rosalie68

the first problem is that i had alot of ammonia in my tank. i left a previous thread about it. i ended up changing 50% of the water and adding biospira. the store also had me using amquel for the ammonia so it owuldnt hurt the fish. well its been over 2 weeks later and the ammonia is at 4. is this due to using amquel im so mad that they told me to use this. what a waste!!

the other thing is my fish are at my old apt so i stop by every other day or so to check on them. i went there today and the maintenance ppl had been in my apt while i was gone and turned off the main switch for the outlet that my tank was all plugged into. so nothing has been on for 3 days. the water was down to 67 and my biggest fish the black shark( 12 inches) was upside down and is dying! the other fish are very pale and mostly at the bottom. even the african butterflies were at the bottom and one is missing! every fish is VERY pale!! i turned the tank back on so the water would heat up and left the light on to get it warmer faster. they seemed to be doing better with just a few degrees higher. i didnt leave until the water was in the 70s. im very sad that im losing my black shark. he was the whole reason i got the 220 gal. i have had him for over 2 years! im mad that they would shut the switch off. they will probably say it was to turn the lights off. they have shut it off in the past and i have gotten really mad.
so what i have decided to do is to get my 220 gal ready asap. im fed up with the water in the 55 gal with the ammonia being so high and not going down. when the shark dies im sure the water will be worse. i shouldve put him in something so he wont mess the tank up but i dont have a way there until tomorow. should i put him in something? i want to start adding rocks and water to the 220. i wont have the filter until tues or thurs. should i wait to put the fish in until i have the filter running and also can i put biospira in before i put the filter in or do i have to wait?? which do i add first fish or biospira?? im sorry that i have so many questions and this is so long but i just cant stand to lose anymore fish!! i have had a problem with the 55 since march and its still not straightened out. i just want the fish out of there before something else goes wrong. please help me!!!!

BettaGirl92

4.0?!

Ammonia should be controlled by just changing the water regularly,
there's really no need to add anything else to your water.
I use an "Jungle" brand Ammonia decreasing tablet when i get really lazy, or dont have the time to change the water, and that works temporarily.
You really shouldn't add anything else.

Yes, if your shark is dying, you should put him in a large bucket or QT tank if you have one. Your other fish may pick and nip at your sharks body, which could make them sick.

About your 220Gal. You have to cycle the tank before you put the fish in, unless you already have a used, running filter. The tank is quite large, so really it needs to be up and running for a month Max. to complete it's cycle.
You could make this go faster if you borrow some used filter media and gravel from an established tank from a friend. You could put the gravel in a net (womans pantyhose works well) and let it sit. Keep checking the water in your tank until you see your good readings.

I'm sorry i cant answer your questions about the biospira, as i dont have experience with one.

good luck with all your fish, i hope they make it.

rosalie68

i was changing the water 2-3 times a week since march! at first i was doing 20% and i did 50%twice. the ammonia goes down to 1 or 2 for a day or so and then back up!! im am so frustrated with the tank. i had to bind the ammonia b/c i was losing fish! my shark was dead when i got there today so i took him out. it makes me sad b/c the main reason i got the huge tank was for him to have a nice home. i dont have any live plants and i took alot of the ornaments out just to make sure i wouldnt miss a fish if it happened to die. so there isnt anything decaying in the water. i dont understand the ammonia thing. i feel like i dont have a month to get the rest of my fish out of that water before they start to die again. the ammonia just keeps going up. it isnt hurting them b/c amquel binds it and makes it nontoxic. but even so, im sure its not good for it to keep rising. i normally dont add anything to the water besides stress coat and thats with water changes to condition the water and every now and then i add aquarium salt. i was so desperate to help my fish that i used amquel to detoxify the ammonia. a few days later the fish seemed better. so it has helped me but i also think it starved my biospira! so in the end i guess it did a temporary fix. thank u so much for replying, i really need help with this. i dont want to lose my fish when i move them. i love my bala sharks and my plecos!! i have had them for so long. i really appreciate the help!!!

BettaGirl92

no problem, i'd be glad to help you, as i had an ammonia problem not to long ago and i know how stressful it is.
i'm really sorry to hear about your shark,

Have you vaccumed the gravel? That could be a big part of it too.
I would suggest taking out your fish, and placing them in a bucket.

I would vaccum the gravel, do a water change, and check your filter.
however, dont do all this at once.
do one thing, wait 1-2 days, then do another.

I'll look into finding more info for you, i'm just telling you what i know.

again, good luck!

BettaGirl92

I would also reccomend getting a few live plants.

Java moss is easy to maintain, and it's free standing.
You just plop it in.

Your fish will thank you!

Shawnie

so sorry for the loss of your shark that musta been heart breaking...are you moving the 220 gallon to your new place? im confused you have 220 gallon at your old apt, and a 55 at the new? which has the ammonia?

BettaGirl92

No, she has the 55 set up, and wants to set up the 220. The 55 has the ammonia.

Shawnie

I think the fish were in the 220 gallon and the 55 is attempting to be cycled...am i correct? and is the 220 gallon being moved?

