confuzzled

hi guys,

well im back yet again this week with another problem! As far as weeks go it has been a particularly trying one i can tell ya, from trying to ID some plants see link can anyone I.D these plants for me?plz

to my GBR getting some sort of fungus, and now no nitrate readings??

So i basically had to do a whole wc on my tank last friday (long story) and i used that oppurtunity to add those plants above which didnt go well! Anyway i did my weekly reading before my wc today and it was ammonia - 0 nitrite - 0 and nitrate - 0??my nitrate is usually at least 20??I have taken out the plant that is on the left of the pic included but thats all today as i wasnt sure what to do?

Has my tank crashed?

Lucy

Hi, I looked at your aquarium info. It says they're fake plants?
Then I read the link you provided. Can you update your aquarium info?

Doing a full water change on Friday would have brought your readings to 0, 0, 0.
It's possible that as the bacteria processes the ammonia/nitrites the plants are absorbing the nitrates as they are produced.

Keep eye on the parameters, but with a planted (usually heavily) tank , it's possible to have 0 nitrates in a cycled tank.

The tank looks really good!

confuzzled

hi lucy thanks for your reply

i will update my details asap sorry about that.Still having loads of probs with my tank though, i woke up to find the whole tank had turned a milky colour, my interanl filter had packed up and my rasbora had died still got no nitrate reading either and thats with the plants taken out?

feeling quite disheartened today

Shawnie

chine up confuzzled!!!!! please get some prime and start daily water changes.....just to be safe...do this for 2 weeks and then test again and see if its more stable ....I would stop adding anything else but the prime and prestine water ....I redid one of my tanks thanks to yours!!!!! I loved the black with the fish ty for giving me the idea!

confuzzled

awwww thanks shawnie! I love the black gravel too and my cories seem to prefer it to the lighter coloured too
when you say do wc for 2 weeks is this ok with no readings at all?should I just take it that my cycle has crashed and I'm starting again?also whats prime?I'm in the uk so would that be something like tetras safe start?

Thanks for your reply made my day that did!xx

Shawnie

prime is a water conditioner that detoxifies any nitrites/ammonia in case you have a major crash...this tank has been through so much, that the prime and 2 weeks of 30% or so changes a day, will get it more stable...Im not sure with everything you have done , if the cycle is gone or not...but leaving it be with minor work (water changes & prime) and adding no more chemicals for anything, will help it become more stable for you and your fish...2 weeks is nothing if its going to make things so much easier in the long run for you...I know ive seen some members in the uk with prime..not sure where you find it ...but no its not tss....or like it...

and thank you as well for the ideas...it does make the cories and other light fish show up awesome! but dont loose hope...keep at it and give it 2 more weeks and we can go from there!! but you have to be diligent on the changes and finding the prime.....

confuzzled

right so I've just done a wc of 20 percent I used nutrafin aqua plus for now until I can get my hands on prime delivery here is anything from 2-7 working days!! You know just thinking about it I have recently changed from API stress coat to nutrifin all around the same time too?hmmm

Anyway I will do 2 weeks of wc's and test again, I will keep you informed.

Thanks for your help

Shawnie

great ! ill be waiting with you and hoping everything settles down for you!!!!
im not familiar with nutrifin but maybe some other members are ...im very proud of your hard work and the will not to give up! awesome!

ps...id put the plants back in also but thats me!

confuzzled

i couldnt of done it without you!I needed a good kick up the butt i am determined to keep my babies alive although i think its to late for my 2 honey gourami's they havent eaten for 2 days now and they are just sat at the top of the tank in the corner

on the bright side my tank looks abit clearer today and im sending my hubby out today to see if he can find some prime in the shops, if not ive asked him to get my API stress coat for now. Because my internal filter broke, and ive had to put on my new external is it worth pouring abit of tss straight in it to help the cycle?Ive left my sponge in the tank and cut abit off and put that in the external, but if im having a mini cycle then the bacteria that was on this sponge would have died wouldnt it?

I was wondering what to do about putting live plants back in, at the mo ive got my flamming moss and java fern, but i wanted to plant the whole tank out with some vallis and maybe carpet it. Would this affect my mini cycle?Im just thinkin that if my tank is heavily planted then i wouldnt get any nitrate readings at all anyway, so how would i know that my tank has stablized?

It's great to have an experienced person helping me, i get myself all in a knot sometimes

ps guess what i think my heater is on its way out now too, i would not recommend juwel tanks at all, im having to replace everything after 2 months of running it!

Lucy

Maybe I missed this, but what test kit are you using?

confuzzled

hi lucy,

im using the API master freshwater kit, i have had it (open) since may but as far as im aware they dont have a used by date do they?

Lucy

They do, but off hand, I don't know how long they're good for.
I don't know if this was mentioned, with the #2 nitrate bottle, if you don't mix it well enough, you could get a false 0 reading.
Unlike the the other test bottles, it contains crystals that need to be mixed really well.
Bang it on the edge of a table a few times as well as shaking the heck out of it, above and beyond what the instructions on the bottle says.

confuzzled

hey lucy,

yeah i tend to shake bottle 2 for at least 1 minute before adding it, im thinkin of testing my tap water to see if it reads any nitrates in there, im pretty sure that it read 5 before.

Lucy

Try whacking it around a bit, it may not be the solution, but it's worth a try

Important Information for API Freshwater Master Test Kit Users!

confuzzled

thanks for that link lucy, very interesting reading! However after having a full on blonde moment, i suddenly realised that i could test the kids tank to see if i got nitrate readings from that with my test kit (they use the dip stick ones), and i did so its deffo not my test kit! I am going to continue doing the 20% w/c's and then restest as shawnie advised, and ive just ordered loads of different types of valis to put in woohoo!

I will keep you updated and post some new pics when the plants come.