Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Vamps on 31 March 2008, 20:53:55
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Big tank and not over stocked.
Any idea’s
-
Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
Is it overstocked? Are they overfed? Ammonia can be affected by the fishy exhaust :'(
A new tank can take 6-8 weeks to settle down - how long have you had yours?
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I put a lava rock in my tank and it clouded up no end... eventually went after about a week though.
Have you put lots of chemicals in?
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Do you have a good filter, as mentioned, over feeding can cause probs as the uneaten food rots, need to keep on top of the cleanliness with good filtration. :y :y
Got any Neon Tetras for sale :question
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got enough circulation? what water pump you got? Fluval?
1) change the filter in your water pump
2) take the level down to 2" above the height of the pump
If the pump is too low your won't get enough circulation.
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had a look at this?
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Ammonia
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Have you looked for a dead fish? These give off high levels of ammonia as they decompose and certainly won't help.
Regular water changes would help reduce the levels and cleaning the gravel bed where the excess fish shit and food congregate will be a help too.
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Was it a new tank set up, because we had a lot of problems to start with. It eventually settled down, but it turned out we were changing the water too often.
We now change the water(1/3 of it) about every 6 weeks. The only chemicals we use is water additive and a white powder to bring the ph to 6.5. We don't have any charcoal or anything else in the filter system, just foam filter pads.
I think the trick is not to overload the tank with fish too soon, not to over feed and not to try to rush the system, the tank will sort itself eventually.
We run the tank at about 82F and this seems sweet.
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
Is it overstocked? Are they overfed? Ammonia can be affected by the fishy exhaust :'(
A new tank can take 6-8 weeks to settle down - how long have you had yours?
Not now, we were overfeding apparently but not recently. Tank 3 months old now, was fine a couple of weeks after set up and for some weeks of adding fish, seemed to start when 'white spot' rmover put in tank.
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Have you looked for a dead fish? These give off high levels of ammonia as they decompose and certainly won't help.
Regular water changes would help reduce the levels and cleaning the gravel bed where the excess fish shit and food congregate will be a help too.
-
I put a lava rock in my tank and it clouded up no end... eventually went after about a week though.
Have you put lots of chemicals in?
Might be worth a thought, 2 more big bits put in about a week ago cos they apparently help with the PH.
Yes, lots of chemicals, cost a fortune.
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
Is it overstocked? Are they overfed? Ammonia can be affected by the fishy exhaust :'(
A new tank can take 6-8 weeks to settle down - how long have you had yours?
Not now, we were overfeding apparently but not recently. Tank 3 months old now, was fine a couple of weeks after set up and for some weeks of adding fish, seemed to start when 'white spot' rmover put in tank.
Ive used a chemical called.....erm, cannot remember the name now........something blue??? to clear the white spot. If you still have any fish with white spot try to segregate from the rest in a hospital tank.
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Do you have a good filter, as mentioned, over feeding can cause probs as the uneaten food rots, need to keep on top of the cleanliness with good filtration. :y :y
Got any Neon Tetras for sale :question
We have the filter that came with it, have put extra 'noodles' in it. I have also put in another big filter thinking the original not much good.
Only got 2 neons left, lost 8. Had some baby guppies, born in the tank but lost them. My daughter blame me cos I had been cleaning the filters :(
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I put a lava rock in my tank and it clouded up no end... eventually went after about a week though.
Have you put lots of chemicals in?
Might be worth a thought, 2 more big bits put in about a week ago cos they apparently help with the PH.
Yes, lots of chemicals, cost a fortune.
I used to use an old box filter with filter wool and activated charcoal in, always seemed to help especially with goldfish as they are very dirty in a tank, enough to pollute their own water.
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
Is it overstocked? Are they overfed? Ammonia can be affected by the fishy exhaust :'(
A new tank can take 6-8 weeks to settle down - how long have you had yours?
Not now, we were overfeding apparently but not recently. Tank 3 months old now, was fine a couple of weeks after set up and for some weeks of adding fish, seemed to start when 'white spot' rmover put in tank.
Ive used a chemical called.....erm, cannot remember the name now........something blue??? to clear the white spot. If you still have any fish with white spot try to segregate from the rest in a hospital tank.
