Co2 disaster???

anshuman

anshuman

Large Fish
#61
Nov 16, 2009
686
0
0
Mumbai India
#61
you will keep seeing spikes in ammonia, nitrite (more dangerous) and some nitrate till it cycles completely.

You will know your tank has completed its cycle when the readings are Zero Ammonia,Nitrite( v dangerous to fish, converted as food by plants/bacteria) and 20+ nitrate (less dangerous and converted as food by plants and bacteria). Should take month. testing weekly is recommended in fully cycled tank, till then, you can test waters as fish suddenly appear stressed.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#62
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#62
I'm off early this morning (as in tomorrow) to buy a nitrite kit. I guess I thought I wouldn't ever need it because my tank seemed so stable since its fishless cycle last June. Hah. Maybe I should have been testing for nitrite all along. Anyhoo, if it's okay with everyone, I'll let you know what the readings are during this process - a month, you say Anshu??? Wow, okay.
I am curious to know if this is a real cycle that I'm going through - I've heard of a mini-cycle - what's the difference? And my main concern is the well-being of my fishies, so other than doing the water tests, and my water changes, please everyone let me know if there is something else I should do. I'm sure I could get some water/filter media/gravel from the LFS that I do trust, for example?
Highlight of my day, other than the women's hockey gold medal round this afternoon, was seeing that my angels are definitely getting ready to breed again, and my multi is swimming around! Yay! Go multi!
 

anshuman

anshuman

Large Fish
#63
Nov 16, 2009
686
0
0
Mumbai India
#63
need full reading of ammonia , nitrite, nitrate and even ph level . I am sure newman will jump in to decide on cycle/mini-cycle etc.

Tip: Ammonia spike in water makes water cloudy, nitrate/nitrite are silent, the water will be pristine clear but Nitrates will be off the chart.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#64
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#64
it depends on how long it will take to get this cycle over with. if its a fast one you can term it mini if not then a full cycle. both types can kill fish equally well and both are...cycles lol so there's little difference.
I'm willing to be this will just be a small one.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#65
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#65
I think your tank is on the road to recovery. Fish do not spawn when water quality is an issue.

I don't think your tank will take a month to get back to normal. You basicly overfed the tank ammonia, and the bacteria is taking awhile to eat it all. Your water changes have been diluting the ammonia, which prevented a 'crash' in the bio filter. *thumbsups

Just make sure the nitrite is still zero and that nitrates do build up over time, which would indicate that all the bacteria you need is still there and thriving.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#68
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#68
Super! I'd really like to hook up my CO2 system soon. Can I do that????
And thanks to everyone here for their advice and support so far.
BTW, to all my American friends, congrats on your nice hockey win over Finland. Looks like we'll see you Sunday for the gold medal round, 'cause I don't think Slovakia is going to make it through tonight's game with a win.
 

anshuman

anshuman

Large Fish
#69
Nov 16, 2009
686
0
0
Mumbai India
#69
OMG IT WAS soooooo close... open Goal in last 10 seconds.... slovaks cudnt chuck the puck in :( ..... well i knew canada would win but didnt expect them to win that hard. :)

USA vs Canuck.. I am partial, but i want USA to win and see Stephen Colbert go crazy with "USA Number Oneeee". lets hope canada team dont tumble all over each other like they did lolz.

And laura nice to see your tank getting back in levels :).
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#72
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#72
Yup, angels just spawned again an hour ago. Time for another water test, and if still all clear, we're back to the CO2!
And ashu, the Slovaks were a tough team. That's good though - it was an exciting ending!
Back to my cigars and beer . . . .
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#74
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#74
Okay guys, I'm a little chuffed with myself right now. I'm not very handy, but I found a solution to how to position my CO2 canister level with the top of my tank. When I bought this tank, I chose the Ecliple Biowheel so that there weren't any visible cords or equipment, and I could position the tank almost flush to the wall - this aesthetic made my husband happy (he tolerates my hobby because he thinks of the tank as living 'art'). I didn't realize at the time the limitations that I would encounter as I grew progressively more obsessed - scratch, involved ;) - with fishkeeping.
Anyhoo, this setup means I have no lip to hang anything off of the tank, and no room behind it to install a discreet ledge. But then, a sudden stroke of brilliance! I bought a broomholder wall attachement for $2.39 at the hardware store, placed it on one side of tank, and hung the O-ring clip of the cansiter through the O-ring broomholder! Take a look, and please let me know if anyone sees any problem with this arrangement.
 

Attachments

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#75
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#75
That's a neat idea! Imma lovin' your tank, too. I had an Eclipse 1 system (18gal) and LOVED it, but sold it when I upgraded to my 46gal bowfront. Kinda wish I'd kept the Eclipse, but I couldn't have gotten the bowfront if I hadn't sold it, so it was a toss-up.
 

