changes & cut back on feeding.
Absolutely agree, it does sound like an overfeeding issue, and possibly an underfiltration issue too, should be easy enough to fix
Yes they are little white worms, but I've got those it 2tanks, only since I put the plants in. The other tank has 0 ammonia but still has wormy things. Could those have come in on the plants? It's not a newly set up tank, it's been running for quite a few months now, but never really needed to cycle as I used a filter from my large tank and wood and sand and things out of it too. The filter is for up to 600l tank and it's only a 120l tank. I don't think the other half has cleaned the filter, so maybe thats the problem?
Thanks for your advise
Thanks for your advise
probably have been overfeeding too as we've been trying to make sure the pleco's have enough food, I'll have to try and cut down but I worry they'll starve
What type of filter is it?
One of the biggest fishkeeping misconceptions revolves around filter rating. Often filters are simple rated based on how much water they move, not necessarily their filtering capacity. For instance, internal filters have relatively small foam blocks as filter media, compare this to a canister that has a large amount of filter media. The bottom line is that if ammonia is showing up in the tank, the filters are undersized for the biolgical load.
It's a external filter, here's the info on it.
Suitable for fresh & salt water aquarium tanks
Suitable for tanks up to 600 Litres
Self priming unit, filter fully self primes after simple setup
Drip free shut off tap for easy cleaning
UV bulb on/ off switch provides independent control from filter operation
9w UV bulb included
Three filter media basket compartments for layered filtering
Included filter media; Bio balls, Ceramic rings, Activated carbon and three fine filter floss foams
Specifications
Flow Rate: 1400 Litres per Hour
Hose size: 20mm Outside diameter, 15mm Inside diameter
Water Volume: 12 Litres (Approx)
Height max: 2 Metres
Voltage: 220-240v
Power: 35w
UV power: 9w
Dimensions: 258 x 258 x 430 mm
It was running my 5ft tank ok but instead of buying the same 1 for the smaller tank I bought a larger 1 for the 5ft. How often should I be changing the media and how often should I be cleaning it? (I used to use internal filters, and cleaned them once a week) To be honest, I've had a tank for years and never tested the water or had any probs :blushing: , I know it was a stupid thing to do but everyone kept telling me they've had tanks for yrs and never tested the water, I realise now I'm always testing it how important it is, and how easy it is to not realise you have a problem. I have obviously been very lucky to still have fish alive (my shark and clown loach's are 7 yrs old).
So I'm not sure if the filter is the problem, but I really want to work out what the problem is asap. Do you think it is the filter? It was quite dirty. Sorry I've ended up writing a bit of a essay
Suitable for fresh & salt water aquarium tanks
Suitable for tanks up to 600 Litres
Self priming unit, filter fully self primes after simple setup
Drip free shut off tap for easy cleaning
UV bulb on/ off switch provides independent control from filter operation
9w UV bulb included
Three filter media basket compartments for layered filtering
Included filter media; Bio balls, Ceramic rings, Activated carbon and three fine filter floss foams
Specifications
Flow Rate: 1400 Litres per Hour
Hose size: 20mm Outside diameter, 15mm Inside diameter
Water Volume: 12 Litres (Approx)
Height max: 2 Metres
Voltage: 220-240v
Power: 35w
UV power: 9w
Dimensions: 258 x 258 x 430 mm
It was running my 5ft tank ok but instead of buying the same 1 for the smaller tank I bought a larger 1 for the 5ft. How often should I be changing the media and how often should I be cleaning it? (I used to use internal filters, and cleaned them once a week) To be honest, I've had a tank for years and never tested the water or had any probs :blushing: , I know it was a stupid thing to do but everyone kept telling me they've had tanks for yrs and never tested the water, I realise now I'm always testing it how important it is, and how easy it is to not realise you have a problem. I have obviously been very lucky to still have fish alive (my shark and clown loach's are 7 yrs old).
So I'm not sure if the filter is the problem, but I really want to work out what the problem is asap. Do you think it is the filter? It was quite dirty. Sorry I've ended up writing a bit of a essay
In all honesty, I've kept tanks for almost 30 years & although I own test kits, I rarely test the water. It kinda boils down to expereince & knowing why things go wrong & what to do about it if it does. The ability to recognize potential problems before they become major is simply something that has to be learned with expereince not just by reading a forum. So, don't worry too much about not testing water, while it can provide useful info and assist you with solving problems its not absolutely essential.
Your filter seems to be pretty adequate. Another option could be that the tank was being overfed & there is a lot of excess food in the tank breaking down. The bacteria in filters that are responsible for breaking down fish waste (like ammonia) are living creatures & only build up a colony size to handle what biological load is there. When they are suddenly overwhelmed by an increase in bioload, like excess food in the tank or the addition of many new fish, there is an adjustment period before the filter is able to handle the additional waste. Cut back on feedings & increase the water changes & things will imrove.
Its difficult to estimate how often filters "need" to be cleaned. Typically on externals its simply when you notice a reduction in flow. With filters, cleaning too often can sometimes be worse as bad as not enough.
Your filter seems to be pretty adequate. Another option could be that the tank was being overfed & there is a lot of excess food in the tank breaking down. The bacteria in filters that are responsible for breaking down fish waste (like ammonia) are living creatures & only build up a colony size to handle what biological load is there. When they are suddenly overwhelmed by an increase in bioload, like excess food in the tank or the addition of many new fish, there is an adjustment period before the filter is able to handle the additional waste. Cut back on feedings & increase the water changes & things will imrove.
Its difficult to estimate how often filters "need" to be cleaned. Typically on externals its simply when you notice a reduction in flow. With filters, cleaning too often can sometimes be worse as bad as not enough.
I fully agree with Lornek comments. Same with me, 30years plus with aquariums. rarely test water. Watch my fish and filter outlets and plants for them to talk to me. Plecs make a lot of mess, well most do, so you must find that balance of bio load and breakdown. Most issues with tanks and I have also madethis mistake is from overfeeding. It is tempting to feed, but be careful. cheers jk :thumbup:
plenty of water changes for a while should help. the plants should help absorb nitrate assuming the tank lights are on for 8-12 hours a day.
the worms are probably planaria, and maybe you feed too much.
tell us about how much you have been feeding and what?
if you are worried the fish will get hungry then offer them raw veg on a fork, like courgette and if they are hungry they can nibble that.
the worms are probably planaria, and maybe you feed too much.
tell us about how much you have been feeding and what?
if you are worried the fish will get hungry then offer them raw veg on a fork, like courgette and if they are hungry they can nibble that.
Ammomia is now 0 :clap: Think it was the filter needing a clean and feeding to much. Nitrates are still high, I have looked at the thread about water conditioners and think changing to prime might help as the 1 I am using doesn't help with nitrates. Does any 1 use prime? Do you think that would help? I feed them on tetra prima, tetra pro crisps, mussells, prawns, cucumber, courgette, jbl pellets, hikari wafers, multi wafers, plecoking jumbo food, and plecoking pellets. I try and feed someting different every day, usually put 2 different foods in a day.
Thanks for everyones help
Thanks for everyones help
for the next 2 weeks I would only feed every 2nd day or at least make 1 day a fasting day a week. Remember in the wild, these fish do not get fed everyday or only small portions. cheers jk :thumbup:
Personally I wouldn't look at chemicals/additives to help with your nitrates. Its simply a bandaid. Better to attack the root of the problem. Increased water changes and possibly the addition of live plants will help with the nitrates. Also, look at testing your tap water, some areas have naturally high nitrates in the tap.