Fish scraping against the sand

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

As Ken said both direct sunlight and your aquarium light will promote algae growth, from what I have read and what I have seen posted -  the only purpose of an aquarium light (given you do not have a salt water / reef tank) is so you can see the fish. The fish really don't need light.  You should only keep your aquarium light on for no longer than 5 - 6 hours a day tops, anything longer is to much light and algae will start to propogate...

[Steve]

anyone tell me if the 2 pics i posted of rocks, is the brownish stuff on the rocks algae? I thought algae is green color.

That looks like diatoms, it's very common in a newly set up tank (you said your has only been up 1 month correct?) pretty much all new tanks get diatoms. After awhile it will usually be replaced with green algae once the tank is well established.

[breaktime]

I'm guilty of leaving the the light on, at lleast the white and blue color led lights. The aquarium sits against a interior wall approx 15 ft away from a window. The window has wood blinds and faces north and gets very little direct sunlight. I did water tests this morning and NH3 - 0, NO2 - 0, NO3 - 40 .  I was expecting higher numbers for the first 2 tests. I will be doing a 25% water change today and wait and see how things go. Tomorrow will be day 3 and if the test results for ammonia and nitrites stay at zero I will lightly feed the fish. Thank you for everyone's input very much appreciated.

[Mastiffman]

 WOW, you Nitrates are pretty high. but it looks like the nitrogen cycle is plateauing which is good.

 I would probably do a 50% water change at this point. If you do 25% you're only diluting the 40ppm by 25% or only bring it down, in theory, by 10ppm which would be 30ppm and that's still to high for another week. it will probably go up to something around 50+ in a week at this point. better to get ahead of it while you can and just leave the filtration alone. That will keep the end result of the nitrogen cycle in check (the nitrates) and allow the beneficial bacteria colony to keep growing without being disturbed.

@ Maze-n-blue,

 Glad you thought well of the description.   

[breaktime]

WOW, you Nitrates are pretty high. but it looks like the nitrogen cycle is plateauing which is good.

 I would probably do a 50% water change at this point. If you do 25% you're only diluting the 40ppm by 25% or only bring it down, in theory, by 10ppm which would be 30ppm and that's still to high for another week. it will probably go up to something around 50+ in a week at this point. better to get ahead of it while you can and just leave the filtration alone. That will keep the end result of the nitrogen cycle in check (the nitrates) and allow the beneficial bacteria colony to keep growing without being disturbed.

Doing a 50% water change was my gut feeling to but I figured I'd post the numbers first and see what response I'd get. I'm going to give the tank a good vacuum also. I looked in my sump and it's dirty down. There too. I have little white growths, I'll post a pic maybe someone can tell me what it is.

[Mastiffman]

No , Don't Vacuum the Substrate!? 

 You want Just do a Water change! Don't disturb the Bacteria Colony anymore than you have at this point.

 Maybe only even clean the front glass and not the others, only if you need to.

 Beneficial Bacteria grows on ever surface in an aquatic environment. Including the Substrate. This is why whole water column movement is so important as the BB in the substrate and on every other surface will get slow and constant exposure during the regular cycling of the tank and prove to be really helpful.

 The most efficient setup that someone could have would be a UGF system that has power heads facing down into the standpipes to push water down and under and then up through the substrate to move waste off of it and into the water column and then a mechanical filter. The Surface area of substrate for the BB colony is ridiculous! water would always be crystal clear. 

[breaktime]

No , Don't Vacuum the Substrate!? 

 You want Just do a Water change! Don't disturb the Bacteria Colony anymore than you have at this point.

 Maybe only even clean the front glass and not the others, only if you need to.

 Beneficial Bacteria grows on ever surface in an aquatic environment. Including the Substrate. This is why whole water column movement is so important as the BB in the substrate and on every other surface will get slow and constant exposure during the regular cycling of the tank and prove to be really helpful.

 The most efficient setup that someone could have would be a UGF system that has power heads facing down into the standpipes to push water down and under and then up through the substrate to move waste off of it and into the water column and then a mechanical filter. The Surface area of substrate for the BB colony is ridiculous! water would always be crystal clear.

Where were you when I was setting the tank up
Ok I'll just remove the water then. Good thing I checked here first!

[breaktime]

Just an update, the water is crystal clear since I Changed 60% of the water in the tank and all the water in the sump. I also increased my pump to max output even though it noiser in the overflow. Since I've done that I havent seen any fish scraping  against the sand. I do have a star sapphire who isnt eating. This is probably the 4 th fish to act this way. I dont know if this is because of bullying from other fish or something that I have to treat. Ive been watching him for a couple days now. Could it be bloat ? I will pull the fish and put him in my 20 long to see if he eats in there. Thanks for all the input as usual, Im learning alot and appreciative for all the help.

[four_by_ken]

Sorry if this was asked already...

City  water or well water?  Using any treatment?

[breaktime]

Sorry if this was asked already...

City  water or well water?  Using any treatment?

No Problem, I use city water and I put prime to treat it. I've been meaning to ask about using a carborn filter. It that something thats used all the time or only when you think theres a problem.

[four_by_ken]

Have you tested your water to see if it is exceptionally high in anything?  City water can vary a lot.

I use carbon... a lot say that it isnt needed after a tank is established. 

That being said... I still use it.  Buy it in bulk and change it once a month or so.  Its cheap.  If it helps to keep the water clear... I am all for it.

[breaktime]

Have you tested your water to see if it is exceptionally high in anything?  City water can vary a lot.

I use carbon... a lot say that it isnt needed after a tank is established. 

That being said... I still use it.  Buy it in bulk and change it once a month or so.  Its cheap.  If it helps to keep the water clear... I am all for it.

 Other than testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates I havent tested for anything else. I'm not sure where I would take a sample to have it tested.

Which brand do you use and where do you get it from?

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

 Other than testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates I havent tested for anything else. I'm not sure where I would take a sample to have it tested.

Which brand do you use and where do you get it from?
[/quote]

IMO - You should be testing for PH as well !  A dramatic change in PH (either up or down) is very detrimental to your fish..

[breaktime]

Other than testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates I havent tested for anything else. I'm not sure where I would take a sample to have it tested.

Which brand do you use and where do you get it from?

IMO - You should be testing for PH as well !  A dramatic change in PH (either up or down) is very detrimental to your fish..
[/quote]

I bought a hana temp and ph tester but im waiting for the solution to calibrate it. I can do an api ph test to see where im at. I've done a couple but nothing in the last couple weeks. Last time I did one one it was approx 8.

[Mastiffman]

Other than testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates I havent tested for anything else. I'm not sure where I would take a sample to have it tested.

Which brand do you use and where do you get it from?

IMO - You should be testing for PH as well !  A dramatic change in PH (either up or down) is very detrimental to your fish..
[/quote]

 This is why I tell people how important that it is to have the proper substrate or at least use some type of buffer. Whether it be baking soda epsom salts or something more autonomous like Aragonite that will buffer the water.

 Ph and even Gh are not as important to worry about as Kh which is level of Carbonates and bi-carbonates in the water. Carbonates and Bi-carbonates absorbed harmful acids produced during the nitrogen cycle. Without that capability of the water, even mild adjustemtns of Ammonia can cause a shift in Ph which then makes the ammonia spike that much more dangerous. So what the Kh does is absorbe those affecting acids and keeps the Ph stable during an ammonia spike, if there ever is one.

 As most people know already, ammonia spikes can happen in very established tank for numerous reasons. So take the appropraite measures to be prepared in such a case by creating the proper Kh level in your (people in general) african cichlid tanks.