PlanetCatfish.com

Hello just wondered upon peoples views on my tanks..

I currently have a Juwel Rekord 120 running along side an Eheim Ecco 2231 (media: Ehfi Mech, Substrat Pro and 1 Sponge which is cleaned once a month) in the Juwel filter (cleaned once a week) I have added Rowa Phos.. I have changed the standard Bulb to a Power Glo Bulb and it currently holds:

3 Clown Loaches Bota Macracanthus
2 Siamese Algae Eaters Crossocheilos Siamensis
2 Clown Plecs Peckoltia Vittata
4 Red Line Barb Puntius Denisonii
4 (2 Pairs) Albino Cherry Barbs Puntius Tittey
6 (2 Pairs) Cherry Barbs Puntius Titteya
11 Rummy Nose Tetras Hemigrammus Belheri
6 Green Fire Tetras Aphyocharax Rathbuni
5 Ottos Otocinclus Vittatus
2 Shrimp (river shrimp I think)
10 Caridina Japonica Shrimp
1 Male Krib Pelvicachromis Pulcher

Several pieces of Bog Woodâ?¦ Various Crypts, Hygrophilla Polysperma, Anubias Nana and one other low growing plantâ?¦.which benefit from a weekly/fortnightly addition of Esha Crypto Plus and Pro Phyll and a 35% water change each week (via Gravel Cleaner around the plants).


I also have a 60cm tank with a Fluval Plus 3 Internal Filter (cleaned weekly), under gravel filter (run by air pump) and a 15w Aqua Glow Bulb set up as a rocky tank with a few plants (struggling in the low light level {until I make a new hood/buy larger tank} Hygrophilla Polysperma, few bits of Java Fern and a Crypt) which also has a 35% water change each week (gravel cleaner) â?¦ it currently holds:

2 Siamese Algae Eaters Crossocheilos Siamensis
2 Male Kribs Pelvicachromis Pulcher
1 Rubbernose Plec Chaetostoma Cf. Thomsoni
4 False Cuckoo Catfish Synodontis Cf. Petricola â??Dwarfâ?

Any Pictures?

WhitePine wrote:Any Pictures?

take CO2 or black peat to get pH under 7, because that would be better for your fish`s and plant`s

ill try and get some pics this weekend

If your tap-water is 40-80 ppm Nitrate, then I'd strongly suggest doing something about it. It's a very high value. 40 ppm is higher than what most people recommend as a level for changing water (25 ppm is the recommended level for most fish). Of course, it could just be that your test-kit isn't working right, and the nitrate level is actually quite a lot lower.

I wouldn't worry about lowering the pH until you've got the nitrate under checks.

Also, adding CO2 will lower the pH of the water, but oxygen loving fish will not like the higher CO2 content. So it's a balance. If you REALLY want lower pH, you should consider using Reverse Osmosis water, so that it's really soft, and then add an acidity regulator to lower the pH itself. This is not trivial stuff to deal with tho, so if your fish aren't showing any direct signs of stress, I wouldn't worry about it.

I would worry about the nitrate level, however.

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Mats

whats the best way of lowering the nitrate level?

Hi Paul..

whats the best way of lowering the nitrate level?

How old is your test kit and is a liquid test?
most liquid test kits tend to deteriorate if not kept in a cool envirement, so they then become unreliable..
If your tapwater is reading high in nitrates there are less expensive alternatives to filter your tapwater than R O units, (although not as good they will reduce nitrates levels); just look for one that uses a carbon based medium.

Eheim Ecco 2231 (media: Ehfi Mech, Substrat Pro and 1 Sponge which is cleaned once a month)

also you could try putting a eheim carbon pad into your filter.

Does carbon really reduce nitrates?

Not the carbon does this but the bacteriums wich life inside carbon
Use black peat in your filter for a better pH level

So would i be correct in saying the Bactieria that forms on Carbon sponges is different to that of normal sponges?

Would the used of API NitraZorb work better then a Carbon sponge?

Barbie wrote:Carbon would be of no use without oxygenated water passing over it. There are no bacteria that remove nitrates in oxygenated areas, so it is definitely not bacteria removing the nitrates, IMO. Tap water with 40ppm wouldn't be acceptable for human consumption in the US. Not sure what you guys have for regulations on that. You might consider a pretreatment barrel with a few pathos house plants running leaders into it. That will allow the plant to pull a large part of the nitrates from the water before you put it in your tank. If you wanted to pretreat with peat, that would also be an idea way to do it. Hope that helps!

Barbie

I just checked the "Drinking water" regulations here in the UK, and it says here that they can supply water that has up to 50 ppm nitrate at the consumer tap. The table in the link also contains a lot of other substances that may or may not be of interest to the aquarium keeper.

One notable omission (perhaps because it's considered harmless) is phosphate. One would think that there is some limit to this, but I couldn't find one...

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Mats

Thank you for the advise and for looking up the water conditions here in the UK...

Though i love the idea Barbie, i dont think my parents would approve, though one to think about when i get my own place...

in the mean time would the used of API NitraZorb or the equilivent in a different brand make much difference or are these a bit of a rip off?

Actually the Nitrazorb pillows work pretty well. It may become a little expensive over time, considering they need replacement every couple of months, and having such a high nitrate content, you'll probably need to replace them even more often. You might think about getting a Pur water filter, or some type of water filter that you would use for drinking water. In the US, Pur is the big brand, not sure about over there. It's not bulky like a RO unit, it fits right on your sink and you can filter the water pretty efficiently that way, that nitrate is on the high side.