Ok, i just did a 25% water change in my 55 gallon tank since i noticed my ammonia levels were going up again. I had it at 0 for one day and it started to rise over 0.5. I put in ammo-lock once i was finished so hopefully that will help reduce my levels. I have my two filters running, a power whisper 60 and 30, now do i need my bubbler in there or no? My cory catfish and others like to play in the bubbles and when they get caught in the stream the skyrocket to the top of the tank and do it again, its actually funny, but im afraid they might hurt themselves, any idea? Also when i drained the water into a big cooler i have, the water had a slight green tint to me, my tank is still cycling since it is about 3 1/2 weeks old, and it is still a bit hazy, could this be algae or just the haziness of the water and if so can i add an algae clear solution or could i hurt the tank if i do not have algae. Thanks
Need some help!
- Thread starter Hagermanfd
- Start date
oh also, when i wiped down the inside of the tank while i had the water low, on the towel i was using there was a green film on the rag when i was done. it was really only in the corners and on the top edge of the tank. hope this helps a little more
What are your exact ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?
Since you are doing a fishey cycle, be prepared to do lots of water changes.
You may be running your lights too long and have excess nutrients in the water. Any phosphates in your tap water?
Since you are doing a fishey cycle, be prepared to do lots of water changes.
You may be running your lights too long and have excess nutrients in the water. Any phosphates in your tap water?
ammonia before water change was 0.5, NO 2 is 0, No 3 is 20, ph 7.0, hardness 120, i usually run the lights for 10-12 hours, prob. to long right?
your tank is still in the "cycling" process.
note that 'ammo-lock' does not eliminate ammonia .. it simply converts it from toxic NH3 to non-toxic NH4. certain test kit types register both ionic species and may give you erroneous readings. generally though, it's always best to get rid of ammonia the 'old fashioned way' ... completely cycle your filter.
for the most part, your filter should function to both filter the water and create a circulation which turns the water over from top to bottom. if it does not do this adequately, a bubbler can help. otherwise, a bubbler is strictly for aesthetics. if you like the look, it does not harm. if you don't like the look, remove it.
you CAN add an algae clear solution ... but should you? NO. it's only putting a bandaid on the problem, not solving it. too much nutrient and too much light equals algae.
this is typical of most 'new' tanks. ignore it and it should clear up on its own in a month.
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If your worried about yoru cories hurting themselves on the bubler stream, i wouldnt, they are as harmless as if we were to jump in a pool and go swimming. If they do manage to hurt themselves, they will learn from what happened. Corys are preaty smart fish.
Just remember that using Ammo-Lock 2 (not sure about 1) will make your water parameters test positive for ammonia after use.
i just did a test on the water again, i am using the liquid tests by api, and it did show up positive, the solution was a greenish color more towards 1.0. I belive that is normal after adding the ammo-lock right?