Agreed. I really messed up. Obviously dinos in a new tank isn't normal. The ugly stage was so off-putting to me, I got sucked into the Vibrant hype, and things just went downhill from there. Letting the tank just establish itself would have been a much better choice. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I have learned. Now, I'm just worried about my current livestock.
Also, try not to beat yourself up about it too much. This is a tricky hobby at times and we've all been there. Your tank will recover
Yeah, I researched for two years before jumping in and it still wasn't enough to prepare me for everything. You all know how much money and time this hobby takes. I've already committed so much to it, and I'm just afraid of failing. I'm certainly not off to a good start.
So, the plan is...
Dose Brightwell NeoPhos and NeoNitro to bring up nutrients.
Install a UV sterilizer.
Remove as much of the dinos by hand as I can.
And NO MORE DOSING CHEMICALS/ADDITIVES after I manage to raise nutrient levels. Let the tank establish itself naturally.
A few questions I have,
Do I keep the skimmer on or no? I've read that you should turn the skimmer off when trying to raise nutrients but I've also read to leave the skimmer on when trying to treat dinos?
I read that dinos produce toxins. I don't have any carbon but I do have chemi pure elite. I've currently removed the chemi pure elite from the system because it has gfo in it. The bag of chemi pure is slightly undersized for my system. Is the added gfo in the chemi pure elite enough to prevent phosphates from rising? I would very much like to add the chemi pure elite back if I can.
Do I switch out filter socks every day to combat dinos? Or do I let them stay "dirty" in hopes that they help raise nutrient levels?
