SolitudeX

Righty O - Time for an update! In our last episode... No, i'm joking - no summary needed ;-) So I managed to get some Algae Eaters, although I should have researched things a *bit* more before commiting to a purchase, because while I got close I still ended up with the fake SAE! Doh. But no matter, the 2 that I got are doing a very nice job so far of cleaning up the excess algae on the ornaments and gravel, still cleaning the glass manually though. Now i'm getting some green algae growth, so i've cut back my lighting a bit and so far it's not spreading too far! However my more immediate concern has shifted to the extreme ammonia levels that i'm getting. Since my initial post, the ammonia levels have gone off the test scale (8.0ppm). I've done everything that has been suggested such as reduced feeding and more frequent/bigger water changes, I even tried AmmoLock to try and detoxify the levels so none of the inhabitants would be harmed. I'd have expected the levels to drop but they just keep getting higher. I do understand that using AmmoLock will still register "Ammonia" in the tank in its non toxic form. More concerning is that i'm not getting a reading on Nitrite or Nitrate in the tank at ALL. Which seems odd as 304 weeks ago the levels of Ammonia and Nitrite were at 0 and Nitrate was sitting about 10-20ppm... It's almost as though the Tank Grinch came down the chimney and stole my bacteria! Just wondering if theres any Sage like advice on offer to see if I can try get things under control before anything fatal happens!

Firstly, just like to say a big thanks for the replies! Southerrrngirrl - Thanks for passing along that link, I had a good read and it sounds like you had quite a mission getting things under control! Glad to hear you managed to get it sorted Heres hoping my problem can be resolved a bit easier and with less frustration! whetu - Cheers for the comments, I understand the need to "help you to help me" Ha ha, I work in IT so am very used to not having the required info ;-) I did have a feeling it could just be the new tank Brown Algae but my concern is if it turns out not to be this issue... Could be bad if things get to a point where the algae isn't caused by new tank syndrome and gets a foot hold in the tank! I had considered getting some algae eaters, but I liked the Cory's better, ha ha. My tank can probably support 2 or so more fish before I get concerned about overstocking as all my guys are still small and i'll be moving the guppies into their own tank once the Xmas "Hole in the Pocket" heals. I think I might just wait it out and add a few more plants (Only have 5-6 assorted bunch plants at present) and a few SAE if I can find them, just to help keep things a lil more in check! Thanks again for all the help and i'll keep you posted about how I get on! Other comments are still welcome and i'm keen to get right up to play on doing this the right way from the start! Cheers

Howdy hey! Just wondering if I might be able to get some re-assuring advice on what appears to be my first algae related encounter! After having a good look, it appears to be spread in pockets across the gravel, growing on a top of some decorations and attaching itself to my plants (real, not plastic). I first noticed it because there were small fine hairs maybe 2-3 mm long coming off my plant leaves, at first appearance it seemed like it was red in colour but the growth on the gravel appears more of a brown than red. After digging around the net for a bit, I found that i'm not alone! I have a 125L tank, set up for approx 6-8 weeks, I started a fishless cycle then after 2-3 weeks added some Danios and Guppies as they appeared a good beginners fish. I've since added a few Corydoras and Kuhli Loaches to help with the house keeping (I added a few at a time, to keep the cycle happy). During my research, it appears quite common for newly set up tanks to get brown algae growth and that in some instances it will reduce naturally as the tank becomes more stable - while it appears i'll need to reduce feeding and possibly make alterations to the lighting level to control the algae. However my concern was with the small thread like strands on my plants, as during initial research Beard Algae was mentioned and kind of fit the description! I understand this can be treated easily using Flourish Excel but would prefer to not treat with chemicals if I can help it. So - in short, I was really after a few words of wisdom as to what I might be able to do to help in slowing down or reducing the growth of the algae. below are some variables, let me know if anything else is useful and i'll post them up! Tank: Juwel Rio 125 w/ Juwel Filter System and T5 High-Lite Lighting Lighting: Standard 1 x Day Tube and 1 x Nature Tube as from the Factory Stocking: 6 x Danios, 6 x Guppies, 3 x Corydoras, 3 x Kuhli Loaches Water Changes: I do about 20% water change once a week, only lately to reduce some elevated ammonia levels due to newbie overfeeding mistake! Water Readings as at 20:00 3/12/08: Ammonia 3.0-4.0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 0ppm, PH 7.0 I thought I could get some algae eaters to help reduce the amount growing, my main concern is the algae getting a good foot hold in the tank and becoming uncontrollable! I'm also slightly alarmed about the ammonia levels as they have been rising over the last 2-3 weeks despite my reduced feeding and more frequent gravel vacs/water changes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! So thanks in advance for the time taken to have a squiz at my post :-) Cheers!

The fish are actually still quite small - i'd say about an inch long if that including tails, the black more is slightly larger, maybe 1 1/2" and he was added roughly 4 weeks ago.

Hey there, Wow - thanks for all the replies and advice! Lets see: - What size is your tank? I started out small (I know, beginner mistake!) My tank is about 30L but got given it by a friend, with filter. - What kind of filter are you using (and what media is in it)? Its a hang on the back style filter that has 300L/H rating and uses carbon and some kind of wooly material to act as physical filtration and has whats named a "bio cartridge" as explained by my friend. I can't see any brand or model as is, might be underneath where I can't get at! - What kind of fish do you have (and how many, and how long have they been in there)? Well I did start off with 2 fantail goldfish, but a friend is going away for 6 months and so he gave me his blackmoor. Keeping the "suggested" 1" fish per "gallon" I didn't feel I was overstocking. But I could be wrong, we can't believe everything we read after all. - If using tap water for your water changes, are you using a chlorine remover? In short, yes - I got API StressCoat and StressZyme (I understand also helps the biological filter start - this probably answers MarkLB in a sense) At first I thought I might be over feeding - so I cut back until I felt fairly happy about it, but that was only in the first week and I would have thought by now some good guys would have moved into the tank! Hope this info helps you guys to help me

Howdy! I'm a little bit new to the fish keeping world (First Post, woohoo!). I've done a bit of reading and understand the importance of cycling and how the cycle works. I've started out with just a small tank and 2 small goldfish, to see if i'm any good at it. My problem is ammonia related, hence not starting a new thread. My problem is this: After 5-6 weeks, I thought it was a good idea to do as many others do and regularly test the water with test kits. My pH came out fine, however ammonia is sitting between 0.5-1.0 (across a week, readings haven't changed) even doing frequent 20-30% water changes. Nitrites are 0 and so are Nitrates. I've not changed the filter media and can't seem to figure out what is causing the nitrifying bacteria to not grow and gobble up the ammonia! Wondering if anyone might be able to throw a little light on this for me? Thanks in advance and I look forward to being able to return the favour as I get more experienced