Tank "Black Light" and other tank questions

[rads]

Hey there y'all!

So today as I sat watching my Rads swim around under their black light (hold your horses I already know) I came to a sudden realization. I've been struggling with my tank bacteria/ cycling for what seems like nearly two months now. I had high ammonia (0.25-0.5 as I would water change before any higher) and finally had one day where I had 0 ammonia, a nitrite reading (I think it was around .25?) and the next day it was all 0 and I had nitrates. I thought awesome! Tank is finally cycled! However much to my dismay I'm still getting daily readings of 0.25-0.5 of ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5.0 nitrate. Every other day. I still do water changes as needed but I've seen no progress now. One time I tried ammo lock but that was a whole mess and since have balanced it back out and am back to where I was pre-ammolock.

I also am experiencing what I believe is a bacterial bloom but I read it's best to let it run its course and the milky/hazy water will eventually dissipate.

Now that brings me to the black light. I work in EMS and frequent hospitals and for Covid sanitation they use high intensity black lights. Now I know that's not the little bulb I have. In fact, I have a LED "black light" (linked for ease) and after some more research I found its UV-A (90% sure on that one based on what I found). But that got me thinking: could this LED be emitting just enough UV rays to be messing with my tank bacteria? The light has been ran since day 1 only through the nights and I still had cycled readings but I'm just not sure. I've also watched Rads closely when I have the light on and it does not seem to mind it at all and will even hang out under it sometimes. Plenty of shade/ caves are provided though if it decides it doesn't like it.

I've also gone so far as to stare at the bulb (as I was told if it hurts your eyes then it hurts theirs) but it honestly just looks like purple-ish LED strips. And I read it (that being "brilliant blues" only) can produce some UV, it's not even enough to go through the water.

Oh, and one more question: Is my biofilter supposed to look all slimly and junky? It's got some white algae looking stuff but I figured that was just the normal tank bacteria en masse. Pretty gross looking though. (Pictures below- loofah piece added for gentler water distribution from the filter)

I've done a lot of research into it but I found so few threads where it even gets close to matching my situation so some input would seriously be appreciated. Especially for the tank cycling stuff. Rads is happy and healthy, eating and pooping very well lol.

Other tank stats:
- 2 live plants
- 20 gallon tank (poop siphoned out daily- fed in separate container so no extra food in tank)
- x1 3 inch Rads
- Tetra Internal Power Filter (rated 10-30 gallons)
- Other assorted artificial decor
- API Freshwater Master Test Kit
- Seachem Ammonia Alert Card (though I don't think it works since it never has picked up even a little bit despite high API kit readings)
- Tank temp. varies a bit (63-72 degrees is the range but daily it's about 67-69). Using a fan over the top to try and regulate

 

[Dragonfire]

I don't believe the light is messing with your bacteria, but I would stop running it for long periods of time just in case. What type of filter are you using? Any photos of the slime? I've never run into white slime in my filtration but I keep all terrestrial caudates, so my freshwater experience is limited to fish and invertebrates. Which ammonia test are you using also? The API ones are notorious for reading high.

 

[rads]

I don't believe the light is messing with your bacteria, but I would stop running it for long periods of time just in case. What type of filter are you using? Any photos of the slime? I've never run into white slime in my filtration but I keep all terrestrial caudates, so my freshwater experience is limited to fish and invertebrates. Which ammonia test are you using also? The API ones are notorious for reading high.

Ok I'll give that a shot!

I just updated the main post with all the specs last minute as I realized that's probably important to have in there as well lol.
I use the Tetra Internal Power filter (rated 10-30 gallons) and the API Freshwater Master Test kit. I will add pictures in just a moment.

