recycled oldy

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. I note the use of Erythromycin but need more info. Is it powder or liquid, how much to use in 210 litre tank, how often? I assume this med. is ok with plants and fish but with my history to date, simply cannot afford a trial and error approach! In reply to Adriennes enquiry my lfs provided the following water test results: PH- 7.6; Nitrate- 5.0; Phosphate- 0.25, KH- 4; GH- 3. He expressed some concern at PH 7.6 being rather high for Neons, etc. I had returned a piece of bogwood to the tank recently and mentioned peat moss as being another natural PH reducer. Being a nice guy he gave me a 1kg box of Sera Super peat and I have just put about 1/3 of that in a filter bag, into one compartment of the AR's filter. Not trying to hog the forum but further comments and advice will be most welcome.

Thank you Ira and Adrienne for your comments. I do not have a full set of test equipment but will ask my lfs to do the tests for me. I did have major problems with Phosphate for a long time, Taupo water contains Phos. and I had also been using a PH stabiliser containing Phos. so when tested, the Phos. indicator was off the scale, almost black. Use of JBL's PhosEx ultra plus water changes has now dropped it to betwen 1 and 0.5. I am concerned about PH which is above the scale on my indicator, (ie 7.2) but a) the indicator may be out of date and b) the general opinion on the net appears to be, "better a stable PH than forcing it down". I currently use no chemicals except Prime de-chlorinator. The PhoEx ultra bags are still in the filter but may no longer be effective. Could you give me the name of the Cynobac remover you mentioned and I will obtain some.

Can anyone tell me about cyanobac and what to do about it, are the spores in the water, the gravel, the filter or all of the above. Will moving fish to another unaffected tank, spread the problem to that tank? Some months ago I broke down my AR980 freshwater tropical and replaced the substrate and gravel with new. The filter media was replaced with new but not the ceramic noodles. Badly affected plants were thrown out, others carefully hand cleaned in running tap water. The tank was refilled with 40 litre (20%) RO water, (donated), about 40% of the original water (to avoid having to re-cycle the tank from scratch) and 40% new tap water with Prime added. Fish and cleaned plants were returned to the tank and within two weeks, so was the cynobac. I am presently vac siphoning the gravel with a 25/30% water change, every third day but literally within hours the green/blue spots return. I even turned off the lights and covered the tank for 6 days which appeared to work but no, it was back within two weeks. I don't know if its the cynobac or some other problem but I have also lost 39 of the total 52 fish put in that tank over the 15 months I have had it from new. Fish ranged from Neons to a Red-tailed Shark and several Corydorus. I am reluctant to pack it in altogether but this is a no longer a hobby and far from relaxing, it's become a nightmare. HELP!

Thanks SamH for the fast response, what wattage lamp do you use on that size tank?

Just picked up a very small tank, 360 x 220 x 260 deep with no lighting arrangements. I intend using the tank as a planted community decoration in the kitchen and am thinking about using one of the economy type lamps, Philips Tornado energy saver or similar. These I understand are a "folded" flourescent with all the electronics built in. Has anyone tried such a lamp for aquarium use?

I checked my new gravel, (from S.Island) in rain water for 24 hours and it tested 0. Also tested the basalt rocks. Food, mainly TetraMin tropical flakes, occasional Sera 'O-nip' stick on tablets also occasionlal Nutrafin Max sinking tabs to ensure the corys and otocinclus get food. Last year I also fed de-frosted bloodworms, (without straining off the water which I now know to be bad). The above foods are either or, not all at once! No carbon filters at all.

Reply to Dana, sorry about late resonse, I am in Taupo, AR980 planted tank less than a year old. Since my original post I stripped and washed out tank on 20 Jan., new JBL Aqua-basis, new gravel, (from aquarium shop) 40% new water of which half was RO. scrubbed rocks before re-using and threw out any dodgy plants. Next day added PhosEx ultra to filter. 12% water change on 18th, 20% on 22nd.15% on 25th, 10% on 27th. Throughout this, test results have remained at PH 7.4, KH 4.5, GH 4, Phos.has dropped from 10+ but only to about 7. I even bought a food grade bucket for top up use only. There is nothing left to change and the PhosEx Ultra does not seem to be working. Although using API test kit I am beginning to mistrust the test results. Is there anything at all which could falsify Phoshate test results?

Hi sophia, all tests were done with RO water using clean glass jars previously rinsed with RO water. the first gravel I tested has never been near the tank but was some spare kept in the sack it came in. The second test was gravel out of the tank washed thoroughly before testing. PH7.5. Phos. >10.

Hello F15hguy, yes it loks exactly like your photo. Had the same problem?

Hi Alan, my apologies, I was rather hurried and made a mess of my last post which should have read: "Not in this case, just as limestone will slowly but surely raise the PH, something in my gravel quickly raises the phosphate level." I believe that a mineral/stone called apatite can do that, maybe there is some in my mix.

Hi Alan, not in this case, as limestione will slowly but surely raises the PH something in the gravel quickly raises the phosphate level.

Hi Sophia, It's just a gravel that I foolishly, (with hindsight) bought from a sand and gravel mechants yard. Nice size, mixed colour, looks great but oh dear! Ph about 7.5 and phosphate over 10ppm. It's a learning curve! but I still cannot locate a reliable source , see my wanted post.

My tank has had high phosphate problems for some time with the expected side effects of algae and cynobacteria. My lfs obtained readings, "off the chart" and nothing we tried seemed to help. Even 25% water changes using RO water only reduced it temporarily. Xmas brought me an API Phosphate test kit and I have now made several checks, one of which was a sample of gravel left over from the original bag, never used in the tank. I put this in RO water for 36 hours and obtained a phosphate reading of 10ppm or higher. A similar test on gravel from the tank, which had been thoroughly washed before use and in the tank for 9 months, provided much the same result. It appears that I will have to change the gravel, (although a major job in a 200l planted community tank) and ask for members advice on where I may obtain natural, (not technicolor) phosphate free gravel in the 3 - 4mm size range. This size to prevent the Aquabase or laterite leaching out into the water, which was an earlier problem! Preferably a supplier within a reasonable distance of Taupo but that is not essential. I have also wondered about using PhosEx Ultra and would be grateful for members advice on that possibility although given the size of the problem it would probably be unable to cope.

Thanks smidey, I did that very thing this morning, Charcoal binned, two thicknesses of Aqua fine filter wool with the coarse black filter on top and 15% water change. regards

Thank you for those responses which leave me in no doubt.