Pimpseyj Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Hello Everyone, I'm new to both the forum as well as the hobby. I have a 55gl tank with a Cascade cannister filter. A few planted plants that don't seem to be doing that well. Quite a few different species of fish in the tank that all seem to be doing well together. I'm having an extremely hard time correcting water conditions though. I've been using the API test strips and ever since I started the tank it always reads the same. GH 180ppm, KH 0ppm, PH 6.5, NO2 0, and NO3 120ppm! I've tried water changes to reduce NO3 as well as using Prim and Stability when I do top offs. I live in Hawaii and my tank is outside so this happens about every 3 days. I also added bio-home media puragen to the filter. The water is always a little yellow and I don't have any drift wood in it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Welcome to the forum. The first thing I would do is check the parameters of the source water you use for water changes. Specifically, what is the NO3 value? How often do you do water changes, and how much (as a percentage) do you change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpseyj Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Thanks for the response! I've tested my home water and nitrates read 0. I just recently started water changes. I did 1 that was about 80% and another that was about 50% since I didn't see a difference after the 80%. I have to add about 2 gallons of fresh water about every 2-3 days which is why I justified to myself that large water changes weren't needed. I've had this tank running for about a year now and the 2 water changes mentioned above are the only ones ever conducted. 😳 they were in the past month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 You would expect a 50% water change with 0 NO3 to reduce the tank NO3 by half. That you are not realizing the reduction, something is going on to increase it. How long after the 50% water change did you test again? If the source is within the tank, then you would need to think about everything in the tank (fish, plants, substrate, food, fertilizer). Is there anything dead and decaying in the tank? Could the source be outside the tank? You said that it is outside. Does the tank have a lid? Could something be falling into the tank? Are there any outside animals that have access to the tank? I am not familiar with the API test strips. What are the steps on the color chart? Could it be an interpolation issue, where the pre water change reading was closest to 120 (but larger) and the post water change reading was closest to 120 (but smaller)? How old are the test strips? How are they stored? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpseyj Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 I would say that the only thing dead or decaying in the tank are my plants. They just don't take very well and my larger fish have a bad habit of uprooting them and they just end up floating around the tank because they have no more roots. I do suppose that the NO3 could be so high that even a 50% waterchange could have just brought it down closer to 120ppm but not under. I tested it the day after the change. Test strips are not even a month old and they are kept sealed in my aquarium stand. The tank is outside and does not have a lid but it is under my car port and I have 4 dogs that keep any birds out. I suppose a geko could get in there but I have never found anything floating in the water. I'm super stumped. I suppose I should just break down and get the chemical water tester so I can get a more accurate reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 I had a huge nitrate spike in a 10g tank that was 6 mos old and had been running fine (plants, gravel). In hindsight i think it was because i feel behind in my gravel vacuuming and that (decaying matter in the gravel) was the source of the nitrates. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpseyj Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Do mean like between the gravel and the glass? I haven't disturbed the gravel very much so I'm not sure how much is there. Should I get all that junk out and then do the water change? I'm assuming I should turn off my filter prior to cleaning so it doesn't get sucked into the filter. Sorry... total noob here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Yes, you should be vacuuming the gravel. There are differing opinions on how much beneficial bacteria live in the gravel vs the filter media, so you should refrain from a thorough vacuuming of the entire gravel bed on a single water change. It is also a good idea to skip the vacuuming when you clean your canister filter. The idea is to be sure that you maintain a sufficient beneficial bacteria colony to keep your nitrogen cycle going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpseyj Posted February 17, 2022 Author Share Posted February 17, 2022 Cool.... I'll give it shot! Thanks you two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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