BettaGirl92

No.
The fish are in the 55 right now.
She would like to set up the 220 to move the fish into.

Shawnie

heres what i reccomend on the ways im looking at it..

the 220 gallon already has fish in it..so you will do a fish cycle...order enough biospira for 220 gallons and wait 7-10 days to do ANY testing...right before adding it, do a 60% water change...then ignore the tank for the time mentioned...after that time frame, test the water(api master liquid kit is the best) and depening on the readings, go from there...

the 55 gallon fishless- get the biospira and add ...feed the tank twice a day a lil bit of fish food, or throw a small piece of raw shrimp in it...wait the 7-10 days to test it,then go from there on what yoru readings are

for ammonia, DAILY water changes of at least 50% are needed until there is NO ammonia or nitrites...my 75 gallon took 9 weeks..alot of work, but thats whats gotta be done...NORMALLY without any ammonia binders, the biospira will have the tank all cycled and just your normal routine water tests and changes will be needed....hope some of this helps

if the roles are reversed and the fish are in 55 and not the 220, just reverse the directions..either way its still going to be the same ...just fishless you dont have to be as agressive with DAILY water changes

BettaGirl92

Read the top post.

"so what i have decided to do is to get my 220 gal ready asap. im fed up with the water in the 55 gal with the ammonia being so high and not going down. "

220 gal set up
fed up with the water in the 55gal

Shawnie

GOTCHA

so just reverse the order ...and the ammonia will be high with that type of fish in a 55 gallon...my 55 is way overstocked and the only way i keep the ammonia down is DAILY water changes of at least 40% ...

BettaGirl92

haha, i had to think about it too.
just making sure you knew what was going on.

rosalie68

wow u guys are awesome im going to take everything out of the 55 gallon. i wont set that tank back up for a little while. its at my old apt.
i just got a 220 gal in my new apt. i need all of my fish moved to it. im still waiting to recieve the filter, rocks and heaters this week.
shawnie do u remember my last post? u helped me out alot! its a little further down the page. the biospira didnt work!!! i think it was b/c of the amquel.
do i need to have ammonia readings before i add biospira?? will they die if there is no ammonia for the bacteria??
i have vacuumed the rocks too. only half a side at a time and they are pretty clean. i just cant figure out the ammonia. maybe it is way over stocked. the reason that i dont have plants is that they would always die. i had even used the fertilizers and they still wouldnt make it so i just gave up. im not trying to fix the 55 gal anymore. i am just going to move all the fish asap.
im sorry for all the confusion about where my tanks were 55 is at old apt with ammonia probs. 220 gal empty at new apt.
thanks again. i dont know why this is all so confusing to me!!
kim

Shawnie

I would take the filter and decorations from the 55 established tank and transfer it to the 220 gallon...that will give you a jump start on the cycle because there has to be some bacteria where its been running...then add your bio-spira and let it run for a week ...if you have to add your fish, do it at the same time you add your bio-spira..although it will be much easier to do a cycle fishless...if going fishless, just add the bio and feed the tank twice a day..a lil bit of fish food, or just throw a peice of raw shrimp for the week...

rosalie68

ok heres another thing. i called the store and they arent sure when my filter is coming in now. uugghhhh!!!! im so irritated!! so do u think it would be ok to run the 55 gal HOB filter in the 220 until i get the bigger filter?? and do u think i should run both filters once i get the new one until the tank is established? i am just running in to so many problems lately with all of this. thank u for all of your help!!! what would i do without this board?
kim

BettaGirl92

you shouldnt run your new filter right away, it has to cycle, and fishless is always better. it reduces the chaces of losing all your fish.
Shawnie was right when she said you should take the fitler off the 55gal and put it in your 220gal (also take the decorations).

tkfury

I'm not sure if this will be of any help since I'm afraid I don't have any knowledge about amquel. When using bio-spira, adding prime to the tank messes the whole thing up - that is until the bio-spira has had time to work its magic. Again, I don't know anything about amquel but it sounds like it might work the same way prime does? And I believe someone already said it, don't test the water when using bio-spira, the readings will scare you. I went with bio-spira for my 75g since I had to combine three small fish tanks, I used aquasafe water conditioner and then went back to prime after a month or so. I can't remember exactly where I read it but I believe its in the FAQ section on bio-spiras offical website that mentioned the useage of prime and other water conditioners.. but I'm also pretty sure I've read it around here.

To use bio-spira all you do is add it to the tank after you've got the filters and heaters going, you add it right before adding the fish. Without any fish in there to give the bactria some ammonia to feed on, the bio-spira isn't going to do you any good. I've always taken it as you had to have some fish in the tank but it would make sense in theory that just feeding the tank will keep the bactria going until you're ready for the fish.

If you do test, again the readings are going to be horrible but thats why its best not to read - the fish should be doing great but I believe its still possible to overload when using bio-spira. I would assume adding fish from a 55g wouldn't overload a 220g if you're using the recommended dosage.

Again, sorry if this doesn't help much. Just wanted to try and clear some things up for you. I do hope everything goes better for you from now on. Terribly sorry you lost your little guy, at least you gave him the best home you could for those few years.