Fish Dead, Think Ive Got A Problem

[Rooster]

Not sure... I think we are thinking ourselves into a corner here, the important thing (as mention by MW) is why isnt the filter "dealing" with it ?

Could all be down to a non cycled filter ! If petrol wasnt so expensive, Id pop over and see for myself - I hate unsolvable riddles ! LOL
Its more a quest now...

 

[riksworld]

Not a problem miss wiggle:

Tank:

the tank is around 180litre, its made by aquarium aquatlantis

Filter system:

is a Fluval 205, pump output 180 us gall, biological volume 2.10 us qt

Maintenance:

one a week, usually on a sunday, hoover gravel with gravel cleaner, at the same emptying the tank into buckets, switch of heater as its emptying so it dont run dry and keeping emptying tank till around 25 - 30 % of the water is out

grab the other 2 buckets, fill to 10 litre from the tap and slowly fill tank with fresh water carefully monitoring the amount of water in litres to how much tap water treatment to measure

once full, turn heater back on

i dont like to open the filter system, prefer to leave well alone unless there is a problem, but if i do clean, i usually fill a bucket and empty some tank water into it, then open up the filter and put into bucket while i check the condition of the foam pads

Fish:

the tank currently has, danio x 2, guppies x 3, yoyo x 2, tetra x 4 and a baby Hypostomus plecostomus, about 1 1/2 inch in size

 

[Rooster]

Not a problem miss wiggle:

Tank:

the tank is around 180litre, its made by aquarium aquatlantis

Filter system:

is a Fluval 205, pump output 180 us gall, biological volume 2.10 us qt
This sounds a little small for the tank size ? - What media is in there ?
Maintenance:

one a week, usually on a sunday, hoover gravel with gravel cleaner, at the same emptying the tank into buckets, switch of heater as its emptying so it dont run dry and keeping emptying tank till around 25 - 30 % of the water is out
Try testing for ammonia BEFORE removing any water

grab the other 2 buckets, fill to 10 litre from the tap and slowly fill tank with fresh water carefully monitoring the amount of water in litres to how much tap water treatment to measure
Do you add the treatment before adding water to tank, or add treatment to the tank ?

once full, turn heater back on

i dont like to open the filter system, prefer to leave well alone unless there is a problem, but if i do clean, i usually fill a bucket and empty some tank water into it, then open up the filter and put into bucket while i check the condition of the foam pads

Fish:

the tank currently has, danio x 2, guppies x 3, yoyo x 2, tetra x 4 and a baby Hypostomus plecostomus, about 1 1/2 inch in size

How long has this lot been running ? did you do a fishless cycle ?

 

[riksworld]

the filter has 2 sponges then 3 seperate compartments, the bottom as 2 lots of carbon, middle and top has biocylinders, its the stuff that came with the filter system and installed to the instrustions, the top section also contains a small amount crushed coral to help the ph and water hardness

there is still ammonia in the tank, i have taken a water sample from filter output pipe that goes back into the tank direct from the filter, this also test positive for ammonia, 0.25

i have tried both, ive mixed the tap treatment into a bucket, and adding it to the tank direct, unless the stuff im using is not much good

the tank has been running for around 4 months now without any big problems

sadly i used fish to cyle the tank before i realised what fishless cycle was

 

[riksworld]

Anyone else have any ideas?

Rooster, if i was to pop up to your place or i could pay somthing towards your petrol etc, would you be willing to come over to perhaps help me with some kind words of advise, if need be would you like me to send some pics etc via pm or email?

think im just grasping at straws now

thanks anyhow to everyone who has suggusted an idea and advice

 

[waterdrop]

rik, have glanced through thread again, no new ideas. If we all just keep discussing it, somebody may come up with something.

 

[riksworld]

i know some of my fish friends use ro units, would this possibly cure my problem or is that really just for the marine setup?, just chucking ideas about and see if anything comes about, im hoping so

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, there are many threads and much expertise here on TFF about RO units. The reverse osmosis membranes in these units effectively remove just about everything from the water that matters, leaving "blank" water without many minerals or organic substances. Fish of course need particular mineral balances, so pure RO water is not good for them. What most people do here is to then combine RO water with their tap water in some ratio to acheive a new balance of minerals and other substances. The RO units are not terribly expensive but they do use up a fair amount of extra water to clear out the removed substances. That makes them unpopular in areas where drought is a concern (not something we hear much of from the UKers, where the grass is so green )

Using RO water strikes me as a pretty radical move and I would certainly try to have more discussion with the various experts here before forumating a decision. I don't even know if it would make sense as a solution to your particular problem - that needs more looking at.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[riksworld]

thanks waterdrop for your answer, least i know what one is now, , plus im on a bloomin water meter so that might be a bad idea, can any one else suggest any other things i can try out as test or possibly use to try and fix my strange problem which i seem to have got, im still not sure why the filter isnt not purging this out of the system, could changing some of my media possbily help, such as removeing the carbon?

 

[waterdrop]

gee, I just had this thought - what if the water is just getting by the media in the fluval and just not being filtered? Seems like I've read some worries about that sometimes. But that's not the problem, right? Its been overnight and I more or less forgot that its the water from the tap behaving strangely, right. Oh well. Be patient, rooster or andyw or someome may come along and help figure it out...

 

[riksworld]

just a quick update, ive just done my routine water change, i did a 50% change today to give them a good does of fresh water,

reading before water change, taken from the tank:

ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrates 10

reading before water change, from the output pipe of the water:

ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrates 5

readsing below are from after the water change, 50%:

from the tank:

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrates 5

reading below are from the output pipe of the filter:

ammonia 0

I will post back later this evening once the tank has chance to filter everything and the water has had a chance to stand as the ammonia only seems to rise after around 12 hours

 

[riksworld]

a little bit later then i had thought, but the house rabbit has just given birth, here are the current readings from the tank:

Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
nitrates 10

Would still seem the levels are still the same even after all these water changes, anyone else care to comment on this?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

started a topic in the scientific section incase anyone there can shed light on this situation....

 

[riksworld]

Hi guys, just a quick update, ive just lost another fish im afraid, looks like its starting to get to them, now i am desperate for a fix, even if that is possible, might have to resort to use bottle water, would be ok or is this not sutable?

 

[Rooster]

You shouldnt "need" bottled water.... cannot see ANY advantage, and it would be silly expensive - I am at a complete loss over this myself... what else is in the tank ? suspect rocks or plants ? dead fish lodged under a rock ? Just thinking aloud now !

Happy to help, but not sure how ! lol