Or bin em and buy some nice healthy ones - often cheaper than the chemicals. I've seen that Nemo film - they are all desperate to go down the loo. ;)
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got enough circulation? what water pump you got? Fluval?
1) change the filter in your water pump
2) take the level down to 2" above the height of the pump
If the pump is too low your won't get enough circulation.
No problem with circulation have put an additional pump in 120 L/h in a 150L tank, this is on top of theoriginal, seemed the sensible thing to do and has made no difference. :(
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I am supprised you aint dropped a tipple of whisky in as yet...... ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Long story short.
We have had a major problem getting the ammonia level down, it was off the ‘scale’ however after using a range of chemicals a reading tonight looks good. Lost a lot of fish but none over the last couple of weeks.
Problem is the tank is still ‘Blooming’ looks foggy.
Currently no carbon filters cos of using chemicals. Lava rock, sand bottom 2 real and 2 plastic plants – no cheap ornaments etc.
Any idea’s
Is it overstocked? Are they overfed? Ammonia can be affected by the fishy exhaust :'(
A new tank can take 6-8 weeks to settle down - how long have you had yours?
Not now, we were overfeding apparently but not recently. Tank 3 months old now, was fine a couple of weeks after set up and for some weeks of adding fish, seemed to start when 'white spot' rmover put in tank.
Ive used a chemical called.....erm, cannot remember the name now........something blue??? to clear the white spot. If you still have any fish with white spot try to segregate from the rest in a hospital tank.
Or bin em and buy some nice healthy ones - often cheaper than the chemicals. I've seen that Nemo film - they are all desperate to go down the loo. ;)
Thats where they have gone, dead ones of course, with a 'few words' if daughter has been around. :)
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Do you have a good filter, as mentioned, over feeding can cause probs as the uneaten food rots, need to keep on top of the cleanliness with good filtration. :y :y
Got any Neon Tetras for sale :question
We have the filter that came with it, have put extra 'noodles' in it. I have also put in another big filter thinking the original not much good.
Only got 2 neons left, lost 8. Had some baby guppies, born in the tank but lost them. My daughter blame me cos I had been cleaning the filters :(
Guppies are wimps :D
When i first got set up, I put a hardcore regiment of Platies in and they took all sorts of rough conditions, (cloudy, heater packed up, filter packed up) and they took it all (except one who jumped out somehow :question).
They seemed to sort it out by themselves eventually :y
EDIT: I do a 30% ish water change every 6 weeks or so with Cycle and Water treatment. Also clean filters every 3 weeks. Tank always runs at 26/27 degrees.
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Was it a new tank set up, because we had a lot of problems to start with. It eventually settled down, but it turned out we were changing the water too often.
We now change the water(1/3 of it) about every 6 weeks. The only chemicals we use is water additive and a white powder to bring the ph to 6.5. We don't have any charcoal or anything else in the filter system, just foam filter pads.
I think the trick is not to overload the tank with fish too soon, not to over feed and not to try to rush the system, the tank will sort itself eventually.
We run the tank at about 82F and this seems sweet.
We have hada lot of mixed advice on water changes, even the books seem to differ. Seems that the fewer you do though is best, as you obviously found.
Runing at temp of 26C top of the marker on the thomometer, do you suggest higher?
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Do you have a good filter, as mentioned, over feeding can cause probs as the uneaten food rots, need to keep on top of the cleanliness with good filtration. :y :y
Got any Neon Tetras for sale :question
We have the filter that came with it, have put extra 'noodles' in it. I have also put in another big filter thinking the original not much good.
Only got 2 neons left, lost 8. Had some baby guppies, born in the tank but lost them. My daughter blame me cos I had been cleaning the filters :(
Guppies are wimps :D
When i first got set up, I put a hardcore regiment of Platies in and they took all sorts of rough conditions, (cloudy, heater packed up, filter packed up) and they took it all (except one who jumped out somehow :question).
