New member here

Hey guys, New member from JHB.

Been keeping Malawis with much success for the last ten years..........until recently.

Built two custom tanks in that time which I will share at some stage.

Looking forward to learning more for you guys.

 

Welcome LCG! Hope you learn alot! Keen on some pics of the malawis!

 

Ive posted a few here. Post your cichlids! - Page 11

 

@L~C~G hi and welcome to the forum!

saw you pics, they look (looked ?) good? i especially like that piece of wood in the last pic you posted there as well..

 

Thanks guys.

This tank has actually been the source of some real heartache recently.

After I built the tank and set it up my water was 100% crystal clear and fish were flourishing and growing at an alarming rate and I had live plants that were growing so fast I had to prune every week. This carried on for about 6 months. I was doing 20% weekly water changes and cleaned the filer monthly. It was the tank I always dreamed of setting up.

One Saturday afternoon I did a regular water change and the second the first bucket of fresh water hit the surface the tank went cloudy. After the second and third bucket you could not see more than 10cm into the tank. I panicked and added extra water conditioners and some bio vital to try and balance out whatever had happened.

I lost my first fish within an hour and half of my stock by the next morning. I did 30% water changes daily after that to try and save what I had left. By the next week my plants started shedding their leaves and i got plagued by green beard algae an diotoms growing all over the place.

Only now, about a year later has the algae growth slowed but I still cannot get my water clear no matter what I try, it is always murky and my fish are incredibly agro all the time. They kill any new fish that I put in the tank and are slowly taking each other out. My Milomo killed a fully grown 20cm Borleyi last month and I woke up this morning with my yellow lab having lost the fight.

 

Questions.
What is your ph?
Tapwater? RO water or Borehole?
Hardness of water?
I suggest that you take a sample of your water in to your LPS for testing..if it is now a year later it can only be the source...

 

PH from the tap is around 7.2 and water in the tank is 6.4, I suspect the drift wood is causing the drop so I removed it from the tank this weekend to see if it helps to bring it up. It is tap water.

I actually haven't tested the hardness. Ill make a plan to do that.

I am also thinking about taking water from my office for the next few water changes to see if it helps. This problem first started during a period where numerous pipes in the area were well past their service life and were blowing almost daily. That seems to have settled but I dont know if they have added something to the water to try and slow the corrosion in the pipes. My local tap water also has quite a significant reading for nitrates which is odd.

 

With all the drama around with our Municipalities I think we got some very bad water. please read this info about the effects of Nitrates in our water. This killed your fish very very fast..do you know what the same water can do to your family?


[h=2]Nitrates in Drinking Water[/h]by J.R. Self and R.M. Waskom (10/08)[SUP]1[/SUP] [h=3]Quick Facts...[/h]

• Nitrate is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless compound that is present in some groundwater in Colorado.
• Nitrate can be expressed as either NO[SUB]3[/SUB] (nitrate) or NO[SUB]3[/SUB]-N (nitrate-nitrogen). Nitrate levels above the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level of 10mg/l NO[SUB]3[/SUB]- N or 45 mg/l NO[SUB]3[/SUB] may cause methemoglobinemia in infants.
• Proper management of fertilizers, manures, and other nitrogen sources can minimize contamination of drinking water supplies.

Nitrate (NO[SUB]3[/SUB]) is a naturally occurring form of nitrogen found in soil. Nitrogen is essential to all life. Most crop plants require large quantities to sustain high yields.
The formation of nitrates is an integral part of the nitrogen cycle in our environment. In moderate amounts, nitrate is a harmless constituent of food and water. Plants use nitrates from the soil to satisfy nutrient requirements and may accumulate nitrate in their leaves and stems. Due to its high mobility, nitrate also can leach into groundwater. If people or animals drink water high in nitrate, it may cause methemoglobinemia, an illness found especially in infants.
Nitrates form when microorganisms break down fertilizers, decaying plants, manures or other organic residues. Usually plants take up these nitrates, but sometimes rain or irrigation water can leach them into groundwater. Although nitrate occurs naturally in some groundwater, in most cases higher levels are thought to result from human activities. Common sources of nitrate include:

• fertilizers and manure,
• animal feedlots,
• municipal wastewater and sludge,
• septic systems, and
• N-fixation from atmosphere by legumes, bacteria and lightning.

