Oxygen Deprivation? Help!

[greenmumma141]

Hey everybody, there seems to be something going on in my tank, and I don't know what it is.... here is a bit of background on the tank...
 
I do not have an air stone or bubbler in my tank as I have heard it's not good to keep one in a planted tank and that you don't need one.
 
A couple days ago, I did a water change and filled the water level up higher than I normally do. There was still a slight ripple on the surface, so I thought it was fine. Later that night I noticed my cories swimming to the surface more than usual, so upon further inspection I noticed my fish showed signs of labored breathing. I lowered the water level by a couple inches to where I normally keep it.  I have been dealing with a slight diatoms/slime problem. It is under control in the tank, but my filters have been clogging and I have been rinsing the sponges out about once a week, yes in dechlorinated water. Whether it's the rinsing or the clogging, I had a small nitrite spike even after the wc.
 
Yesterday I did another wc after rinsing the sponges out in both filters. My water looked more clear than it has looked in quite a while, but after a couple hours it started to cloud, and is still pretty cloudy. My nitrites and ammonia are both down to 0 though, so that's good.
 
I also found an otto as he was dying this morning, didn't show any signs to what the problem was though, his coloring was fine, no redness at his gills.
 
My pictus catfish has continued to show very labored breathing. He's at the surface now, which he never is.  I really don't want to lose him, my son would be mortified. Here are my tank stats:
 
65 Gallon (23 inches high) heavy planted
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
ph 7.9ish
temp 75
Two aquaclear 70's both cycled.
i dose 3 ml of seachem flourish daily but have been very forget lately, except for today.
 
Any help is appreciated, Im racking my brain and I can't seem to figure it out. Please let me know if I have left any important info out...
 
im trying to upload a video but its taking a while, so Ill edit this once its up.
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EYL2xSFrdk&feature=youtu.be

 

[Mikey1]

how big was the water change you did before the problems started?
 
did you also clean the substrate at that time?
 
did you clean the filters at that time?
 
what kind of filter media are you using in the filters?
 
how long have BOTH/each filters been running for?
 
you should be rinsing the filter media in tank water that you have removed from the aquarium....not new dechlorinated water,
 
you are rinsing your filter media way too often....rinsing too often does more harm then good,,,,my guess is you have killed most of your bacteria and the tank/filters need cycling again

 

[greenmumma141]

I am using old tank/filter water to rinse the sponges. It's just enough water to sloosh the sponges in to help rinse them out.
 
I just set up my tank in the second week on January, but used my filter from a previous tank that was fully cycled. I added the same type of filter to the new tank, giving me 2 (one cycled and one new). I am assuming the second filter is now filtered. I would have left it without rinsing for longer, but it was so clogged the water was pushing the basket out of the top.   
 
i did a vacuuming, yes. I would not call it a major vacuuming.  
 
I have a sponge and ceramics in both.  
 
I don't like to even mess with my filters as part of my weekly maintenance or even close to that, but again, I had to. 

video is up.


If my bacteria was zapped, wouldn't my water tests show it? I just tested again and both nitrites and ammonia are at 0.

 

[Mikey1]

I am assuming the second filter is now filtered.

 
 
i assume u mean cycled....i wouldnt be so sure about that....bacteria wont just jump from one filter to another, and the second filter will not produce bacteria unless the bio load of the tank increases....you would have been better off to spread the OLD media from the exsisting filter between both filters/put some in each of them....
 
i dont understand how your filter media can get that clogged up in only a matter of days....i would get a LARGE airstone in there as soon as posible

 

[greenmumma141]

did mean cycled, sorry.  I have increased the bio load by adding more fish and a ton of plants.  The second filter has been going for 2 months now.
 
Im not sure how its getting clogged either, I think it has to do with the diatom outbreak and bioslime.

 

[Mikey1]

did mean cycled, sorry.  I have increased the bio load by adding more fish and a ton of plants.  The second filter has been going for 2 months now.
 
