Trace elements and cycle bacteria

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

dragonfish

AC Members
Jan 30, 2003
56
0
0
40
Bellflower, CA
www.devotek.com
I wanted to know if I have to remove the carbon from my filter before adding this product called Cichlid-Gro which contains trace elements and promotes colors and vitality and Cycle, which is supposed to rapidly mature my biological filtration by introducing live bacteria into the aquarium. I recently treated my tank for ick, and am in the proccess of removing it from the water thru carbon filteration. Will the carbon remove the trace elements and the cycle bacteria from the water? Or can i leave it in there while i add these products? Any help would be greatly appreciated! By the way I have a 60 gal. with 4 african cichlids, 1 salvini, 1 red empress, and 1 convict. They seem to be all doing fine, but I just wanted to be on the safe side, cause i don't want to lose any fish. I just recently tested the water and the nitrite is pretty high, about .03 ppm, total amonia was 2.4 %, pH about 7.6 I figured the nitrite went up because all the nitrifying bacteria was killed off by the ick medication.
 

morleyz

This space for rent
Sep 26, 2002
375
0
0
Illinois
www.allaquatic.com
OK...Stop the presses!!!

1. Change your water...maybe 50%...you need to get the ammonia and nitrite down or it won't matter what you do as all the fish will be floating.

2. Carbon is only good for possibly up to a week. If your carbon has been in there longer than that...it's not doing any good at removing the meds...so if you didn't put fresh carbon in to remove the meds...you'll have to do it now. It will not remove your bacteria from the water.

3. IMO, Cycle isn't going to help your bio-filter...the only thing that will help is to add filter media/gravel/etc. from an established, cycled tank. For lack of a better description...it's garbage, don't waste your money.

4. Don't add the trace elements at this point either (unless of course you're using RO/DI water). The last thing you want to do is tinker with the chemistry at this point.

5. African and South American cichlids do NOT mix. Your africans likely require very hard water with a high pH. Your S.A.'s require soft/slightly acidic water. In the long run there is no way to satisfy the needs of all those fish. It's time to choose and get rid of a continent.

Summary: Do a water change. Keep doing water changes every couple of days until your tank has cycled. If you haven't done so already, remove all the meds so your bio-filter can establish itself again. Don't add anything but water to your tank. Address your incompatible species ASAP.
 
Last edited:

Sumpin'fishy

Humble Disciple of Jesus Christ
Oct 16, 2002
673
0
0
48
Savannah, GA
Morley's got the idea. I'd forget using that product altogether right now and worry about getting cycled. That product is NOT going to benefit your cycle in the least bit, I'd bet. Don't waste your cash. Don't change much of anything until you are fully cycled, except water of coarse;)
 

wetmanNY

AC Members
Cichlid-Gro is said to be "made with actual African lake salts that are rich in magnesium, potassium, and essential trace elements" If you were keeping Lake Malawi cichlids, wouldn't you do better with a Lake Malawi salt mix? A rival product claims that it "replaces trace minerals used by cichlids and removed through filtration." (!!)

Rift Lake cichlids are so tough and flexible on the whole that many Lake Malawi cichlids survive in brackish water, even though their keepers mistake "salts" for common "salt." The dissolved minerals in Lake Malawi actually include very low levels of NaCl.

Mixed mosh pits of large territorial cichlids are a phase many young men pass through on their way to maturity. Don't let any of the aficionados convince you that inter-specific aggression is "natural."
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store