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Might consider increase Beneficial Bacteria to lower Ammonia.
my 2 cent.
Constant spike in ammonia after feeding.ph has gone up from 6.4 to 6.8.Soil dying?
Constantly had deads since stated tank inapr. found out it was due to low TDS(75). fixed that and deaths stopped, even had prl berried. but since 2 weeks ago 2 more prl and 1 rcs has died. and when i tested water found out the ammonia is at 0.25. i only feed every other day. but i reduce the quantity. but a day after feeding i test water and the ammonia is back to 0.25/0.5. i use BT9 each time i see a spike. last wc was 2 weeks ago. i scared to do cause worried if they moult they will die due to ammonia.
Ouestions:
1. can i not feed them for afew days like 4 days till ammonia drops?
2. does BT9 really works? i also use speedsand from lowkeys.
3. how to remove ammonia? other then wc
4. is my soil losing buffer cause now ph from 6.4 to 6.8?(only been 4 mths...distilled water only)
5. if i change soil how do i do it without removing shrimps?(only 1 tank. can i just top up)
6. What soil do i use?
7. or is there something else i can add to keep ph down?
Details;(all shrimps were drip accumulated over night)
1st division
6 PRL
~2 berried and had shrimplest. found 4 but missing today
30 RCS adults and shrimplets
2nd division
1 betta
2 penda croy
2ft tank divided by mesh to 1ft/1ft
Tem: 24/25 deg (chiller. use to be 25. but brought down to 24 today cause of ammonia scare)
substrate: RAC soil
HS 28a Hailea chiller
2215 Ehime
single head sponge filter
double head sponge filter
plants: java moss, mirimo moss, java fern, water wetiria, 3 kinds of frogbits
CO2: No
Fert: No
Lighting: LED
All test liquid API
PH: 6.8(two weeks ago 6.4) ( i use distilled water. each wc (15% once in two weeks) i use 2 parts distilled water(life brand ntuc). Evaporation top up, distilled water.
KH:1deg
GH:5deg
TDS: 133
NH3/NH4:0.25/0.5ppm
NO2:0
NO3:5+
Food
CRS heaven breeder select
lowkey sprial
ocean nutrition algae wafe
speanich wafe boreno wild
(taken 1 mth ago. now top is covered with frog bits)
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Might consider increase Beneficial Bacteria to lower Ammonia.
my 2 cent.
Do you use anything to re-mineralise your distilled water?
i use lokey GH+ and borneo wild vigour to remineralise.
OK... Hmm... Did you spray any insecticide or chemicals around the vicinity of your aquarium?
I'd assume your tank should be cycled by now (as its been running since april), so ammonia spiking after feeding in this case may indicate that the filtration and beneficial bacteria are not sufficient enough to handle the bio-load... though the Eheim 2215 you are using has alot of filter media volume so it should be able to support alot of bio-media, and your livestock bio-load and feeding schedule seems relatively okay too. Hence i guess the ammonia spike is probably from other factors.
Some things to look at to help narrow down the possible causes...
What types of media do you put into your filter? And how much of it is bio-media? That can affect the amount of beneficial bacteria that are able to colonize the filter and do their job.
When did you last clean the filter? If the filter has not be cleaned for a while and currently building up alot of rotting organic waste inside, that will overwork the beneficial bacteria colonies and reduce their capacity to handle new ammonia sources.
im using the media that came with the filter. and i have never cleaned it since i had it in apr. i didnt get a double tap attachment. is it too late to buy and install?
feel so stupid for not buying it earlier but was too expensive.
if the soil is lossing its buffer capablity, if i continue to use distilled water for wc, can i get away with replacing the soil?
Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria
Okay, the lack of filter cleaning and maintenance for the past 4+ months is most likely the cause of the ammonia spikes... by now the filter would be full of rotting organic waste material so the accumulation of all those ammonia producing compounds are overloading the cycle. Filters should ideally be cleaned and maintained regularly every 1-2 months (the sponges and bio-media rinsed in tank or dechlorinated water to dislodge all the dirt and debris, and dirty water all poured out).
Just a filter cleaning now to reduce the load on the tank's cycle.
You can install double taps any time... its just a matter of emptying the hoses of water, then cut the hoses and install the double taps in between. Very easy and quick.
Even without double taps, you can still do filter cleaning and maintenance. Just remove the hoses from the tank, drain the water from the canister filter out into a bucket, then proceed to do the filter cleaning. After that connect everything back again, then prime it and resume operation.
Double taps do help make it abit easier to do maintenance, but its not a requirement, you can still do actual filter cleaning and maintenance without them.
