I need some help. I have a small 15 gallon tank which I have had no problems for over a year. Yesterday I decided to do a significant water change / cleaning to my tank. All of the sudden I have a dead fish and high nitrate levels. Is this a direct result of me doing the cleaning and water change?? All I ever read is that water changes are how you lower nitrate levels so how did it raise my levels?? Could plants raise nitrate levels?? I added 2 new plants about 3 months ago but don't see how it could be that. Plus aren't plants supposed to help keep nitrate levels under control?? I'm confused and need some advice I don't want to lose any more fish but I also don't want to do anymore water changing just incase that was the cause. BTW I tested my tap water and all levels were fine. Could it be that I changed my filter?? Help please. Thanks.
Need help!!
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First off, welcome to the tank, and sorry about your fish. Ok, it could be that you changed your filter. If you're heavily stocked and swapped out the only filter pad, you might have had an ammonia spike, although a day seems quick for that to have happened, but it's possible. I'm not sure about the nitrate levels, that is a bit perplexing. It could also be a temperature shock if the new water temp was vastly different than the tank temp. We can help better if we have some more info though. What is your current stocking? What are the readings of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in your tank? What is your normal maintenance schedule like (how often do you do water changes and how much)? All of this info will help us figure out what specifically it might be.
Dead fish could be the reason for the high nitrate levels, but I was under the impression it would take longer to convert large amounts of ammonia from decaying matter into nitrates. Hmm.
It would be helpful to know exactly how you cleaned your tank/changed your water, as well as the information mentioned above. Also, when are you comparing your nitrate levels to -- yesterday, last week, immediately before the water change? and how long after cleaning did you do the nitrate test?
It would be helpful to know exactly how you cleaned your tank/changed your water, as well as the information mentioned above. Also, when are you comparing your nitrate levels to -- yesterday, last week, immediately before the water change? and how long after cleaning did you do the nitrate test?
what was your tank stocking how much % water did you change, did you have the water temps right? You couldve added water too hot/cold and shocked your fish... Was the water dechlorinated? Is the tap water in your area safe/clean? you fish may have had old tank syndrome.
Need more tank info to give you a clearer answer
Need more tank info to give you a clearer answer
Thanks for the replies. Here's the rundown on my tank setup. I bought a small 15 gallon freshwater tank for my daughter about 1-2 years ago. When I first started the tank I let it run for about a month before putting any fish in. I started with 3 or 5 fish (can't remember offhand). I started with a filter, heater, air pump, some decorations and some bamboo plants(not technically bambo but that plant that looks like bamboo). Things were ok at first but then I noticed some problems. Then I had a dead fish so I immediatly began testing the water. I had high nitrate levels and some other high levels. Tried water changes and they did nothing. Did a little research and learned the bamboo plants weren't really bamboo and were not aquatic. They did seem to be decaying so I took those out. That helped a little but still had dying fish. Finally I realized I was over cleaning my tank. I was changing the filter every time I did a water change which was once every 2 weeks. I stopped changing the filter and left the tank alone for awhile. After taking out the plants and leaving the filter and tank alone for a while everything balanced out. Levels were fine, fish were fine (at this point only 2 were left) The 2 fish I had, had babies and then I had a total of about 6 fish(I believe they are a guppy breed but I'm not positive) So I began to leave my tank be, only doing water additions after evaporation and about 50-75% water changes when tank looked like it really needed it(about once every 1 or 2 months) but I would keep the current filter and just rinse it in the bucket that had the old water. I randomly checked levels about once every 4 months and never had any problems. About 1 to 2 months ago I decided to add 2 aquatic plants unfortunately I do not remember the name of the plants. The tank itself is kind of open and I thought the plants would be a good addition for the fish to have more private space to hide and what not. To be honest I never checked the levels since adding the plants but I didn't seem to have any problems. The other day the tank was due for a cleaning. As for the cleaning I did the usual, about 75% water change, cleaned gravel, cleaned sides of tank but this time I decided to swap the filter out because it was really blocked up. A couple days later and I had a dead fish. Tested water immediately and found high nitrate levels. My levels are as follows
Nitrate: 80
Nitrite: 0.1
Hardness: 120
Alkalinity: 80
Ph: 7.0
Ammonia: between 0 - .25
Nitrates seem to be the only problem?? I'm thinking it was because I removed the filter but do you think I should remove the plants I added?? Sorry for such a long post. Thanks again.