They seemed to sort it out by themselves eventually :y
I added some Green Seberhams to mine - first they ate all the plants, then the neon tetras and then they went back to the shop - evils >:(
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I am supprised you aint dropped a tipple of whisky in as yet...... ;D ;D ;D ;D
;D ;D ;D Wast good whisky, think not. :D
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i always use under gravel filter. found i never had probs. i usually disrupt the gravel and syphon dirty water out to about 4 inches then refill,do this a couple of times and put just water softener in and some good plants to draw in the ammonia and toxins the fish produce. a pleco is always good for a tank and so are loaches, ive been doing this for about 15 yrs now and only ever lost fish to greedy sharks.
fish like a nice cold bath now and then, see how healthy they look when its nice and clean.
if you get fresh plants make sure there are no snails or eggs in the stems and roots, nightmare to rid lol
richie
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I added some Green Seberhams to mine - first they ate all the plants, then the neon tetras and then they went back to the shop - evils >:(
I dabbled with 2 of these once... as you say - they destoy everything, had to quarantine them with my sharks in the Death Tank.
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I added some Green Seberhams to mine - first they ate all the plants, then the neon tetras and then they went back to the shop - evils >:(
I dabbled with 2 of these once... as you say - they destoy everything, had to quarantine them with my sharks in the Death Tank.
Is that where your forum name comes from PLATTY,, ;D
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Is that where your forum name comes from PLATTY,, ;D
Lol, they though it was funny in the fish shop too... Mr.Platt buying Platies.
I had the name first though! ;D
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had a look at this?
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Ammonia
Cheers, gets complicated but interesting, the bit about the water conditioner. :)
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I added some Green Seberhams to mine - first they ate all the plants, then the neon tetras and then they went back to the shop - evils >:(
I dabbled with 2 of these once... as you say - they destoy everything, had to quarantine them with my sharks in the Death Tank.
get yerself a rubber eel, what a nightmare,have some fun. it destroyed everything then took me 3 hrs trying to catch it to take back. everytime i grabbed it, no matter how tight it got through my hands, tried a net, was so funny. then it would bury itself under gravel and dissapear somewhere. was like trying to find nessie. eventually caught it in a plastic bag aftera total of about 5 hrs and took it back
richie
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I added some Green Seberhams to mine - first they ate all the plants, then the neon tetras and then they went back to the shop - evils >:(
I dabbled with 2 of these once... as you say - they destoy everything, had to quarantine them with my sharks in the Death Tank.
get yerself a rubber eel, what a nightmare,have some fun. it destroyed everything then took me 3 hrs trying to catch it to take back. everytime i grabbed it, no matter how tight it got through my hands, tried a net, was so funny. then it would bury itself under gravel and dissapear somewhere. was like trying to find nessie. eventually caught it in a plastic bag aftera total of about 5 hrs and took it back
richie
I would have thrown something electrical in the tank then rather pickled the eel ;D.... ;D ;D ;D ;D
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better with pie mash and licker :P :P
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better with pie mash and licker :P :P
Lick er what............................ ;D ;D ;D
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Do you wash out the filter sponges ?? If you do this could be most of the problem. The bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate live in those sponges and take 6-8 weeks to establish themselves. :(
Do frequent water changes - a 2 gallon bucket every day will drop poison levels without causing too much shock to control the ammonia level while the filters re-establish.
Main causes of ammonia are decomposing un-eaten food, decomposing plant matter (includes algae if scraped off and left) and fish urine - so overstocking will not help. One of the problems is that the filter bacteria don't flourish in high ammonia levels .. although they "eat" it .... so the water changes will help the bacteria as well
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Do you wash out the filter sponges ?? If you do this could be most of the problem. The bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate live in those sponges and take 6-8 weeks to establish themselves. :(
Drat, beat me to it, As above never wash filter out with fresh water, Always use water from the tank and make sure aquarium floor is clean. :y
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My lava rock now has green alge growing on it and truning the water green, any thoughts. :-[
You would not believe the trouble I am having with this tank. :(
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Sell the fish tank and buy a ferret.. Job done.. :D ;)
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Do a check also on the composition of the fresh water you use to replenish. If this is too heavily laden with unhelpful chemicals/ purifiers/ heavy metals it makes a hell of a difference to the balance of the tank generally. We used to leave the new water open to the air for a day or two, although I believe it doesn't really take so long to disperse most problem gases.
Don't feed the fish for perhaps a week. It won't do them any harm as a one off, and will give the tank bacteria a chance to get on top of the situation, and for the fish to scavenge any excess food matter.
Don't forget many fish like angel fish just love devouring small fry etc. They can clean them up like a vacuum cleaner. And Guppies are renowned for eating their own offspring.
Good luck.