Surface Slime Problem In Week Old Tank!

[stoneagedinosaur]

How do folks

I have an Aqua One 850 (165 litres) with 13 Harlequin Tetras (that's what they said in the shop- but my research makes em as someat different- see signature)

Anyhoo - I have a lovely covering of clear slime on the surface of the water - I think that it's due to initial overfeeding but not too sure... Fishies don't seem to phased but y'know - don't want stuff to get out of hand and that

Am planning to change 50% water, rinse filter material in tank water and clean gravel - does that seem right?

Questions - How do I change 80 litres of water with a 10 litre bucket?
Should I rinse my filter stuff in the tank water?
What about the ceramic stuff?
Any other ideas where the slime might be coming from and why doesn't my filter sort it all out?

Thanks in advance..

Martin

 

[fatheadminnow]

How do folks

I have an Aqua One 850 (165 litres) with 13 Harlequin Tetras (that's what they said in the shop- but my research makes em as someat different- see signature)

Anyhoo - I have a lovely covering of clear slime on the surface of the water - I think that it's due to initial overfeeding but not too sure... Fishies don't seem to phased but y'know - don't want stuff to get out of hand and that

Am planning to change 50% water, rinse filter material in tank water and clean gravel - does that seem right?

Questions - How do I change 80 litres of water with a 10 litre bucket?
Should I rinse my filter stuff in the tank water?
What about the ceramic stuff?
Any other ideas where the slime might be coming from and why doesn't my filter sort it all out?

Thanks in advance..

Martin

I would have to say that the slime-coat is from over-feeding. Do you have any air fresheners in the room near the tank at all? Sometimes air fresheners can get into the tank and give the tank water surface a "clear coating" of a sort.


Questions - How do I change 80 litres of water with a 10 litre bucket? 8 trips to the sink. 10 X 8 = 80
Should I rinse my filter stuff in the tank water? Yes
What about the ceramic stuff? Rinse them in tank water as well. All stuff in the filter is going to have the same kind of bacteria on it. The only difference is that some filter media will be more suitable for bacteria to colonize on it.
Any other ideas where the slime might be coming from and why doesn't my filter sort it all out? Over-feeding or the type of food you are using is my answer.

What kind of food are you using?

Have you cycled your tank?

-FHM

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Martin
[/quote]
I would have to say that the slime-coat is from over-feeding. Do you have any air fresheners in the room near the tank at all? Sometimes air fresheners can get into the tank and give the tank water surface a "clear coating" of a sort.


Questions - How do I change 80 litres of water with a 10 litre bucket? 8 trips to the sink. 10 X 8 = 80
Should I rinse my filter stuff in the tank water? Yes
What about the ceramic stuff? Rinse them in tank water as well. All stuff in the filter is going to have the same kind of bacteria on it. The only difference is that some filter media will be more suitable for bacteria to colonize on it.
Any other ideas where the slime might be coming from and why doesn't my filter sort it all out? Over-feeding or the type of food you are using is my answer.

What kind of food are you using?

Have you cycled your tank?

-FHM
[/quote]

Thanks for that - How long does the water conditioner have to be in the water for for it to be good enough to add to the tank / can I mix hot and cold water from the tap?

I am using Tetramin by Tetra - they are polishing off the little that I give them within seconds

I added Nutrafin Cycle formula after a week of the fish being in there (Not sure what 'cycle' means to be honest - new head on old shoulders here!)

 

[fatheadminnow]

The water conditioner works immediately. And yes, in most cases, you can mix hot and cold water. Some place, with the hot water, I think there is like more iron or something in it, which is why some people use cold water and then heat it up on the stove.

The cycle stuff you are using is not good and will have no effect on your tank.

The slime coat could possible be from not having a cycled tank?

You are now in what is called a fish-in cycle. Read about it here:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306

It is vital that you read and understand what is being said in these links I provided for you!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them!

-FHM

 

[drain_bamaged]

Tetramin leaves an oil type covering on the surface, its completely harmless to fish. But you do need to cycle your tank, take a look at the links in FHM posts.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Aah - tank cycling - you mean water changing! Just done that and they're not dead (YET!) Thanks for all the advice folks, you have probably saved the lives of me bishies and saved me lots of time (and money!)

 

[iffles]

cycling as in growing bacteria in your filter to process/"eat" your fishes waste prods . ie ammonia and nitrIte. these are highly toxic to fish. as said above, you are in a fish in cycle meaning the fish is the source of ammonia. fish less cycles mean you add ammonia to the water.

hope that helps to clear things up a little

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Stoneage.
Unfortunately tank cycling is much more than changing water. It is a process that gradually, over several weeks, makes the filter ready to care for the biological load that your fish impose on the tank's water. While the tank's filter is cycling, you will indeed do a lot of water changes, but that is not what a cycle is all about. Instead the water changes are your way of protecting the fish from high concentrations of the poisons ammonia and nitrites while the filter grows bacteria in it that will take care of the ammonia and nitrites or you. The water changes can easily run as high as 50% each day depending on how many fish you have and how much you feed them. More food or more fish means you will be doing more and bigger water changes. One of the first things you will need is a good test kit. The brand name is not important but you want the kit that uses liquid reagents and little test tubes to test at least ammonia, nitrites and pH. A test for nitrates would also be helpful.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Welcome to the forum Stoneage.
Unfortunately tank cycling is much more than changing water. It is a process that gradually, over several weeks, makes the filter ready to care for the biological load that your fish impose on the tank's water. While the tank's filter is cycling, you will indeed do a lot of water changes, but that is not what a cycle is all about. Instead the water changes are your way of protecting the fish from high concentrations of the poisons ammonia and nitrites while the filter grows bacteria in it that will take care of the ammonia and nitrites or you. The water changes can easily run as high as 50% each day depending on how many fish you have and how much you feed them. More food or more fish means you will be doing more and bigger water changes. One of the first things you will need is a good test kit. The brand name is not important but you want the kit that uses liquid reagents and little test tubes to test at least ammonia, nitrites and pH. A test for nitrates would also be helpful.

Thanks for the welcome (maybe I was being a touch flippant - I know it's more than that but it's as much as I can cope with at the mo)

How often would you recommend testing the water - haven't done it yet as obviously the nitrites would spike straight away, I imagine then followed by steady ammonia increase until water changes. Does the cycle then continue in this way?

It's quite complicated innit!

 

[Harlequins]

Follow the excellent advice above,

Its best to test water daily,the ammonia comes first in theory, followed by nitrite,you may get both of these has they're spiking,you need them to be zero,anything above 0.25 then the fish are being poisoned,and the readings on the testing determines what waterchanges you do.
This cycle takes on average 6-8 weeks,before your filter can handle the bio load your fish create.

By the way your fish look like harlequin rasboras Like in my avatar

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Follow the excellent advice above,



By the way your fish look like harlequin rasboras Like in my avatar

That's what I thought (hence the latin names in the description / signature doo dah) The shop had them as Tetras but that black pork chop shape fitted the rasbora description - I can never remember that rasbora word!