Thanks man ya power outages are becoming more common in the states and your worst nightmare for this hobby!
8 year old BD Male passed away.
- Thread starter Black_Diamond
- Start date
Have you done a water change since the previous test? If so what %?
I ask because your ammonia is almost completely converted but the nitrates are less in this test than the previous.
When ammonia converts to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate, your nitrate level should go up not down
Power outages suck. So far we haven't suffered any long ones except about 8 years ago when Edison had an infrastructure break down.
I have a large battery back up but it's only good enough for air stones. I guess I would have to do water changes like you did if we had any long ones.
Interesting post.
BTW when a tank cycles it should always at some time show nitrites. The nitrites go up then they go down to 0. Then you know it has cycled.
The effects of nitrates has long been debated. I agree they should be kept low but I know some types of fish tolerate nitrates more than others. I have no knowledge about rays.
I have a large battery back up but it's only good enough for air stones. I guess I would have to do water changes like you did if we had any long ones.
Interesting post.
BTW when a tank cycles it should always at some time show nitrites. The nitrites go up then they go down to 0. Then you know it has cycled.
The effects of nitrates has long been debated. I agree they should be kept low but I know some types of fish tolerate nitrates more than others. I have no knowledge about rays.
This has been my experience with the many different species I have kept over 41yrs, and is true in the general sense for sure. It why I use the term "less toxic" or "less harmful" rather than "non-toxic" or "non-harmful" when talking about nitrates. Some fish, rays included, become susceptible to disease & skin infections as nitrates climb. Discus are another example, and will develop "discus pimples" if nitrates are continually >40. Fish from low TDS wild environments tend to be much more sensitive to water quality, even in the filial generations beyond wild of tank bred & raised fishes.
The thing is, water changes are not just about nitrate removal. They also reduce other metabolites that have a negative effect of fish vitality, and reduce bacterial loads that cause sickness in aquatic life kept in glass cages
I love the concept of the planted sump duanes promotes, such a simple and effective method to keep all your parameters balanced as plants do it all for you. Just weekly water changes and you pretty much never need to worry.
The regular dosing of probiotic additives promoted by RD like ‘bioclean’ or ‘ridx’ then aid in breaking down excessive bioload detritus to bio available carbon and other macro nutrients.
The regular dosing of probiotic additives promoted by RD like ‘bioclean’ or ‘ridx’ then aid in breaking down excessive bioload detritus to bio available carbon and other macro nutrients.
So Ive been doing at least 20 percent water changes every other day and when I test the water now Im getting low readings across the board. My system may not have completely crashed but due to the outage the ammonia just skyrocketed cuz my nitrates and nitrites are extremely low now.This has been my experience with the many different species I have kept over 41yrs, and is true in the general sense for sure. It why I use the term "less toxic" or "less harmful" rather than "non-toxic" or "non-harmful" when talking about nitrates. Some fish, rays included, become susceptible to disease & skin infections as nitrates climb. Discus are another example, and will develop "discus pimples" if nitrates are continually >40. Fish from low TDS wild environments tend to be much more sensitive to water quality, even in the filial generations beyond wild of tank bred & raised fishes.
The thing is, water changes are not just about nitrate removal. They also reduce other metabolites that have a negative effect of fish vitality, and reduce bacterial loads that cause sickness in aquatic life kept in glass cages
