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My Tank Thread
Since Monday evening, my heretofore healthy and happy RBTA has been hiding in his cave. Could be a result of one of the following circumstances, a combination of them, or as you likely have already determined, I have no idea and am looking for advice. I’ll try to answer questions you may have, explain changes/events that may be of issue, and provide as much information as possible.
1. This past Sunday evening I spent some time removing some red-slime algae. Did my weekly 25g water change after the removal and assumed everything was back to “normalâ€.
2. Did my parameter testing Monday and discovered for the first time my nitrates were something other than zero, albeit only slightly elevated, somewhere between 2.5 and 5.0 ppm.
3. The first of the month, I always switch reactor media. I changed media from the BRS-GFO to the Seachem Phosguard product, which I’ve discovered may expire a little quicker than the BRS-GFO.
4. So I’m not sure if the elevated nitrates are due to the red-slime removal and stirring the sand bed or change in media.
5. Not sure if the elevated nitrates have anything to do with the RBTA’s behavior.
6. The only other parameter that is a little low is the alkalinity. I’ve started dosing for that because by the end of the week, it was slipping in to the mid 7’s.
7. Tank is a nearly 6 month old 120 gallon with a 55 gallon sump.
So in there somewhere is an unhappy RBTA. I’m leaving it alone with hopes it will return when it’s ready. I can see it in the cave, it still has its color but it’s just not coming out as it used to.
If you have a theory as to what may be the cause, if there is something I should be doing, or something I should be looking for, please let me know. Otherwise, I will simply play the waiting game.
As always, your time and help is greatly appreciated.
1. This past Sunday evening I spent some time removing some red-slime algae. Did my weekly 25g water change after the removal and assumed everything was back to “normalâ€.
2. Did my parameter testing Monday and discovered for the first time my nitrates were something other than zero, albeit only slightly elevated, somewhere between 2.5 and 5.0 ppm.
3. The first of the month, I always switch reactor media. I changed media from the BRS-GFO to the Seachem Phosguard product, which I’ve discovered may expire a little quicker than the BRS-GFO.
4. So I’m not sure if the elevated nitrates are due to the red-slime removal and stirring the sand bed or change in media.
5. Not sure if the elevated nitrates have anything to do with the RBTA’s behavior.
6. The only other parameter that is a little low is the alkalinity. I’ve started dosing for that because by the end of the week, it was slipping in to the mid 7’s.
7. Tank is a nearly 6 month old 120 gallon with a 55 gallon sump.
So in there somewhere is an unhappy RBTA. I’m leaving it alone with hopes it will return when it’s ready. I can see it in the cave, it still has its color but it’s just not coming out as it used to.
If you have a theory as to what may be the cause, if there is something I should be doing, or something I should be looking for, please let me know. Otherwise, I will simply play the waiting game.
As always, your time and help is greatly appreciated.