Nitrate: 80
Nitrite: 0.1
Hardness: 120
Alkalinity: 80
Ph: 7.0
Ammonia: between 0 - .25
Nitrates seem to be the only problem?? I'm thinking it was because I removed the filter but do you think I should remove the plants I added?? Sorry for such a long post. Thanks again.
In my opinion, I don't think removing the filter caused the nitrate spike.
I have no knowledge of plants to help you in that area but I can suggest purchasing a sponge-like pad to place inside your filter for additional room for your beneficial bacteria. You can find it at the local fish store (mine is white on one side and blue on the other). So that when it is time to swap out the filter pad, you can leave in the other pad. Alternate those to keep the good bacteria alive.
It seems like you are doing everything right by what you describe.
If you weren't having an issue with nitrates I'd recommend doing only a 50% water change once a week.
I have no knowledge of plants to help you in that area but I can suggest purchasing a sponge-like pad to place inside your filter for additional room for your beneficial bacteria. You can find it at the local fish store (mine is white on one side and blue on the other). So that when it is time to swap out the filter pad, you can leave in the other pad. Alternate those to keep the good bacteria alive.
It seems like you are doing everything right by what you describe.
If you weren't having an issue with nitrates I'd recommend doing only a 50% water change once a week.
I agree with Blue, a sponge pad in the filter would help with biological filtration. I think you will have better results if you do smaller water changes more often. Depending on how messy your fish are, like if they are goldfish, you may need to do them more often. I would say about a 15% water change weekly or every week and a half would be good, especially since it is a smaller tank and toxins will not have a lot of water to dilute in. A 75% change every couple of months might be okay if you have small fish, but I would not recommend waiting so long. Also filter cartridges should be changed about once a month, again depending on stock in the tank. If you take your filter cartridge out and simply rinse it, eventually it will only serve as mechanical filtration, because the activated carbon inside will lose it's abilities to neutralize chemicals.
During your last cleaning, did you take out the gravel and wash it, or take out the decorations and wash them? If so, that could definitely throw your tank off, because that would get rid of the good bacteria. Plants DO help with the toxins in your tank, I definitely do not think they are the culprit. But at the same time, you could just have weak or tired fish who did not deal with the water change the way they have in the past. I hope this helps!
P.S. When you change water in your tank, you could kill two birds with one stone by investing in a cheap gravel vacuum. It will suck water out while at the same time pulling rotting material and old food out of the gravel. A small one will run you about eight bucks at Petsmart. Good luck!
During your last cleaning, did you take out the gravel and wash it, or take out the decorations and wash them? If so, that could definitely throw your tank off, because that would get rid of the good bacteria. Plants DO help with the toxins in your tank, I definitely do not think they are the culprit. But at the same time, you could just have weak or tired fish who did not deal with the water change the way they have in the past. I hope this helps!
P.S. When you change water in your tank, you could kill two birds with one stone by investing in a cheap gravel vacuum. It will suck water out while at the same time pulling rotting material and old food out of the gravel. A small one will run you about eight bucks at Petsmart. Good luck!
Thanks for the replies. Well nitrates are still high but no dead fish so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope it was the filter change that did it. I will have to look into that sponge you guys recommend. Also, I do use a gravel vacuum and did not take anything out to wash it so I'm still confused as to why the nitrates spiked. Only 2 variables changed in the tank and that was the plants and the filter change so I'm going to have to keep an eye on them both and see what happens. If things don't change I will take the plants out and if things still don't improve I will just have to wait until the bacteria grow on the new filter to see if that was the problem. Thanks again..
People, people.... (shaking head)........
The filter pad is a major home for beneficial bacteria. You don't need to change the filter pad until it's just about falling apart for that reason. It serves as biological and mechanical filtration, the carbon has nothing to do with that! You remove the carbon after a couple of weeks by making a hole in the filter pad and shaking it out. You don't need to run carbon. The op is correct in his belief that changing out the filter pad was a bad move.
Username, you musta stirred up some kind of decayed crap the other day to get such high nitrates. You've been on the right track with how you care for the filter, but there is a much better way to maintain your tank. It also occurs to me that with the topping off and the infrequent and large water changes over time, you may be susceptible to old tank syndrome. Your pH looks okay right now, though. Just something to think about.
