severe tank problems- pirahna

k guys, im new to the group, and im having a majjor crisis. i have 6 pirahna, roughly the size of your hand in a 125 gallon aquarium with a fluval filter (the largest size). we switched from a 55 gallon almost a year ago. just recently the tank has begun to get extremely cloudy and i think there is mold growing inside all over every surface. it is not green like algae. the tank is in a window, but the tank is covered with black paper on all surfaces facing the window. we do not light the tank as it seems to stress the fish. it is around 78-80 degrees, and we run 2 bubble strips. the stuff is growing very fast, but the fish do not seem to be overly stressed- its tough to tell because you can't see more than an inch thru the tank. i use amquel or ammo lock for water changes, usually some stress coat or stress zyme. the fluval has the ceramic bio-thingies which have been cycling for the past 2 months or so and the carbon is only 2 weeks in the filter. dont know what the hell is going on- im doing a water change every week now because there is so much growing in there. we have severely reduced the amount we feed during the past month because of the grunge problem. PLEASE HELP!

 

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

-Chelle

 

tank chemistry

ammonia is off the charts, which is normal for this tank, and the amquel i use says this is normal. nitrate is 0.5, pH is 6.0 or lower (test doesnt go lower).

 

Re: tank chemistry

That is definitely NOT normal. Ammonia is toxic to fish so you shouldn't have any at all. Start doing water changes ASAP to get that ammonia down. With your ammonia being so high, I'd do 25% water changes every 2 or 3 hours until you can get it down to 0. Also is that .5 nitrAte or nitrIte?

125 gallons should be adequate for the bioload of 6 piranhas so my next guess is you don't have enough filtration. The largest Fluval I could find is the 404 and it does 340 gph. The recomended turnover rate for canister filters is 3x - 5x the tank volume. With just that one filter, your at 2.7x. I'd get another one of those filters.

-Chelle

 

just as chelle said you really need to fix your ammonia levels, just a small amount of ammonia in my sis ten gal killed her fish. get it back to 0!

 

So if u you have a lot of fish crap in your gravel does that mean you have a lot of amonia?

 

most likely yes it also means that you should clean your gravel and you tank

 

Chances are, yes. Fish produce ammonia through their gills. But also, any organic material (ie. fish crap, dead plants, uneaten food, dead fish, etc) produces ammonia when it breaks down. That's why it's important not to overstock or overfeed, remove all dead fish/plants immediately, and to vacuum the gravel regularly.

-Chelle

 

2nafish, whats your icon? is it fish attacking another? lol?

 

it is

 

lol

 

thanks guys, i added an aquaclear 500, but my boyfriend busted the handles off the fluval being impatient so we need replacement parts/filter. (he's not too bright) it cleared the tank up a bit (in addition to the 50% water change) but the stuff is growing back quickly. (black mold like polka dots everywhere) i have vacuumed the gravel clean several times (2x a week for the past month and a half). when the fish were in the 55 i never had a problem and ammonia was NEVER 0. i can actually see the fish in the tank now a little, and they don't appear too stressed, but i still am. should i do a 100% water change? do i need to remove the gravel completely and cook it? there's like 140 pounds in there!

 

Those 2 filters should be adequate.

How deep is your gravel? If it's too deep, it will be difficult to get it really clean. You only need 1" - 2" of gravel.

I wouldn't do a 100% water change. That would stress the fish too much. Just keep doing 50% changes every 2 days ore 25% changes every day. Also, don't boil your gravel. It houses some of your beneficial bacteria so boiling it would kill the bacteria and make your problems worse.

-Chelle

 

2 red bellies eating a koi