I started a 32g tank about 3 weeks ago. I decided to go with using zeolite to avoid any ammonia and thus hopefully avoid algae outbreaks. What I understood was, that the beneficial bacteria would populate my zeolite as it trapped the ammonia, so that eventually even though the zeolite will run out in it's ability to absorb more ammonia, the beneficial bacteria will be growing on it breaking down the ammonia trapped in it and thus it will eventually cycle.
So I've been doing ei, with 50% weekly water changes. I had 5 fish in the tank and in about the second week I started getting nitrite readings even though ammonia stayed at 0. So therefore cycling was happening somewhere.
But after three full weeks some of the fish were acting funny. Ammonia readings were still 0, but then one morning one fish died and then when I tested, ammonia readings were up. So my zeolite ran out, evidently. What I did was remove the biomedia in my filter to make more room, and put it in the tank, and moved the old zeolite down (so it would get the unfiltered water first), then put new zeolite on top of that. I was hoping that there would be a colony of bacteria establishing themselves on the old zeolite, which is why I didn't want to take it out of the filter.
Anyway my question is, should I continue doing what I have been? Or do I need to change strategies somehow? In hindsight I probably should have been doing more aggressive water changes, but what I was thinking at the time was that since there was roughly 0 ammonia in the water at any given time because of the zeolite, I didn't think more water changes would benefit anything since I wouldn't really be taking anything out of the water, just wasting fertilizer more or less.
Here is a picture of the tank as it is now. I know I need more plants. They're not the easiest to come by here, it took me a month to special order these and they didn't even bring in half of what I ordered.
Also I am wondering these two questions: Why is my hygro always putting out roots from the stem? Should I cut them off? And is there anything I can do about the anubias with the algae? It came like that and hasn't really gotten better since I've had it. Some of the other anubias in the tank who don't have it have a really nice dark green color, but this particular plant is not doing so well.
So I've been doing ei, with 50% weekly water changes. I had 5 fish in the tank and in about the second week I started getting nitrite readings even though ammonia stayed at 0. So therefore cycling was happening somewhere.
But after three full weeks some of the fish were acting funny. Ammonia readings were still 0, but then one morning one fish died and then when I tested, ammonia readings were up. So my zeolite ran out, evidently. What I did was remove the biomedia in my filter to make more room, and put it in the tank, and moved the old zeolite down (so it would get the unfiltered water first), then put new zeolite on top of that. I was hoping that there would be a colony of bacteria establishing themselves on the old zeolite, which is why I didn't want to take it out of the filter.
Anyway my question is, should I continue doing what I have been? Or do I need to change strategies somehow? In hindsight I probably should have been doing more aggressive water changes, but what I was thinking at the time was that since there was roughly 0 ammonia in the water at any given time because of the zeolite, I didn't think more water changes would benefit anything since I wouldn't really be taking anything out of the water, just wasting fertilizer more or less.
Here is a picture of the tank as it is now. I know I need more plants. They're not the easiest to come by here, it took me a month to special order these and they didn't even bring in half of what I ordered.
Also I am wondering these two questions: Why is my hygro always putting out roots from the stem? Should I cut them off? And is there anything I can do about the anubias with the algae? It came like that and hasn't really gotten better since I've had it. Some of the other anubias in the tank who don't have it have a really nice dark green color, but this particular plant is not doing so well.