B

blue_ram

Large Fish
#76
Jun 21, 2008
516
0
0
Florida
#76
lauraf said:
Oh, Anshu, great to hear from you. I guess the time difference (I'm a night owl on the West Coast of N. America) means some of the regulars here (who are on the East Coast)sign off around 8-9pm my time. Are you in a mid-afternoon break? Not sure what the time difference is between Vancouver and Mumbai . . . .
Thanks for the response. I lost my male German ram, who was 'headstanding' the last three days anyway - I'm a bit sad that no one responded to my post in the disease forum about this issue. Also lost one of my multipunctatus catfish. He was not very active from the minute I introduced him to the tank six weeks ago, but the other one I added since then has been very active, and for about two days I saw them really interacting with each other. This remaining multi got super excited during the yeast cloud - maybe because they like subdued lights. (BTW, I've added a cave-ish feature to make the multi's feel more secure - but for now I need to get this water problem under control before I show pics.)
And some positive news! The cloudiness started to clear up, and my new albino BN pleco came out of hiding!

BTW, I did another 20% water change tonight. Readings before that were ammonia just above 0, nitrates under 5. Fed the fish some micropellets and all were eating.
Click to expand...
I am sorry about your ram. Before you decide to replace him/her consider their needs. They require water temps above 80 degrees, ph below 7, no bottom feeders in the tank, pristine water and no filter carbon. They should ideally be with one male and several females or a group 4-6 females is a species specific tank or with some Angels or Discus.

As much as I love the Blue Rams, I have found that keeping their almost equally beautiful cousins Bolivian Rams to be much easier.
Bolivian Ram - Mikrogeophagus altispinosus


Also, the angles you have will live a much better life and more vibrant colors if you raise the tank temps above 80 degrees. Not sure if the other fish can tolerate that temp. the Cories and Tetras can, but not the loaches.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#78
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#78
blue_ram said:
I am sorry about your ram. Before you decide to replace him/her consider their needs. They require water temps above 80 degrees, ph below 7, no bottom feeders in the tank, pristine water and no filter carbon. They should ideally be with one male and several females or a group 4-6 females is a species specific tank or with some Angels or Discus.

As much as I love the Blue Rams, I have found that keeping their almost equally beautiful cousins Bolivian Rams to be much easier.
Bolivian Ram - Mikrogeophagus altispinosus


Also, the angles you have will live a much better life and more vibrant colors if you raise the tank temps above 80 degrees. Not sure if the other fish can tolerate that temp. the Cories and Tetras can, but not the loaches.
Click to expand...
Hi Blue Ram:
Thanks for the advice! I feel a bit embarrassed that I never reviewed ram-keeping properly. Here's a bit of the history on my tank, though:
my temp is 82 degrees and always has been
I used to have my pH closer to 6.5, but because I'm trying to introduce more hardness, my pH has been getting closer to 7.0 or a bit higher - actually, I'd love to know of a way to increase KH without increasing the pH. And my angels seem to be breeding pretty regularly despite the pH fluctuating between 6.5 - 7.0 - not that this means my water conditions are ideal!
I have only ever had rams together in this tank as a male and female combo - good to know that I shouldn't do this in the future.
I use a filter insert for my Eclipse Biowheel that does have some carbon in it - I replace it every 3-4 weeks - maybe I don't need carbon, regardless of whether I plan to keep rams?
And I'm thinking that maybe what I called a German ram might actually be a Bolivian ram - 'cause the male I had looks a lot like the pic you linked!
And interesting advice about loaches not tolerating the higher temp - I guess I'll watch for problems, 'cause for now they seem pretty happy???
 

B

blue_ram

Large Fish
#80
Jun 21, 2008
516
0
0
Florida
#80
lauraf said:
Hi Blue Ram:
Thanks for the advice! I feel a bit embarrassed that I never reviewed ram-keeping properly. Here's a bit of the history on my tank, though:
my temp is 82 degrees and always has been
I used to have my pH closer to 6.5, but because I'm trying to introduce more hardness, my pH has been getting closer to 7.0 or a bit higher - actually, I'd love to know of a way to increase KH without increasing the pH. And my angels seem to be breeding pretty regularly despite the pH fluctuating between 6.5 - 7.0 - not that this means my water conditions are ideal!
I have only ever had rams together in this tank as a male and female combo - good to know that I shouldn't do this in the future.
I use a filter insert for my Eclipse Biowheel that does have some carbon in it - I replace it every 3-4 weeks - maybe I don't need carbon, regardless of whether I plan to keep rams?
And I'm thinking that maybe what I called a German ram might actually be a Bolivian ram - 'cause the male I had looks a lot like the pic you linked!
And interesting advice about loaches not tolerating the higher temp - I guess I'll watch for problems, 'cause for now they seem pretty happy???
Click to expand...
It seems like you had a perfect environment for them. I have a pair of breeding angles, one is silvery gold and the other black marbled. They haven't produced any fry and I haven't tried to save any eggs. They spawn about every 2 weeks.

Many people do not use carbon especially in planted tanks because it saps the minerals from the water.
 

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