Better maintenance can help avoid problems in the future, but it doesn't answer exactly what has happened this time. However, you'll have a healthier, more stable tank over a longer period of time if you vacuum your gravel with every water change, and do 20-25% water changes every week to two weeks, depending on your nitrate readings. Keep them below 20. Continue with your filter pad maintenance by not replacing it until it's worn out, simply rinsing it in a bucket of tank water as you have been doing. Never, ever, ever change your filter pad the same time you clean the walls of the tank, the ornaments, and the gravel -- you could indeed wipe out all the bacteria, as you are aware! (just some FYI's for less experienced fishkeepers) Instead, maybe clean an ornament or two at a time, vacuum the gravel weekly, scrub the sides before water change one week, do only one of these things at a time, and never when you have to change the filter pad. I've seen so many people kill their fish by doing a gigantic cleaning job on their tanks.
I wish I could offer more specific help on the current situation. Jo3 is quite knowledgeable and experienced, and you can see we have lots of members willing to help. Hopefully some of our more experienced members will add their two cents soon.
The filter pad is a major home for beneficial bacteria. You don't need to change the filter pad until it's just about falling apart for that reason. It serves as biological and mechanical filtration, the carbon has nothing to do with that! You remove the carbon after a couple of weeks by making a hole in the filter pad and shaking it out. You don't need to run carbon. The op is correct in his belief that changing out the filter pad was a bad move.
Username, you musta stirred up some kind of decayed crap the other day to get such high nitrates. You've been on the right track with how you care for the filter, but there is a much better way to maintain your tank. It also occurs to me that with the topping off and the infrequent and large water changes over time, you may be susceptible to old tank syndrome. Your pH looks okay right now, though. Just something to think about.
Better maintenance can help avoid problems in the future, but it doesn't answer exactly what has happened this time. However, you'll have a healthier, more stable tank over a longer period of time if you vacuum your gravel with every water change, and do 20-25% water changes every week to two weeks, depending on your nitrate readings. Keep them below 20. Continue with your filter pad maintenance by not replacing it until it's worn out, simply rinsing it in a bucket of tank water as you have been doing. Never, ever, ever change your filter pad the same time you clean the walls of the tank, the ornaments, and the gravel -- you could indeed wipe out all the bacteria, as you are aware! (just some FYI's for less experienced fishkeepers) Instead, maybe clean an ornament or two at a time, vacuum the gravel weekly, scrub the sides before water change one week, do only one of these things at a time, and never when you have to change the filter pad. I've seen so many people kill their fish by doing a gigantic cleaning job on their tanks.
I wish I could offer more specific help on the current situation. Jo3 is quite knowledgeable and experienced, and you can see we have lots of members willing to help. Hopefully some of our more experienced members will add their two cents soon.
I had the very same suspisions as you have stated. I think you hit the nail on the head. I strongly feel my past cleaning and removing of the filter is the culprit. I think you gave some very good advice as to better tank maintenance and I will be sure to not make the same mistakes again. I only hope my daughters fish don't suffer because of my inexperience(and somewhat laziness). Thanks very much for the advice.
....*Who*.... are ya shakin' your head at? confused there
Surely you know this is a public forum where members can voice their opinions without getting the tss tss finger........
Not taking away from *your* experience.......you give great advice.......but others have an opinion too and should feel *free* to share.
A simple "I agree here" or "disagree here" should suffice. I don't see any *bad* advice that warrants a reprimand......
Sorry to come off harsh but that is my 2 cents.
Opinions are one thing... for instance, certain instances of compatibility, or how often to feed 'treat' foods, or which filter is the best.
Misinformation, however, is another thing altogether. (for instance, rinsing and reusing filter pad = reducing filter pad to mechanical filtration only -- because of carbon??? come on....) A little fact check before replying goes a long way. You know, I'm sure, that a lot of the more knowledgeable, experienced fishkeepers spend a lot of time refuting off-the-cuff statements made by noobs who are trying to be helpful, but who don't check their facts. Sometimes I just get really tired of coddling. It ain't that hard to say something like 'don't take my word for it' or something if someone is only guessing, or too lazy to verify their 'facts'.
