dc
June 16th 06, 01:26 PM
wrote in
oups.com:
> At first I had gravel but food sifted into it causing the nitrite
> levels to show dangerous. I test with strips made by jungle. I took
> the gravel out and did big water changes fixing the problem.
> Now, the tank bottom is bare and I sweep out food particles daily.
> I also have been doing more water changes but despite this the
> nitrite levels remain high. The levels in fresh tap water are low,
> but nitrate shows a little high.
Your nitrite levels were not caused by your gravel, they were caused by
an immature tank with insufficient nitrobacter bacteria to remove
nitrite efficiently. Removing the gravel at this point probably just
removed a large portion of the bacteria that had begun to colonize
there.
> The other thing is the litle bag that collects debris in the power
> sweeper
> vaccum thingie is discolored. I tried soaking it in fresh water but it
> still
> seems discolored. Ive also noticed the water in the tank sometimes
> looks
> somewhat discolored depending on the angle I look from, but the fresh
> tap
> water does not.
It is normal for your filter material to take on a brownish
appearance--it should start to look dingy as heterotrophic and
nitrifying bacteria being to build-up there and start doing their job.
Stop trying to bleach your filter material as your tank is in a critical
stage in its cycle and needs all the beneficial bacteria it can get.
The discoloration in your water is partially due to a bacteria bloom.
Free floating bacteria will discolor the water until it has become
firmly rooted in your substrate and in your filter. Once this occurs
there will not be enough food for free floating bacteria to exist and
the discoloration will go away on its own. This is normal. You just
have to wait.
Your tank needs time to catch up to the amount of waste being generated
in your tank by producing large colonies of nitrifying bacteria which
will break down toxic ammonia and nitrite into a less harmful substance.
Keep monitoring your nitrite levels and partially water change your tank
if the levels get very high, but quit trying to wash your problem away
by thoroughly cleaning all your filter media--you are working against
your tank's efforts to produce a healthy bacteria culture.
oups.com:
> At first I had gravel but food sifted into it causing the nitrite
> levels to show dangerous. I test with strips made by jungle. I took
> the gravel out and did big water changes fixing the problem.
> Now, the tank bottom is bare and I sweep out food particles daily.
> I also have been doing more water changes but despite this the
> nitrite levels remain high. The levels in fresh tap water are low,
> but nitrate shows a little high.
Your nitrite levels were not caused by your gravel, they were caused by
an immature tank with insufficient nitrobacter bacteria to remove
nitrite efficiently. Removing the gravel at this point probably just
removed a large portion of the bacteria that had begun to colonize
there.
> The other thing is the litle bag that collects debris in the power
> sweeper
> vaccum thingie is discolored. I tried soaking it in fresh water but it
> still
> seems discolored. Ive also noticed the water in the tank sometimes
> looks
> somewhat discolored depending on the angle I look from, but the fresh
> tap
> water does not.
It is normal for your filter material to take on a brownish
appearance--it should start to look dingy as heterotrophic and
nitrifying bacteria being to build-up there and start doing their job.
Stop trying to bleach your filter material as your tank is in a critical
stage in its cycle and needs all the beneficial bacteria it can get.
The discoloration in your water is partially due to a bacteria bloom.
Free floating bacteria will discolor the water until it has become
firmly rooted in your substrate and in your filter. Once this occurs
there will not be enough food for free floating bacteria to exist and
the discoloration will go away on its own. This is normal. You just
have to wait.
Your tank needs time to catch up to the amount of waste being generated
in your tank by producing large colonies of nitrifying bacteria which
will break down toxic ammonia and nitrite into a less harmful substance.
Keep monitoring your nitrite levels and partially water change your tank
if the levels get very high, but quit trying to wash your problem away
by thoroughly cleaning all your filter media--you are working against
your tank's efforts to produce a healthy bacteria culture.