65 Gal Malawi Cichlid tank.. filter questions?? HELP

J

jaynyfl

AC Members
Oct 3, 2005
17
0
0
Hello:
I have a 65 Gallon Malawi tank with about 20 medium / small fish. I currently have a Fluval 204 Cannister filter and an Emperor 400. I use Seachem Matrix , Sera Carbon ... and I still have a hard time keeping Nitrates under control. I dont overfeed.(Maybe 3 times a week.. and very little hits the bottom).

I also use Seachem Malawi buffer, Seachem African salts and trace elements. I also use Marc Weiss 'Bacter-Vital' at least 2 times a month to help maintain my biological filtration. I keep my PH at about 8.0 and temp 79-81 F.

I am contemplating getting a Wet/Dry filter to replace my Fluval 204 in an effort to keep my Nitrates down.. Any suggestions on what type / size I should get?

....Or any other tips on keeping my Nitrates between 0-10?

I do water changes about 1-2 times a month (At least 30 percent!) with RO OR treated (Prime) tap water (no nitrates/ammonia in my tap). and my nitrates can go from 10 to 100 within a month!!!!!!!!!!!!



Help!!

Jason
 
You want NITRATES. mine always seem to be around 10 or so..It's the AMMO and NITRITES YOU DON'T WANT...You may need to do more water changes to keep the RATES down ---- below 40 ..:hi:
 
Thanks for the quick reply... and I am aware of a SMALL amount of nitrates being beneficial but mine are getting to 80-100 within a month!!
 
Yep, I just did about a 25 % wc. my RATES went up to 20 or so, now there between 5-10.{ Tested Today } I do wc's every 5 day's or so, not just because of RATES, but to keep the water clean..{ Clean Water-Happy Fish } You just may need to do pwc's more often...:hi:
 
I would be doing 30-50% changes weekly regardless of the nitrates level.

I also wouldn't be using RO water.
 
rbishop said:
I would be doing 30-50% changes weekly regardless of the nitrates level.

I also wouldn't be using RO water.
Click to expand...

Yes,
RATES are not beneficial, it is the by - product of AMMO turning into RITES, RITES turning into RATES, It's just easier for most people to do water changes to get the RATES down....

:hi:
 
Doing 30% water changes twice a month is your problem. I'd do 50% weekly with tap water, unless you have alot of nitrates or something in your tap. Africans are extremely messy....so weekly water changes are a must IMO. I do 50% weekly on my 55g Malawi tank and it keeps the nitrates around 10-15ppm. Make sure you rinse your filter pads (if you have any) monthly in old tank water. Canister filters can contribute to high nitrates if you don't clean the properly.

If you can't keep the nitrates down doing weekly changes, then you might consider adding a second canister filter.
 
..just curious.. when I do a WC with TAP water is there any time I should wait after treating it with PRIME ?? or just a few minutes?

Also, I will do my Water Changes every 5-10 days from now on and does anyone have any feedback on products like Algone packets, Seachem Matrix, Kent Nitrate Sponge???

Jason
 
I just use Prime, straight to the tank, for the volume of the tank, as soon as I start the re-fill.

For me, all those additives, packets are just a gimmick to convince folks they do not need to do water changes.

Nitrate detection is just a simple, user friendly way to detect that pollution has built up in your tank. There are other things that build up but are expensive to test for that can be detrimental, let alone affecting your pH buffering capabilities.
 
What is the IDEAL PH / TEMP / GH / KH for breeding conditions for Malawi Cichlids???

and do you feel it is necessary to test the PH of the water I am adding during a WC after I have used the Prime and added my SeaChem Malawi buffer, but before I add it to the tank???... to ensure that it is as close to the tank as possible?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom