Nitrite And Filter Questions.

[Cantbesaved]

Hey guys. I have been making out alright with my new tank, and I am quite happy. I am keeping ammonia levels low, and I now have nitrites showing up (I do my own drip tests).

here are my questions:

1) yesterday morning, I had 0.5ppm nitrites. I did not have time to change the water, because the clean water I would put in was 4 degrees celcius too cold, so I had to wait until tonight to do it (I went away overnight). I changed the water as soon as I got home, and THEN did the tests... it showed up with 0ppm nitrites... Is that just because of how diluted the water was? Or has something else happened? I did a nitrate test, and it showed up as 0ppm... Tho the colour SORTA looked like it was going a bit orange, but REALLY hard to tell...

2 - less complicated) When I do my water change, Can I turn off my filter for 15-20 min or so while the water level gets too low for the filter to suck? lol I dont want it sucking in air and burning out the motor. But I know if the filter stops, it can kill the bacteria on the bio wheel, correct? How long do I have before bacteria dies? I have a Marineland Dolphin 100.

Thanks guys =D

 

[Corleone]

Hey guys. I have been making out alright with my new tank, and I am quite happy. I am keeping ammonia levels low, and I now have nitrites showing up (I do my own drip tests).

here are my questions:

1) yesterday morning, I had 0.5ppm nitrites. I did not have time to change the water, because the clean water I would put in was 4 degrees celcius too cold, so I had to wait until tonight to do it (I went away overnight). I changed the water as soon as I got home, and THEN did the tests... it showed up with 0ppm nitrites... Is that just because of how diluted the water was? Or has something else happened? I did a nitrate test, and it showed up as 0ppm... Tho the colour SORTA looked like it was going a bit orange, but REALLY hard to tell...

2 - less complicated) When I do my water change, Can I turn off my filter for 15-20 min or so while the water level gets too low for the filter to suck? lol I dont want it sucking in air and burning out the motor. But I know if the filter stops, it can kill the bacteria on the bio wheel, correct? How long do I have before bacteria dies? I have a Marineland Dolphin 100.

Thanks guys =D

1. It may have gone down on its own, and the water change took it down to where the tests barely register. When I think the color wants to shift, I usually do a 20% water change and test in 24 hours. The tests aren't lab-quality, so there's some margin of error, and it can be hard to gauge values between colors on the scale.

2. This should be fine - you can take the biowheel out and float it in the tank to keep it wet. I have extensions on my filter intakes, so I can take about 75% of the water out without the filters sucking air, but some of them actually labor if I take out more than half. If I'm just doing a regular 20% change I leave them on, but any more and I turn them off and float any media I can't keep wet inside the filters in a bucket.

 

[Cantbesaved]

OK sweet, thank you! I have an extension too, but there is a mid-tank port on the stem, so it gets exposed just at the end of my 5 gallon change. I keep the filter running until that gets exposed, and then unplug it. Then when it is covered again I plug it back in, but that is a bit of a hassle, and would be nicer to just not have to worry at all. lol.

 

[Corleone]

You could check around pet stores, sometimes there's replacement tubes that are slightly different than the stock ones. I have some extras that have sponge tips so fry don't get sucked in. You might not want to use those, since they add a bit of maintenance and reduce flow, but if you can find a suitable replacement, it'll work.

You could probably get away with turning the filter off at the start of the water change - some people advise that because of the standard risks involved anywhere water and electricity are close together. As long as the bacteria remain wet, they'll be fine for a while, and the fish won't poop much in the 15-30 minutes a water change takes.

 

[Cantbesaved]

OK awesome, thanks a lot! Just don't wanna lose all progress hehe!

I've another question, just came to my head. If i left my tank light on, would the fish just stay awake and die? I have a CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light), and I want to make a moon light in there for at night. Will that allow them to sleep or will they think it is still day time?

 

[waterdrop]

The fish would not die, but you should not leave lights on fish around the clock. If you want to use a "moon light" then it should just be used for the evening viewing period and then turned off. You can do this manually or with a simple electrical timer from the hardware store.

I believe the general feeling in the hobby is that although the aquarium is an artificial environment, nature should be respected as much as possible and it is reasonable to think that fish, like other animals, will respond positively to their natural habitat being copied as closely as possible (despite populations having been bred in captivity for a long time.) In nature, tropical fish experience nights that are sometimes moon-lit and sometimes inky black probably.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Cantbesaved]

sweet thanks for the info. I am buying a timer today, but I just wanted to know anyways.