Any chlorine/chloramine in the water possibly killed any bacteria left in the media.
The only way to know would be to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Water is turning yellow-green
- Thread starter Maaso
- Start date
Any chlorine/chloramine in the water possibly killed any bacteria left in the media.
The only way to know would be to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Always rinse the filter in tank water that you have saved from a water change, and it's best not to change a large amount of water at the same time as you rinse the filter. Maybe just change a gallon when you rinse the filter and after a few days change the large amount.
Also, with that bio load you will want to change 40% each week. A month is definately too long. A 10 gallon with half your load would need more changes than that.
Also, with that bio load you will want to change 40% each week. A month is definately too long. A 10 gallon with half your load would need more changes than that.
All right, so now that I know I did this by doing a few things I shouldn't have done. I got a couple more questions...
My pleco; when I bought him I also bought some of those little algae wafers things for him to nibble on. Is it possible those wafers jumpstarted the outbreak? Or can cause it to get worse?
And are those wafers bad? I heard some contradicting information before, and after I bought them from a few different people. One told me they were good because plecos can starve easily and it's always a plus to offer them a variety of food....and another person told me they were bad because the plecos will eat the wafers and be reluctant to actually eat real algae throughout the tank.
My pleco; when I bought him I also bought some of those little algae wafers things for him to nibble on. Is it possible those wafers jumpstarted the outbreak? Or can cause it to get worse?
And are those wafers bad? I heard some contradicting information before, and after I bought them from a few different people. One told me they were good because plecos can starve easily and it's always a plus to offer them a variety of food....and another person told me they were bad because the plecos will eat the wafers and be reluctant to actually eat real algae throughout the tank.
sometimes actual water color can be hard to detect. place some water in a clean white coffee cup to tell if it is yellow or green or white.
Are you using any peat in your filtration, or have any driftwood in your tank? Both of these will turn tank water yellow/brownish.
Are you using any peat in your filtration, or have any driftwood in your tank? Both of these will turn tank water yellow/brownish.
Wafers are not bad at all. Almost all of us use it to feed our bottom feeders. You can even look up videos of people doing it. IME it only turns bad if left over night without anyone eating it. My cories and kuhli's will hunt around the tank by smell just to find wafers so I know they like it.
And bioload means the amount of waste being produced.
And bioload means the amount of waste being produced.
All righty, I bought me one of those test kits...and even took a sample into the local pet store to have it tested. They said everything is "good"
My own testing showed "ideal" according to the colour indicator thingys in all areas except water hardness.
Nitrates showed up as a very light pink color = 20ppm.
Nitrites showed clear = 0 ppm
Hardness showed up ****-brown in color = 300ppm +
Chlorine showed clear = 0 ppm
Alkalinity showed light orange = 20ppm I'm guessing since it was between colors.
Ammonia was clear = 0 ppm.
My own testing showed "ideal" according to the colour indicator thingys in all areas except water hardness.
Nitrates showed up as a very light pink color = 20ppm.
Nitrites showed clear = 0 ppm
Hardness showed up ****-brown in color = 300ppm +
Chlorine showed clear = 0 ppm
Alkalinity showed light orange = 20ppm I'm guessing since it was between colors.
Ammonia was clear = 0 ppm.
