Super Clear Water

I just wanted to post today saying how amazed I am at the clarity of my tank's water. I was just staring at my fish and realized how vibrant the colors are. No cheesy neon decor either. Just various browns from beige to chocolate from the gravel to the driftwood. The green of the plants in contrast to the blue background. Mix in the fluid movements of my Zebra Danios at the top level on my tank to the reds of the Serpae Tetras at the lower levels.

These pics don't do it justice (I'm terrible at aquarium photos)

all fish included in this shot

All the credit goes to my AquaClear filter. So glad I decided to get it.

And as promised, a couple pics of my Tetras.

Bacterial Bloom

My first real crisis with my aquarium was what appeared to be a bacterial bloom in the water. At the time I just recently added 3 fish to my tank. I was pushing it a bit introducing that many to a small tank. I won't do that again.

I kept a watchful eye on my 2 new Danios to make sure they got along with the established 3 I already had. Plus I added a bushynose pleco to the mix because my tank was showing sign of algae. In my opinion a sign of a healthy tank. In case there wasn't sufficient algae I bought some algae wafers. To make sure my new fish got something to eat because the older Danios are quick and eat all the food, I began feeding a small dose at night also. Being new to the hobby I was reading some posts saying feed a couple times a day in small amounts and some saying once a day is fine. I so did a little of both. It has come to my opinion that the once a day is far better. I will explain why later in the blog.

I took my normal water readings and did my normal water changes. But I started to notice my water was getting cloudy. I didn't think too much of it since most things I read online just says it normal. So to help it along I bought  Seachem Clarity. I used as directed but had no effect. After a couple more days my water got cloudier. Then I noticed on of my older Danios had a white spot on each forward fin and top of the tail. I researched Ich because that tends to be the most common problem with aquarium fish. The signs did seem to point to Ich although it looked like it. I also checked my filter. Of all the things I kept my eye on I forgot of the filter. The water was backing up over the reservoir past the actual filter. I changed it out and the cartridge was caked with gunk. So at this point it was time to buy medication for my fish and I made my way to Petsmart.

cloudy water

The times I go into Petsmart and look around for ideas for my tank I listen to the sales guy. He really seems to know his stuff and isn't trying to just up sale the customers on more than they need. A lot of what he says coincides with what I read online. But he wasn't there the day I needed to fish fixer uppers. The person on duty in the section did suggest API Melafix and Pimafix. i only had  few buck on me so I got the 4oz melafix. A couple days later, after getting paid, I bought the Pimafix and API Aquarium Salt. The guy I listen to talk to customers was there and he saw what I had and asked,"Sick fish?" I said "yea" explain what I was doing. Then he added that I should raise the temp on my heat just a little also. 

I did what I set out to do. I added a teaspoon of both Melafix and Pimafix and I added a tablespoon of the aquarium salt. After a day or two the white spot on my fish's fins looked smaller. Sign that it was working but the water was still cloudy. I researched some more and came to the conclusion that it might be this bacterial Bloom and maybe I was over feeding which adds to this condition. Plus the algae wafers I was providing my pleco didn't seem to be touch. So I am sure that was a factor. If the wafers weren't touched then maybe there was sufficient algae on the decor. Note: I still drop in a wafer every now and then but I break them into quarters and try to remember to remove them after an hour.

So, now that I was convinced i had a bacterial bloom happening I modified my tasks on my Nanoplanner. For a while I changed water ever 3 instead of 5 days. Also I check water chemistry every 3 days. But after a another week nothing seemed to happen. Well, expect for my fish no longer had those fungal spots. I changed out my filter cartridge every week too because the water was still bypassing the cartridge. About a week or so ago I looked into new filters. I decided on the AquaClear 20 that I mention in my other posts. Within a couple days my water looked much better.  I tried the Seachem Clarity again and this time is worked within a couple hours. Now it is practically clear again.

Notice Pleco on bottom of banana plant lily at top of pic

Nanoplanner - Aquarium Task Widget

Nanoplanner is a Yahoo widget that helps, especially beginners, with listing a schedule of tasks for the upkeep of your aquarium.

Various duties can are included and a "advised" time on when to attend to these jobs but you can choose when it is best to perform suck chores. Notice the yellow, green and red color on the second pic. The task change color to remind you it time to clean filter or change water and so forth. Example in pic 1 with "check water chemistry".

You can choose what you tasks are. Not all tasks are needed unless you have massive tank. If you are like me and have a small 10-20 gal tank, you just need to pay attention to water changes, checking chemistry and other remedial task. Currently I have on my Nanoplanner is as follows: Check Water Chemistry -2 days, Add Supplements - 4 days,  Change Carbon -Every Month (30 days), Clean Filter - Every two months (60 days), Change Water - 4 days, Change Chemical Media - Every Three Months(90 days), Check Supplies - Every Month (30 days). 

Most recently I had a bacterial bloom, a white cloudy tinge to me water. That is why some of my tasks are in short intervals. I coincide adding my supplements with water changes. Things I add with water changes include Aqueon Water Conditioner, API Aquarium Salt and every two-three weeks Seachem Neutral Regulator. That last one I have to keep track of mentally. Reasons being that the Nanoplanner is not fully customizable. You are subject to the tasks they have listed. Besides, you don't have to add Seachem Neutral Regulator on a regular basic. If you do your water chemistry checks on you scheduled time and see the pH is high, add some Seachem Neutral Regulator. I try to do it bi-monthly.

Now about a couple other tasks that I have listed I will explain, especially pertaining to my filter. I recently switched filter from an Aqueon QuietFlow 10 to an AquaClear 20. The Aqueon filter is a tight mesh cartridge with a little bit of carbon inside. It was fine at the beginning but with my recent bloom was a hassle. That is when I invested in an AquaClear 20. Reviews were good on this one and it was in my price range. I like it very much and it helped to eradicate my bacterial problem. It is appealing to me also is that the body is clear so you can see what's going on with out taking apart. Also this brand has 3 filter medias to cycle water through. A sponge filter, carbon and Biomax.  Because of these three different filter medias, I assigned my Nanoplanner tasks as such according to Aquaclear's specs for my filter system: Carbon(Change Carbon) - Every Month, Sponge(Clean Filter) - Every Two Months(60 days) and Biomax(Change Chemical Media) - Every Three Months(90 days).

In all this widget is very helpful. Not very customizable as stated but a must have for beginner fish hobbyist.