You said your tank is 3 months? Did you recently do a filter media maintenance? Either replacement or washed it out? If so, did you use old tank water to rinse with or tap? When you refil the tank, is there a lot of "stuff" kicked up (floaties)?
Regardless, you need to perform WCs necessary to maintain safe levels of ammonia/nitrIte concentrations. For example, if you nitrItes are at 2ppm, you will need to do 2-3 50-60% WCs to get this down... Do one (1) WC and wait 3-4 hours before doing the next.
Personally, the weekly 20% PWCs you are doing (i assume you gravel vac each time?) is a minimum. A few things that could casue this:
- If you don't gravel vac each time this would certainly build up the refuge in the substrate and the water changes probably kick up a lot of "stuff", which in turn will rapidly plug your media up! (Keep up on those vacs - I do ~40-50% vac each week)
- Your media will need to be serviced every 4 weeks. If this has not been done, I would suspect this.
- When you feed, does the food settle to the gravel? If so, do you vac this out before the end of the day? Excess food can cause these spikes as well, if in excess
Personally, I get this settled with WCs (Bravo BTW on testing weekly!
) But I would just increase your weekly routine WCs to around 40% with gravel vacs each time. I suspect this, overtime was the casue.
Regardless, you need to perform WCs necessary to maintain safe levels of ammonia/nitrIte concentrations. For example, if you nitrItes are at 2ppm, you will need to do 2-3 50-60% WCs to get this down... Do one (1) WC and wait 3-4 hours before doing the next.
Personally, the weekly 20% PWCs you are doing (i assume you gravel vac each time?) is a minimum. A few things that could casue this:
- If you don't gravel vac each time this would certainly build up the refuge in the substrate and the water changes probably kick up a lot of "stuff", which in turn will rapidly plug your media up! (Keep up on those vacs - I do ~40-50% vac each week)
- Your media will need to be serviced every 4 weeks. If this has not been done, I would suspect this.
- When you feed, does the food settle to the gravel? If so, do you vac this out before the end of the day? Excess food can cause these spikes as well, if in excess
Personally, I get this settled with WCs (Bravo BTW on testing weekly!
) But I would just increase your weekly routine WCs to around 40% with gravel vacs each time. I suspect this, overtime was the casue.