NicoleC
New member
I will be going out of town for 4 days next week, and I'm worried.
My goby tank is stable and will be fine as long as I can convinced my neighbor he has to squirt the food -- gently! -- right in front of the goby. One goby, one sponge filter -- it's under control!
My clowns are a different story. There are only 22 or 23 (I think) in the 15g, but they are messy! They are also 12 weeks old and getting fairly large.
Yesterday I upgraded their HOB filter to a larger unit, the Aquaclear 50, using all of the bio media from the previous smaller filter to get it started. They also have a sponge filter going and the DIY pipe filter.
It's STILL not enough. I am doing 33% water changes daily plus using Clor-Am-X to keep ammonia low. For a couple of weeks now I have been letting the ammonia sit at about .25 hoping it will spur the development of bacteria, but it doesn't seem to be working.
Okay, so what do I do? The neighbor will be feeding pre-measured food and topping off.
First, I plan to switch them back to Otohime for the duration. It makes very little poop mess and will be easier to feed. The F1 frozen has big chunks they can eat and those will just sit there and rot.
Second, I am thinking of installing the smaller filter on the tank also, but with just sponge media.
Third, I will pre-mix top-off water with a little Clor-Am-X, but I can't do too much because it causes the pH to plummet.
Fourth, I will do a 100% water change this weekend and increase to 50% daily until next Friday when I leave.
I don't think the above steps will be enough. Anything else I can do?
My goby tank is stable and will be fine as long as I can convinced my neighbor he has to squirt the food -- gently! -- right in front of the goby. One goby, one sponge filter -- it's under control!
My clowns are a different story. There are only 22 or 23 (I think) in the 15g, but they are messy! They are also 12 weeks old and getting fairly large.
Yesterday I upgraded their HOB filter to a larger unit, the Aquaclear 50, using all of the bio media from the previous smaller filter to get it started. They also have a sponge filter going and the DIY pipe filter.
It's STILL not enough. I am doing 33% water changes daily plus using Clor-Am-X to keep ammonia low. For a couple of weeks now I have been letting the ammonia sit at about .25 hoping it will spur the development of bacteria, but it doesn't seem to be working.
Okay, so what do I do? The neighbor will be feeding pre-measured food and topping off.
First, I plan to switch them back to Otohime for the duration. It makes very little poop mess and will be easier to feed. The F1 frozen has big chunks they can eat and those will just sit there and rot.
Second, I am thinking of installing the smaller filter on the tank also, but with just sponge media.
Third, I will pre-mix top-off water with a little Clor-Am-X, but I can't do too much because it causes the pH to plummet.
Fourth, I will do a 100% water change this weekend and increase to 50% daily until next Friday when I leave.
I don't think the above steps will be enough. Anything else I can do?
