Tank Crash, Fish Suffocating, Questions!

[simonero]

I came home today to a bottom dwelling fish desperately hovering at the surface and breathing very deeply.  Apparently my filter had gotten clogged with java moss and was hardly running.  So, I immediately fixed that, and centered my filter so the oxygenation could be distributed more evenly.  I also added some aragonite because I planned to do that this week regardless - my pH/kH were pretty low when I last checked a couple days ago, due to my county's water.
 
Then I checked my water levels and they are TERRIBLE.  pH was about 6.6 (actually a bit higher than before, I'm aiming for 7+) and kH was 1.  Ammonia is 2 and nitrite are 2-5.  BAD.  (Don't know nitrate, I gave up trying to measure this because it's never right when I do it).  So, immediately I removed ~10gal of water and added about ~12 back.  I also discovered that some nitrous pockets had formed in the part of the tank where the sand had built up (from my fish swimming and moving it in that direction) and some debris that I couldn't see was trapped in there.  Loosened that up and eliminated most of the waste.  I hadn't been moving the sand around prior because in the past my thousands of trumpet snails had sufficiently sifted the sand around for me, so I've learned my lesson about that.
 
Anyway, 10-15min later I checked the water again and it is still equally just as bad.  How quickly should I expect to see a change in ammonia/nitrite levels?  If it is still that bad now, does that mean I need to do a 50% water change right now or should I wait a little to let the water settle and try again?  How long should I wait in between removing/replacing 10gal and chlorinating?  (I'm a bit hesitant to empty out a lot at once because my apartment complex has been working on the water pipes, so if the water stops tonight while it's below the filter level I'm screwed).  Is there anything else I can additionally do to quickly fix this and stop my fish from becoming rapidly poisoned/suffocated?
 
Also, is it normal for the filter stopping to cause a DRASTIC change in water levels?  3 days ago my levels (prior to a partial water change) were 0.25ammonia, 0 nitrite, 6.2pH, 1kH.  Or should I assume the primary cause is something I haven't identified?  
 
Thank you!

 

[fluttermoth]

Do another large water change and keep your fingers crossed. It might be having a look in the fish-in cycle gone wild thread; there's some good info in there that might be relevant regarding nitrite levels. I'll go and find the link for you.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433769-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i/

 

[Fishmanic]

How big is your tank? What is your present stocking? Was your tank previously cycled? How long has the tank been up and running? I would think a 80 or 90 percent water change should be done immediately with enough water left in the tank for the fish to swim uptight. Be sure to use dechlorinator for fresh water to refill the tank. which should be about the same temperature as old water. If you don't have one already, buy an airpump and add a couple of airstones. Monitor parameters closely and do another water change if needed to bring down ammonia and nitrire levels. Keep us posted on progress.

 

[simonero]

Ok, did another substantial water change... as much as I could given it is 4:40am right now and i need to go to sleep very soon. >.<  checked levels immediately after and a LITTLE better.... both ammonia and nitrite are at 1-2 now.  Will do an equally large or larger water change when I get up.
 
55gal, well established.  First set it up in August 2014, drained but saved wet biomedia/filter and moved a year after that.  I recently changed one of the filters but it's one of those aqueons with 2 large filters and room for extras (i have 3 small whisper filters filled with aragonite in there too) so that shouldn't have been an issue.  Java moss, anubis barteri, elodea canadensis, some random plant or two, trumpets galore and a few nerites, and one large columbian shark (spare a lecture please, I've been trying to re-home him for at least a year and a half, I'm aware of 100% of the problems..  just doing the best i can now!)
 
I need to buy another airpump and am going to order one tonight.  Does oxygenation help with maintaining the chemistry?
 
So, noticed something possibly substantial.  Now that the sand is clean I can see that the water is GREEN.  What does that indicate???!!!

 

[Fishmanic]

your levels are still too high
 
how oven have you done water changes in the past...once you get ammonia and nitrite levels to read 0,  then I recommend about a 50% water change done weekly

 

[StevenF]

 
 
Then I checked my water levels and they are TERRIBLE.  pH was about 6.6 (actually a bit higher than before, I'm aiming for 7+) and kH was 1.  Ammonia is 2 and nitrite are 2-5.  BAD.  (Don't know nitrate, I gave up trying to measure this because it's never right when I do it).

