plec

[Cavafish]

about 50

 

[WILDER]

Go to your filter box and remove a blue sponge and slightly rinse and squeeze it once to remove some muck from it in old tank water, might as well do a water change, don't go mad just slightly don't want to go back to a mini cycle, you might need to buy one of those nitrate sponges by juwel with having high nitrates in your tap water, mine's 12.5 and I wasn't happy with mine.

 

[WILDER]

Can you post tank size and what fish you keep and how many.

 

[Cavafish]

all that info is in my signature thingy.

I am probably overstocked.....

 

[jimbooo]

5 plecs and 2 balas (not including the babies) is a lot of poo for a standard Juwel filter to cope with. before you've even taken the other fish into consideration.

not that you wanted to hear that.

i think an additional external filter is in desperate need..... but check with other people first incase i'm wrong (only 1 year in so far so no expert)

GOOD LUCK

 

[Phantom Thief]

I don't think an additional filter is needed, since the biological and mechanical filtration is going fine. If you want to keep nitrates down, try getting a fast growing plant or use RO water.

P.T.

 

[jimbooo]

Oh yeah all that would do is make nitrate faster. DOH i did warn you i'm no expert.

sorry )

 

[Phantom Thief]

lol jimboo, no biggie. We all learn new stuff everyday

It wouldnt exactly make nitrate faster either, because you can only make as much nitrate as there is ammonia. And the tank is already cycled which means that all the ammonia is already being converted to nitrate, so adding another filter wouldn't make any difference

P.T.

 

[jimbooo]

Wize words mate, thanks..

 

[Cavafish]

Wow. Cool guys. i am following your logic on the filter/nitrate stuff. I have never thought I needed any more filtration as I have never registered a nitrite reading so I know that the filter is converting the ammonia over ok.
I am no 'green' 'organic' or enviromentalist but I dont like adding chemicals to the tank so do you know of any other way of keeping the nitrate down? is there a filter for nitrates?

Jimbooo - I'm only 18 months into this hobby as well hence my identification of illness is not good.

Plec is now back in/under his bogwood but both his flanks are a grey colour. He looks ill.

 

[jimbooo]

Juwel do a nitrate removal sponge which fits in between the black and blue sponges. This will remove some although needs changing every 2 months or so.

it's probably your best option as if it doesnt work you've wasted a fiver or so..

other than that water changes are the only other "organic" way i know of. As it's the end product of the nitrogen cycle all you can do is dilute it by changing the water. as far as i know.

my tank is a Juwel Rio 180 so a mini version of yours.

 

[fuzzyferret]

My tank is also a Rio 180, and unfortunately I live in a very high nitrate area. No matter how many water changes, it stays high!
I have tried the Juwel nitrate blue sponge - no change. Hope yours works better!

Change has recently occurred because I am running an external Eheim filter (I thought I would run this along with my Juwel one, as I am going to be swapping tanks soon, so thought I would get some good bacteria into my new filter for a few weeks before doing so).

Did a test recently, nitrates are still rather high, but have gone down significantly!

I am now thinking twice about whether or not to run an additional external filter with my Rio 180 after I move my cichlids into a larger tank.

Doesn't help you in the short term, but may be worth considering??

Hope he's OK.

 

[jimbooo]

my nitrate removing sponge is Green, the blue ones are standard filter sponges.

picture here

 

[fuzzyferret]

OK - bluey green! It said nitrate remover on the box and it didn't work!

 

[WILDER]

Never tryed them my self think they are abit expensive and you have to change them alot as well, but if they do work and you have high tap nitrates I suppose it worth it.