Reply With Quotedid u inject CO2?
Hi,
Need help..my tetras are all going to the surface and blowing bubbles, i juz started my planted aquarium, with an external filter, my tank is 2 ft, please advise me whats happening? my yamato shrimp are staying at the top of my plant too? Is it becuase lack of O2? Saw my external filter put O2 on one side of it, what does it mean? Please advise me how to rectify the problems or else I am lost..Thanks.
did u inject CO2?
Hi Joseph, thanks for reply
no, used to inject diy co2 using a bell diffuser method but the fishes are dying, so took them out, is that the problem?
As I have about 50 tetras, read from somewhere that I don't need to?
must inject co2?
[quote:4810ae37af="wan2start"]Hi,
Need help..my tetras are all going to the surface and blowing bubbles, i juz started my planted aquarium, with an external filter, my tank is 2 ft, please advise me whats happening? my yamato shrimp are staying at the top of my plant too? Is it becuase lack of O2? Saw my external filter put O2 on one side of it, what does it mean? Please advise me how to rectify the problems or else I am lost..Thanks.[/quote:4810ae37af]
what do you mean by just started? has the tank been cycled?
Thanks rijac for the reply.
I set up the tank 2 weeks back and cleaned the filter 1 week back. FYI, the charcoal bag filter broke so I replace them with the nornal white filter, its almost 1 week since then, and my fishes starts going to the surface, actually a few has died..
Hmm ok I suppose what you have is a overload of the fliter due to the amount of fishes you have in there.
Generally, cycling a tank should take about one month or more, and no cleaning of the fliter is required till like 6 months later, and then every 6 months after that.
Seeing that you only cycled for 2 weeks, and cleaned the fliter a week ago, the BB which is already in small amount has now been reduced to a even smaller amount. And when you added the 50 tetras ( 50 imho is too much... I only have a total population of 20 in my 2 feet tank. ) the fliter could not cope with the additional bioload, thus ammonia/nitrate/nitrite spikes and your fish die. Shrimps will not make it at all.
The solution now is to remove the tetras, and recycle your tank again.
Whether or not it is instead due to a 02 problem I'm not sure... because I've never heard of anyone with a planted tank and having 02 problems. You inject c02 for plants, not fish, so c02 isn't a factor here.
If you suspect it is a 02 problem, then quickly get a airpump going. After a few hours, your fish should return to normal. If not, then it is most likely due to a fliter overload imo.
Good luck.
[quote:784a68713d="|squee|"]Hmm ok I suppose what you have is a overload of the fliter due to the amount of fishes you have in there.
Generally, cycling a tank should take about one month or more, and no cleaning of the fliter is required till like 6 months later, and then every 6 months after that.
Seeing that you only cycled for 2 weeks, and cleaned the fliter a week ago, the BB which is already in small amount has now been reduced to a even smaller amount. And when you added the 50 tetras ( 50 imho is too much... I only have a total population of 20 in my 2 feet tank. ) the fliter could not cope with the additional bioload, thus ammonia/nitrate/nitrite spikes and your fish die. Shrimps will not make it at all.
The solution now is to remove the tetras, and recycle your tank again.
Whether or not it is instead due to a 02 problem I'm not sure... because I've never heard of anyone with a planted tank and having 02 problems. You inject c02 for plants, not fish, so c02 isn't a factor here.
If you suspect it is a 02 problem, then quickly get a airpump going. After a few hours, your fish should return to normal. If not, then it is most likely due to a fliter overload imo.
Good luck.[/quote:784a68713d]
Hi Squee, thanks for the reply. Can I ask some questions, sorry as I very newbird,
Q1) What is BB?
Q2) Recycle the tank? How should I do that?
Q3) If I remove the tetra, is it okay for me to leave it in a small plastic tank (those handcarry type)
Q4) I have a airpump but not using anymore, if I use back the airpump, I should use an airstone right, because last time, I use those tube type, the water become too turbulent and all my plants were off rooted
Q5) Filter overload imo? wats does it mean?
Sorry for so many questions but i really needs lots to learn on how to save my planted tank. Thanks again for your help.
My guess will be that your tank is not fully cycled since you change your filter media one wk ago.
furry plant grower
[quote:0887c02c77="wan2start"]Thanks rijac for the reply.