 
Ideally in an aquarium you should have zero ammonia and mitrite. To have it shoot up to unhelthy levels
within 24 hours of the pump plugging up is unusually fast.   When you did measure mitrate what were the results? How old is this test kit?  It may have passed it's experation data and if so needs to be replaced.  I suspect your tank has been ready to crash for some time and the pump failure simply pushed it over the edge.
 

 
 
So, noticed something possibly substantial.  Now that the sand is clean I can see that the water is GREEN.  What does that indicate???!!!

 
The combination of green water and high nitrogen levels indicates you have probably had a serious nutrient imbalance for some time. Your nitrogen levels are very high and your phosphate levels are probably even higher.  I would recommend getting a phosphate test kit and start doing large daily water changes. And keep those water changes going until your phosphate levels are less than 0.5ppm  and   ammonia, nitrite, and NITRATE are also good.
 
In my experience a KH of 1 is too low for plants so I suspect your moss is not doing well.  The addition of Argonite should help this and stabilize your PH.  More CO2 and Oxygen from an airstone will help the plants, algae, and bacteria consume the nitrogen.  
 
Also running the lights longer will help the plants consume the nitrogen and phosphates faster.  However with a KH of 1 your GH is probably also very low.  You might not have enough micro nutrients in the water for good plant growth.  I fact I would suspect that they are slowly dying or you have very poor plant growth.  Unfortunately added light will also make your algae issue worse.  

 

[simonero]

I last measured 3 days before this happened and my levels were: kH1, pH 6.2, ammonia 0.25, nitrite 0.  I changed the water and replaced one of the filters after that reading.  I never get the nitrate right when I try...  so I didn't try.  I've had it for a while but the expiration date is not for another 2 years or so.
 
I think it makes sense that this is long coming because of everything that had built up in the sand.  It was pretty bad, I had no idea.  When I get the chemistry stable I'll probably remove some of the sand.  I also had neglected to be diligent about my water changes for a little bit there, though I did one 3 days before this happened.
 
kH has always been pretty low even with the aragonite.  Java was struggling a little lately but otherwise by plants are doing fine, though not gloriously.  Just fine.  I figured it was because there's no natural light anymore.  gH is definitely probably low, based on my understanding of the water here.  I'm going to do a new check today on my tap, though.
 
Update: last night I also squeezed out my filter foam from another tank to add bacteria.  Did that again today and moved in some well-established tank decorations from my other tank.  Levels are currently the same, not dropping yet.  Going to do another, large water change shortly.
 
 

 
Also running the lights longer will help the plants consume the nitrogen and phosphates faster.  However with a KH of 1 your GH is probably also very low.  You might not have enough micro nutrients in the water for good plant growth.  I fact I would suspect that they are slowly dying or you have very poor plant growth.  Unfortunately added light will also make your algae issue worse.  
 

 
I actually turned them off last night thinking that it could be an algae bloom of some sort.  But I have no experience with that.  Question: What is the risk of choosing to go one way or another with the lights?  I also have the option to keep the lights on but remove my plant bulb (and replace with the original that came with my Aqueon kit).
 
Another question: I've been concerned about the oxygenation in this tank, as the filter gets "partially" clogged (reducing the strength of the filter) and the plants tend to block the water flow on the top.  I just bought something to help with the former issue.  Mounting the plants down isn't an option because this fish uproots it, and unless I can get the pH up I'm not going to put a driftwood anchor in there.  Could this have been a substantial contributor to why this built up so bad over time but was able to crash so quickly?  And is there anything I can do to help while waiting for my air pump to come in the mail?

 

[StevenF]

 
 
Question: What is the risk of choosing to go one way or another with the lights?

If you leave the lights on the water quality will be better for the fish helping them recover,  But you will have to deal with the algae later.  If you turn off the lights off the water quality may stay bad longer any may spend more time dealing with that.  I haven't had to face this choice but if I did I would probably lean toward leaving the lights on and then maybe do a blackout later to deal with the algae. Changing your  aquarium light bulbs right now might not be a good idea
 
 

 
 
And is there anything I can do to help while waiting for my air pump to come in the mail?

An air stone and daily water changes are probably your best solution right now.  You could try a micro element fertilizer such as Seachem Flourish Comprehensive.  If your micro nutrients are low your plants won't grow very well.  But it probably will not kick in right away.  So high phosphate levels are known to inhibit plant growth.   You can probably add a phosphate remover to your filter to help lower phosphates (if they are indeed high).  But that is not a very fast way to remove excess nutrients.  Besides there is no guaranty that the pet store in your area caries Seachem or phosphate remover. So you might also have to order them.