Im not sure how its getting clogged either, I think it has to do with the diatom outbreak and bioslime.

 
it could easily take LONGER than 2 months to cycle a filter that is being run in parallel with an existing filter....the original filter would still be doing all the work....i would not assume the second filter is cycled yet....

 

[greenmumma141]

I don't have an airstone, I sold it with my old tank but I will lower the water level again, good thinking.

did mean cycled, sorry.  I have increased the bio load by adding more fish and a ton of plants.  The second filter has been going for 2 months now.
 
Im not sure how its getting clogged either, I think it has to do with the diatom outbreak and bioslime.

 
it could easily take LONGER than 2 months to cycle a filter that is being run in parallel with an existing filter....the original filter would still be doing all the work....i would not assume the second filter is cycled yet....

 
That makes sense. So if it's not cycled, and I lost whatever bacteria was in there, I dont see how that would affect the tank, except taking longer to cycle it now. It doesn't seem to explain what's going on. Good info though and I really do appreciate it.

 

[Mikey1]

i normally use 2 sponges/foams in my aquaclear filters....but too late for that right now, dont change any filter media....
 
it still sounds to me like you have somehow killed your bacteria in the original filter....was the water you rinsed the media in the same temperature as the tank water?....that is also very important....rinsing media in cold or extremely hot water can kill bacteria.....
 
do you treat the entire tank with dechlorinator when doing a water change?
 
have you CHANGED/REPLACED any filter media recently?

 

[greenmumma141]

Ive never changed or replaced my media. 
 
I think it might have been warm, not too cold or hot, and to kill bacteria it has to be an extreme....
 
again though, if i killed the bacteria, wouldn't I see immediate results in my water tests??

 

[BerryAttack]

well for a planted tank people say you do not need to do water changes... but when cleaning out your filter you should be using the tank water to keep the bacteria from dying.. i think what has happened is that you used new water and cleaned the sponge.. killing the bacteria and boom messing up the aquarium... so next time you do a water change use the aquarium water.
 
when putting in flourish you can put it in 2 a week.. a plant can only take so much at a time. i only put flourish in on wednesdays and sundays... but to each there own i guess
 
bubblier for aquariums can be good, it puts a small amount of CO2 in the water with the oxygen... and helps with circulation, but then again to each there own.

 

[greenmumma141]

I used the mixture of tank water and the water from the filter to rinse the sponge. There was no new water, except what I added to the tank. 
 
If the bacteria in my filter has been zapped, wouldn't i have some ammonia or nitrite spikes?? I know the nitrite might take some time to spike, but surely the ammonia would be a problem by now, 24 hours later??

 

[Mikey1]

explain in more detail exactly how you performed the water change....do you use a siphon? python? buckets?
 
how do you refill the tank? buckets? hose?
 
when do you add the dechlorinator? how much do you add? and WHERE do you add it?

 

[greenmumma141]

I use a syphon that attaches to my sink. When my water level is where i want it to be, i put my "fish bucket" in the sink and detach the tube and after raising the vac from the water, I let the remaining water in the tube flow into the bucket. This is the water I use to rinse my sponges, plus whatever water was in the filters.   
 
I use stress coat, and I add it to the water before switching the syphon over to fill my tank. i just pour it into the tank. this is the same method I have always used.

 

[snazy]

I would not rely on the test and start doing daily 50% water changes. Ammonia and particularly nitrite can cause enough gill damage to cause this. Water changes will at least bring some more oxygen as well.
If you don't inject Co2 then there is no need to have still surface and I would increase it at least temporary to aid in healing the fish.

 

[greenmumma141]

I would not rely on the test and start doing daily 50% water changes. Ammonia and particularly nitrite can cause enough gill damage to cause this. Water changes will at least bring some more oxygen as well.
If you don't inject Co2 then there is no need to have still surface and I would increase it at least temporary to aid in healing the fish.

 
 
Okay, thanks snazy.  so the whole no air stone thing is just if you're injecting?!  oh man...