Substrate replaced and tank rebuilt

The little Plecos are not happy with change. I'm sorry for your loss.
Change your filter material.
You have a light fish load correct? If so, with your plant mass, I don't think changing all of it at the same time will cause too much of a problem with your nutrification system, but if you feel better about it, change one item at a time.
Perform your water changes and check for P content. It should drop and stay down, unless you've got gremlins running around at night, throwing stuff in the tank.
Once you get reasonable readings, you can try the bog wood again and see if it comes back up. It would be a shame to have to lose that piece. Nice wood.

Len
 
deocder said:
I am using a Hagen Brand Phosphate Test kit.

P from Tap - 1.5 ppm
P from 10 gallon - 2.0 ppm
P from 55 gallon - 3.5 ppm (tank in question)
Click to expand...

Some of us have had issues with the Hagen test in the past. If you've got the cash, pick up a LaMotte test; if not, get the Seachem. Just a suggestion, you might get a totally different reading from NOT-Hagen.
 
Very interesting info in this thread but sorry I'm can't be of much help.

How thick of a substrate did you have from that? I am going with a Schultz and Flourite mix too.

Best of luck battling the ich. Are clown loaches a fairly hardy species to it?
 
Captain Hook,

The depth of substarte is a lot more than I am used to. From the 75 lbs total that I put in, sloping from front to back, I have about 3 inches in the front and 7 inches in the back.

I will say that Clown Loaches are not hardy to Ich since one of mine died today. That guy was 8 years old! Huge! I've never had a problem like this with Ich. It is very discouraging. In the past, believe it or not, I have seen the salt like spots on some fish and never did anything about it. For some reason it went away on its own. No problems at all. Maybe it wasn't Ich. I dont know.

Yesterday I did a 50% water change. I added salt to return to the current dosing levels. A few hours later I tested the water:

pH - 6.6
Temp - 86 degrees
4 dKH
13 dGH
Ammonia - 0.5 mg/L
Nitrate - 2.0 mg/L
Phosphate - 2.5 mg/L


Yesterday I replaced most of my filter media. I left a bit in there to kick off recolonization. This afternoon I found my Clown Loach dead :sad . Not cool! My water parameters as of today, 24 hours after water change:

pH - 6.8
Temp 86 degrees
2 dKH
13 dGH
Ammonia - 0.5 mg/L
Nitrate - 1.0 mg/L
Nitrate 10 mg/L
Phosphate - 2.5 mg/L

I'm glad to see the pH coming up a bit and the Phosphates have not changed but a few more days are need to make any conclusions. I believe the drop in KH is most likely from the peat.

I am going to pick up another Phosphate test kit today for two reasons. I am getting low on my current kit and Aquarium Pharmaceuticles has a kit that reads from 0 to 10 mg/L and only has two reagents instead of three. I will compare the two test kits as well to see if the first one was off at all.

djlen, you asked about my fish load:

1 Tire Track Eel - 1 foot long
1 Large Clown Loach - 6 inches long
1 Rope fish - 1 foot long
2 Flying foxes - 1.5 inches long
4 Otto's - 1.5 inches long
1 SAE - 2 inches long
2 Blind Cave fish - 2 inches long

Crap! Do I have too many fish? I never thought I did but this list has me wondering.

How much Baking Soda should I add to adjust my KH?
 
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I'm sorry to hear about the Loach. I've never kept them, but he may have died from a combination of stress and old age. The Ich is also possibly the result of stress bringing on a weakening of their auto-immune systems.
All the moving around and different water conditions contribute to stress, even though the water condition is improved.
The P results are encouraging and should drop further.
I know zilch about Tire Track Eels, but I would think that a fish that large would make a difference in P level to some degree. Is he messy?
Add one tsp. of baking soda, and test for content.

Len
 
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It's funny, I've never seen the eel's waste at all. I remember my old plec used to create tons of waste. So I dont feel that the eel is messy.

I added 1 teaspoon of baking soda and after three hours, the pH is 7.0 and KH is 3. If I add more baking soda, will the pH continue to rise? Should I leave it where it is? Tomorrow I will have to do a water change since ammonia and nitrite are present.

I bought another phosphate test kit today and the results as of 5 hours after the last P test (2.5 mg/L) show it at 3.0 mg/L now. Tomorrow I will use both test kits at the same time to check their accuracy.
 
IMO, there are no test kits that will give you readings that are 100% accurate, at the hobbyist level. I have learned to use them as a reference tool(did it rise, did it fall). And there is generally a lot of variance between brands.
If you get comfortable with one or another, just try to be consistent with the tests and watch for change. It's always a good idea, when one is running out to get a new one and compare old and new to get some assurance of continuity.
I would dose the 1tsp. at each water change and if you feel the need to push it further, add increments of 1/2 tsp. at a time, to your desired level.
If you can't pour it into a filter, mix it well in a glass of water, and pour it in as the tank re-fills. 3.5°kH should be your target, IMO.
I didn't know you had a 12" fish in the tank. That's a large animal for a 55 gal. community tank. He could be part of the problem, and require bi-weekly water changes to maintain levels that you want. Particularly until your nutrifying bacteria colony gets well established.
What is your CO2ppm at this time?

Len
 
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Ok, it seems that the tank is moving along with its cycle. The last few days there has been ammonia present (0.5 mg/l), low nitrites (1.0 mg/l), and low nitrates (10 mg/L). Today there is no ammonia (0 mg/L), high nitrites (2.0 mg/L), and high Nitrates (20 mg/L). So I did a water change and will check the water later tonight.

I made another change with the inhabitants. Not only did I have a 1 foot long eel but also a 1 foot long rope fish. Both were getting too big for the tank. They also only ate live rosy reds and any amano shrimp I added. Also I had 2 blind cave fish that were eating the plants. So I took them to my favorite LFS who I trust. I dont know if this will lessen the amount of phosphates but will allow me to put smaller fish that I have always wanted. Of course I will not add any fish until the tank is stable.
 
You didn't 'splain' the parts about the huge fish before. :eek: Or if you did, I missed it entirely(which is not unusual).
I think you made the right decision, and I think you'll much more easily obtain the values you're looking for without them.
Keep up the water changes to lessen stress through the 'cycle' period.

Len
 
Just an update.

pH - 7.2
Temp - 84 degrees
Ammonia - 0 mg/L
Nitrite - 2.0 mg/L
Nitrate - 20 mg/L
4 dKH
11 dGH
Phosphate 3.0 mg/L

I'm bringing the whole tank off the Ich treatment hence the lower temp. The Salt concentration has been diluted by 50% as the result of a fresh water change.

I added 2 bunches of Cobamba to fill the space where the bogwood was and to suck up more nutrients. I really like the way this stuff looks in my tank!

The phosphate issue is definitely still a mystery.
 
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