Hi,
No, not really. Taking the biomedia out of the filter is not really a good idea. Biomedia is optimized by the constant flow of the filter delivering water all over the bacteria colony. The colonies are therefore delivered ammonia, nitrite and oxygen at a steady pace and at high enough volumes to maximize their population densities. Putting the media in the tank reduces this flow through rate, crippling the population and thus the effectiveness of the colony in the media.

What you should have been doing is to do a 2X or 3X 50%-80% per week water change during the first 4-6 weeks of the tank being set up. This would directly remove a good percentage of any toxin buildup.

The fertilization addition has nothing to do with the poor health, that's for sure. You seem to have completely ignored the possibility of a parasitic attack. Newly setup tanks need time to stabilize. They need time for all the various bacteria buildup and chemical reactions to take place and to find an equilibrium. This may take a few months.

I don't mean to be harsh, but the money you spent on zeolite and test kits could easily have been spent on more plants, and as discussed, a few more water changes per week would have the same effect of reducing ammonia/nitrite buildup and you would never need to measure anything.

It's not clear what other activity or experiments you are attempting with this tank but with all due respect, my advice would be to settle down, keep things simple and do more regular water changes. I would recommend to stop fiddling; get more plants by hook or by crook, settle on a dosing scheme, settle on a water change/maintenance schedule, settle on lighting and then chill out and enjoy watching your tank.http://www.barrreport.com/images/smilies/cool.gif


Oh, and get that media back into the filter where it belongs, please.http://www.barrreport.com/images/smilies/eek.gif


Cheers,