Trouble with my 10 litre goldfish tank

[miggy]

This is becoming an ongoing drama now.After 4 weeks The nitrite levels are just not coming down at all. I have starved the fish for a week I have put filter start in after changing the filter and doing 20% water changes every other day and still nothing. I have been advised at the shop to carry on changing the water every other day until Sunday then they are talking about selling me some more chemicals. After buying my filter, a Marina i25 from them they are now telling me that they don't like using them filters. Ffs why did they sell it to me then?. Should it really be this difficult guys it is becoming a nightmare now.

 

[Rat]

what was wrong with the old filter miggy ? Or did you not have one ?

the filter needs to build up the bacteria I would say mate

goldfish do produce more waste too

I would carry on with the water changes, if you did have an old filter and still have it I would put the old filters in a stocking and add it to the tank to help speed up new filter process

 

[miggy]

what was wrong with the old filter miggy ? Or did you not have one ?

the filter needs to build up the bacteria I would say mate

goldfish do produce more waste too

I would carry on with the water changes, if you did have an old filter and still have it I would put the old filters in a stocking and add it to the tank to help speed up new filter process

They are cartridges Rat the guys at the shop said change the filter cartridge so I did. I Put a capful of filter start in for a couple of days then back to the shop for a test. but its still quite high. Do you think they sold me the wrong filter Rat? or is it normal to take this long?. I cannot keep starving my fish for 5 days at a time can I?.

 

[Rat]

Is there pads/sponges inside the cartridge though ?

tbh I wouldnt of thought you need a massive filter for a 10 litre tank

I have a 19l tank for a Betta and that has 2 filters (carbon and wool) just 1 of eachof below

I only change when they are falling apart, I just clean them out with old tank water when I do a water change

thats why I asked if you still had the old filter sponges you could add to the water as this would filter the bacteria from the old sponges to the new ones

could take a couple of weeks if you dont have the old filters to use, just keep up the water changes and adding the chemicals

 

[miggy]

Rat i will send you a picture of the filter when i get home. its a sealed unit. mate.

 

[Rat]

it has a filter inside though miggy ?



and this is the filter

 

[miggy]

it has a filter inside though miggy ?

View attachment 75264

and this is the filter
View attachment 75265

That's the one mate the last cartridge was only about 3 weeks old and he told me to throw it away and put a fresh one in. He is now saying that they are not very good filters.

 

[Rat]

So they sold you it and then say its not much good :lol:

as I say mate once the filter builds up the bacteria it should be good its a waiting game tbh
unless some more knowledgeable people can help in another way

 

[Mick]

Miggy I am reading on tapatalk so please correct me if I am wrong...

You are changing the filter often?

That's a mistake right there, your filter needs bacteria to colonise it and then it will start the denitrifying.

If its dirty you do not change the membrane you take it out with some tank Walter and rinse it in that water... Never rinse it with tap water that will kill allot of bacteria, and start the process from scratch.

To be fair though 10litre tank should be easy to deal with mate, How many fish are you stocking do you have more than 1cm of fish per litre?

If you are over stocking you will need bigger/more filtration, as fish are dirty buggers and greedy too.

Post us some pics, do you have anything else in the tank that can be causing the nitrite spike?

And also have you tried more than one test set, I have had numerous test sets go bad on me... It happens.

Mick

 

[miggy]

Miggy I am reading on tapatalk so please correct me if I am wrong...

You are changing the filter often?

That's a mistake right there, your filter needs bacteria to colonise it and then it will start the denitrifying.

If its dirty you do not change the membrane you take it out with some tank Walter and rinse it in that water... Never rinse it with tap water that will kill allot of bacteria, and start the process from scratch.

To be fair though 10litre tank should be easy to deal with mate, How many fish are you stocking do you have more than 1cm of fish per litre?

If you are over stocking you will need bigger/more filtration, as fish are dirty buggers and greedy too.

Post us some pics, do you have anything else in the tank that can be causing the nitrite spike?

And also have you tried more than one test set, I have had numerous test sets go bad on me... It happens.

