Some questions about my tank

baehr4308

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Hello! Recently I have posted about having algae on my plants, and on that topic I decided to reduce my lighting and completely cover the tank to prevent excess light, in hopes of killing the algae.

Now today I come with one more question. I will post my water parameters down below, but I have been seeing these little dots/worm like things appear on the glass of the tank. If someone would like to enlighten me on the situation, and how I can address getting rid of them that would be appreciated!

Here are my water parameters. As of writing this I will be doing a 50% water change because I have notice that my PH level seems extremely higher than what it used to be, so i am going to try and watch how much conditioner I put in every time.

Parameters:
Ph: 7.6
Ammonia: .25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 - 1 ppm

*I have attached photos of the tank, and my male Betta named Casper!
 

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I am actually going to hold off on another water change until I hear back from someone on here. My latest water change was 72 hours ago
 
I am actually going to hold off on another water change until I hear back from someone on here. My latest water change was 72 hours ago
I would say that a 50% every other day would be good for your algae problem. I am worried about your Ammonia though, it should be 0ppm


Here are 7 easy steps to lower your Ammonia:

  1. Immediately do a 50% water change.
  2. Vacuum your gravel.
  3. Remove any uneaten food.
  4. Remove any rotting plants.
  5. Look for any dead fish.
  6. Ensure filter isn't clogged and it is flowing freely.
  7. Cut down on feeding.
 
How big is your tank and how long has it been running? With .25 ammonia I have the same concerns as @Guppy10 . Water changes help with ammonia and you may want to consider some plants like water sprite, hornwort, anacharis and moneywort to help absorb ammonia. They are easy to care for and absorb what they need from the water.
 
I would stop feeding altogether until that ammonia goes down to zero and nitrate rises as it appears to me, the tank is not cycled. Just my opinion of course.
What will allow nitrate to rise? Natural tank growth? I have been taking care of this tank since September of 2019, but it was until 2 weeks ago that I actually rearranged the whole tank all together. I wanted more space in the tank so i took out the plastic wall that separated the filter area from the living area, so that had probably killed a lot of my good bacteria that I built up over those many months.

Another reason for taking that wall out was how disgusting the water got back there. A bunch of material and waste would build up in the back, making water changes more of a hassle because I cannot pump out everything on each side of the wall.
 
You may have hit the problem on the head, all that decomposing "stuff" releases ammonia into the water and the good bacteria being reduced to deal with it. It may take awhile for the tank to get back to normal. There is Tetra SafeStart Plus that may help in your case. If helps replace the bacteria at water changes besides jump starting new tanks.
 

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