NO3 levels too high Noob Mistake

[Bigmeanfish]

Made a big Noob mistake
240gal tank
3 fx5's filled with pot scrubbies, bio rings, bio balls, and removed all the pads and replaced with cotton poly fill so i just throw away the cotton and replace with new cotton when i clean the filters

with the holidays i got lazy and haven't been doing water changes so the other day i cleaned all 3 fx5's and rinsed the bio media in tank water which i never do i usually clean 1-2 filters at time then come back and clean the other filter about a week later then a few days after i cleaned the filter i did a 50% water change. Now my NO3 levels are too high and I'm doing a 25% water change as we speak. Lesson learned and i will never clean all my filters and do a big water change in the same week. Just wanted to share my learning experience with the Box

[troy tucker]

Your not the first.
You can rinse the media with tank water.

[mnemenoi]

Thanks, its certainly something to always consider. We try to maintain a clean out schedule on a schedule so only 1 filter is cleaned at a time. Even with smaller tanks a secondary HOB or sponge can really save the day for an instant cycle on an accidental tank or a filter break down.

[Bigmeanfish]

i think it was me feeding extra pellets and flakes had part in the problem also hahaha kids like to watch fish eat what can i say i wanted to please the kids

[mnemenoi]

We have a big Fahaka Puffer and know your pain, lol. Her Nitrates can get wild crazy fast, she just starts hating on us and they exhibit strong behaviors when it starts rising so its a bit easier once we learned the signs.