Regulating pH

Ok the black & white stone thingys will have been in there about a month. They replaced the other spongey type things that they used to make for the particular model of tank. I actually gave it a clean last night while doing a water change, just rinsed all the brown stuff off it under water. Should I not have done that??
 
Ok I checked out your tank, but couldn't really tell how the filter works. the white chips are probably "ammo chips". I think. If you have been replacing these and adding ammo lock for the life of the tank, then I think it's possible you've been starving your bacteria colonies and keeping them from taking over nitrogen removal/conversion. Here's what I would suggest.

Start using a water conditioner on your water to remove any heavy metals.

If possible intercept the water before it goes into your underground storage tank. (does the water run off of a tin or copper roof?)

Remove the white and black chips and do several water changes to remove any trace of the ammo lock.

Only rinse the sponge in old tank water. If your tap has no additives then that sould be ok, but use old tank water to be safe

Here's the bad news, High ammonia and no nitrite probably means no bacteria colonies (not cycled). I think the nitrates you're seeing might be in the water before you put it in the tank (test and see). That's not a problem though, since nitrates in themselves aren't very harmfull. They are used more as an indicator to tell how often you should be doing water changes.

Do water changes several times a week to keep ammonia levels down. You should see ammonia levels start to fall in a few weeks. This will be followed by high nitrite levels untill those bacteria get established. (another 2 weeks).
Feed the fish as little as your guilt will allow. A 3-4 times a week would not be to little (sounds extreme, but the fish will be fine)

The good news is that the your storage tank is cycled, so you will be adding good bacterial colonizers when you do your water changes.

We'll get this figured out
Don't give up
 
Thanks Mooman I believe the roof that the water runs off is tin. Will check that out though.
Here's what I've been doing:
Water changes of about 30-40% daily, small once a day feedings. Been testing the water regularly
Tested water out of the tap before it went into the tank - nil nitrates and ammonia, pH of around 6.6-6.8

I ran out of stress zyme the other day so went to the pet store and he had none, so he gave me "Waste Control" he said it was better than stress zyme and helps establish the bacteria for the filter??

Are there tests I can do for the heavy metals??

Don't worry, I'm not giving up!
 
There are test kits for heavy metals like lead and copper, just do a search online for heavy metal water test kit. Or you can treat your water with conditioners like NovaQua or Prime.

I've never used StressZyme and I doubt "Waste Control" is necessary. I highly doubt it promotes bacteria growth. Treat your water for heavy metals (if you have any) and keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels down and you won't need it either.
 
Ok, tested water last night, nitrate and ammonia levels were lower! Still not 0 but not too far away. I must be doing something right.. right??

Mooman, you said that the levels would drop within a few weeks, but they've dropped significantly within a few days, is this ok?
Fishies all seem happy and active.
 
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As long as your levels keep dropping, it's great. The only puzzle with your tank is why you were getting the ammonia and die offs on a tank that was over 1 year old. :huh: Just keep up with regular water changes, stop using that snake oil (ammo lock, ammo chips...), and only gently rinse your filter media in old tank water and you should be fine. Glad things are looking up. Keep us posted.
 
mooman said:
The only puzzle with your tank is why you were getting the ammonia and die offs on a tank that was over 1 year old. :huh: /QUOTE]

I have to agree with mooman why is a tank that is one year old doing this. My advise is that you find this out before adding any more fish, have you done anything different lately with the tank? It is probabley written somewhere , but what filter are you using?
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ashdavid said:
mooman said:
The only puzzle with your tank is why you were getting the ammonia and die offs on a tank that was over 1 year old. :huh: /QUOTE]

I have to agree with mooman why is a tank that is one year old doing this. My advise is that you find this out before adding any more fish, have you done anything different lately with the tank? It is probabley written somewhere , but what filter are you using?
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Yes I have done stuff different lately. I'm learning about how to care for fish properly. Before I joined AC, I wasn't educated on the best way to care for the tank and its fish. Was probably overfeeding, and not changing the water enough. Only ever tested for pH. I was following instructions from the petstore to add a huge concoction of chemical and additives when I did change the water.
The tank was a christmas present from my fiance. Didn't really have a clue that there was so much to looking after a tank. We filled it up with water, put in all the chemicals that came in the package and turned it on. A few days later we bought the fish and chucked them in. We still have one surviving member of the first lot of fish we bought, so he's been through all the crap and amazingly survived.

So anyway, I tested the water again last night, ammonia still dropping (between 0.25 & 0.50) but nitrates seem to have stalled at about between 10 & 20. Any ideas on whats happening there? I did another water change after that.
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If that is the case then I suggest to you, once you have the ammonia and nitrites down that all you add from then on in is fresh clean declorinated water. Water changes should be performed weekly, along with cleaning any of the debris left by fish wastes. If you can store water for a few days in a bucket and your water supply uses chlorine you can just let it sit for a few days and the chlorine will dissipate naturaly.(If it uses chloramins then I suggest you treat your water with something first) If I were you I would, if at all possible not use chemicals in your tank. Make sure the filter is up to the task and you should be fine. Goodluck ;)
 
Ok so have gone two days without a water change (been busy) tested the water tonight. Ammonia 0ppm!! Nitrate about 10ppm. That one doesn't seem to be shifting. I did a 20% water change, should I keep up the 20% daily change and test daily or should it be more percentage? Any ideas on why this is happening??
 
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