I set up the tank 2 weeks back and cleaned the filter 1 week back. FYI, the charcoal bag filter broke so I replace them with the nornal white filter, its almost 1 week since then, and my fishes starts going to the surface, actually a few has died..
Ammonia, a waste product, burns the gills of your critters, suffocating them. That is why you see them gasping on the surface. Change half of your water, and remember to treat your tap water with anti-chloramine (water conditioner).
Quickly find someone with a cycled tank to help you keep half of your livestock, and monitor your water for more ammonia spikes. After this, you will experience nitrite which is even more lethal than ammonia, so you don't want to have too much livestock in there to make it worse.
Go get yourself an ammonia and a nitrite testkit to monitor your water condition, and do frequent water changes to prevent a buildup of these harmful waste products. Resist any temptation to add any more critters to your tank till you are very sure your ammonia and nitrite levels have become 0.
Warm regards,
Lawrence Lee
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Sounds complicated...
The gist of it is this... too many fishes and shrimps and your tank might not be set up to properly to handle biological filtration.
I.e. the fish/shrimps are producing lots of waste and the tank is not handling it fast enough, and it's poisoning the live stock.
Go search and read about the "nitrogen cycle" in aquariums and planted tanks.
Simply put, fish waste have ammonia, which is converted by bacteria in your filter into nitrite and nitrate. However, it takes some weeks for these bacteria to grow in a properly setup filter. So a tank will normally experience a ammonia spike for abotu a week, followed by a nitrite spike for a week or two more, before the filter is matured enough.
Ammonia and nitrite are extremely toxic to fishes, but a matured filter will convert them so fast, that they are virtually non-existent in the tank. Nitrates (which is toxic in much higher levels) are removed primarily by water change in a non-planted tank.
In a planted tank, plants will consume ammonia and nitrate as food... provided the plants are growing well. Excess nitrate is removed by water change. In your tank, since there is no CO2, the plant growth are limited and hence they do not take up the ammonia very well.
Most likely, in your case, the tank is going thru a normal cycling (i.e. filter not matured yet) and you should be encountering a ammonia or nitrite spike now... which is probably why your fish/shrimps are dying. (The high ammonia or nitrite damage the gills (gill burn) and reduces their ability to absorb oxygen. I can't remember exactly)
- Do not replace the dead fishes with new ones. Remove dead fishes as soon as you see them. Their rotting carcases are adding even more ammonia to the water.
- Better if you can remove the live stock and keep them elsewhere... like a large pail with an airpump. Change the water 50% daily until you can introduce them back into the tank. You might be able to save some of them and stablise the planted tank at the same time.
- (If you do not remvoe the live stock) Change 50% of the tank water. Then 30% once daily. Make sure you use anti-chlorine/chloramine before you top up. Chlorine can kill the already fragile bacteria colony in your filter. Do this until the fish stop dying en masse.
- Don't wash the filter. You need to let the filter bateria to grow.
- Get some floating plants like frogbits for the tank. They will help absorb some of the ammonia/nitrite for the time being and keep the levels down. There might be some hobbyists who have plenty to give away, if you ask in the forum. Floating plants have access to CO2 in the air and get more light, so they'll do much better then those in tank. You can remove them later.
- Tell us what media you have in your filter. Do not use charcoal... it'll remove some of the nutrients needed by the plants.
- Other setup details. We need to determine if you have setup the tank properly for the plants to grow well.
* What plants do you have?
* How much plants do you have?
* How much lights are you using? (Total wattage, type of light tubes)
* How long are your lights on?
* What kind of substrate are you using?
* What fertilisers are you using, and how often and how much are you dosing?
* What filter are you using? (brand and model)
Key word here: Details.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
LOL, looks like lawrence beat me to the punch.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
[quote:1b64f9f9c3="wan2start"]Thanks rijac for the reply.
I set up the tank 2 weeks back and cleaned the filter 1 week back. FYI, the charcoal bag filter broke so I replace them with the nornal white filter, its almost 1 week since then, and my fishes starts going to the surface, actually a few has died..
i didnt see your reply but seems like the problem has been identified by the lao jiaos... good luck!
1) BB Beneficial Bacteria
2) Fully cycled is what mentioned by GaspingGurami but u may not need to use any test kits. Just leave it for some time said a mth. To accelerate the process, you can add some fully cycled water from others.
3) No, since you have so many of it.
