goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Problem:- tank was clear after the w/c but a few hours later became cloudy, left it and around lunchtime today notice 2 congos upside down but still alive, transferred to an empty tank,2 plants deteriorating( almost bare stems now) and my firemouth sitting still on the bottom seeming very sluggish, now lost 4 congos Ph:- 7.4- which is constant Ammonia:- 0 Nitrate:-dark yellow so above 0 Nitrite:- 0 Gh:- Kh:- Size of tank:- roughtly 70 gallons Temperature °C:- 25c Been running for:- 14 months, perfectly for last 9 Filtration:-Canister/Sump/Internal Filter/Sponge:- aqua one on the top- fine spronge, course sponge, purigen, matrix Fish in tank:-4 angels 2 kribs 1 firemouth 1 red forest jewel 1 acara blue 10 congo tetras 2 sae 3 bronze corys Plants in Tank:- various plants Feeding:- What food and How often 2 times a day (auto feeder)- spectrum community. Recent Medication Treatments:- none Last water change:-yesterday Water change fortnightly backstory, 4ft tank been setup and running roughly 14 months faced a few problems form the start but gotten all sorted and for the last 9 months say been running perfectly. Yesterday decided to add a couple of new angels to complete the tank, but before this thought was a good idea to give the filter a good clean and change purigen back in, purigen has been out sitting in primed water for about 3 months. did a 50ish% w/c and replaced everything back to normal, topped up excel and flourish for the plants. the went out and found 2 angels to add to the tank. tank was clear after the w/c but a few hours later became cloudy, left it and around lunchtime today notice 2 congos upside down but still alive, transferred to an empty tank,2 plants deteriorating( almost bare stems now) and my firemouth sitting still on the bottom seeming very slugish so did another large w/c and removed the purigen. what else can I do? I believe my problem was chlorine from the purigen recharge but smelt fine. any ideas? all help is appreciated thanks jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Just to be on the safe side add some more de-clorinator. At least a single dose if it has already got it. Try something like Api ammolock even. Big change in parameters probably, check ph with another kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 No worries monitoring it now. Condos aren't looking good at all will see if I can get a pic. Will dose dechlor again. Otherwise I'm not sure what to do, wait and see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 (edited) congos are deteriorating, really need ideas. raised fins and shreded fins. skin flukes? dare say im going to wake up in the morning to a dead tank unfortunatly Edited September 1, 2013 by goodwin626 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 did you add dechlorinator before topping up during water change? can you test for ph or ammonia spike? def add more dechloinator now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Yes added dechlorinator with changes, always do. Tested ph twice today, and is stable. Ammonia is still showing none. Have just lost another tetra so things aren't looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Would ammonia or chlorine cause plants to drop all leaves and become bare stemed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneself Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 It can burn the plants if its in high enough concentration..definitely sounds like your test kit has karked it. When you say you 'gave the filter a good clean', how did you do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Maybe but a big ph swing can do some damage quickly. If the water has a extra dose of chlorine as can happen these days re doing water change can multiply the problem. You can freak out too early and be tempted to water change too much, if the dosage rate used to work ok doesn't mean it always will, at a bare minimum double rate should keep it safe. The original thread someone mentioned taking out the purigen, i take it it is already out? If not get it out and maybe run some carbon in the filter. If you try and correct the ph too quickly, as in add buffers, you could make it worse. I have had similar things happen from faulty ph tests letting me pour in bad water. Too much chlorine or ph out of whack is my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Purigen is out, has been since I first noticed it this morning. I haven't tested my supply water, will tomorrow, but never had a problem in the past with it. I'm hoping it will calm down over night but well see. Tetras are deffinatly looking worst for wear, raised scales. But well see not much else I can do. Thanks for the suggestions everyone Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Filter is a top filter, filled buckets of water from the tank matrix straight into its own bucket, course sponge and fine sponge seperate and squeezed out, washed all pipes and fittings with water coming from the tank. Everything sat in tank water for bout 10 mins while syhoned the tank then replaced and refilled, adding a dose of stability as I went. Have done it this way before and never had a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 How did it turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 lost all but 2 congos, and had 3 plants melt. but now seems stable, after 2 roughly 10% w/c in last 2 says. tested water last night with readings being ph 7.0 ammo 0.25 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 also tested kh 4dkh(71.6 ppm) and gh couldn't get a result, tried multiple times so not sure but not to worried. did another w/c last night to try get rid of that bit of ammonia. anyway thanks goes to those that have helped, really appreciate it. think was an ammonia spike, + chlorine from purigen. thanks again jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 There is definitely a risk involved with recharging with bleach. Likely this has made you as paranoid as I am about nuetralising it. Its worth taking another day to soak it, as it can also cause large pH swings in smaller soft water tanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodwin626 Posted September 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Yes deffinatly. Ended up throw those bags out, a litre between them and got some new 100ml bags. So was a bit of an expensive exercise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
