mumofthehoarde Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Hi Everyone, Just a little bit of history about this Aqua One barracks. Purchased it brand new from my LFS (paid twice of what they sell for but I was new to Bettas and didnt know any better, wise to his tricks now) Cycled it and then slowly filled it with my guys. After about a month of there being 11 guys using the barracks, my guys started to look sad and quiet. AArrhh My barracks was cycling again. Discovered my tap water shoots up in pH. Solution: Store water for a week before using. No more massive pH swings. All good for a month or so. It seems about every 2 months, this barracks swings into a cycle. Over the last 18 months, I have changed over to tank water, added bio balls. Fully emptied it, dried it out and started again. this tank just doesnt seem to stabilse for very long. I thought maybe it was just A1 barracks but Kermadum gave me his and it hasnt missed a beat and it is almost sitting next door to my barracks. I have been running it for 3 months now with no fish in it at all and it keeps turning cloudy and just doesnt look healthy. It settles down and looks like it is ready to use and then the next thing you know it is all cloudy and yuck again. I have been doing the same thing to both barracks for the last 3 months (the only difference is one has fish in it and one doesnt because I am not game to risk anyone's health in it) When I WC one, I do the same to the other. Top ups etc. Why wont this barracks behave? What would you try? Thanks Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Maybe try an exorcism :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) What filter media are you using aside from the bioballs? BTW, bioballs are next to useless and if they are fully submerged then they are indeed completely useless. Get some seachem matrix or eheim biomech/substrat pro. Have you opened up the pump and checked it's all pristine in there? When it's turning cloudy (without the fish) is there actually ammonia present? Are you feeding the tank at all? Edited September 7, 2011 by Yan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Fishbites: seriously considering it Yan: What filter media are you using aside from the bioballs? The two sponges that came with it and filter wool. The bio balls are in a stocking floating in the sump. Should I remove them? Have you opened up the pump and checked it's all pristine in there? No...will do that tomorrow but the water is flowing well. When it's turning cloudy (without the fish) is there actually ammonia present? Tested it tonight and yes there was ammonia & nitrites present. Not high but definately there. Are you feeding the tank at all? No. When I set it up after drying it out, I used stability to kick start it for a week or so. Edited September 7, 2011 by mumofthehorde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jha Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Maybe try take some of the filter media from kermadums unit and put it in the second unit,so it gets a chance to build up some good bacteria in there............and if its still playing up on you after all that,then go with the exorcism. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Very curious about how ammonia and nitrite can be present when there are no fish. The only thing I can think of is that there could be something rotting either in the pump or trapped in the sponges. I think you should clean the whole thing out. Really wash those sponges thoroughly. Take the pump apart and make sure it's thoroughly clean. Then start again. What's your the KH and pH of your tap water? There are stabilisers available now that you might have to add to your water. I think it's an expensive way to keep fish but if your tap water is wildly out then you might have to unless you're prepared to only keep the fish that are more suited to your water conditions. Bear in mind that many dechlorinators will lock ammonia to make it safe but this type of ammonia will still show a reading on test kits. If you are determining that your tank is going through another cycle two months later purely based on ammonia readings then this could actually be a false reading. My suggestion is that your first step should be to clean the barracks and filters thoroughly. Then start again using the same method that you used on the other barracks that is working. If that still doesn't work then start exploring other variables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 going with the pull the whole thing apart idea... Going to start from scratch in case I did miss something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 When you restart the barracks, test the water parameters to make sure that everything is zero which is what you expect from your tap water. After 2 or 3 days everything should still be zero if there is no fish in it. The water should be doing nothing except aging. Then add just one or two fish and start feeding them. This will get the cycle started. I don't have a problem cycling a tank with bettas as long as you understock to start off with and do partial water changes every 3 or 4 days. If you can use some of the filter media from the other barracks then this will help speed things along. You need to use the filter media not the water from the other barracks. The bacteria that you're interested in attach themselves to surfaces and there's not much that will be free floating in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted September 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 So grab some of the filter wool from the other barracks? Would you add some IAL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I fed my growing boys, in a Aqua one barracks, live bbs and had ammonia levels that were of the chart. Did a complete 100% wc and had a spike again three days later. Repeated wc, threw out old wool, completely rinsed and cleaned sponge and media then re-assembled. I then squeezed a sponge filter from another tank into a bucket of that tanks water, then rinsed my new wool in that bucket before I added it to the barracks. No problems since but I don't feed live bbs to fish in the barracks now. :-)Ps.....I would use IAL. I love the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kptn82 Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Where do you guys buy thr IAL? Ebay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 BettaWan was the man for IAL. He did have an Australian seller but can't remember who. You could still order through him via his website. Can take awhile to arrive though. If you are stuck and can't find any, Jarrod or myself would be able to spare a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 There used to also be sellers on ebay. Just make sure they've shipped to Australia before and understand the customs requirements. If you're really stuck I can spare a bag but to be honest it's cheaper to buy it off eBay because postage is a killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Oops, forgot about this thread. I'd be cleaning EVERYTHING on that barracks, especially pumps, hoses, anything where something can get stuck and rot. I'd be tossing out the bioballs and getting a better media such as one I mentioned above. The more you have of that, the more surface area you will have for good bacteria to grow and eventually eat that ammonia. I'd toss out the rest of the sponges as well and replace at least 1 of them with 1 from the healthy barracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 OK I have pulled apart, washed and dried the whole barracks. I have refilled it with new tank water and added IAL. I took 2/3 of the filter wool from the other barracks and added it as well. I repeatly squeezed out the sponges in fresh tank water and put them back in. I didnt have anything to replace them with so I had to reuse them. I threw out the bio balls. Should I add Stability or Prime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 I would add Prime but it's not going to start cycling until you add a fish. You can add Stability when you're ready to add fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Here we are a month later. Things were going fine until last week. I had 6 juvies and 6 adults in the barracks. within the last 5 days: 2 taps on the top row ran dry. (pulled the pump apart, gave it a clean, restarted, problem solved) 2 days later, 3 taps down the bottom ran so fast they over flowed their cells through the night. Drowning? 2 adults (I have plastic canvas on top of my cells). I had to then turn down the juvie cells as I felt they were running way to strong. Next day adult dead. Next day juvie dead. Next day 2 juvie dead. All died the same way. first lost appetite, then started to list slightly to one side. Dead in the morning. This morning I have relocated all others. Tested the water tonight and I have 1.0 ammonia. All relocated fish are doing fine. WHAT IS IT WITH THIS DAMN BARRACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have done to it EXACTLY what I have done to the other barracks and it is fine. The only difference between them is one has 12 male adults and this one had 6 juvies, 4 females and 2 males. What am I missing? What am I doing or not doing? I was wanting to use this barracks to jar juvies but I am not game to now. Beyond frustrated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Perhaps it really is cursed? I'm helpful aren't I. Short of turning it off and leaving it in a cupboard for six months then trying again, it seems like you've tried everything. The only other thing I can think of is positioning. Perhaps theres something about where its sitting that's causing issues? Does it get direct light? A draft? Could a pet could be drinking from it? Could it be getting spray residue from hairspray, air freshener or something? All fairly random thoughts but I'm clutching at straws a bit. Is the one I gave you working ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Yes the one you gave me (which is less then a metre away from this one) hasnt missed a beat, no problems except the taps clog up a touch but a quick clean they are fine. This is what I dont understand. I am coming to the conclusion that it really truely is cursed. I am not game to put fish in it now as it breaks my heart everytime I lose one. I thought I had got it up and running this time. I barely use sprays in the house and if they are used it is down the other end of the house. I have relocated it twice now but still get the same dramas and it is so close to the "good" barracks. No pets are allowed in the fish room. Any one know how to do an exorcism????????? P.S. I need to take some photos of the kidlets for you Kermadum...some of them are soooo pretty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Ooooh... yes please!!!! I want to see!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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