4) That's right. But some other reasons could be that your sand is not fine (2-3mm) or thick enough.
5) It means that you have way not many fish in your 2ft tank.
hope these help.
[quote:7a1e4a8326="GaspingGurami"][quote:7a1e4a8326="wan2start"]Thanks rijac for the reply.
I set up the tank 2 weeks back and cleaned the filter 1 week back. FYI, the charcoal bag filter broke so I replace them with the nornal white filter, its almost 1 week since then, and my fishes starts going to the surface, actually a few has died..
Ammonia, a waste product, burns the gills of your critters, suffocating them. That is why you see them gasping on the surface. Change half of your water, and remember to treat your tap water with anti-chloramine (water conditioner).
Quickly find someone with a cycled tank to help you keep half of your livestock, and monitor your water for more ammonia spikes. After this, you will experience nitrite which is even more lethal than ammonia, so you don't want to have too much livestock in there to make it worse.
Go get yourself an ammonia and a nitrite testkit to monitor your water condition, and do frequent water changes to prevent a buildup of these harmful waste products. Resist any temptation to add any more critters to your tank till you are very sure your ammonia and nitrite levels have become 0.[/quote:7a1e4a8326]
Hi, Thanks for the advise.
Is it because I remove the charcoal filter that causes the ammonia build up? If that is the case, then, I must go get charcoal, remove all the fishes, how about plants? and let the tank run for a bout 1 month, then I can put the fishes back, is this correct?
Please advise..thanks.
[quote:5227de7e5d="wan2start"][quote:5227de7e5d="GaspingGurami"][quote:5227de7e5d="wan2start"]Thanks rijac for the reply.
I set up the tank 2 weeks back and cleaned the filter 1 week back. FYI, the charcoal bag filter broke so I replace them with the nornal white filter, its almost 1 week since then, and my fishes starts going to the surface, actually a few has died..
Ammonia, a waste product, burns the gills of your critters, suffocating them. That is why you see them gasping on the surface. Change half of your water, and remember to treat your tap water with anti-chloramine (water conditioner).
Quickly find someone with a cycled tank to help you keep half of your livestock, and monitor your water for more ammonia spikes. After this, you will experience nitrite which is even more lethal than ammonia, so you don't want to have too much livestock in there to make it worse.
Go get yourself an ammonia and a nitrite testkit to monitor your water condition, and do frequent water changes to prevent a buildup of these harmful waste products. Resist any temptation to add any more critters to your tank till you are very sure your ammonia and nitrite levels have become 0.[/quote:5227de7e5d]
Hi, Thanks for the advise.
Is it because I remove the charcoal filter that causes the ammonia build up? If that is the case, then, I must go get charcoal, remove all the fishes, how about plants? and let the tank run for a bout 1 month, then I can put the fishes back, is this correct?
Please advise..thanks.[/quote:5227de7e5d]
i suggest you read:
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ciclo.php
and this
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_filters.php
the ammonia is building up because there is not sufficient bacteria to consume it fast enough...
Don't be afraid of my duck!
i can only suggest you read a good book or online FAQ (e.g. www.aquarticles.com) before plunging into the hobby like a runaway auroch. That would save you both money and headache.
Hi All,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I will go and study all the information provided and meantime will remove all the fishes and place in a pail with an air filter and monitor everything.
Will update everyone again on situation.
Guess I too kan cheong, havent settle the tank, put in plants, put in fish...
Hope I can save the tank..
I am grateful that I get all your advise withing such a short span of time..this is a great site, thanks everyone
[quote:ed7209feff="vinz"]Sounds complicated...
The gist of it is this... too many fishes and shrimps and your tank might not be set up to properly to handle biological filtration.
I.e. the fish/shrimps are producing lots of waste and the tank is not handling it fast enough, and it's poisoning the live stock.
Go search and read about the "nitrogen cycle" in aquariums and planted tanks.
Simply put, fish waste have ammonia, which is converted by bacteria in your filter into nitrite and nitrate. However, it takes some weeks for these bacteria to grow in a properly setup filter. So a tank will normally experience a ammonia spike for abotu a week, followed by a nitrite spike for a week or two more, before the filter is matured enough.
Ammonia and nitrite are extremely toxic to fishes, but a matured filter will convert them so fast, that they are virtually non-existent in the tank. Nitrates (which is toxic in much higher levels) are removed primarily by water change in a non-planted tank.
