• first filter change

    From Ruprecte@1:278/230 to All on Mon Jul 7 22:20:00 2003
    Hey all, its been six weeks and I think its time that I change out my media.
    My question is this: should I rub off some of the bacteria from the old
    media onto the new one before replacing, or should there be enough
    beneficial bacteria already existing within the tank that will collonize on
    the new media. Im using a aqua tech 10-20 power filter in a 29g tank. The
    tank has been up and running for six weeks now and somehow is still reading nitrate levels at being 20-30. Im assuming that this is due to the extended time that Ive let the original media stay in there, to me this seems to be
    the only possible reason that the levels are so high, ammonia is low-close
    to non-existant and there are five large plants+12 fish that have all been
    in there for the last six weeks..no new additions and no losses.Thanks for
    any imput.-Brian




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  • From Ron Hansen@1:278/230 to All on Wed Jul 9 08:35:00 2003
    I was unable to find a picture of your filter on the web so I'll make
    some assumptions.

    Does your media consist of a sponge or pad with a separate package of
    carbon (or no carbon)? If so, take a bowl of water out of the tank and
    scrub off the pad/sponge in that water and then put it back into the
    filter (and throw out the water). This kind of media doesn't really
    ever need to be changed. By doing this, you keep a substantial amount
    of the nitrifying bacteria that currently reside in the pad. Note: DO
    NOT rinse it in tapwater. Tapwater contains chlorine and/or chloramine
    and that will kill the bacteria.

    If your media contains carbon as well, then you'll have to replace it
    (if you want to use carbon).

    Nitrifying bacteria grows on all surfaces in the tank, not just in the
    filter. There is a high concentration in the filter because it is
    designed to have a large surface area, and it has a constant flow of
    water with dissolved oxygen for the bacteria to eat. Pulling out the
    media won't eliminate all the bacteria, but it will take out a sizeable percentage and it takes time for the new filter to become established.

    In large systems with many fish and a large bioload, many aquarists get
    around this problem by using multi-part filters. One filter gives
    mechanical filtration and another gives biological filtration. The
    mechanical filter media is changed whenever dirty, but the biological
    filter is never disturbed. Examples of biological-only filters are
    wet/dry filters and fluidized bed filters (sand filters). These are
    generally considered for "advanced" aquarists not because they are
    difficult to setup or maintain, but because they are expensive.

    One relatively inexpensive alternative is a filter equipped with a
    biowheel. This biowheel performs the biological filtration while a
    separate pad performs mechanical filtration.

    Another alternative is the AquaClear line of filters. They contain a
    sponge that you can rinse out, and a separate carbon pack. They work
    well and many swear by them.


    Now, on to maintenance.

    A proper schedule for you is to clean or replace your mechanical filter
    media whenever it is clogged and the water is bypassing it. For most
    people, this is every 2-4 weeks.

    Your carbon pack is only good for about 2 weeks before it stops
    absorbing chemicals.

    You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week. Nitrates
    are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most aquariums. Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
    (toxic to the fish). Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
    Nitrite (more toxic to the fish). Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
    and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish). No process in a
    typical tank will consume the Nitrate. Therefore, you need to get rid
    of it. By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
    Nitrate and reduce the levels. If you don't, your fish will eventually
    die.

    Important: you should use a water conditioner such as Aquasafe to
    eliminate the chlorine and chloramines, or you will clobber your
    biofilter. It's usually better to add the conditioner to the water
    before adding the water to the tank (ie in a bucket).

    I hope this helps.




    "ruprecte" <ruprecte@icehouse.net> wrote:

    Hey all, its been six weeks and I think its time that I change out my media. >My question is this: should I rub off some of the bacteria from the old
    media onto the new one before replacing, or should there be enough
    beneficial bacteria already existing within the tank that will collonize on >the new media. Im using a aqua tech 10-20 power filter in a 29g tank. The >tank has been up and running for six weeks now and somehow is still reading >nitrate levels at being 20-30. Im assuming that this is due to the extended >time that Ive let the original media stay in there, to me this seems to be >the only possible reason that the levels are so high, ammonia is low-close
    to non-existant and there are five large plants+12 fish that have all been
    in there for the last six weeks..no new additions and no losses.Thanks for >any imput.-Brian




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  • From Dr Engelbert Buxbaum@1:278/230 to All on Wed Jul 16 12:03:00 2003
    Ron Hansen wrote:

    You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week. Nitrates
    are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most aquariums. Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
    (toxic to the fish). Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
    Nitrite (more toxic to the fish). Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
    and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish). No process in a
    typical tank will consume the Nitrate. Therefore, you need to get rid
    of it. By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
    Nitrate and reduce the levels. If you don't, your fish will eventually
    die.

    There is one such process: Plant growth. Plants need nitrogen and will
    absorb it either as ammonia or nitrate. That doesn't mean one should
    skip water changes in a planted aquarium though, as fishes produce other
    waste products besides nitrogen ('organic dissolved carbon'). But plants
    can certainly help keeping nitrogen compounds at bay.
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  • From Ron Hansen@1:278/230 to All on Thu Jul 17 21:36:00 2003
    Dr Engelbert Buxbaum <engelbert_buxbaum@hotmail.com> wrote:

    Ron Hansen wrote:

    You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week. Nitrates
    are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most
    aquariums. Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
    (toxic to the fish). Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
    Nitrite (more toxic to the fish). Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
    and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish). No process in a
    typical tank will consume the Nitrate. Therefore, you need to get rid
    of it. By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
    Nitrate and reduce the levels. If you don't, your fish will eventually
    die.

    There is one such process: Plant growth. Plants need nitrogen and will
    absorb it either as ammonia or nitrate. That doesn't mean one should
    skip water changes in a planted aquarium though, as fishes produce other >waste products besides nitrogen ('organic dissolved carbon'). But plants
    can certainly help keeping nitrogen compounds at bay.

    I agree, but the tank would have to be heavily planted for his Nitrate
    load and would probably need CO2 to promote such growth.


    I'll stick with my original statement:

    No process in a typical tank will consume the Nitrate.

    with emphasis on "typical"
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