How often to change Filter Media?
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can i be perfectly honest here?? i am sure the nitrates may be high from that number of fish.... but do the fish look ok??? is the tank cloudy??? doesn't seem so to me. nitrates, although less is better, don't really affect fw fish as much as sw. normally only see a problem when adding new fish. (shock of changed parameters)
but to answer your question, i dont know that there is a specific timeframe to change the bio media. and changing it all at once probably didn't hurt a thing. there is enough bacteria in the gravel, on the plants/deco/glass and everything else in the tank to keep it stable and re seed your bio rings. just my 2cents
but to answer your question, i dont know that there is a specific timeframe to change the bio media. and changing it all at once probably didn't hurt a thing. there is enough bacteria in the gravel, on the plants/deco/glass and everything else in the tank to keep it stable and re seed your bio rings. just my 2cents
sounds good....so far everything is wonderful!! all the fish are normal..even seeing some of the ones I don't normally see..when I feed them....
This, combined with a heavy fish-load, has probably caused a mini-cycle. In the future, rinse your filter media in tank water when needed. When you go to replace it, make sure you either: A. have enough bio-material to handle the load while bacteria colonizes the new media, or B. change half of the media at a time.
I'd agree with others that your stocklist will cause you problems down the road. For starters, you are using shell in the tank decor, which will cause your water to harden, making it inappropriate for many South American fish. Also, the mix of African Mbunas with New World cichlids and even other Africans such as Haplochromines and Peacocks isn't a good idea, because their dietery needs are different. Not to mention that the New World cichlids will be no match for breeding Mbuna, especially the Blood Parrots. It will be impossible to get the non-Mbuna enough protein without giving the Mbuna enough to cause Bloat. You're going to be very overstocked in the near future, with some very aggressive fish.
A 54 gallon would be good for: a pair of Blood Parrots, Nicaragua Cichlids (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis ), or Jack Dempseys ( these last 2 are debateable, perhaps too small yet ). You could easily do Africans in this tank size, and since you've already got more of them than New World fish, you should consider rehoming a few fish. Problems like the one you're experiencing now will be far less likely with the proper stock.
Thanks for your input. I know I am overstocked, but in the past, I have had more than 30 fish in my tank. Call me lucky or what ever, but my water has always been very clear. I have never had Amonia in my tank, and I only did an almost 100% water change, leaving only enough water in the bottom of the tank to to just cover my gravel about an inch. I never lost any fish from this. I just recently added about 10 new fish to my tank a few weeks ago. Yeah, maybe some of them won't and don't mix, but I'll take my chances..
I only posted this post, cause when I cleaned my filter, I found a lot of brown gunk all over my filter and media. Too much to try to clean, so I just got rid of them and was wondering how often you were supposed to get rid of them and put in new bio rings..
In doing so, I now have a crystal clear tank again. Ok, maybe in a few weeks it might turn, but Before I cleaned my water, I put my filter back together and took tank water and put it in filter. I ran filter for a while then I drained 1/2 of my tank and replaced it. Till now, I have no issues or problems. My Ph is perfect, 7.0-8.0 range, and the amonia level is 0.
I only posted this post, cause when I cleaned my filter, I found a lot of brown gunk all over my filter and media. Too much to try to clean, so I just got rid of them and was wondering how often you were supposed to get rid of them and put in new bio rings..
In doing so, I now have a crystal clear tank again. Ok, maybe in a few weeks it might turn, but Before I cleaned my water, I put my filter back together and took tank water and put it in filter. I ran filter for a while then I drained 1/2 of my tank and replaced it. Till now, I have no issues or problems. My Ph is perfect, 7.0-8.0 range, and the amonia level is 0.
It's really not a matter of survival. Sure, you could stick 10 cats and 10 dogs in a closet and chances are, they'll survive so long as they're fed, but does that make it okay?
i am sure, although apparently frowned on by some of the more precise fish keepers, u will have no problem. nice tank btw, i like to see a lot of fish. and if they work for u, go with it. i dont think there is an exact time frame for changing bio media.
