What Happened to my Tank Chemistry

J

JohnGivens

AC Members
Dec 20, 2004
37
0
0
Washington
Hi Everyone,

I can't believe that I am asking another question again so soon. I did a 33% water change on my 29 gallon freshwater tank yesterday and this morning instead of the beutiful clear water I expected I found the water cloudy. I ran my Freshwater Master testkit and came up with the following results.
Tank pH = 7.0 (Tap H2O 7.2) Ammonia= 0.25 Nitrite = 0.25 Nitrate = 80

I also did a filter change yesterday and just threw the old one away without a rinse as it was falling apart. I placed a new filter. My setup consists of:
29 gallon All-Glass Aquarium
Penguin Biowheel 170 power filter
Rena 100 watt heater
Maxima Airpump with 1 long bubblestone 1 clam-like aeration device
3 Plastic Plants

Fish Community:

(3) 5 inch Silver Dollars (Soon to be moved to 37 Gallon Tank)
(4) Tiger Barbs (4) Rosy Barbs (1) 5 inch African Knifefish (Moving with above)
(1) 6 inch Pl*eco (moving soon) and (1) 3.5 inch Pl*eco and (4) Redtail Sharks.

Am I going to end up recycling this tank again or will a couple of 20% water changes take care of this problem ? I started a new 37 gallon tank yesterday and if the 29 gallon is going to go through another 4 to 6 week period of recycling I have nothing to lose by moving the Silver Dollars and Pl*co to the new tank today. If only I had rinsed the old filter ! Almost forgot to mention. The Tank has been up and running nicely for 3 months.

Any and all Responses and Suggestions are appreciated

JohnG
 
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From what your are saying and what I've read (have similar problem cloudy wise, not sure of cause, but still looking), you might have a bacteria bloom causeing this.........What you should do is let it run for a few days to see if it clears, but really watch the chem levels for safety.................
 
Tossing the filter media is likely the problem--that's where most of the beneficial bacteria live, and now the remaining colonies are too small to process the waste. The ammonia is using up the buffer, which is why the pH dropped a bit.

Most likely unrelated to the cloudiness--the beneficial bacteria are not freee-floaters. The free floaters are taking advantage of the imbalance in nutrients, but should go away in a few days as their food source is depleted.

In the meantime, I'd keep testing and doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia spike from getting out of hand while the bacteria colonies recover. For future use, don't completely discard the filter media--remove it in section as you put in the new to avoid causing a repeat.
 
Hi OrionGirl,

Thanks for the advice which brings up an additional question. The Penguin 170 biowheel powerfilter that I am running has a one piece filter setup. That is that when you replace the media there is no way of just changing the Carbon and keeping the bag. It is all one piece, plastic, filter, and carbon. What can I do when filter changes become a must to avoid further pain in the future ? I moved my 3 Silver Dollars and Pl*co to my new 37 gallon setup this morning with the 29 gallon water change to cut down on biological waste products since I feel the 29 gallon was overstocked anyway and figured that the fish were going to be stressed no matter what I did. Was this the right move to make ? I guess I'm stuck with it but I read that the Silver Dollars are pretty hearty fish. Also I wanted to thank acefred for his reply. It probably isn't all related to the filter change (cloudiness) but like everyone else in this forum I care about keeping my fish happy and healthy and a cloudy tank drives me insane! JohnG
 
For your 29 gallon tank I would buy some filter sponges from the fish store and put those in the filter, getting rid of the old catridge. The sponge is a great home for the bacteria and the carbon is a waste of money unless you have a real need to remove something like medications from your water. The sponge will last a lot longer, mine have been in my filter for over 2 years now.

As for the new tank I would say that moving the other fish over will probably help the old tank a lot. Just keep testing the water and when the ammonia gets to be 1ppm or so do a water change. Daily would be best and when things stabilzie you can slow down the water changes. You will probably be doing a lot of water change int he next few weeks but it will keep your fish healthy.

Also you said 4 red tailed sharks? When young that is fine but they becoem very aggressive to each other when they age and will attack each other. You really should only have 1 per tank. I would move 1 to the new tank and try to find another home for 2 more.
 
You can just not replace it with anything--since you have the bio-wheel. The bio-wheel will provide more than enough room for the bacteria, and the charcoal aspect isn't needed. When left in for too long, the charcoal fills up (adsorbs as much as it can, then quits working) and becomes host to more bacteria. Removing those bacteria is what caused the problem. If you don't replace it at all, the bacteria colonies withing the bio-wheel will increase. Then, you can use charcoal on an 'as-needed- basis to remove medications, tannins etc--works just fine. Costs less too. Or, you can get a sponge to fit the compartment and use it instead--they last much longer and also act as mechanical filtration to remove solids.

Fewer fish in more water is always a good thing. :)

If the cloudiness doesn't clear up in a week, then start looking for other options. IMO, a lot of problems are actually caused by a lack of patience and an overwillingness to dose tanks with medications or chemicals. Many of these things have a valid use in the hobby, but almost all come with side effects--some of which are much worse than the problem being treated! So, I know cloudy water sucks, but it's unlikley to be harmful to the fish, so let it ride and see if it clears up on it's own.
 
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