# Aquarium cleaning issues



## AquaLife4me (Jul 15, 2014)

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. Been doing the aquarium thing for lil over year and a half now. Gotta 10 gallon tank with 5-10 community tropical fish and a 75 gallon tank with 4 oscars in it. 

An on going issue I've been having when I perform a water change to either aquarium is that most the fish in the 10 gallon tank die and the oscars get sick for like 7-14 days. I've asked some sales associates at the local pet stores about it, but none have given me good advice. One step I've taken is letting the new water sit with the conditioner in it for up to 2 hours, but that hasn't worked completely. Any advice helps. Thanks

Michael


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Have you tested your source water?PH can be different when it comes from tap then how it will adjust when exposed to air.Also other nutrients like ammonia,nitrite and nitrates can be found in some peoples source water(these things are not supposed to be there or are exceptable).Heavy metals could also be present.
Are you on well water.
How close to tank temp is your replacement water when you add it?
Depending on their size you are or will be overcrowded with 4 oscars in a 75g.
How much water are you changing?
Are you cleaning/changing filter media at the same time?
What water conditioner are you using?


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## AquaLife4me (Jul 15, 2014)

To answer your questions (in order)
-I'm on raleigh city water
-water temp is probably within 3 degree as tank temp
-water change is about 50% in the 10 gallon and 30-40% in the 75 gallon
-I replace the filter media with every water change
-I use prime water conditioner, a cap full per 5 gallon bucket I add back in

On another note, I noticed mold in the hose I use to siphon the water *out* of the tank. Could this be causing it, even though its technically not going into the tank?


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

It is good if the hose is hung stretched that the inside is dry.


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## Marshall (Jul 8, 2013)

AquaLife4me said:


> -I replace the filter media with every water change


Right there is your main problem, don't ever replace the media unless its falling apart, even then never all of it at once, you are throwing away your beneficial bacteria every time you do this, meaning the tank will never be properly cycled which will bring about ammonia/nitrite spikes.

The proper way to do it is to simply rinse out the sponge/media in a bucket of tank water removed during the water change, and even then this doesn't need to be done every time, i only clean my filters once every 2 months on alternating months.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I think Marshall got you .You are killing your bio filter everytime you remove your media.This in spirit can cause ammonia,nitrite spikes that are killing your fish.Do not replace media unless it is falling apart and like Michael even then not all at once.
Seems like you are doing every thing else ok,so just stop replacing filter media and do everything else the same and see if this helps,I hope it does!


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## joecrouse (Feb 3, 2014)

yep almost never replace the filter media. OR switch to bioballs rather than regular floss media.


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## LittleFishJoe (Jun 29, 2014)

Ya that sounds like your issue buddy, I been using the same sponges in my filters for about a year now only clean them out when the water flow get weak. Dont think I've ever change the bio rings/stuff, and most of my tanks have been running years. Carbon on the other hand will need to be replaced every few weeks or it can release all the nasty stuff it collected back into the water.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

-


> I use prime water conditioner, a cap full per 5 gallon bucket I add back in


This is also a problem as you are over dosing to much. 1 cap full for 50 gals is right, not 5 gals, so you have to adjust your dosage to meet the needs.


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## LittleFishJoe (Jun 29, 2014)

susankat said:


> -
> 
> This is also a problem as you are over dosing to much. 1 cap full for 50 gals is right, not 5 gals, so you have to adjust your dosage to meet the needs.


Good eye! Didn't catch that.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yep with the two issues pointed out taken care of, I would imagine your stock will thrive now. Prime is very concentrated, and I have accidentally dosed too much and lost some very valuable fish. On the cap, is threads. I read somewhere those threads equal enough to treat ten gallons. I always go by this when measuring out for my tanks.


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

One more little thing:
Sometimes the filter must be rinsed sponge, when the flow is throttled too much from the dirt. But he should not be rinsed completely clean, and with handwarm water.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

One thought - what buckets do you use? I made the horrid mistake in my fledgling aquarium days of changing water with the mop bucket (same bucket I was using Lysol in). You should have water change equipment dedicated to fish tanks only. Preferably one set per tank, to prevent disease transmission if something breaks out in one of your tanks.


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## fishlips (Jul 8, 2014)

In addition to rinsing all filter media in used tank water only, I rinse everything that will go into or touch their water, especially my hands, in tap water. The siphon, the bucket, etc. I try to keep it all clean, without ever using soap of any kind.

If you read the Prime bottle, it'll tell you exactly how to dose, EXCEPT that it says you can safely use up to 5 times the dosage in nitrite emergencies. An experienced fish keeper warned me that they've seen many fish harmed by using that high a dose. Just FYI


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

"what buckets do you use?"

New bucket. Made of plastic, color light translucent. (that the level is visible from the outside). A liter scale is advantageous.
Bucket that had previously with soap contact, do not use.


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## vreugy (May 1, 2013)

Hope by now you have a healthy tank and happy fish. Glad you found our forum. You have received some very good advice. Thanks for you post. You brought up a lot of good questions and thru the answers you received, helped a lot of new and old forum "fishers".


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## fishlips (Jul 8, 2014)

susankat said:


> -
> 
> This is also a problem as you are over dosing to much. 1 cap full for 50 gals is right, not 5 gals, so you have to adjust your dosage to meet the needs.


This is an interesting point. If you're doing a 5 gal water change in a 10 gal tank (or any size tank) you can put enough treatment for the whole tank in your new water. I like to do small, frequent water changes of about 15% in order to keep nitrates at a consistent level so as not to shock my fish. But since nitrates/nitrites exist in the entire volume of the tank, not just the 15% that I'm changing, I put enough Prime in my new water to treat the whole tank before I add it.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

That's true, but putting a dose in there for a 50 gal tank into a 10 gal will cause problems. Besides if the water change is being done with a bucket the entire tank don't need to be dosed, just the new water. I dose the entire tank but I use a python hooked to the sink tap so with untreated water going in you dose your entire tank.


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## AquaLife4me (Jul 15, 2014)

Hey guys! (and gals) Thanks for all the great advice! So just to be clear, filter media = replacement cartridges? Just rinse those with the used aquarium water from my bucket? Also, the buckets I use are only used for the water change...no old mop buckets. The reason I used a whole cap full of prime per 5 gallon bucket is cuz that's what the sells associate told me. He told me more is better. Doing the water change on Saturday and plan to use all the tips I've received....thanks again everyone!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

This turned out to be a very informational thread as vreugy said.Many members contributed and mentioned or saw things others missed( I didn't do the math on the prime or even think of the whole bucket issue).sure does pay off to have so many helpful and knowledgable people.Surely the problem will go away if you follow all the great insight.
Just saw last post;YES the filter cartridges are your bio media unless you have bio wheels,but even then the cartridges still hold a good amount of BB.Prime has good instructions on bottle.I use a syringe for small measurements.It is easier to be accurate and you will save money not using as much(prime last "forever" for most people)


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Be gentle when rinsing your filter media. Too aggressive and you'll run into the same issue (losing bacteria). Awesome suggestions from everyone else. Love this forum.


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