Equipment Review and Discussion :: Hydor Prime 30 - any good?

[dumbork14]

okay - now i'm starting to get anxious.

Week 7 results:

ammonia - 0
nitrite - 5
nitrate - between 10 and 20.

Is it normal for nitrate to be higher than nitrite? I thought when ammonia and nitrite hits 0. then that's the sign that one should do a water change. I don't know what to do! But I have this plan:


the main filter will be a lock&&lock box. This is plan B. I will drill a hole to the side and the bottom for water in and water out. this way, the biomedia is increased resulting in a faster cycle. Hopefully I can start this plan soon, but now I need your comments/suggestions regarding the method!

And I have another set of questions:
a. If by next week, my water test results are the same, is it okay if I proceed to plan B? (Please confirm that the cycle does not need to be stopped, just use the old sponge and the old biomedia, put them in tank water so that good bacteria won't be lost?)
b. Will the cycle restart if I add more biomedia (ceramic rings) to this plan B setting?
c. do i need to buy and use the nitrazorb, API stress zyme, and API aquarium salt as mentioned in the API instructions to lower these levels?
d. will these levels harm/injure a turtle in the long run, especially if the levels are high since the last 7 weeks?

Thanks for all your help!

[VeipaCray]

It is normal for nitrate to be higher than nitrite. Ammonia and Nitrite should be 0 and stay at 0. Nitrate levels will continue to elevate until you do a water change.

Other questions:

A> The cycle can't be stopped unless you remove all of the water and bio media and start over. Your plan to increase filter capacity and flowrate through the filter makes sense.
B> No, the cycle will continue on as long as you keep your existing bio media wet.
C> No. API would love to sell you those products though. Not needed.
D> Keep an eye on your turtle. Fortunately the most toxic of the three is ammonia and your filter was able to get that to 0.

You won't change the speed of the cycle by doing any of this. You will however add more bio media (surface area) and more flow rate which should allow the cycle to complete. The speed of the cycle is controlled by nature.

[dumbork14]

thank you, thank you! Wow I'm learning a lot from this.

[dumbork14]

week 8:crazy. went ahead and built the new filter AKA "plan b. here's the results:

what should i do?

[VeipaCray]

So your PH seems to be around 8, Ammonia is .25, Nitrite is high and Nitrates are high. Your filter isn't keeping up. Have you implemented "plan B" yet or just built it?

[dumbork14]

i've already implemented it since last saturday. followed your advice -- kept the sponge and biomedia wet with tank water, upgraded the submersible water pump from 50 gallons to 75 gallons worth (torrents were crazy, it looks like dumbork's having fun, will try to remedy that one later). added the sponge (put the first one on top and the cleaner one on bottom), then put a bag of carbon, then the cermanic rings (added two more box).

[PridgNYC]

Actually, I think you are on the right track, (although the pH is a little high, but don't worry about that for now). The fact that nitrites and nitrates increased means that you are establishing the right colonies of bacteria. I'ld give it some more time to see if things start to stabilize. It's only been a few days since you changed the filtration, so it will take some time to re-establish equilibrium. Test it again on Saturday so it has had a week to establish new stable colonies.

[dumbork14]

hey guys! finally!!

week 9 results: ammonia and nitrite at 0! o thank you turtle gods!




went ahead and changed part of the water since nitrate is on the roof. Is 5 gallons out of 15 gallons water change enough?

when do i start testing again to check whether nitrate is at 0? another week perhaps?
Plan B looked great! there are more space for biomedia, should i put ceramic rings in more in?

Also, ph went from 8.2 to around 8, this is a good sign, yes?

to VC, ljapa,Pridge,steve, and all the other members who helped me through this ordeal, thanks! (facebook tag would be great for these moments)! special mention to darla who helped me on my other concerns!

[VeipaCray]

There isn't enough free floating bacteria in the water to maintain a fully cycled tank like you are showing. The bacteria needs to colonize on surfaces (everything in your tank with the majority being in your bio media) to do that. You can do large water changes and as long as you don't let the bio media dry out... you're good.

<edit> I just re-read what I posted and it sounded confusing so I'll try again: Nitrifying bacteria that keeps your tank cycled primarily lives stuck to surfaces within your tank and NOT free floating in the water. You can do water changes and not affect your bacteria colony as long as you don't let the bio media and your substrate dry out. The bacteria does need to stay wet to stay alive.

The 33% water change you did is good. I would measure again in a day or two and see if the nitrates came down. Repeat the water change / measure process every few days until you get the nitrates into the yellow/orange area.

If you can afford the extra bio media and have room for it in your system... go for it. It's like having extra insurance that you only need to purchase one time.

Yes the PH will stabilize. Hopefully it will trend down into the 7's, but if not a stable PH is more important that the exact number. Wild PH swings are dangerous.

[dumbork14]

thanks again VC! will test on wednesday. if the nitrates went down (but still not 0), i should increase the 33% change to 40-45%?

[VeipaCray]

Nitrates will never really be at 0 unless you have a heavily planted tank. The water change is just to keep them to a tolerable level. I try to keep my nitrates in the orange or yellow with the API test. If the nitrates are still high on Wednesday, do another 33% water change and test again.

The other thing I woud do is test your tap water or whatever your putting into the tank for nitrates. Most tap water will have some level of nitrates. If your tap water is high and say reads at 10ppm for nitrates.... you could do a 100% water change and your level will never be below 10ppm.

[PridgNYC]

Nitrates in orange or yellow on the API test are impossible for me without using bottled or RO water since the water out of the tap already tests a nice deep red.

[dumbork14]

oh okay. so i will first test the tap water for nitrates. thanks!

[dumbork14]

week 10: ammonia and nitrite at 0, nitrate still high (dark red). i tried testing the nitrate for the tap water and it is 0. did another water change (50 %). will check again later if the nitrate level changed. will post pictures later.

[dumbork14]

here are the pictures:



maybe i should increase the water change percentage from 50-60%? I already added another bag of ceramic rings.