Mick

Sorry for the late reply @Mick The filter change as recommended by the instructions is every 6 to 8 weeks then put a new one in. Now you have mentioned this perhaps I should rinse the old filter out in the 20% water I have taken out. The last filter was only 3 weeks old and the fish shop said put a new one in and use filter start every other day to boost it. Only one fish has survived mate the plan is no more than two in that little tank. The man in the fish shop is insistent on not selling us any more fish until this water issue is resolved. I am following all there instructions not to feed my fish which is 5 days now Mick. . I am doing 20%water changes every other day now and adding tap safe every time. I got bollocked for taking my fish out of the water when I added the nitrite remover. It was cloudy as fook for two days Mick, and the fish was dashing to the top of the tank for air all the time so i put it in quarantine for two days in a spare tank and the shop people were not happy at all. Ffs Mick I am desperate to resolve this now. The water looks crystal clear and the fish is swimming around happy but any longer without food and it will be just two eyes swimming. All the tests done on the tank water has been done at the fish shop mate.

 

[Mick]

@miggy,

I like the idea that they won't give you no more fish mate.

To be honest it's for the better... For you and your fish.

I would get your own test kit.

Get an ammonia and a nitrite one from eBay or something, test the water yourself this will confirm the shops readings mate, do not assume that their test kit is not faulty.

If you have the money get a nitrate one too.

Get used to testing your own tank.

Tell me what the results are, and then take a pic of the tank and post it up do I can see what's in the tank too.

Cheers
Mick

 

[miggy]

@miggy,

I like the idea that they won't give you no more fish mate.

To be honest it's for the better... For you and your fish.

I would get your own test kit.

Get an ammonia and a nitrite one from eBay or something, test the water yourself this will confirm the shops readings mate, do not assume that their test kit is not faulty.

If you have the money get a nitrate one too.

Get used to testing your own tank.

Tell me what the results are, and then take a pic of the tank and post it up do I can see what's in the tank too.

Cheers
Mick

I will take a picture for you later Mick it has coloured stones at the bottom of the tank and an ornamental turtle that's all.

 

[Mick]

@miggy

Testing should be part of your hobby mate, I know it's 10 litres and most will think what is the point but if you start now and get that right then moving up in the future you will have the skills in place to keep more advanced fish.

Also as you are having a few issues then it's for the best that you test so you can see for yourself your tank water

Fish are just as much a pet as another animal... I can hand feed my marine fish, when I go up to my tank they go crazy lol (hungry lmao) but if your dog is sick you take it to the vets, you can't take a tank to the vets lol so the best thing you can do is test yourself and rule out the obvious.

But until you have your test kits and tell me your results there is not much we can do... but waiting every week to see what a shop says is a little bit crazy, for me I would suggest that you get the kits and test daily see the changes, once you get the water you require you can test once a week/month or something like that

Also really important, take a vile of water that you use for water changes... get the water tested before you put it in the tank.

So if you do not want to test yourself, then take 2 water tests to the shop....

one test for your existing tank water.

one test for the water you have cleaned (chemical) and would use for the water change.

you might be putting nitrite into the tank yourself with the water changes, that would be a cycle you would never get out of unless you test the water you are putting in!

Regards
Mick

 

[miggy]

@Mick here is my tank.

 

[Rat]

I think I said it in my previous post miggy
I dont replace the filters I have (7) I only rinse them through with the tank water when I do a water change, I will only replace once they start to break down
the only filter I change weekly is the woolen top filter
here is my filters

 

[mapman]

I think I said it in my previous post miggy
I dont replace the filters I have (7) I only rinse them through with the tank water when I do a water change, I will only replace once they start to break down
the only filter I change weekly is the woolen top filter
here is my filters

View attachment 75284
View attachment 75283

I 2nd this don't change and clean in the dirty water,i use external for my tank has uv light wish id got this at start.how much water do you change,
I do 25% and clean the filter and bios in that,fish are good do my tests every day and clean every week it does not look like it needs a clean but its better to to than to lose fish.
I have 760L tank had it made from place in bonnybridge Falkirk,they make any size and not even a 10th of the cost.

 

[Mick]

Picture @mapman, love to see your tank matey


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[mapman]

will take pic and post ive had a tank for 15 year now,but my newish had this for 5 year,i have 77 fish most are big they eat cat food sounds mad but true.

 

[mapman]

I got the wife a 30L bio orb kept this for near to 1 year dam even with heater fish would die gave this away 4 fish is max in that ,anyone ever thinking of one of them don't waste your money.

 

[mapman]

this is my pride and joy