 

[Dragonfire]

There are other reasons not to run the black light but you seem aware of them. Perhaps try running a sponge filter rated somewhere around 20-40 gallons, let the tank stabilize, then swap out the internal power filter for only the sponge filter. I find sponge filters are the best in terms of providing low flow and strong biological filtration. Definitely keep up on water changes and removing waste so any potential ammonia does not build up. That being said if the tank isn't cycled it won't do so without ammonia appearing at some point, which means you'd need to push a fine line between cycling and keeping ammonia down. I believe some chemicals like prime can detoxify ammonia.

 

[rads]

There are other reasons not to run the black light but you seem aware of them. Perhaps try running a sponge filter rated somewhere around 20-40 gallons, let the tank stabilize, then swap out the internal power filter for only the sponge filter. I find sponge filters are the best in terms of providing low flow and strong biological filtration. Definitely keep up on water changes and removing waste so any potential ammonia does not build up. That being said if the tank isn't cycled it won't do so without ammonia appearing at some point, which means you'd need to push a fine line between cycling and keeping ammonia down. I believe some chemicals like prime can detoxify ammonia.

I tried the ammo lock but I read that it binds the ammonia in a way that is unusable to the bacteria. Not sure if Prime does the same though, but I read all kinds of mixed answer between not using anything and sticking to just water changes or people swearing by prime.

I got crazy crazy high ammonia readings too when I did it. The test couldn't even read it anymore lol.

 

[Dragonfire]

The filter gunk may be waste and bacteria clogging up the filter. What is the substrate like in the tank? Might also be bacterial growth with fine substrate stuck in it, but it most likely isn't the denitrifying bacteria relied on for maintaining a cycle.

 

[rads]

The filter gunk may be waste and bacteria clogging up the filter. What is the substrate like in the tank? Might also be bacterial growth with fine substrate stuck in it, but it most likely isn't the denitrifying bacteria relied on for maintaining a cycle.

I have fine sand for the bottom. Should I clean it or leave it then you think?

By the way thank you SO much for your input. I really appreciate the help since this is my first rodeo owning a tank and an axie.

 

[Dragonfire]

No worries, I don't love sand because it can trap waste, bare bottom is the way to go IMO but tons of people use substrate without issue. I'd clean the filter a bit but not harshly, just so it doesn't trap waste. Just scrub off the debris in a cup of tank water. You could also gravel vac the sandbed gently when you do water changes in case you are missing waste and look into if your substrate could be producing ammonia, some substrates like aquasoil meant for planting produce ammonia at first. I also gotta say I still can't recommend a sponge filter enough, they are fantastic biofilters, easy to maintain and cheap.

 

[rads]

No worries, I don't love sand because it can trap waste, bare bottom is the way to go IMO but tons of people use substrate without issue. I'd clean the filter a bit but not harshly, just so it doesn't trap waste. Just scrub off the debris in a cup of tank water.

Ok I will give that a shot then. Now that you mentioned it could be the fine substrate caught up in it I realize the gunk and the sand are about the same colors. Will cleaning it set me back in my cycling? I have nitrates so there must be something happening right? Maybe the colony numbers aren't enough for the ammonia present for it to balance? And the nitrite-eating ones are plugging along just fine?

Edit: I will certainly look into sponge filters too! I was a little frazzled with all my filter choices in researching and no super specific brands/ types/ etc. but I have a much better idea now. Any brands/ setups though you recommend or anything?

 

[Dragonfire]

Removing gunk from a filter shouldn't crash a cycle, just keep it in water from the tank while you do so as not to shock and kill the bacteria. Just scrubbing off the slimy stuff won't hurt as all the beneficial bacteria should be on the solid surfaces of the media and will quickly recolonize. Not sure I can think of any sponge filters off the top of my head, but definitely look for a quiet air pump to run it, tanks are much more enjoyable if the air pump isn't making annoying sounds.

 

[rads]

Removing gunk from a filter shouldn't crash a cycle, just keep it in water from the tank while you do so as not to shock and kill the bacteria. Just scrubbing off the slimy stuff won't hurt as all the beneficial bacteria should be on the solid surfaces of the media and will quickly recolonize. Not sure I can think of any sponge filters off the top of my head, but definitely look for a quiet air pump to run it, tanks are much more enjoyable if the air pump isn't making annoying sounds.

