GSP acting strange.

justinlovewithu · Post by **justinlovewithu** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:51 pm

I have a 2 inch GSP. Recently our filter went POOP and well the tank went for a while with out any cycling because of the filter. Ran out asap got a new one hooked it up, and then the water went NUTS! ammonia, nitrates you name it were really bad, I did water changes water changes and yet another water change, We added amonialock and the purple bottle of stress zyme, Well the water isnt perfect yet, I have a 55 gal cycling too. but my Puffer isnt eating and is staying at light grey on top and less bright white on the bottom. from time to time he gets spotty on the bottom. When the water was all messed up I saw him PUFF twice. Hes swimming fine seems to "rest" more then usual. I have a boat load of shrimp,snails,and clam ready for him. I offered a krill and he didnt touch it.
Whats wrong? do you think hes OK?
If my tank were to freak out again whats the quickest way to"fix" it? I just love these guys and Im worried.
Thanks SO MUCH this place is awesome!

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:56 pm

When you put in the new flter did you use the media from the old one?

How long was it without filtration?

You can use Seachem Prime to help detoxify the ammonia and nitrites.

If you can get your hands on some biospira that would really solve your problem.

I wouldn't put anything put Prime into the tank and continue daily 50% water changes or more.

Gomez · Post by **Gomez** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:59 pm

maybe you should post your watter parameters, tank size, etc...
you could probably try biospira
http://www.marineland.com/products/mlla ... ospira.asp
if your tank isn't cycled.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:29 pm

yes, if you simply replaced the old filter with the new one, thats removeing a massive amount of nitrifying bacteria, so your tank started to re-cycle. if you did use media from the old filter, its possible that the tank was without water movement for too long, which killed some of the bacteria.

as has been stated above, bio-spira would be in order here. tank params would be very helpful too. is it a FW or SW tank?

( i aplogize if any of the above mesage is hrd to undestand , im so tired im pratically aaslep right now.... :3: )

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:23 am

Keep a close eye on water parameters until the tank parameters are back in order. Unless you can get your hands on some Bio-Spira, you may need to do large partial water changes two or more times per day for a while.

Clean the substrate very well with each water change and cut way back on feeding for a while. Assuming you are following the feeding advice in the articles in the library, I recommend that you cut back to half as much food per feedings and increase the interval between feedings. Clean up immediately after each feeding. Drop the stress-zyme and other additives other that Bio-Spira. Personally, I would drop the ammo-lock as well and use Prime.

If you cannot locate Bio-Spira in your area, do you have any friends with tanks at about the same SG as yours. If so, maybe you can borrow some of their filter media to help seed the cycle in your tank?

justinlovewithu · Post by **justinlovewithu** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:10 am

The tank is 29 gal has been cycled. we had 2 filters on it one was the primary filter the other was on low just passing water and it was 2 weeks old, the primary one went out and it was the start up kit one and we could not use the old filter they were not compatable and we couldnt find the same one to replace it with. The water is Brackish and we are converining to SW. The Hydro meter is at 1.017
The ammonia went from zero to almost 3, nitrite is went from zero to almost 1, then the nitrate was 8 and went to about 35,the Ph was at 7.7 to 6.5.
we turned up the seccond filter and we have added stress Zyme, ammo lock we have doen this for two days. . we just went and got the Prime and added that. Fish store said to waite until Monday to do another water change. (what do you think)
I wish some one here had some media I could borrow but we seem to be the only ones with a fish fettish.
thanks for your help I will post and let you know how it goes. Any more Ideas are very welcome!
Would the water conditions Keep my fish from eating?
Thanks
Georgia

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:15 am

Try to get some SW Bio-Spira. Do a 90% water change before adding it to your filter (to remove ammonia removers).

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:18 am

Your fish may be stressed from the crash.

How and how fast are you converting the tank to SW? You should raise the SG no more than .002/week and I highly recommend going much slower than that. I raised mine about .001 every two weeks.

IRT waiting on the water change (borrowing RTR's infamous phrase here)-horse feathers! The only reasons you would not want to do water changes are when you have medicated the tank or recently added Bio-Spira and need to let the bacteria settle into the filter and substrate. You have high nitrates (dangerous) and water changes are required to get them back down. I would do one tonight, another in the morning, and continue doing so until the nitrates are down to acceptable levels.

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:21 am

Those parameters are pretty bad. Losing all your bacteria when the filter gave out means it will have to re-establish the new filter from whatever bacteria are left in your substrate. This can take a week or two depending on how established your tank was.

A good idea would have been to hang onto the old filter media, even if you couldn't fit it into the other filters. You could have cut it into a smaller piece, or hung it in the flow of water.

For now:

Stop adding stress zyme and ammo lock.

Follow the directions on the bottle of prime for detoxifying ammonia and nitrites.

Continue with water changes and hold your SG steady.

Reduce feedings.

Keep looking for bio-spira. If you can find some, your problem will be solved. It contains live bacteria that you can just add to your filter. Instant cycle. No other product contains the right kind of live bacteria.

Bed dilegent, and in a week or two things should get back to normal.

justinlovewithu · Post by **justinlovewithu** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:24 am

we are going slow! i would hate to loose my fish i think in the last month its been maybe the .002 that you mentioned.
I need to do the water change, but how long should I wait? we added the prime about an hour ago. When we do the water change should I add more gunk to get the gunk out?
I must sound like and Idiot, but thanks for all the help
georgia

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:30 am

Start adding the prime to your replacement water. It is a dechlorinator as well. Your replacement water should have only your marine mix salt and the prime. Nothing else is necessary.

Like ybe said, one 50% change in the morning and another before bed. It'll be a lot of work, but it really is the only way to minimize the harm to your fish.

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:12 am

justinlovewithu wrote:we are going slow! i would hate to loose my fish i think in the last month its been maybe the .002 that you mentioned.

Great!

I must sound like and Idiot, but thanks for all the help
georgia

Not at all! You recognized the symptoms, know the cause and are actually doing water tests and seeking advice. Sounds to me like you have your act in order.

Tank crashes can be very stressful and it's easy to fall into the LFS-recommended trap of dumping lots of chemicals into the tank in an attempt to compensate. Other than use of Bio-Spira to instant cycle the tank, careful monitoring, reduced feeding and increased water changes are the best actions you can take at this point. At 1.017 SG, water changes could get pretty expensive, but your fish should be fine if you stay on top of the situation while the nitrifying bacteria begin to reestablish and do their jobs.

Since your tank is nearing 1.018 (low-end SW), do you have plans to purchase a skimmer and live rock eventually?

justinlovewithu · Post by **justinlovewithu** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:28 am

Thanks for the encouragement.
We are cycling a 55 gal tank now. we put in coral/ seashell substrate, and are going to pick up live rock each payday. Not sue what types to use yet that's the other hold up. I see lots of different ones and there all so nice. I want to take it slow with the 55 gal to make sure we have everything we need for my GSP. So, We are using the 29 gal to get the fish used to the new environment. (and when I got the cute little buggers I didnt know they had to end up in SW.) another reason to read before you buy.LOL
I saw a skimmer at the LFS today but not to sure what the use is. I heard I'm going to need one.
Georgia

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:34 am

OK, I was just wondering. Selection of LR, skimmers and other SW topics are off-topic and probably best discussed in separate threads after the current crisis is over. You might want to start playing the lottery though or maybe get a second job so you can fund the migration to SW!

justinlovewithu · Post by **justinlovewithu** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:27 am

ok i gave my guys a change of water for tonight I did a 70% water change. Gonna test the water in about a hr or so.

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GSP acting strange.

GSP acting strange.