fishnut Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi everyone, Im new here and got a problem I hope someone could advise me on.. I have a 400 litre tank thats been running for 4 months with no problems but cloudy water after feeding sometimes. I have been running a fluval4 internal filter and didn,t think it was doing the job so yesterday I got a via-aqua 750 running in it. I have left the fluval running as well until the bacteria can build up in the new one. How long would this take? Well last night one zebra danio was lying depressed on the bottom and one golden angel had it tail fin clamped and turned quite orangey in colour. Today the angel seem a bit better but the zebra is just "hanging" in the water not swimming around at all. After work I found a dead neon!! But it was old. My silver sharks are hiding in a corner not looking very happy either. So I,m wondering if the new filter has something to do with it even though I rinsed the media really well. The tank is definately not overstocked but I don,t know what the ammonia or nitrates or ph are, I do need to get the test kits, but the prices!! Anyone know of any cheaper ones. Could it be being overfiltered? Any help would be very much appreciated, I had to see them unhappy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 how many water changes do you do? What fish do you have in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnut Posted September 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi Chris L, Thank you for your reply I do a 20% water change weekly, last being last Friday and I have: 6 juvenile angels 2 silver sharks 3 rainbows 3 zebra danios 7 neons 4 panda cory 3 whiptails 2 small bristlenose 3 cherry barbs Except for the neons they are all about half grown. The sharks are about 10cm. At the moment one shark is hiding with its nose up and "panting" , I,m really worried. I,ve never had fish act this unhappy before. What have I done!! Would a water change help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Do you take the chlroine out of the water? Chris- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Welcome to the fishroom fishnut. Sorry you are having problems. It would really help if you tested the water. Do you have a shop nearby where you can take a sample to be tested? Some fish shops offer this service. The tests are expensive to buy but they last well. I would not think adding another filter would cause problems, especially as you knew to keep the other there until the bacteria had built up as well. Is the shark (and other fish for that matter) panting at the surface? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi Fishnut, welcome to the fishroom. Sounds like you have a definite water problem, most likely ammonia buildup. Seeing you have no means of testing the water you could whip a sample down to your LFS and let them test it for you. In the meantime you need to move some water. Do a 25% water change today, and another in two days (Thursday) and every couple of days till you see some result. They could pick up after a couple of water changes, but it's hard to say. Hopefully you DIDN'T clean the old filter too thoroughly, as this will kill the bacteria, and you should only do it in a bucket of tank water, not under the hot or cold tap. Overfeeding might be another cause, so you may have to cut the feeds down. Hope they come right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnut Posted September 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi everyone, thank you for the replies. I have just done a 30% water change and rushed to the LFS. I only had the money for a ph test which I will do soon. I will get an ammonia one on Friday. I definately treat the water, they add heaps of chlorine here. The old filter wasn,t cleaned at all so there should be enough bacteria. That filter is just a sponge and I was wondering of the new filter with the "pottery macaroni" would change the water chemistry at all? It just seems weird that the problem happened the day the new filter was installed. Anyway will do the ph test soon. What ph should the water be? The fish definately seem more active with heaps of new water :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Sounds to me like ammonia or nitrite poisoning. There 3 things you can do: 1. Water changes (20% every couple of days until under control). 2. Add Ammo-Chips to the filter (in a yellow box at the LFS). 3. Add Ammo-Lock. All of these will reduce the ammonia. Ammo-Lock will reduce it instantly but its will still be there in a locked form. It still needs to be removed. Only water changes will lower the nitrite level (if that's the problem), but removing the ammonia will stop nitrite being produced. It could be coming from the old filter. How long since it was cleaned? How long since the gravel was cleaned? If you have been overfeeding then the filter system may have just reached the point where it can no longer keep up. You might need to get better food that doesn't cloud the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 fishnut I have all the test kits on hand and am also in mid canterbury. Would you like me to drop in on the way to work in the morning and drop the kits off for you to test the water??? Just pm me or ring (number pm'd for you). No cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnut Posted September 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Wow this place is a mine of information! Warren- I clean the gravel each week when I do the water change and I,ve just rinsed the old filter in tank water, it wasn,t too bad, last done about 3 weeks ago. Noticed one of the sharks have developed a silver/white ring around the pupil. Danios still sick but the angels colour has returned to normal. Done the water change and everything else seems fine. What I don,t understand is why everything was great and then turned yesterday with the new filter!! Maybe just coincidence. Oh.. at least the ph is ok- 6.8-7? Ho Goldie, Thanks! I will give you a ring tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi again, What a wonderful gesture Goldie, you have a heart of gold and you picked the right name. Hi Fishnut, This is the thing with fish keeping. Things can happen so quickly that if you blink you miss them, and only when your tank is truly established can you relax a little. It's like a scale on a fine balance, and the slightest thing can change that balance, sometimes to the good, and sometimes to the bad. When something of this nature happens you have to sit back and go over EVERYTHING that you did over the previous week or sometimes month, and usually the thing that caused the prob will come to light. Even the water from your tap can change from day to day, as many here will testify, so find out the situation of your tap water and monitor it occasionally to make sure you are not adding more probs to your tank. It's highly unlikely that it 'is' the filter, but more as above... a sudden climb in toxicity, either ammonia or nitrites, or both, and you mention cleaning the gravel. Now if you disturbed this unduly (especially if you have overfed a few times) then you could have created a bacteria explosion that might be part of your prob. You'll have the answers tomorrow with Goldie's kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnut Posted September 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2003 Hi Everyone, Well things seems alot better today, Thanks so much Goldie for the loan of the test kits. You are an angel! The ammonia was at 0.6, no nitrites or nitrates or phosphates. Ph is 6.8. I think stress was a main factor and the silver sharks are very nervey. I did alot of bumping and banging (and cussing) getting this filter going as I,ve never used an external filter before. The extra turbulence probably didn,t help as my old filter already has a really strong current. It,s been turned to face a different way now and theres now a quiet spot for the fish to hide. I always really thoroughly clean the gravel each week, I feel that I've been going overboard so will tone that down. I just like a clean tank! Can anyone tell how long to seed a new filter?. The old one is needed elsewhere. Thanks all. Hopefully things will settle right down now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted September 3, 2003 Report Share Posted September 3, 2003 Looks like your problem was/is ammonia poisoning alright. 0.6 is high. The sharks don't like that level of ammonia. Ammo-lock will instantly help. Look for the cause however, - could it have been prolonged overfeeding being just too much for the old filter. It's probably coincidence that this happened when the new filter was added. It would not have become effective for a while yet. Unless it somehow released ammonia it shouldn't be the cause. Keep up 10-20% water changes until the ammonia is below 0.1 See if you can work out what led to the ammonia spike. Treat it as a learning experience. You'll know that next time you see your fish acting like this you'll need ammo-lock and water changes to fix it quick (lets hope there is not a next time). Meanwhile, try cutting back the feeding a bit. Hungry fish help keep your tank clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted September 4, 2003 Report Share Posted September 4, 2003 :oops: Pegasus it simply was what anyone else would do. I have been helped out so much by generous fishy ppl. Glad you are on the right track again fishnut. Scary when something like that happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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