Help "heal" the aquarium.

Todd

2

Samuel6138

Good afternoon, I think you have an overload in the nitrogen cycle. I would reduce the blue light by 8 hours and the white light by 2 hours, drain all the water, disassemble the aquarium, clean it, rinse the stones and glass, and give the fish to a friend for a month (in short, it's easier to restart in such a volume than to treat for six months). For now, give the fish away, as they are the source of all your problems and overfeeding.

Helen

It seems that organic matter has accumulated from feeding, as indicated by the nitrate and pH levels. There are likely nitrogen bubbles in the sand, which suggests denitrification. I would recommend doing 20% water changes weekly with freshly salted water, rather than water from another aquarium. Also, since there is no skimmer, a filter media like carbon, anti-phosphate, or Purigen is needed (though this is a matter of preference). Place the chaetomorpha closer to the light so it can compete. In my opinion, there is nothing critical. I'm also concerned about the appearance of the sand; is it not quartz?

Joshua448

I don't really understand much about sands yet. The packaging says: "OKEANOS White Aquarium Sand SiO2 >98.9%, Fe2O3 0.034%, Na2O < 0.1%." I should note that for the first while it was indeed "White."

Lindsay

Unfortunately, the quartz sand, SiO2 >98.9% (( silicates are usually removed in aquariums as they stimulate the growth of diatoms. I won't claim that your sand is problematic, but in marine aquariums, sand made from calcium carbonates (CaCO3) like aragonite or oolite is typically used. Sand in a marine aquarium acts as a buffer that maintains pH in the alkaline range. The sand needs to be changed, in my opinion.