Levels Rising... Please help!!

JB wrote:
Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

I meant tyo type AmQuel Plus is supposed to treat Nitrate, Nitrite &
Ammonia.. I listed Nitrate twice for those who noticed.. Also after
washing my hands 2-3 times there's still a slight rotten egg or so
smell on my hands after dealing with my aquarium if this helps point
the way to diagnosis and treatment...

The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.

On 14 Jan 2007 10:23:04 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

I meant tyo type AmQuel Plus is supposed to treat Nitrate, Nitrite &
Ammonia.. I listed Nitrate twice for those who noticed.. Also after
washing my hands 2-3 times there's still a slight rotten egg or so
smell on my hands after dealing with my aquarium if this helps point
the way to diagnosis and treatment...



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??

JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..

Until you get your water parameters under control you would be better
off not feeding as much. Cut it back to once a day or so every other
day. Those fish are ot goping to starve, and at the same time yur not
introducing more nutrients to decay and turn into nitrites and
ammonia. This period of time will help your bacteria catch up with any
accumulating levels in addition to water changes and you shoul dbe
able to get yur levels back under control. Its better to keep fish
hungry than over fed. I maintain my fish,. I do not provide a all you
can eat buffet. I just seemtothink that yur main problem after
reading these additonal posts is from feeding practices, which is easy
to do. So cut back on amount of food fed and the amount of times you
feed and see what happens. Odds are yu will see a difference.

Good that yur kits have not expired. There is a heap of places that
sell kits without any regard to shelf life date. Usually they still
check good, but there is always that rare occurance its not right.
On 14 Jan 2007 11:15:52 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Tristan wrote:
Until you get your water parameters under control you would be better
off not feeding as much. Cut it back to once a day or so every other
day. Those fish are ot goping to starve, and at the same time yur not
introducing more nutrients to decay and turn into nitrites and
ammonia. This period of time will help your bacteria catch up with any
accumulating levels in addition to water changes and you shoul dbe
able to get yur levels back under control. Its better to keep fish
hungry than over fed. I maintain my fish,. I do not provide a all you
can eat buffet. I just seemtothink that yur main problem after
reading these additonal posts is from feeding practices, which is easy
to do. So cut back on amount of food fed and the amount of times you
feed and see what happens. Odds are yu will see a difference.

Good that yur kits have not expired. There is a heap of places that
sell kits without any regard to shelf life date. Usually they still
check good, but there is always that rare occurance its not right.
On 14 Jan 2007 11:15:52 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!



I just did a 25% Water change, and while doing so I noticed my filter
was pretty dirty but not clogged, so changed that as well.. Now I've
noticed the I guess dust balls randonly in my tank that are wrapped
around bits of food... What should I do about that??.. I appreciate
all of your advice...

THose are not dust balls. Its uneated food particles that have started
ot grow fungus from becoming rotted and spoiled. This even further
demonstrates to much food too often is the cause of your high a/n/n
levels
Syphon those fugal critters out .....and like I posted before refrain
from feeding any today or even two or three days from now. Those fish
are not going to die from lack of food. May die form water parameters
being like they were or from acquiring a fungal infection but not from
lack of food. Then start to fdeed reduced amount of food 1x a day
every other day and see how it goes. Then perhaps feed 2 times every
other day. Most fish do not require to be fed 3x a day every day. I
often let all of my fish both fresh and salt go unfed over weekends
if were away and it does them good. It gives them a chance to scour
out those particles of food that remain uneaten, and then do not get
turned into fungal balls. I feed my fish 1 x every couple of days or
so. Feed only what is actually seen to be consumed in 3 to 5 minutes
time.

Good luck..



On 14 Jan 2007 12:37:17 -0800, "JB" wrote:


Tristan wrote:
Until you get your water parameters under control you would be better
off not feeding as much. Cut it back to once a day or so every other
day. Those fish are ot goping to starve, and at the same time yur not
introducing more nutrients to decay and turn into nitrites and
ammonia. This period of time will help your bacteria catch up with any
accumulating levels in addition to water changes and you shoul dbe
able to get yur levels back under control. Its better to keep fish
hungry than over fed. I maintain my fish,. I do not provide a all you
can eat buffet. I just seemtothink that yur main problem after
reading these additonal posts is from feeding practices, which is easy
to do. So cut back on amount of food fed and the amount of times you
feed and see what happens. Odds are yu will see a difference.

Good that yur kits have not expired. There is a heap of places that
sell kits without any regard to shelf life date. Usually they still
check good, but there is always that rare occurance its not right.
On 14 Jan 2007 11:15:52 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!



I just did a 25% Water change, and while doing so I noticed my filter
was pretty dirty but not clogged, so changed that as well.. Now I've
noticed the I guess dust balls randonly in my tank that are wrapped
around bits of food... What should I do about that??.. I appreciate
all of your advice...



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

JB wrote:


I just did a 25% Water change, and while doing so I noticed my filter
was pretty dirty but not clogged, so changed that as well..

This is the second or third time I've noticed you mention that you have
changed your filter....are you putting in new sponges? If yes, then this
is absolutely the worst thing that you could be doing.....the bacteria
that make up the nitrogen cycle live in your filter medium....now if it
gets clogged all you should be doing is gently rinsing the sponges in
water removed from your tank (tap water is a big no, no as the chlorine
can/will kill off the bacteria).....

Please read the following link on cycling a tank:-

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html


Now I've
noticed the I guess dust balls randonly in my tank that are wrapped
around bits of food... What should I do about that??.. I appreciate
all of your advice...


This is decaying food (I agree with the other bloke).....your fish are
being overfed and it is this that is giving you the issues with trapped
gunk turning into Hydrogen Sulphide in your gravel and your rise in
ammonia/nitrites......I would stop feeding for a day or two....then just
feed a small amount every other day until things settle....

Products such as Cycle or also Amquel may allieviate things but the key
is to get to the root cause of the problem - it could be plainly that
the tank hasn't cycled yet, overfeeding, or over zealous cleaning that
is killing off your beneficial bacteria....

Gill

I do not think I would change any nore than 50% MAX........and if fish
are doing ok probably do a 25% and then do another 25% in a day or two
again. Too much too soon is as bad as not doing anything. Water change
is all that is feasible to get levels back down, and frequent smaller
changes are usually better than less but large changes.

IMHO for me to do a masive 75 to 100% water change my fish would have
to be in big troubles. Then again I keep aged water around so it would
not be as tramatic for them either........but large water changes can
be bad.


On 14 Jan 2007 11:12:50 -0800, "JB" wrote:


Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

JB wrote:


I meant tyo type AmQuel Plus is supposed to treat Nitrate, Nitrite &
Ammonia.. I listed Nitrate twice for those who noticed.. Also after
washing my hands 2-3 times there's still a slight rotten egg or so
smell on my hands after dealing with my aquarium if this helps point
the way to diagnosis and treatment...


Amquel can have a strong sulfur smell. Could that be the source of your
rotten egg smell?

kietz