Awesome, I'll do that then. I'll also look around and see what the local shops have and then amazon as well. Thanks a bunch again!

 

[AMurry24537]

Unless it's been mentioned and I missed, there's something important to remember when it comes to cycling: always be sure that there is a "supply" of ammonia, even if it doesn't stay ammonia for very long. If you add only one dose of ammonia, wait for it to convert to nitrites, and then wait for that to convert to nitrates, the bacteria that initially made it go to nitrites will die from lack of food. I personally added a particular number ammonia drops (measured the first time by adding enough to just barely hit the maximum ammonia reading) every 24 hours until the day I was ready to put my axolotl in. That helped to make sure there was enough bacteria to handle any ammonia he might produce, and if there was more than enough bacteria to do the job, some would die.

 

[AMurry24537]

Edit: I will certainly look into sponge filters too! I was a little frazzled with all my filter choices in researching and no super specific brands/ types/ etc. but I have a much better idea now. Any brands/ setups though you recommend or anything?

Amazon.com

I personally use and recommend this kind of sponge filter as the double sponges allow you to replace one sponge at a time (replace every 3 months or so, but a few weeks apart from each other) in order to not crash the cycle since the sponges house a lot of bacteria. You should, however, be squeezing out the debris that also gather there each week in the old tank water when you do a water change. This will not overly diminish the bacteria unless you use chlorinated water.

For the air pump, I use the tetra whisper, which is usually quiet, but isn't supposed to be. If you get one and it is, it's fixable, but it's often easier to just exchange it.

The only other thing you need is airline tubing to connect the pump to the filter.

 

[Dragonfire]

Great input! At this point cycling is kinda of a fine line with the animal already in the tank, definitely wouldn't add ammonia drops rn. I believe a tank will still cycle even if ammonia is detoxified by prime though, so that may be a good option. I think they will need to find a balance between water changes and not making the tank totally devoid of nutrients. That is assuming the tank isn't totally cycled yet, it totally could be since I use the API kit on my 4 year old reef tank which 100% has no ammonia building up and it gives me false positives without being expired.

 

[rads]

I'm hoping it is just the API reading high. My ammonia was pretty high today (0.5-1 ppm) when I checked it just now but I changed the water yesterday (and again just now). Both times were about 40% changes or so.

There's definitely a supply through the day with Rads' poop and other accumulations until I get home (about 14 hours or so). I'm struggling to keep it down below 0.5 so I don't think there's any lack of ammonia to go around lol.

I got Rads not realizing I had to cycle a tank and have been playing catch-up since. I've used the bacteria supplements and tested the water daily and then once I got Nitrate reading and 0 ammonia/ nitrites I switched back to testing every other day. Now lately with the ammonia I've been back to testing every day and water changes every other day. Maybe I accidentally crashed my cycle some time along the way? Still got a solid reading of nitrates 5-10 ppm though so that's something. I've also been splashing in some additional bacteria starter stuff to help keep my numbers up along the way but who knows if that's actually working. I started this whole thing about March 17th of this year so perhaps I'm unlucky and will have a longer tank cycling process.

 

[rads]

Update 4/25

Good news everyone!

My ammonia levels have dropped to 0-.25. Since API reads high I'm betting it's 0. My nitrates are up as well, now at about 20 ppm. The tank cleared up as well!

I had two live plants (java fern and a anubias) and I went and picked up three more today. It's finally coming together! I really want to do a natural looking tank but I can never find the recommended axie plants.

 

[Dragonfire]

Try getting Wisteria or Moneywort and letting them grow emerging from the water under good lighting. Will remove a lot of nitrate for you, especially if you pair it with some other fast growing aquatic plants and something like pothos.