So I have a tank that’s been nothing but issues and I cannot figure out what’s wrong. It’s almost 3 months old, was cycled at 1 month and was seeded from a different tank by using an older filter. It is 29 gallons 62% stocked with 180% filtration of 6 cherry barbs 6 ember tetras and 5 Harlequin Rasboras. It has a a lot of plants, 6 anacharis, 1 Amazon, 1 java fern, 1 Asian water fern, 3 moss balls, 1 bamboo moss stick, 1 bacopa and 1 AR plant. All the plants are doing well and growing fast. I do 30% water change once a week with 1/2 vacuuming. It’s 1/2 gravel and 1/2 sand substrate. The ph is 6.0-6.4 and the temp is 75-76. There’s driftwood and 2 decor items in the tank. I feed every other day small amounts. There’s no dead or dying fish and dead or dying plants however the ammonia spiked to 2 ppm and nitrate to 80 ppm I do have 1ppm ammonia in my tapwater and 5 ppm nitrate which has been difficult to work with. However the tank was cycled at 1 month old. I’m positive of this. So I can’t figure out what is going on. I’m thinking of just rehoming all my fish and completely draining the tank but don’t want to do this unless I have to. The filters are penguin 200 biowheel and pf10 tetra whisper both with ceramic rings and sponges on the intake.
Very difficult tank can't figure it out
- Thread starter Fishandreptilelove
- Start date
Why are you convinced that it was cycled? How did you cycle it?
I'm not asking that to be difficult, but you are saying you know it was cycled, but the tank clearly is not in balance now. So, it's a matter of understanding what's happened.
Additionally, how do you treat for the ammonia? What test kit are you using?
Showing a picture will help as well. You have several types of plant, but with that much ammonia, there can be a LOT of plant mass, because the plants would be taking it up if they could.
Is your pH that low out of the tap? Any other additives in use?
I'm not asking that to be difficult, but you are saying you know it was cycled, but the tank clearly is not in balance now. So, it's a matter of understanding what's happened.
Additionally, how do you treat for the ammonia? What test kit are you using?
Showing a picture will help as well. You have several types of plant, but with that much ammonia, there can be a LOT of plant mass, because the plants would be taking it up if they could.
Is your pH that low out of the tap? Any other additives in use?
No the ph is about 7 out of tap I dropped the ph intentionally with driftwood. It does rise some with water changes but not much I was attempting to do a semi blackwater style tank, however haven’t been able to add enough tannins as I’ve been having this issue. I don’t use any fertilizers. I use the api freshwater test kit and I use prime water conditioner. I don’t use any other additives. I’m convinced the tank was cycled as I had an ammonia spike originally, a nitrite spike, both of which dropped to 0 and an increase of nitrates. Both of which was stable for a week with an ammonia source. And here is a picture for plant coverage example.
Try removing the moss balls, I've seen anecdotal comments that they sometimes cause water parameter issues.
I also asked some questions on your post over at PlantedTank in case you missed them.
I also asked some questions on your post over at PlantedTank in case you missed them.
Are the fish doing well?
With ammonia out of the tap, I suspect you may still be getting a reading even though it was treated with Prime.
With ammonia out of the tap, I suspect you may still be getting a reading even though it was treated with Prime.
Grasshopper, the wisdom you seek is here https://www.seachem.com/prime.php
When you arrive at the above site, scroll down and click on FAQ.
Then click on and read
"I am using Prime® to control ammonia but my test kit says it is not doing anything, in fact it looks like it added ammonia! What is going on?"
and
"I tested my tap water after using Prime® and came up with an ammonia reading. Is this because of chloramine? Could you explain how this works in removing chloramine?"
Confucius say: "Many man smoke but few man chew." ( You may moan and/or groan.)
When you arrive at the above site, scroll down and click on FAQ.
Then click on and read
"I am using Prime® to control ammonia but my test kit says it is not doing anything, in fact it looks like it added ammonia! What is going on?"
and
"I tested my tap water after using Prime® and came up with an ammonia reading. Is this because of chloramine? Could you explain how this works in removing chloramine?"
Confucius say: "Many man smoke but few man chew." ( You may moan and/or groan.)