Using distilled water can help to slow down the speed of the soil losing its buffering ability... but eventually the soil will still gradually lose it anyways. How quick a soil uses up its buffering ability depends on its characteristics and quality, along with how much soil is being used compared to the water volume (more soil vs water volume = longer buffering period, and vice versa).
If your shrimps are doing fine and breeding well, then it probably indicates that have already adapted to the existing conditions, therefore you may not need to adjust their parameters at this moment.
But do plan for the eventual change in soil substrate when the soil's buffering ability is used up. Some shrimp keepers change their substrate regularly every year, so its quite a regular activity.
To change the substrate, you will have to remove all the shrimps (as many as you can find) and shift them to a temporary tank, drain all the water from the existing tank, remove the old soil, replace with new soil, fill up the tank again, let the filter run for a while, test the parameters, once everything is stable, then can acclimate and introduce the shrimps back into the tank.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 1st Sep 2014 at 14:01.
Just when and bought the double tap. but wont cleaning the filter cause a mini cycling? as im removing all water from the canister(about 10L?) and the bacteria?
so i have to change the soil no matter what? even when im using distilled? that means i need another tank... i obviously didnt think this hobby through. have to find a way to prepare a new tank..
Thank you so much for you expert advice. will follow.
[ QUOTE=Urban Aquaria;787958]Okay, the lack of filter cleaning and maintenance for the past 4+ months is most likely the cause of the ammonia spikes... by now the filter would be full of rotting organic waste material so the accumulation of all those ammonia producing compounds are overloading the cycle. Filters should ideally be cleaned and maintained regularly every 1-2 months (the sponges and bio-media rinsed in tank or dechlorinated water to dislodge all the dirt and debris, and dirty water all poured out).
Just a filter cleaning now to reduce the load on the tank's cycle.
You can install double taps any time... its just a matter of emptying the hoses of water, then cut the hoses and install the double taps in between. Very easy and quick.
Even without double taps, you can still do filter cleaning and maintenance. Just remove the hoses from the tank, drain the water from the canister filter out into a bucket, then proceed to do the filter cleaning. After that connect everything back again, then prime it and resume operation.
Double taps do help make it abit easier to do maintenance, but its not a requirement, you can still do actual filter cleaning and maintenance without them.
Using distilled water can help to slow down the speed of the soil losing its buffering ability... but eventually the soil will still gradually lose it anyways. How quick a soil uses up its buffering ability depends on its characteristics and quality, along with how much soil is being used compared to the water volume (more soil vs water volume = longer buffering period, and vice versa).
If your shrimps are doing fine and breeding well, then it probably indicates that have already adapted to the existing conditions, therefore you may not need to adjust their parameters at this moment.
But do plan for the eventual change in soil substrate when the soil's buffering ability is used up. Some shrimp keepers change their substrate regularly every year, so its quite a regular activity.
To change the substrate, you will have to remove all the shrimps (as many as you can find) and shift them to a temporary tank, drain all the water from the existing tank, remove the old soil, replace with new soil, fill up the tank again, let the filter run for a while, test the parameters, once everything is stable, then can acclimate and introduce the shrimps back into the tank.[/QUOTE]
As long as you rinse and clean the sponges and bio-media in a bucket of tank water (best to do it using a water change), the beneficial bacteria will still be alive and intact, and the cycle will not be affected... just don't use untreated chlorinated tap water as that can kill off most of the beneficial bacteria.
Very little of the beneficial bacteria live in the water, majority of them live on and inside the bio-media. The filter water actually contains alot more harmful waste and pollutants than bacteria.
Yeah, it all depends on the type and hardiness of shrimp species you are keeping. Less sensitive shrimps (ie. RCS) that can adapt to different water parameters wouldn't need periodic soil substrate changes, they can live in different pH, water hardnes and TDS without issues.
On the otherhand, if the shrimps you keep require a narrow range of parameters to thrive... then eventually the soil buffers will expire and you'll have to change the soil substrate periodically to maintain those narrow parameters. Its just part of the extra work required to keep those more sensitive shrimp species.
i bought a ph test pen. ph reading is 6.9.. the soil is about 1 inch for a 2 ft tank with chiller and canister filter. should i top up more rac soil? im trying to find a way to set up new tank in cause. but that would still take mths to cycle...
1 inch of soil substrate in a 2ft tank works out to around 4-5 kg of soil... thats on the lower side of soil volume ratio, i guess for your next tank you can look at using up to 8-9kg of soil, to better match and buffer the water volume for a longer period of time.
