72 Gallon Bow Front question

[clint]

congrats on the new bigger tank. When i got my 90g i had the same over whelmed feeling. I wanted a 75g but ended up getting a 90g in a trade. I'm glad i got the extra gallons now. You'll settle down once the fish are settled in. You know they are going to love all the extra swimming space.

So what kind of Bows do you have? Thats what i keep bows, loaches plus a quartet of denison barbs and a rainbow shark .

[tmcmullen]

I may know what my problem is with plants. I have always used carbon in the filter. I read that the carbon kills the plants - robs them of beneficial nutrients. I've been thinking about removing carbon alltogether on Diana's recommendation, I'm just hesitant. It's hard to change something you've been doing for 10 years, especially when many of my fish are that old.

[soul-hugger]

Another congrats on setting up your new tank!

It seems that no matter how you do something, you always wonder if you could have done it better, chosen differently, etc. Like Clint says, you will settle in eventually, and so will your fish. Then you will be happy to have the extra space.

I'm not sure if carbon exactly kills plants directly.... to carbon or not to carbon has been such a debate that this topic has been locked on many planted tank forums. Everyone has a different opinion, and no-one seems to be able to agree. Some people use carbon and swear by it; others never use it and find alternate media to put in their filters.

One of the worst parts about carbon is that it cleans the water indiscriminately. There are three components to any filter: Mechanical, Biological, and Chemical. Mechanical filtration is the filter itself moving the water, keeping it from stagnating and moving it through the other media. Biological filtration is the filter floss, noodles, or bio balls which provide a surface for the growth of beneficial bacterias. These bacterias are essential in cleaning the water and keeping the tank in balance, moving the nitrogen cycle from one phase to another. Ammonia becomes nitrIte, which is in turn converted into the less harmful nitrAte by the bacteria. A filter can and does function with only these two components, but some people add the chemical as well. It clears the water of small particles, which is why you are supposed to take it out when medicating. The carbon will also remove any fertilizers you might add for the benefit of the plants. However, nothing cleans and clears the water better. If you have large or messy fish, carbon is beneficial and even necessary, but it loses its potency after two or three weeks and becomes another biological media. I personally find it helpful to run carbon for a week every month or two; it makes the water crystal clear. The rest of the time, I just pack the media chamber with other materials and let the bacteria do its work.

It can be scary to change something you have been doing for so long, but if you notice ill effects, you could always put it back. If you take the carbon out, I would recommend waiting until your tank has settled. For now it will help to take any particles of substrate, etc that have been disturbed in the move.

I am sorry to hear your Weather Loach is not well. If you have had him 10 years, he could be much older. Sounds like he is sitting at the maximum age for these guys. At least when he goes, you can feel good about the fact that he has lived a long, happy, and healthy life. It is an accomplishment to have kept him alive so long.

Enjoy your new tank:)
soul-hugger

[clint]

Just a side note here, i used to use carbon and have since, for some time now, replaced the carbon for bio media. I use ceramic rings in one can and lava rock in the other can. I have done away with all forms of chemical filtration, its just not needed in a established tank that receives adequate attention via water testing, changes and visual inspections.

I use marineland canisters. It has a nice media basket which is filled with the bio media, then a mechanical sleeve slips over the basket. Its all i use for filtration and have had no problems doing so. Using chemical is more of a band-aide the way i see it. Sure you can use ammonia neutralizing crystals to combat poor maintenance schedules but in a well maintained tank chemical filtration is just not needed at least in freshwater tanks. I know nothing about SW.

It could be the carbon is absorbing nutrients the plants would in turn use. I know carbon is said to absorb medicines i'm sure it would also absorb any ferts, supplements one might add as well. Just a thought i had on the subject.

[tmcmullen]

I am treating the tank with melafix, as I have noticed quite a few of the fish have a stringy film on them. I'm guessing the stress allowed them all to pick up a fungus. Since Melafix works on eye cloud I hope it will solve all problems.

I will work very hard to stop using the carbon and ammo. I appreciate all of the input (Clint also). I'm getting used to the big tank already, so life is good. Maybe I'll actually get some sleep tonight!