In a planted tank, plants will consume ammonia and nitrate as food... provided the plants are growing well. Excess nitrate is removed by water change. In your tank, since there is no CO2, the plant growth are limited and hence they do not take up the ammonia very well.
Most likely, in your case, the tank is going thru a normal cycling (i.e. filter not matured yet) and you should be encountering a ammonia or nitrite spike now... which is probably why your fish/shrimps are dying. (The high ammonia or nitrite damage the gills (gill burn) and reduces their ability to absorb oxygen. I can't remember exactly)
- Do not replace the dead fishes with new ones. Remove dead fishes as soon as you see them. Their rotting carcases are adding even more ammonia to the water.
- Better if you can remove the live stock and keep them elsewhere... like a large pail with an airpump. Change the water 50% daily until you can introduce them back into the tank. You might be able to save some of them and stablise the planted tank at the same time.
- (If you do not remvoe the live stock) Change 50% of the tank water. Then 30% once daily. Make sure you use anti-chlorine/chloramine before you top up. Chlorine can kill the already fragile bacteria colony in your filter. Do this until the fish stop dying en masse.
- Don't wash the filter. You need to let the filter bateria to grow.
- Get some floating plants like frogbits for the tank. They will help absorb some of the ammonia/nitrite for the time being and keep the levels down. There might be some hobbyists who have plenty to give away, if you ask in the forum. Floating plants have access to CO2 in the air and get more light, so they'll do much better then those in tank. You can remove them later.
- Tell us what media you have in your filter. Do not use charcoal... it'll remove some of the nutrients needed by the plants.
- Other setup details. We need to determine if you have setup the tank properly for the plants to grow well.
* What plants do you have?
* How much plants do you have?
* How much lights are you using? (Total wattage, type of light tubes)
* How long are your lights on?
* What kind of substrate are you using?
* What fertilisers are you using, and how often and how much are you dosing?
* What filter are you using? (brand and model)
Key word here: Details.[/quote:ed7209feff]
Hi Vinz,
Thanks for your advise. I will try my best to answer the question as I may not know some of the plant name:
What plants do you have?
Java fern, a palm shape plant, and a step ladder type plant
* How much plants do you have?
Total 5
* How much lights are you using? (Total wattage, type of light tubes)
1 x 15W, my tank is only allowed for those
* How long are your lights on?
10 to 12 hrs
* What kind of substrate are you using?
3mm size, (i will try to upload a photo of my tank)
* What fertilisers are you using, and how often and how much are you dosing?
I bought a pack from a fish farm about s$8 and I use the whole pack
* What filter are you using? (brand and model)
Jebo 825
I am sorry beacuse for some, I threw away the packaging so thats why cannot give name, I hope this information helps.
[quote:599551307a="wan2start"]What plants do you have?
Java fern, a palm shape plant, and a step ladder type plant
* How much plants do you have?
Total 5 [/quote:599551307a]
Consider getting some old filter materials from your LFS that you bought all your tank stuff and add the dirt to the bio-section of your filter. Check the aquatic plants gallery on this site and get fast growers..plant very heavily and pack it to the gills. (From your description, it seems you got some terrestrial plants? Yes, LFS are notorious at putting some non-aquatic ones along with aquatic ones...)..Try getting some floaters like duckweeds (they can get their CO2 from the air without limitation) as well..great for soaking up ammonia.
[quote:599551307a="wan2start"]How much lights are you using? (Total wattage, type of light tubes)
1 x 15W, my tank is only allowed for those[/quote:599551307a]
Your tank comes with a hood? Drop that..get those individual light sets instead. Go for 2x15 NO FL would do fine for your setup.
By the way, how much fishes and shrimps do you have in that tank?
Regards
Peter Gwee
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
wan2start, I think your post got cut short because of the word limit of the forum software. Reply again, but without quoting my post.
Meanwhile, looks like you don't have much plants.... how many %, roughly, of the tank volume is plants? Or better yet, do you have any pictures?
You are using the lights that come with your tank? What tank is it? Does it come with a fixed hood?
15W for a 2ft tank is not quite enough for a planted tank. You'll need at least another 15W for a low-light planted tank and at least a total of 45 to 60W for a high light setup.
Me thinks you need to go read up a lot more.http://www.thekrib.com is another place to look.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
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