I bought a 75 gal fish tank on the 4 July 07 I bought some fish and did not know about the cycle thing, I do now .All of my fish died except one the rainbow shark. Which I still have.A few weeks ago my ammonia level was way up so I used a ammonia lock and it made my water so cloudy that I could not see anything in my tank so I did a drastic water change left only about 5 gal of water, and took out my underwater filter,I also have another filter which is a Fluval 450 About 2 weeks ago I did rinse out the filter in the old fish water took fish out while I was doing this also. Added more water and added lots of living plants, put fish back in water temp the same.Now I am getting reading of my test strips like this .nitrate 20 ppm nitrite 3.0 ppm hardness 150 which is hard water. Alkalinity (kh) ppm 120 and Ph 7.8 ppm. I keep doing about 25 -30 water changes every other day and the nitrite is not coming down I do add the salt as directed and add the water conditioner as directed, so I am at a loss as I just don't know what else to do.. But have not changed anything out as yet. I have a total of 4 fish and feed no more than they can eat in 5 minutes and at night I give my bottom feeded 2 or 3 small agee wafers. Also the last two times I have done a water change I have cleaned the gravel. So is there anyone who can help me with the nitrite level.Thanks
Janet

Hi Janet,
A few things here:
Your tank is in the last stages of cycling.
As the nitrate level rises, you will notice the nitrite level will fall.
It won't be much longer now if you keep cleaning to a minimum.

Your fluval is a great filter. Inside the filter you have bio media,
This is where all the good bacteria live.
When changing/cleaning the debris sponge, never disturb the bio media.
This way none of the good bacteria get cleaned out of the filter.
You don't need to rinse the whole filter, just remove the debris sponge and rinse it off. This only needs to be done about once a month.

I would suggest for you to stop the use of salt.
The salt is increasing your GH and KH which raises the ph - all 3 levels need to come down (slowly or the abrupt change in the ph and the dissolved minerals [the salt] will kill the fish).

To do this, continue with the 25% water changes you are doing until you have 0ppm nitrite and ammonia levels.
When you add the water back into the aquarium, leave out the salt.
This way the salt is removed slowly and safely from the tank.

Also good bacteria live in the gravel, I never recommend cleaning gravel because it removes too much good bacteria that breaks down the waste that
Falls into the rocks.
If you feel the gravel is dirty, just stir it up a little before doing a water change - again this is not necessary though.

The less cleaning you do, the healthier your aquarium will be and the better it will look.

Sounds strange, but it's true.
Once your levels are stable, you should only have to clean the debris sponge and do a partial water change once a month.

Also, reduce feeding to all they can eat in 1 minute and give your bottom feeders (if the fish are small) 1 wafer broken into about 4 pieces.
How big are your bottom feeders and what kind of fish do you have?


Please if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Hi , and thank you,
I have 3 Silver tipped sharks all about 2 1/2 inch 1 rainbow shark about the same in lenth and 1 alge eater about 2 inches.. If I leave out the salt will it hurt my silver tipped sharks as I have noticed that they swim in the bowl that the salt is in? And how long should I keep the salt out for? And could you explain what you mean when you say Bio media are you talking about the Carbon and the other things in the filter? Sorry I am new to this..
Thank you
Janet

OK you have fish from brackish water and fresh water living together in the same tank.
Your silver tipped sharks are a brackish water fish while your rainbow and algae eater are freshwater fish.
The silver's need the salt so you shouldn't remove it.

I would suggest to make a choice as to what type of water environment (fresh/brackish/marine) you'd more like to keep and only keep fish that live in that type of water.

Your rainbow and algae eater need softer water and a lower ph.
It's recommended that these fish have a ph no higher than 7.5.
Although they can live in the readings your tank has now, it's not recommended as they could get stressed and die.

It could be possible for you to juggle the water to where you meet both types of fish in the middle of their water requirements, but this is stressful for both the fish and the fish keeper.

A petstore may also tell you that it's OK to keep the silver tipped sharks in fresh water, but as you can see, they need the salt therefore swim inside the bowl trying to get more of it.

How much salt and what kind do you use to add to the water?
And why the use of the salt bowl?

Oh and don't be sorry for asking questions,
Ask away, I don't mind a bit.

The bio media inside your filter should be ceramic rings with a hollow center.
If your filter does not have these, you could give me the model # and I'll find out what type of bio media you have.

Hi , the salt I am using is called API Aquarium salt and its to be used when changing fish water or for general tonic and stress reducer.I use as directed which is 1 tbs for 5 gal water. I use a very small bowl to put the salt in, as I read that in my fish books that I bought. The salt seems to last quite some time. Yes I do have the media you are talking about along with carbon and 4 sponges, I am thinking about taking out 2 of the carbons and adding some Clearmax which is a science grade resin designed to absorb phoshate nitrite and nitrate. Do you think this is a good idea? As for the fish I have done a lot of reading about the silver tipped sharks and I am getting different things about them some say that they can live in fresh water for a long time and others say they are brackish. I have had all my fish in the tank now for about 5 weeks and none of then seem to be unhappy or stressful. I am still unclear of what brackish is can you tell me what it means, I am guessing here but does that mean you have to add salt all the time to tank?Today I will empty about 25% of my water and hope it will take down the ph I know my water is hard here, don't know what to do about that. I will have to think on what I want in regards to fresh or brackish tank.
Thanks again
Janet

If your fish are doing good with how you are keeping the water, then perhaps you shouldn't change a thing.
Different things work for different people.
Brackish water is where the fresh water streams meet the ocean water.
If I'm remembering correctly, in the wild, silver tipped sharks swim upstream to the fresh water to have their babies. The young live in the fresh water and move down stream to the brackish water as they get older. Then, back upstream to have babies.
So they are in both - might be why you've heard both.

I'm all for the use of clearmax:D and anything else that makes fish keeping easier.

The salt you are using is fine.
It's a fresh water salt and is good for reducing stress and keeping away parasites too.

You'd use a marine salt if you were going to do brackish water and it would have to be added every time you changed the water.

Even the use of fresh water salt needs to be added every time unless the salt is slowly removed by several water changes.

Once I lost an entire fresh water tank of fish within 5 minutes because I carelessly forgot to add the salt while doing a large water change.

If what you are doing works for you, then I'd just stick to it :D

You'll notice a big change in the water in the tank as soon as the aquarium is done cycling. It will be cleaner and clearer and you'll be able to enjoy it without all the fuss.

I hope I haven't confused you.

Hi, I have a question, I recently have bought spotted puffers at walmart, no one explained that they were brakish, so I then went to petco, after they became sick, had them in the 32 gallon freshwater, and they look very sickly. So, then I was informed they were brakish, bought what I could afford a 10 gallon, filter heater, and hydrometer, test strips. Separated them and they autamatacly. But then started getting sick again, treated them for ick, and that was wrong cause had the wrong medicine, it was not for scaleless fish, so right away change out the water again, major environment change for them and stress, there tummies where grey and did not want to eat, nitrites and nitrates extreeamly high. So, little one died and big one is still alive, got some other treatmentAmQuel+, that reduces nit, nitra, did a 25% water change, and add salt as directed, I use instant ocean marine salt, he is alone, so, also read that the water is probably causing fish stress cause does not have good bacteria, so I bought Biozyme, so I will test the water tonight. Also changed out carbon filter, I have a whisper. Please let me know what I'm doing wrong, I want to save my boy James. It seems you know a lot about these fish.