[h=3]Health Effect of Nitrates[/h][h=4]People[/h]High nitrate levels in water can cause methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome, a condition found especially in infants under six months. The stomach acid of an infant is not as strong as in older children and adults. This causes an increase in bacteria that can readily convert nitrate to nitrite (NO[SUB]2[/SUB]). Do not let infants drink water that exceeds 10 mg/l NO[SUB]3[/SUB]-N. This includes formula preparation.
Nitrite is absorbed in the blood, and hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying component of blood) is converted to methemoglobin. Methemoglobin does not carry oxygen efficiently. This results in a reduced oxygen supply to vital tissues such as the brain. Methemoglobin in infant blood cannot change back to hemoglobin, which normally occurs in adults. Severe methemoglobinemia can result in brain damage and death.
Pregnant women, adults with reduced stomach acidity, and people deficient in the enzyme that changes methemoglobin back to normal hemoglobin are all susceptible to nitrite-induced methemoglobinemia. The most obvious symptom of methemoglobinemia is a bluish color of the skin, particularly around the eyes and mouth. Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness or difficulty in breathing. Take babies with the above symptoms to the hospital emergency room immediately. If recognized in time, methemoglobinemia is treated easily with an injection of methylene blue.
Healthy adults can consume fairly large amounts of nitrate with few known health effects. In fact, most of the nitrate we consume is from our diets, particularly from raw or cooked vegetables. This nitrate is readily absorbed and excreted in the urine. However, prolonged intake of high levels of nitrate are linked to gastric problems due to the formations of nitrosamines. N-nitrosamine compounds have been shown to cause cancer in test animals. Studies of people exposed to high levels of nitrate or nitrite have not provided convincing evidence of an increased risk of cancer.
[h=4]Animals[/h]Although there is no enforceable drinking water standard for livestock, do not allow animals to drink water with more than 100 mg/l NO[SUB]3[/SUB]-N. This is especially true of young animals. They are affected by nitrates the same way as human babies. Older animals may tolerate higher levels.
Ruminant animals (cattle, sheep) are susceptible to nitrate poisoning because bacteria present in the rumen convert nitrate to nitrite. Nonruminant animals (swine, chickens) rapidly eliminate nitrate in their urine. Horses are monogastric, but their large cecum acts much like a rumen. This makes them more susceptible to nitrate poisoning than other monogastric animals.
It is difficult to determine the toxicity of nitrate in animals because it depends on the rate at which the substance is consumed. A few hundred milligrams of nitrate may cause poisoning if consumed in a few hours. But spread over a whole day, 1,000 mg nitrate may cause no signs of toxicity.
Common symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscular weakness or poor coordination. Affected animals will have blood that is a chocolate-brown color. If the problem is diagnosed in time, they can fully recover with a treatment of methylene blue. Pregnant animals may abort within a few days.
Nitrate also exists in animal feeds and fodder. Drought-stressed forage plants commonly have high nitrate levels. These feeds can have an additive effect when consumed with high nitrate drinking water.

 

to the forum .

 

@oosie. I read a similar article some time back and since I dont have kids I did not take it too seriously because It made no mention of any effect on adults. The frightening thing is that I have been feeling somewhat off colour for a few months now and actually have a number of the symptoms mentioned in that article. I best do another nitrate test on my tap water when I get home to see if it still has noticeable levels.

 

Hi and Welcome to TASA!!!!

 

Did a test on my water last night again.

The nitrate test on my tap water is sitting at about 15 - 20 mg/l
My tank is reading 160mg/l and I do a 20% - 25% water change weekly.
As a control I did a test in some water that has been through an RO process and it reads 0mg/l

So I guess that I essentially need to do 50% + water changes every week if im replacing with water that already has a fair bit of nitrates in it?

 

@L~C~G i would sugget that you use Seachem Prime as your dechlorinator, and overdose on the Prime every time in your new water, this will eradicate the nitrates, nitrites and ammonia in your new water.

i do this with every water change, it ensures that the new water i put in the tank contains the minimum amount of nitrates (i.e. none)

or you could also do a once off and overdose your entire tank volume with the Prime.

p.s. overdose = 5X recommended dosage according to various forums on the internet that i've perused on the subject.

 

Thanks, will give it a try. Anyone know where I can get Seachem prime in JHB?