[soul-hugger]

I agree with Clint that carbon should not be used as a band-aid. I have also stopped using it regularly. When I do use it, it's more for cosmetic reasons than anything else. If the water starts to lose its clarity or gets too yellow from tannins in the wood, it works like a charm to clear things up again. It is by no means meant to replace water changes or maintenance on an aquarium. Of course, changing the water is the best way to keep it clear, (running a powerhead also helps a lot) but if you are planting and stir up substrate, want to remove medications from the water, or for other reasons, carbon is the best solution. It's hard to explain how to do things that are basically instinctual; the visual testing that Clint mentions. Many people have to work at "weaning" themselves off using carbon all the time, and it can be a hard habit to break. The books tell us we need a lot of things; we must decide which of these are truly needed and which are only trying to sell us a product. There are some things in fishkeeping which are gospel, and others that are a matter of choice. Carbon is one of those that are a matter of choice and your own personal preference, though there is a proper and improper way to use it.

Most filters can be converted to non-carbon filters. Even the ones that take pre-packaged carbon can be stuffed with filter floss and noodles instead. You can buy media bags or simply use a piece of nylon wrapped and tied around whatever material you decide to use. I buy pillow stuffing to use in my filters. It is made of the same material as filter floss, but is much less expensive. I even use regular sponges (not the ones with soap or any other additives) in one of my filters. You can also buy "noodles" (Aquaclear makes them), or "Bio-Balls", designed with cracks and crevices that give them a larger surface area on which the beneficial bacteria can grow.

As far as the "slime" on your Clowns, it could just be that they need a few days to recover. Clown Loaches are known to have an extra-thick slime coat. Extra slime is produced when the fish is under stress, such as being moved. I remember Diana saying once that she thought the slime might have harmed other fish in shipping bags with Clown Loaches. If you see any slime in the tank, it's best to take it out, just in case. I think the stringy stuff you are seeing might just be the slime coming off after the move.

soul-hugger

[tmcmullen]

Would the excess slime coat make the clowns eyes cloudy? All four of them have cloudy eyes right now and as I said before I'm treating for fungus just to be sure they don't have a fungus. My weather loach has had eye cloud for a little while now, so no harm in treating the tank.

Curious - what can I do to keep the PH down if it stays around 7.6? My water is hard and has a naturally high PH. In 10 years I have never messed with the PH, but after having a few unexplained illnesses I've been keeping a closer eye on PH levels. I had two baby clowns who looked like they had wasting disease, and then a threadfin rainbow who died of the same symptoms (extra skinny). I then lost my 9-10 year old Pleco who may have died of age. During this time I was paying close attention to my tank levels and I think I may be mistakenly focusing on the PH since it never seemed to be an issue in the past. Honestly I think the deaths may have been from the tank being overstocked and from not doing enough water changes. I went through a very busy period of time where I barely had time to sit down before going to bed at night. I believe Diana mentioned that if PH is high you need to find out the reason. My tap water PH is 7.6. Any suggestions?

[clint]

My tap water is 7.6/7.8 somewhere in there and i do nothing to adjust it. Never had any problems with fish, no unexplained deaths. Everyone eats well, colors are great. I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Its been my experience reading on forums, badmans mostly, that fish adjust well to any Ph, within reason of course. 7.6 isn't that high i wouldn't worry about nor add any chemicals to buffer it.

[tmcmullen]

I posted about this in the health forum, but haven't received any responses. Do any of you know what to do when the nitrites are high and my fish are stressed? I'm afraid of losing the clowns. They have white on the tip of their lips (two of them) which I am pretty sure wasn't there before. They're lethargic and they are breathing very heavily.

My weather loach isn't well either. I mentioned this before, but he's 11 years old and he was stuck in the siphon tube when we were switching tanks. He's alive, and eating, but he looks terrible. His "skin" looks like dead skin about to peel, and he has some red dots just beyond his head on the top of his body. Any suggestions?

[tmcmullen]

Well, we are about a week after switching tanks and the clowns are finally coming out of the cave and swimming with the current of the filter. They are looking better, so I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood. I finally started treating with Maracyn2 because the MarOxy did not cure the eye cloud.

Thanks again for all of your help with my new tank! I'm very happy with the size, and will be much happier when the water is no longer cloudy!

[clint]

for cloudy water that might be sediment from new substrate? water changes would be your friend.

Have you ever tried feeding your clowns cocktail shrimp? I bought a bag of fully cooked small shrimp and give them 1 every few days. Just thaw in a glass of water cut in 4ths and throw in. All my loaches go nuts over it. You won't have skinny loaches if you try shrimp.

[tmcmullen]

Clint, I've never tried that, but I will now! They aren't eating much, so now would be a good time to introduce something like that and see how they like it. They flip over cucumber!

I think the cloudy water is from the water being off balance and the chemicals to treat the cloudy eye. I've been told by my local fish expert to hold off on water changes unless I'm seeing problems with the fish because he's afraid that changing the water may interrupt the nitrite/nitrate cycle.