Terra

I definitely have a gravel vac and do vacuum the gravel every two weeks, but I don't think it hasn't really been stirred up for a long time. I'm afraid to see what I'll find! :S My first attempt to lower the levels was at the filter level. I rinsed 2 out of 3 foam filter pads in aquarium water along with the large first filter blocks. There was no biomax or any other media really other than carbon + peat. I threw those out and but in some biomax, clearmax (claims to remove nitrate among other things), ammonia remover and carbon. I thought for sure this would help but to no avail. My plan is to remove 70-80% of the water, wash half the rock in aquarium water and the other half in tap water. Also like I said half the fish will be moved. I'm hoping this will do the trick without cycling my aquariums. I'll be sure to post what atrocities I come across in the gravel and the results of my mission! Wish me luck!

The tank is filtered with a Fluval 203 canister filter than just had the foam and most of the media replaced as it was so disgusting. I'm thinking the gravel is the culprit as it came with the tank and one can only guess how frequently the previous owner vacuumed it. The test I use is brand new, that gives me appropriate results with my other 55g tank that is not affected by this nitrate problem. Right now there are way too many fish in the tank. I have another waiting to be started. The current (affected) tanks are a 20g with probably 40+ fish in it (this was not my doing, the tank came to me this way- I plan on taking at least half of these out and putting them in the new tank) and a 30g with 10 fish in it. Hope this helps, and thank you for the reply!

Hi Guys I have two tanks that were purchased from the same gentleman. Upon water testing I've found ammonia and nitrites to be practically zero but nitrates are off the charts...literally. I do 30-50% water changes weekly and have even tried a massive dilution water change (which brought the levels down for about a day), cleaned the filter (which was disgusting) and still my nitrate levels are so high as to be unreadable. My fish are dying, one by one. Perfectly healthy (seemingly) the night before and when I wake up, they're dead. Usually one every 4 days or so. I can't think of anything else to cause this other than the high nitrate levels. I think my last resort is to tear the tanks apart, rinse the gravel really well, change 70% of the water and add a tonne of cycle and that stuff that breaks down junk in the tank. Does this sound like a good plan? I know I run the risk of cycling my tank again, and I'd be happy to hear any alternative approaches. Thoughts?? I don't want to keep scooping my fishies out of the tank!!

Hi guys, I've recently gotten into the aquarist hobby-quickly-turned-to-obsession. I purchased three established tanks from different people on kijiji. I LOVE my tanks but the one I'm trying to turn into a biotope is my 55g. It's got this horrible neon blue/pink/green/white gravel in it right now (in it's previous life it was entertainment for a young boy). I've gotten rid of the fake plants and silly ornaments and put in lots of live plants (anubias, vallisneria, hygrophila, java fern, grass, cabomba and a few other things I don't know the names of). There is also lots of driftwood and two airstones. I'd like to turn it into a true biotope featuring central american livebearers (platies, mollies and swordtails). I currently have white cloud mountain minnows in there that seem to get along in the warmer waters, but realize they don't really belong in there. I also have an african dwarf frog and pleco. I'm looking for suggestions on proper substrate and lighting, along with plant species true to that area. Also, should I put in the blackwater additive? I've been researching and some say the water is tea-colored but transparent. Thoughts? I'd love to see pictures of what other people have done regarding any biotope stuff. Thanks in advance!

EXCELLENT biotope website DarkStar! Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm Terra and this site was recommended to me for lots of great resources locally. I'm new to forums so still trying to figure it out! I'm 25, from Edmonton and work in healthcare. I got into fish pretty recently and am liking it so far! Some specs on my tanks: 55g Tropical tank 9 platies (Red wag, blue spotted, sunburst and blue tuxedo) 9 white mountain minnows 1 african dwarf frog 1 pleco Lots of plants and driftwood. This tank is my favorite! 33g tropical tank 1 black ghost knife 2 cory catfish 1 blue platy 1 multicolored platy 3 mollies 1 redtail shark 18g tropical tank Ameca Splendens White and dalmation mollies