Bad test resualts!

[Sabrina]

Hi all, i have a problem! A few days ago this tank tested ok, i took the filter out and cleaned the ceramic rings and filter media in old tank water and also removed the carbon that was inside the filter media and discarded it. I put the cleaned filter media and ceramic rings back in the filter and did a 40 liter water change on the tank. There is 2 young discus and 7 catfish in this tank. No other changes were made. Its a 100 liter tank.. It also has a sponge filter in it which i didnt clean. This morning before feeding time i tested the tank, and to my horror these are the results:
PH 6.4 Very low!!
High Range PH 7.4 but looked yellow, off the chart..
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate 80!!!
KH 17.9
GH 196.9

I have no idea what on earth has gone wrong here, i am in the middle of a huge water change and im going to clean the sponge filter too this time!
Could anyone shed light on what could have happened here please??? :(

[Sabrina]

I did a 70 liter water change and triple dose of prime, cleaned the sponge filter that was clogged full of junk! The readings on the tank 9 hours later are better:
PH 7.6
High Range PH 7.4
Ammonia 0.25 i had fed them an hour before test..
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

Tragedy averted! I have came to the conclusion that when i removed the carbon that was loose inside the filter media with a cork holding it in, i in turn removed all the good bacteria and spiked the cycle resulting in the bad test results!

[sayid]

You are SPOT ON , that is one of the reason i don't believe in carbon , it is a bit like becoming addict to pain killers ,you don't realize it until you take it away.
You also might have cleaned your first filter a bit too much , i usually feed half the normal food for three days after filter cleaning .
Good results .
sayid

[Sabrina]

Thanks Sayid :)
The fish are more happy now, swimming all over the tank again, i wondered why they were hiding the last few days, poor little things :(

[HarryDK]

ayyyy, just when all my trouble is gone, it is your turn :)), at least your problem not lasting too long ^^. From my 25 years experience keeping other fishes and a few month with discus, I would only use carbon when I need to remove a few minor nasty things in the water, as active carbon constantly suck away much needed stuff for fish. :rolleyes:

[Sabrina]

Hi Harry, yep just when you thought it was just you! But all is well, it fixed up now :)
Yea i heard the nasty carbon can cause problems so i have removed it totally from my main discus tank and use only filter media and ceramic rings now and a sponge filter for extra help. The fish seem ok, but one of them is acting a bit odd the last week, not eating or swimming around much and staying up the top of the water for some reason. I wonder if it was because i made the tank bear with hardly any plants or if he might be sick, he is showing no signs of illness other than not eating and what i wrote above. So today i went and brought 2 live plants and 1 fake plant to see if it is beacuse he had no where to hide or that the tank was just far to bear. Already within 5 minutes he is swimming around checking out the new plants, hm i wonder whats wrong with him. The water tests are good and i just did a 50 liter water change an hour ago. I hope its not because he is growing so fast and his just hit a wall or something with his growth. Here is pics of the main tank i took a few minutes ago, i think it looks lovely :)
2131721318

[Sabrina]

Hm, i wonder if its due to my Tuoq picking on my Melon. I have just been sitting watching them and she is being a right queen, nipping at him and pushing him around. Could he be off due to that do you think? She normally is very good but is being a bit bossy with him. And of course she is not showing any signs of sickness, and comes meets me at the glass each time.

[sayid]

One reason could be that discus being a schooling fish you need at least 6 of them together ( breeding couple is an exception ).

[Sabrina]

Well that could be true Sayid, and reading that makes me think, when i had more discus the Melon was a lot darker red in color. Now he has turned a faint orange. He is currently hiding behind the new plants sulking it seems, he keeps turning sideways and scratching himself on the plant. Both of them have been skimming of the plants. I was worried my PH is to low, its 6.8 and use to be 7.6, im not even sure why it changed. These 2 are not a breeding pair, i have sold my smaller discus and these 2 are what is left. I was planning on buying 3 more new ones in the coming months. Maybe it is because they are alone, there isnt much i can do about that atm its almost christmas. I hope he doesnt get sick :(

[sayid]

I have got a small bag of sea shells in my canister filter as a buffer for ph fluctuation ,you can put half a handful of sea shells or broken coral or oyster shells in a nylon bag or lady,s tights and put it in a corner of your tank and hopefully that will do the job.

[HarryDK]

I would really recommend you guy to try marine pure, bakki balls media etc. They are so good, a bit costly but nothing compare to the fish. I think reddit said 1 small cube equivalent hundreds of ceramic ring.
But well, just my opinion. You have a nice big tank, but where are the fishes? I would add 30 more ^^

[Sabrina]

I have got a small bag of sea shells in my canister filter as a buffer for ph fluctuation ,you can put half a handful of sea shells or broken coral or oyster shells in a nylon bag or lady,s tights and put it in a corner of your tank and hopefully that will do the job.
I will check my local pet store for some of these over the next few days, thank you :)
I just tested the water this morning, the PH is about 7.0 this time. I have driftwood so im not sure why its changing. My nitrate is a bit higher too, bordering on 40, no idea why that has creep up too. I only did a 50L water change yesterday. But i did add 2 new live plants, could be that. The Melon still seems unhappy today, yet the Touq is very happy.

[Sabrina]

I would really recommend you guy to try marine pure, bakki balls media etc. They are so good, a bit costly but nothing compare to the fish. I think reddit said 1 small cube equivalent hundreds of ceramic ring.
But well, just my opinion. You have a nice big tank, but where are the fishes? I would add 30 more ^^
Thanks Harry, i will look into these things you suggested. I sold 3 of the Discus recently, and im left with only 2, the biggest and best ones i had. I was planning on buying some more soon, perhaps 3. Looks like it will be after xmass now though. So hopefully they will be ok for the time being.

[sayid]

Hi Harry ;thanks for marine pure suggestion ,i am debating between that ,seachem matrix and will choose one.
Hi Sabrina ; i testes my tap water ph it was 5.5 which is 2 degrees less than normal and also my tank ph is 4.5 which is low ,i have toped my sea shells buffer in case i get ph crash .
sayid

[HarryDK]

Sayid: i vote for marine pure everytime :D, i'm addicted with it now, keep buying -.-, have about 15L of those stuff, work wonderful and finally my K1 section boiling good, gotta be mature now. Tank look promising, time to add fish!