"Tony Volk" wrote in message
...
I'm a long-time aquarist who's owned a dozen or more aquariums with
most
common freshwater creatures at one time or another. I've generally
enjoyed
great success with all the fish that I've owned, from Arrowanas to
Zebra
Danios! I got out of the hobby over a decade ago, but got back into it
recently when a friend had to get rid of his 55 gallon tank (it was me
or
the garbage). So I inherited it, along
with the fish in it. I decided that this time around I'd finally try
monitoring water quality (never used test kits before) and try planting
some
live plants (never did before).
So to start with, my tank is 55 gallons - 40" long, 20" tall, 16" wide.
Standard sizing.
I have two single 15 watt 15,000K fluorescent bulbs (low lighting, I
know,
but Val and Java moss are flourishing)
adequate heating and filtration (Hang On Back - filter media and active
charcoal)
I have mixed gravel substrate, rocks, and driftwood in the tank (all
aged,
all rocks non-porous).

In the tank I have a 10" pleco, 4 3" pictus cats, 2 1-1/2" corys, a 4"
Siamese flying fox (the useless kind), a betta, 3 1" Otocinclus
vittatus, 5
1" lemon tetras, 5 small zebra danios, and 5 2" scissortail rasboras.
I
have two java ferns, four bunches of val (gigantica and americana) and
a
sword plant. Here are my questions:

1- My water quality is interesting. I have a pH of about 7, but I have
very
hard water (GH) that has almost no alkalinity (KH)! I thought the two
went
together? Add to that a zero level of nitrites, but a 200ppm+ level of
nitrates! I use those all-in-one test strips, and am frankly wondering
if
they're working correctly. The nitrate level of 200ppm+ has me
wondering.
I've recently introduced several new fish to the tank without any
problems.
How can the fish be surviving (and growing, and showing fantastic
colors,
and very active) with such high nitrate levels? I try to not overfeed
(2x
daily for the surface feeders what they can eat in 20 seconds, 1x
tablets
just at lights out for the bottom feeders), and I make 10-20% water
changes
each week. Any thoughts on the high nitrate levels? My local water is
treated with chloramine (I use a cholramine bond-breaker), and has no
detectable nitrates. Are there any good products on the market that
can
soak up nitrate? Do I just have too many fish?

Post the values of your tap water for comparison. High gH, high NO3 and
low kH could suggest old-tank syndrome, which will continue to raise your
NO3 and drop your pH.

2- I'm predictably getting a slight algae problem. It has gotten worse
when
I left town on business and my wife forgot to turn off the lights. The
good
news is that
my vals grew about 4" in those two days!! WOW!! The java ferns also
sprouted nicely, but the sword plant is still predictably light-starved
I'm
guessing. I always new my lighting was low, but this was a pleasant
surprise. But as for the excess algae, my flying fox is useless for
algae
(all he does is harass the pictus cats- never the cories - and for the
record, my pictus cats DO NOT like to school with each other!), my
three
small Otocinclus are too small to make a noticeable dent, and my big
common
pleco doesn't eat any of it! It's mostly green algae (some brown), but
he
just seems to want to stay in one or two places. I reintroduced him to
the
tank two months ago from a 75 gallon tank he was visiting and sharing
with
another 10"+ pleco and a Red Devil. He ate like a hog on all the algae
for
the first month, but now is almost uninterested in eating (even the
food
pellets that he used to go for, or the driftwood in the tank). So do
big
plecos generally eat well?

Nitrate = plant food, so plants and algae will do very well. There is
little predictability in what algae eaters eat and when. Maybe the high
nitrates has caused him to lose his appetite. Beware that rapid changes
in NO3 levels is not healthy, so you should be bringing the levels down
progressively.

3- Has anyone ever seen a pleco or pictus cat consume a live or dead
2-1/2"
fish? I had a small clown loach disappear, and he was my prime suspect
for
the high nitrate levels, because I never found his body (and yes, I
checked
under the
rocks). I'm just darn curious as to where he could be, and if he
could've
been eaten.

Clowns can bury themselves in some substrates, and most fish can rid you
of evidence when it comes to funeral burials.

4- Does anyone have any experience on trimming Vals? Mine are starting
to
run across the tops of the water, and may need a trimming soon. I've
read
mixed
opinions about whether it helps the plant, or stunts its growth, or
actually
harms it.

hmmm, these are your nitrate sponges. I wouldn't trim them too much.

So that's about it. I've visited all of the common web pages (e.g.,
The
Krib, Planet Catfish, etc.) with some help, but I'm interested in
getting a
few opinions here. Thanks for your help!

Tony

Research old-tank syndrome (excess detritus in substrate and rotting
vegetation acidifying water and contributing to high nitrogen waste
levels).
--
www.NetMax.tk