I have a 150 tank with 2 - 9" Oscars, 3 clown loaches and 1 - 6" Pleco. Running Fluval FX5. I have had it up and running with this stock for almost a year and havent had any problems. Now my parameters are out of whack and I can't seem to get them balanced again. Have been doing weekly water changes and cleaned the filter, but and having algea problems (phosphate?) and it looks like I may have HITH starting. Parameters are:

PH 6.0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate between 0-5 Amonia 1.0, Phosphate 10.0, Temp 78.3

This morning the tank also looks kind of cloudy. What can I do??? Seems as if I cant get the amonia and Phosphate levels down or the PH up. Tap water tests:

PH 7.0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Amonia 0, Phosphate 0

HELP!! Advice please!!

Yeah, you're going to get increased algae growth with Phosphate levels at 10 ppm. However, high phosphate will not directly harm your fish. Too much algae can have a detrimental effect such as oxygen depletion so it's a good idea to get things under control.

How did you clean your filters? Did you wash the media in tap water?

No, I didnt use tap water. I basically dumped most (but not all) the water in it, changed the filter pad and put it back together. I didn't want to disturb the bacteria any more than I had to, but it was gross!

How do you get rid of phosphates?

What food do you feed your fish? Some foods use phosphate as a preservative. Also test your water for phosphate.
Water changes will stop the phosphate from rising.
Do not feed your fish too much. Most people feed their fish far too much food. Once an Oscar reaches adult hood it doesn't have to be fed any more than once a day, and that goes for the rest of the fish as well.In fact, you could feed your fish three times a week and it wouldn't do them any harm at all. Most people feed their fish at least three times a day, THIS IS TOO MUCH. If you have water quality problems, stop feeding your fish straightaway. Fish can go for weeks without food. If you continue to feed fish when you have water quality problems, it will take a lot longer to put things right.

Basically, regular tank maintenance will stop all these elements from getting out of hand.

I feed Oscars Chichlid Gold Pellets once a day. 1 mealworm each every 3-4 days, occasional veggies. Clown loaches and Pleco get pellets that go to the bottom 1X/day.

please check the flow rate of your pump. sometimes, we never
notice that the pump is no longer delivering the rated capacity,
rendering your filtering system under-capacity.

Nicki was able to solve her cloudy tank when she replaces
the pump. maybe you can too...

How do you check the flow rate? I am running a faily new FX5. It seems to be pumping a lot of water out of the outflow so I assume it is drawing in just as much.

I did a 50% water change this evening and it didnt change the amonia level or the cloudiness much. I also added Prime.

Does AmmoCarb really absorb amonia? Can I put some in the filter or hang it in the tank to absorb amonia?

okey then.... FX5 can do the job.... and do not need
frequent cleaning.... or do you often clean it?

I don't really "clean" it. Just dump out the major goo, change the polishing pad, refill with tank water and plug it in... about every 3 months. Do 1/3 to 1/2 tank water change with gravel vacuum every couple of weeks.

Oscarmama wrote:

i need to clarify this! what do mean by dump out? you mean
remove all filthy slimy biological pad and replaced with a new one?
then do water change? is that what you mean?

i am just confused.