Lost some Penguin Tetras (original title 'lost some cardinal penguins')

[imw]

One thing jumps out at me....not sure if it had anything to do with what has been happening, might be connected, might not be....however, your filter media.

Ceramics would normally go in the bottom tray since they catch the most good bacterial matter and thus removes the "bad stuff" initially before passing through the layers above. The last layer should be the floss that will catch all the finer crud that the lower levels miss.

So have I read yours right and its upside down?

Hi, no you read correctly - from bottom up - filter floss, sponge, biological media (Ceramics), rest of trays left as Oase supplied. Like you I agree I do not think the order of the media was/is the issue. Convinced now it was the wood (not the bog wood)

ATB

 

[Essjay]

Missed the bit about mature media. That may have helped but it may not.

A couple of years ago I used mature media to set up my quarantine tank, and added ammonia to test it. The ammonia was level was the same next day, and next week. I ended up doing a 6 week fishless cycle in the QT. My mature media contains hardly any bacteria.
I know that in a mature tank there are bacteria everywhere not just the filter; and when there are live plants in a tank, there are only background levels of bacteria. So if your donor tank is like my main tank, mature media won't help. But if the donor tank does not have live plants, it probably will help.

 

[imw]

That's very helpful.

You haven't done a conventional fishless cycle as that involves adding ammonia or fish food to decompose and make ammonia.
But you do have plants, which will help.

Are the plants showing signs of actively growing? Plants need to establish themselves before we can be sure they'll deal with all the ammonia made by fish.
You mention floating plants - these are particularly good at taking up ammonia as long as there are more than the odd one or two tiny specimens. Floating plants are close to the lights and as they are on the surface they can get CO2 from the air.




Last year I bought some Aqua One branchy wood which I left in an old tank in the garden to soak. Within a couple of days it had grown white slime and the water was too cloudy to see through. I changed the water and scrubbed the wood under the outside tap, and next day it was as bad as ever. I cleaned the wood and changed the water almost every day for a couple of weeks which reduced the cloudiness but didn't get rid of it. Google found some hits which claimed that the Aqua One wood I bought killed fish so it is still sitting in the shed, unused, and I bought some different wood. I couldn't take the risk.
(The new wood, labelled mangrove, was fine. I just had to soak it for a cople of weeks until it stopped floating)

Hi,

Rooted Plants are showing some good growth - Flual aquasky on Plant boost mode. Flourish added once a week - cap full. Floating plants are growing slowly. Like you say I think the wood was the issue and the gunk on it caused the issue. So tanks to Bruce and Byron for the info on the wood.

ATB

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Hi, no you read correctly - from bottom up - filter floss, sponge, biological media (Ceramics), rest of trays left as Oase supplied. Like you I agree I do not think the order of the media was/is the issue. Convinced now it was the wood (not the bog wood)

ATB

OK....stupid question....but why is your media installed upside down?

Having the water hit the floss first will cause blockages in the flow, you'll lose alot of the good bacteria that would normally live on the ceramics (when ceramics is the first thing the water hits at the bottom).....and when changing that floss you are throwing away the good stuff too, so effectively perpetuating the cycle by not allowing the good stuff to become anchored, grow and thus do its job.

Sorry...just confuzzled on the layering.

 

[imw]

Some pictures of the tank as now - looking 100% brighter IMO. Added 3 Crypts today.

 

[imw]

OK....stupid question....but why is your media installed upside down?

Having the water hit the floss first will cause blockages in the flow, you'll lose alot of the good bacteria that would normally live on the ceramics (when ceramics is the first thing the water hits at the bottom).....and when changing that floss you are throwing away the good stuff too, so effectively perpetuating the cycle by not allowing the good stuff to become anchored, grow and thus do its job.

Sorry...just confuzzled on the layering.

OK will switch it round as you suggest.

ATB

 

[Essjay]

Most filter instructions say to have mechanical media first in the direction of water flow to remove the debris; then biological media, and filter wool last to remove the tiny particles.
The exception is Juwel who say to have the filter wool first in the direction of water flow to catch the debris to keep it out of the sponges.

 

[imw]

Well it is all switched around now - flow back to tank has improved. No harm done.

NB- Oase filter not Juwel.

ATB

 

[Deleted member 149562]

When you service the filter, change the floss but rinse the ceramics and sponges in the water that you remove when doing water changes and not tapwater as the tap water will undo the build up of good bacterial matter on the ceramics and sponges, which in turn will affect the toxic matter killing ability of the good bacteria growth badly. Don't wash out the casing unless really gunky, again only use the removed aquarium water, not tapwater.

 

[imw]

When you service the filter, change the floss but rinse the ceramics and sponges in the water that you remove when doing water changes and not tapwater as the tap water will undo the build up of good bacterial matter on the ceramics and sponges, which in turn will affect the toxic matter killing ability of the good bacteria growth badly. Don't wash out the casing unless really gunky, again only use the removed aquarium water, not tapwater.

 

[noobfish]

Been watching this and now I'm a bit concerned. I have a piece of mopani wood in my small tank that has the white snot halo over it. Should I too remove it? Been in the tank with shrimp for about 5 days.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Been watching this and now I'm a bit concerned. I have a piece of mopani wood in my small tank that has the white snot halo over it. Should I too remove it? Been in the tank with shrimp for about 5 days.

Mopani is fine to use in aquariums, it's the "mystery wood" you sometimes find in shops (or Nature) that can cause issues

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I have to admit to having the white coating on all my wood when first placed into the aquarium and left it alone in the aquariums. The fish nibbled it and eventually it went away on its own accord without any adverse effects on the fish or water chemistry.

 

[noobfish]

Mopani is fine to use in aquariums, it's the "mystery wood" you sometimes find in shops (or Nature) that can cause issues

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Alot of issues with wood can be due to using wood that you find on a country walk or on the beach or riverside.

You don't know what species it is, so you won't know if it is suitable for aquatic use and not toxic to your fish. You have no idea how many wild animals have pee'd or scent marked it or dogs and other animals have picked it up to play with it.

Boiling "found" wood and wood bought in shops (craft or pet shops) is always advised, as is soaking it for a week or more to leech out not just unwanted tannin but anything else unwanted such as animal waste residue etc.

You can never be 100% sure that the wood you use is completely "clean and clear" of lurgies but there are many means of doing as good a job of it as you possibly can.