help ..high NO2

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ninoslavp

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Dec 15, 2003
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HI ..Finally I have found a place where I can find good things...

I have question.... I have small,sweet water AQ 25 l .. I have it not for a long time ..3 weeks or something...

I have a 8 fishes ...2 paradise fishes , 2 goldmollys , 2 catfish and 2 algae "catfish" ( not sure for a english or latin name ) .. 2 plants ( anubias and microsorum pteropus-javafarn ) and rocky/ gravel "soil" .
Some days ago I have bought small wood for AQ , have boiled several times for an hour , wash it with tap water etc and place it in AQ ..I have notice that my water has slowly become yellow ..

First question is : how should I treat this piece of wood so it stops coloring water ...

Second question and more important ..

Once in a week I am checking water values ... till last week all values were fine ( according to the aqua test ) but last few days I have noticed changes ...NO2 has increased. ( I have removed wood out of water and sinked it in a pot with water and today I have measered value of that water and all values were "normal " , NO2 was less then 1 ) ..here are the values in AQ :


temp- 25 C ph- 7,6 kH- 10 GH- 14 NO2- 5 NO3- 40 !

I have changed twice in last few days 1/3 of water but NO2 has not changed ..
What should I do ? How often should I change water ?

I have internal filter with air pump and filter is working just fine

Thank too all of you for your time and advices .

Greetings
NINO
 
First off, what size tank do you have?

Next, I would change the water when ever you get even a small reading of NO2 . It should not occur in an established aquarium (or at least in a readable amount), but it sounds like you just set up your aquarium and it's cycling. Next, do you have an ammonia (NH3 ) test kit? I'd almost bet you have some ammonia in your tank, which is also posionous to fish. I would buy one or take your water to your fish store to have it tested.

While your tank is cycling, you should probably change 20% of the water out daily and add new, dechlorinated water in. This will help your fish out by taking out some of the ammonia and nitrite and diluting the rest. Also, I would add about 1 tablespoon per 10g of table salt (NaCl), preferably iodine free, to your tank.

After your tank is cycled, you should start changing 20-30% of the water each week, or, at the very least, every other week.

Your driftwood is releasing tanins to the water, which isn't harmful but is not a desireable color for some people. Activated carbon can help get rid of the brownish tint caused by the tanins. Replace the carbon every couple of weeks for best results.

hth
 
Hi..First of all thanks for re..

Size of the tank is 25 l ..this would be only 7gallons or something.

I have changed 50% of the water and I have added half of the spoon salt and also 1,2 ml biogrün ( german liquid - since I am in Vienna ) - some kind of conditioner ( not to go in details now ) .
Also I have bought active carbon and add it in to a filter . I have less air now going out of fileter but that should be noraml since except sponge their is now bag with carbon.
I donz have ammonia test kit but I will try to get it ..

I have measured water and here are readings ..
ph 7,6
kh 12
GH 9
NO2 app 1,5 or less
NO3 40

I have start to feed fishes a bit less then usual ( my girlfriend find very interesting to feed fishes as often is possible)



it seems there are no changes I can bet that tomorrow NO2 will be again high ...

Should I leave filter working over the night ( every night ) ?

I have to go very soon on a road for 10-12 days and I have none to take care for AQ ...

Shall I leave filter working all this time ( it sound strange ?)



What suprise me is that beside that all values are bit higher especialy NO2 all my fishes are "happy" there are no visible changes or strange behavior till now ...

I have noticed only that male - Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis ) has got some changes...His colors are stronger , very visible and on edges of fins his having bright deep changing colors whenever he going in different areas of AQ with different brightness ...is this some sign of diseasse or it is normal...

Thanks again..
Greetings
Nino
 
Leave the filter on all the time. The filter is where the toxins int he water are addressed; turning the filter off a) leaves those toxins in the water b) creates even more toxins, as the beneficial bacteria in the filter die off.

Explain to your girlfriend that more fish are killed by overfeeding than pretty much anything else. Adult fish do not need to be fed every day, and a single feeding will suffice for most. Small amounts--less then the size of the fishes eye--is needed for happy fish.

For a tank that size, you have way, way too many fish. The paradise fish are very territorial, and the color changes are part of that. A male will kill other fish, including another paradise fish. I would return one paradise, the mollies, the algae eaters, and possibly the catfish, depending on what they are. Cories would be okay, but most other kinds will get too large for the tank.
 
OG thanks for advices...

but is it safe to leave filter 12 days working ( flat will be empty at that time ) ?

I will try to get bigger AQ 25-30 gallons...and then to set it up as it should be ...

I hpe I am not boring with all this questions but I would realy like to provide fishes with good enviroment and offcourse to have nice AQ ..

Since I have add active carbon to filter I have almost no aeration ..shall I get a pump with small air stone and add it to AQ or plants and water from filter are enough?

P,S, I think I have found answer to this ..surface "moving" provide oxygen in a tank .. But I have allmost no movements on surface ...and as I understood air pump doesn not provide oxygen in a tank but only movements of surface etc ...

I guess then only for cosmetical reasons I could add some air stone or something....

Thx.
Greetings
NINO
 
Last edited:
The only time my filters are turned off is for maintenance and power outages. Filters are designed to run 24/7/365. Turning it off for 12 days will likely kill your fish.
 
Thx ..

Last night was a first time to leave filter working and I have changes...

ph 7,4
kh 12
GH 9
NO2 1
NO3 20-30

Also since I have add active carbon water is clear .
Should I add some ammounf of salt in some regular basis ?

Something else..
I have no problems with algae at all but I would like to prevent it so :

Are there some rules (I am a newbie - sorry ) how long should light be on and how strong should be .. where should be directed ?

I have at the moment neon light ..two small 15 watt "bulbs" .. ( I was looking in the forum for this but I was not able to find exact answer or info ...

Thx ..
 
Last edited:
Salt is not needed for freshwater fish. It can be used as a medication, but I am not in favor of maintaining 'theraputic' levels--there is no benefit, IMM, and since it increases the TDS, several problems with regular additions of salt. For now, adding salt will help prevent damage to the fish from the nitrites. Once the tank completes cycling, I would not add any salt during your regular water changes.

For light, if you do not have plants, only run the lights when you will be there to view the fish. Normal ambient light if fine for the fish, so the light really is for your benefit, not theirs. If you have plants, some plants have high light requirements, othres will be fine with 1-2 watts per gallon, in the 6500K range. I encourage using timers to turn lights on and off--much easier than trying to remember.
 
Happy New Year ..

I just got back from a 15-days long travel and wanna inform you about tank situation..

I was very suprised last night when I have arrived and measured water values that all values were as they should be .

There are some algae but I have planed today to clean tank and chnage water...

Maybe I will later see some "troubles" but at the moment everything is just fine ...

ups...one question ...I have heard that active carbon can be used again, if ,after first use, it is "baked " in the Oven shortly ...is
this true ?


Greetings
NINO
 
Baking carbon will remove any accumulated biological matter that is on the surface (ie, gunk), but it will not re-activate the carbon. The temp required to re-activate carbon is well out of reach of house hold appliances. Replacing the carbon is the safer way to go if yu feel obliged to use it. It is not necessary for a tank's health, though. I use carbon only following a completed medication treatment, or to remove tannins.
 
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