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The top of my tank is covered in bubbles. I set my 20 gallon tank up on 9/22 and added fish on 9/25. The bubbles didn't start until about a week later and they are still there. Is there anything I can do to get rid of the bubbles?
Wow....I have never seen anything like that before. How are the fish doing?
It almost looks like an additive that may have been in your water that's causing it to bubble. Is it foam-like?
Wow! I've never seen that many bubbles in a tank. Do you have an air stone in the tank?I agree with Amanda, it could be some soap residue that was left in the tank if you did use soap to clean the tank.
That is a lot of bubbles, Filters usually make bubbles on the surface but that is way too much! When your filter spits out water is it splashing the water? That might cause the bubbles but still I think it's way too much!
I haven't added anything unusual. I added stress zyme and ammo lock. I added neutral regulator, stress coat, baking soda, little aquarium salt, and a dechlorinizer when I first set up the tank. There is a low reading of ammonia in the water. Could the bubbles be a result of a little bit of ammonia? The fish are doing good except I had a cory die in there couple days ago but he wasn't eating so I think that was his problem.
There is an air stone in there. I never used soap in this tank, only damp paper towels to clean it when I first bought it. The water is not splashing from the filter.
A very little amount of Baking soda is a buffering for the water hardness.
I am not doing large water changes everyday. If you do large water changes everyday how does that allow bacteria to develop?
Last edited by Lucy; October 22nd, 2009 at 11:20 AM.
Reason: merging back to back posts, you can use the edit button to add to a post
The bacteria are in your filter & gravel - not the water.
The large WC's remove the ammonia which is toxic to your fish. During a cycle, a 50% WC should be done everyday.
You shouldn't be having any ammonia by now if you started your tank on 9/22. You should see some high levels of nitrate and a small level of nitrites. What's your dosage with the baking soda? Here's a thread from a diff. site I found on google talking about baking soda and doses. http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-ch...-ph-45018.html
I'm amazed your fish have survived this long - as I said before, a cycling tank needs frequent WC's. It may also help remove whatever is causing the bubbles.
Amanda I am taking your advice and doing a water change but I have a story for you. My dad has a 29 gallon tank that was abandoned for 3 years and got completely covered in algae. He put a little pleco in there and it cleared the whole tank up and didn't do a water change until 2 yrs after adding him. He is still alive and is about a 12" now.
Stress coat will sometimes cause surface bubbles. It doesn't evaporate when the water does. When continuing to add water with stress coat the stress coat builds up. It's not harmful to the fish but can be unsightly. The aloe in the stress coat is what does it.
We hear stories like the one about the Pleco once in awhile. Glad the Pleco survived many don't. Survive is the key word- surviving doesn't mean thrive. If that is a common pleco as I suspect in two years he should be approx 18 inches. Plecos being the poo makers they are I bet that tank was a mess
Carol
Your ammonia is 4?
This tank needs to have daily water done until the cycle is complete.
Adding all that stuff plus the ammonia reading isn't good for your fish.
The best way to handle ammonia is to get the tank cycled, not with products.
It's my understanding that ammo-lock will detox the ammonia, not get rid of it.
Yes Lucy that is true it detoxes the ammonia which will help the fish survive until the tank is cycled. What should be the nitrate and nitrite readings on a cycled tank?
I added stress zyme and ammo lock 2 days ago but before that about 3 weeks ago. I do not wash my filter media because won't that get rid of the bacteria I need. I have an aqueon power filter 20. I changed the filter cartridge last weekend and before I added the new one I washed it under tap water.
Yes I was asking b/c that might of killed your cycle. Like what the others have stated do daily w/cs and add your water conditioner each time. If you have a heater that would be great as heat tends to speed up the cycle rate.
Why are you using baking soda? What is neutral regulator and why are you using it?
Imo, this is what I'd do. (depending on the answers to the questions)
Stop using all the additives execpt ammo-lock, if it dechlorinates also.
If it doesn't, switch to Prime. It dechlorinates and detox's ammonia for 24 hours.
Begin doing daily water changes until your readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite with some nitrates. I like mine at 5-10, but as eiginh said, 10-20 is ok.
I used the baking soda once. A neutral regulator brings you pH to 7.0. I am using it because my tap water has a high pH for when I do water changes. I am not arguing the daily water changes just curious, wouldn't constant environment changes add a lot of stress to the fish in the tank?
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