Hi,
I set up a 120l tank about 7 weeks ago and let it cycle for 5 weeks with 3 corys in it. I went through good and bad phases with water quality, sometimes crystal clear at other times milky. After 5 weeks the tank seems to have settled and the nitrite reading was at a steady 0. I had two filters on the tank. One biobox 2 with a 600l pump and an internal sponge filter. I added 3 discus and about 10 days later the water became really murky and the nitrite reading went up to 0.5 I did water changes and added bacteria however the fish did not look happy at all. I have since added a third filter, a fluval G3 and after 48hrs the water is crystal clear and the nitrite reading is 0 once again. Fish still do not look happy.
My question is, should I continue with water changes or will I just be removing beneficial bacteria? Also I have a separate triex cartridge for the G3 which I am currently not using. This is supposed to remove phosphate and nitrate. Should I replace this cartridge with the carbon one which is in the filter at the moment?
Replies would be really appreciated.
Regards,
Michael
I set up a 120l tank about 7 weeks ago and let it cycle for 5 weeks with 3 corys in it. I went through good and bad phases with water quality, sometimes crystal clear at other times milky. After 5 weeks the tank seems to have settled and the nitrite reading was at a steady 0. I had two filters on the tank. One biobox 2 with a 600l pump and an internal sponge filter. I added 3 discus and about 10 days later the water became really murky and the nitrite reading went up to 0.5 I did water changes and added bacteria however the fish did not look happy at all. I have since added a third filter, a fluval G3 and after 48hrs the water is crystal clear and the nitrite reading is 0 once again. Fish still do not look happy.
My question is, should I continue with water changes or will I just be removing beneficial bacteria? Also I have a separate triex cartridge for the G3 which I am currently not using. This is supposed to remove phosphate and nitrate. Should I replace this cartridge with the carbon one which is in the filter at the moment?
Replies would be really appreciated.
Regards,
Michael