For example with ADA Amazonia aquasoil, the product recommends 9L of soil for 2ft tanks.
If your current tank is already cycled, your new tank could be "seeded" with cycled bio-media from the current tank (just transfer over a partial amount of the seasoned bio-media to the new filter), that should help the new tank to cycle much faster.
could i add new soil to my current tank?
To ride on subdave question. .to avoid cloudiness. .will add via feeding tubes..is that ok?
Possible... but the addition of new soil may have a chance of triggering a mini-cycle in the tank, so if you don't want to risk the more sensitive (and more expensive) shrimps getting affected, best to remove them beforehand to a temporary tank and then re-introduce them back again after you have tested that the parameters are stable.
That can help to reduce the cloudiness... i add small amounts of ADA aquasoil with a pipette to top up eroding slopes in my tanks too and it works well.
I have to risk it. I bought amazon soil powder. How much do I add and how often? I dont have a spare tank. Till I find a way to setup 1, I nwed to reduce my ph back to 6.4... thank yoh for tbe help everyone. Already spent a thousand on shrimps.... I dont want to give up
You'll need to test adding various amounts of soil, let it settle for a while, then check the pH to achieve the target level you require. If not enough then have to add more, there isn't a fixed ratio, you'll just have to try and see... though generally the more soil in the tank, the longer the buffering period.
You could put less soil in the tank and it may still buffer the pH to what you want, but the buffering lifespan will also be correspondingly shorter too, so you'll keep having to add in more and more soil over time.
ADA amazonia aquasoil will leach ammonia when first introduced into a tank (depending on the amount of soil added), that will cause the tank to cycle again and make the water parameters fluctuate with toxic spikes, so adding this type of active soil with sensitive livestock still in the tank can be a risk.
Since you have already spent so much money on shrimps, it'll be best to take extra steps to protect those investments and minimize potential shrimp losses.
You can just use any spare tank to temporarily house the shrimps, personally i use those cheap "guppy brand"15-20 liter plastic tanks to hold my fishes and shrimps for a while whenever i do tank re-scapes (just bare tank is sufficient, no need substrate).
I'll just transfer over existing tank water and run a seasoned sponge filter in the temporary tank to help keep the conditions stable, then i let the main canister filter continue running in the re-scaped main tank for a few days until everything settles down and once the water parameters are tested to be stable, then i drip acclimate the livestock and introduce them back to the main tank.
For PRL shrimps, you'll just need to be more diligent with their care (since they are so much more expensive), so try to keep the water conditions as stable as possible. Maintain the temporary tank with general clean-up, top up and water changes just like in your main tank.
If your main filter's beneficial bacteria population are strong and well established, they should be able to fully process the newly released ammonia relatively quickly, so the new cycle will usually be quite short.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 3rd Sep 2014 at 13:19.
so i take them out, put them in a tank filled with tank water and sponge filter from the tank. then i slowly add day by day until desired height and ph?
cause my filter is only 4 months old. if i soak the soil in water, and then rinse before i add using a very long scoop, will it help speed up amonial leeching? also at bt9+speed sand+B4 arowanna?
how long do you think the prl can survive in the temp tank? i will use distlled water and add minerals to match tds. will also go find mini chiller..
Yeah, you can add the soil in stages and test... though if you are removing livestock anyways, then might as well remove the old soil and put in the new soil, otherwise you end up with a whole lot of extra soil of different shape and color in the tank which take up tank volume.
Soaking and rinsing ADA aquasoil isn't recommended as it can accelerates the breaking down of the soil granules, and you're also washing away the things that enable its pH characteristics (the organic material in the soil is what drops the pH)... its basically like doing multiple water changes and washing away the good stuff.
Adding bacteria solutions can help, but do be prepared for a higher chance of bacterial bloom with those additives due to the high amount of initial ammonia and nutrients being released by the soil.
How long and how well your PRL can survive in the temporary tank will depend on their overall health and whether you can keep the tank parameters ideal and stable for them, otherwise its just like a normal tank. Its entirely possible for such shrimps to live in barebottom tanks, there are shrimp breeders who use such tank setups too.
Check out this shrimp breeder who uses only barebottom tanks and sponge filters: http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=473970
i will add on 1" to the current 1 "... dont dare restart. i will only be shifting the prl to bare tank. will keep the rcs and betta in while i add.
ok. new tank when i set up will be like yours. little soil so that its not transparent. i done with using soil. will continue to use distilled water to keep ph at 6.4. dose minarales to up tds to 130 and gh 5... but not sure how to buffer kh. worried 0 kh will cause a swing.
will this do?
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