Fish Seem Ill And Swimming At The Surface After Filter Change

[Scrappaman]

I can't honestly see anything in those pictures. If you are using the bog standard Juwel black box filter that should come with the rekord (you did have a rekord didn't you?), you just need to make sure that the top of the water is slightly disrupted by the water flow, WHILE making sure that the water gets in the vents on the side to go through the filter media.

You get what I mean?

 

[Underwurlde]

Just a small drop of 1/2", but whatever, this will vary as height of water varies due to evaporation).

Now to concentrate on the problem to hand.
Q) Do you still have the old filters / ANY filter media left over or is it all gone?
Q) What substrate have you got?

Andy

 

[bexyjane]

the vents are at the top th, far above the pump outlet, and what about the heater?

Just a small drop of 1/2", but whatever, this will vary as height of water varies due to evaporation).

Now to concentrate on the problem to hand.
Q) Do you still have the old filters / ANY filter media left over or is it all gone?
Q) What substrate have you got?

Andy

Its all gone now, however the water today seems much better the fish and moving around as normal, altho i know this doesnt mean probelm is over. whats sustrate?

 

[Underwurlde]

Listen, your tank setup for these things has been fine for the last year... so if u havn't moved anything then leave it alone.

AaronC is correct. You need to cycle your tank and fast.

Your stats for now appear OK

Please, answer my Q's above ^

Andy

Sorry, you posted when I posted.

Substrate = what have you got at the bottom of your tank? Sand? Gravel? etc?

Andy

 

[bexyjane]

I have sand

 

[Underwurlde]

Good.

Q) Has the sand been in there since you set the tank up, i.e. 1 year?
Q) Do you use a gravel vac to clean your tank?

Andy

PS
I am going somewhere with these questions...

 

[bexyjane]

yeh i set the tank with sand, no i not use a gravel vac as such, ts a homemade syphon thing, basically clear plastic tubing with a funnel on the ed, does the same job only the gravel vac sucks too much sand up

 

[Underwurlde]

Cool.

OK, that’s good so here’s the deal.

The way your old blue filter worked was to house a colony of friendly bacteria that munched ammonia (toxic ammonia and safe ammonium) into nitrate (nasty, but not as nasty) and then some other friendly bacteria munch this into nitrate (relatively safe). You get rid of the nitrate via weekly water changes or use plants.

So, what your new filters lack is the all important friendly bacteria: they colonize and grow in numbers to match the level of waste produced by your fish – this takes time and this is the cycling period and for a new tank takes about 2 months for enough bacteria to grow.

So that’s the bad news, you’ve thrown your good bacteria away. But the good news, to an extent, is that these bacteria are ‘sessile’ – they live on things, not ‘in the water’. In other words they will be growing in your filter media (gone now), plants, sides of the tank and…. In your Substrate.

You have what you need right there in your tank.

We just have to get them into your new filters and this will really, really, really kick start the cycling process that your new filters will now have to go through and what you desperately now need to happen. What I suggest you do is to ‘seed’ your new filter with the bacteria growing in the sand. (Note: with this in mind, your sand substrate is ALSO acting as a filter).

What I think you should do is gather up all the ‘mulm’ in your sand. Mulm is this nitrifying bacteria along with its carbon based food source, decayed plant material, fish waste detritus, invertebrates, diatoms, other algae, BGA etc. It is loaded with organic matter, bacteria and fungi, as well as a source of food for them. It can therefore be considered as active living thing and adds precisely what's missing from your new filters.

Using your vac, hover it above the sand and stir it up – get right in there. Do this as if you were doing a massive 50% water change. Let the water settle in the bucket, the dirt on the bottom? That's Mulm. (Note: The dirt in your old filter sponge was…. Mulm).

You wait about 2-5 minutes and pour the clear water back into your tank, save the wet soupy stuff left over and add this to your new filter.

Nice job! (not).

Do this and you won’t have to purchase any ‘cycle’ products either (such as the one Wilder mentioned above – many of these products are ‘snake oil’ anyway).

Andy

 

[aaronc]

You need more water in there pronto!! The heater will crack if it comes on out of water! make sure the heating elements are fully submersed!

Fill the water to normal lever and just point the filter ouput straight up. Also, if you have a spare empty 2 litre bottle then half fill it with tank water, put the lid on the bottle and shake it for a while then pour it back in the tank, this will add oxygen.

Hope this helps and good lucl

Aaron

 

[bexyjane]

Just checking i've got this right....

i uses the vac to stir and sand up loads, i then poor the water back in and basically all the crap in the bottom i poor on top of my filters? or do i soak the filters in it an then poor it bk in with the filters? and what will this do, mean that the cyclin process will speed up? should i be fedding th fish as normal? sorry for all the questions i just dnt want to do anythig else wrong!

 

[Underwurlde]

No problem:

1.) As you drain 50% or so of your water into a bucket (or two), constantly stir up the sand and try and catch as much of the crap buried in there as possible. The more sh1t you get in the bucket the better!

2.) Wait 5 mins.

3.) CAREFULLY pour the water back into the tank, leaving said sh1t in the bottom of the bucket - a nice soupy slurrly hopefully.

4.) Take your nice, new, shiny blue filter media and put it in the bucket and SOAK it in the sh.. Get it in there!

5.) Put blue filter media in filter.

6.) Pour remaining crap-in bucket into your filter, on top of the new, now not quite so shiny blue filter.

7.) Put the other filter media in / whatever, but at least you'll be putting the White floss stuff in last.

8.) Switch the filter back on.

Job done.

9.) Wash your mits!

 

[bexyjane]

kool ok ill do that, so i only need to do it with the fine blue filter at the bottom on the filter system? thanks for all your help, how often would u do this, just the once? sounds like a crappy job, one where i will be wearing marigolds for this one! where the men when u need them lol

 

[WILDER]

If you added the black carbon sponge and new nitrate sponge, remove them.

 

[aaronc]

Ha ha. I know what you mean, not a nice job but it will help

Make sure you top up your tank, I am very concerned that your heater will crack given your current water level.

Aaron

 

[Underwurlde]

so i only need to do it with the fine blue filter at the bottom on the filter system?

Yep.

Now, if I were you (are you still reading this..... *yawn*), I'd get rid of ALL that green & black useless crappy filter media and competely stuff the box FULL of the blue media - I did this as this is all you need. Oh and cap it all with the white floss stuff of course.

(I think Wilder has just come in with this as well, so there you go!).

how often would u do this, just the once?

Yep.

BUT, if you DO add more of the Blue media, replacing the other stuff, do it again for the new blue filters (leave the other one where it is).

Andy