People can 'say' anything they like. They can come in here and say that fish love half-gallon fishbowls, enjoy swimming in ammonia, and are supposed to live for two weeks. Then I can come right in behind them and voice my opinion of their so-called advice. It IS a public forum. Feel free to share your experiences and what you have learned. But sharing misinformation and hearsay irresponsibly is like sharing the flu -- nobody needs or wants it.
Misinformation, however, is another thing altogether. (for instance, rinsing and reusing filter pad = reducing filter pad to mechanical filtration only -- because of carbon??? come on....) A little fact check before replying goes a long way. You know, I'm sure, that a lot of the more knowledgeable, experienced fishkeepers spend a lot of time refuting off-the-cuff statements made by noobs who are trying to be helpful, but who don't check their facts. Sometimes I just get really tired of coddling. It ain't that hard to say something like 'don't take my word for it' or something if someone is only guessing, or too lazy to verify their 'facts'.
People can 'say' anything they like. They can come in here and say that fish love half-gallon fishbowls, enjoy swimming in ammonia, and are supposed to live for two weeks. Then I can come right in behind them and voice my opinion of their so-called advice. It IS a public forum. Feel free to share your experiences and what you have learned. But sharing misinformation and hearsay irresponsibly is like sharing the flu -- nobody needs or wants it.
...I see what you are saying...about misinformation...*SICK*
.....it is also important to remember that is the job of the fishkeeper to not take one person's advice and stop there...but to get several.....its pretty obvious when someone knows what they are talking about because they take the time to spell everything out like you so graciously have done on countless threads.
In my defense, I just wanted to give a friendly suggestion about using additional media. It can really help. I don't know the technical name for it, so I described as best as I could.
My apologies username, if my suggestion threw you through a loop.
No one told me about this sponge-pad thing, I had to discover it myself, and thought it would be useful for those who are worried about killing their beneficial bacteria when swapping out the old filter.
My apologies username, if my suggestion threw you through a loop.
No one told me about this sponge-pad thing, I had to discover it myself, and thought it would be useful for those who are worried about killing their beneficial bacteria when swapping out the old filter.
Your extra sponge pad idea is a great one.
You may still be somewhat inexperienced, as we all have been, but it is obvious you do your utmost to absorb new information and share what you have learned, not spout crappy hearsay as though it was factual, without checking on its validity. I see you becoming better informed all the time. Research is vital to learning any skill, and you seem to understand that. You're an asset to the community and will become even more so as you learn more and more.
I am going to offer my OPINION, take it as you wish, a single deceased fish in a tank can spike nitrate levels, I have seen it, I had a fish die in a 30G tank in the morning after a water change removed him that evening after work and when I tested the water the night after he died my nitrates where over 160ppm, when I did the water change they were at 20ppm so the only explanation is the dead fish, no other tank was affected by this so that tells me the water change didnt kill off any bacteria and I did not change any filter media.
As for the filter media, knowing that every surface inthe tank contains bacteria it is very possible the filter cartridge was not the culprit, many filters only offer mechanical filtration with no means for biological filtration, with those filters the tank is dependent on the bacteria maintained within the tank.
So while some may argue it was the changing of the filter media, I personally believe it was the combination of churning up decaying matter, major water change and changing the filter media, this probably resulted in a temporary ammonia, nitrite spike that resulted in a large nitrate reading within 24hrs.
As for the filter media, knowing that every surface inthe tank contains bacteria it is very possible the filter cartridge was not the culprit, many filters only offer mechanical filtration with no means for biological filtration, with those filters the tank is dependent on the bacteria maintained within the tank.
So while some may argue it was the changing of the filter media, I personally believe it was the combination of churning up decaying matter, major water change and changing the filter media, this probably resulted in a temporary ammonia, nitrite spike that resulted in a large nitrate reading within 24hrs.
It looks like your tank is cycling again, this is apparent because you have ammonia and nitrite present in the tank. An established tank will not have ammonia or nitrite readings. Nitrate is fine below 40, after that you do water changes to keep the nitrates down, plants should help with this. I never change my filter pads, I only "swish" them around in TREATED tank water when I'm doing a water change to get the gunk out, you don't want to kill off the good bacteria that is living on your pad by just throwing it away or washing it off in tap water.