Went On Vacation, Water Levels Are Out Of Wack

[gurnie]

So before I went on vacation my levels read as followed in my 2.5 gallon planted tank

Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite .25ppm
Nitrate 10ppm


These are Ok level since the tank is still cycling. The Ph was too high so i removed a sea-shell i had in the tank.
I did a 75% water changed (used the same water as before) and then went on vacation.

but when i came back from my 2 week vacation:

Ph 6.0
Ammonia 2ppm
nitrite 5ppm

My fish are swimming and look happy but I know those conditions suck! I think I know what made the ph drop (i used a plastic canister that I thought I cleaned really good, but it useto have coffee grinds in it. I'm sure that made the water more acidic). And I just changed the filter. I'm thinking about not feeding them till monday so the ammonia can clear out.

I pre-measured food for my fish but I think the fish-sitter at my office gave them too many treats.

Any suggestions to leveling out the water levels? I can do a water change tomorrow morning but right now its too late in the day to do so.

 

[znk]

So before I went on vacation my levels read as followed in my 2.5 gallon planted tank

Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite .25ppm
Nitrate 10ppm


These are Ok level since the tank is still cycling. The Ph was too high so i removed a sea-shell i had in the tank.
I did a 75% water changed (used the same water as before) and then went on vacation.

but when i came back from my 2 week vacation:

Ph 6.0
Ammonia 2ppm
nitrite 5ppm

My fish are swimming and look happy but I know those conditions suck! I think I know what made the ph drop (i used a plastic canister that I thought I cleaned really good, but it useto have coffee grinds in it. I'm sure that made the water more acidic). And I just changed the filter. I'm thinking about not feeding them till monday so the ammonia can clear out.

I pre-measured food for my fish but I think the fish-sitter at my office gave them too many treats.

Any suggestions to leveling out the water levels? I can do a water change tomorrow morning but right now its too late in the day to do so.

What do you mean by just changed the filter and by to late to do a water change today?

 

[gurnie]

I changed out the filter (put a new one in today, threw out the old filter). The last water change i did was 2 weeks ago before I went on vacation. I changed out 75% of the water.

It's too late in the day (my tank is here at work) to change the water because there are too many people here in the office. I can change the water tomorrow morning.

 

[znk]

I changed out the filter (put a new one in today, threw out the old filter). The last water change i did was 2 weeks ago before I went on vacation. I changed out 75% of the water.

It's too late in the day (my tank is here at work) to change the water because there are too many people here in the office. I can change the water tomorrow morning.

You mean like changing the foam pad or something? Just in case...ignore if it dosent apply: It would me recommended to keep most of the old media(especialy the biological media) because that's where most the bacteria that transform the amonia and nitrites are.

They might have been overfed or something. Water change as soon as possible and monitor. And dont forget to dechlorinate the water.

 

[gurnie]

oops, well i already threw out the filter. How much of a water change ( percentage wise?)

 

[stang1]

Never throw out the media as you will lose all your bacteria and the tank will end up going through another cycle. When you do a water change just rinse the pads in the dirty tank water and they'll be fine. If ever you replace filters, only change part of it, not the whole thing.
In the meantime, do a big water change of about 50% and continue to do daily water changes of about 30% until you bring the nitrite and ammonia down.
What fish are you keeping in the tank?

 

[kribensis12]

You shouldnt keep fis in there if you are still cycling with a new filter media.

 

[gurnie]

Well i guess it's still not cycling, it's been going for over 12 weeks now. Ha, I haven't relized that's how long the tank has been going.

So how long should you use the same filter? my filter is only the pads (its the red sea nano, no carbon filters for it as far as I know).


Anyways, zebra fish (2) are in there with some live plants. So like I said i think my coworker fed them too much

edit:
Came into work today and tested the waters before doing a 50% change.

PH 6.4
Ammonia 1ppm
nitrite 2ppm
Nitrate 10ppm

So things are starting to level out. I think taking out the offending objects (ex-coffee containers) helped a lot.