readings help

[kelly82]

ok,just did the tests on my tanks again, tank1. nitrite 0, nitrate 20, ph 8.0, ammonia 0.6, tank2. nitrite 0.1, nitrate 20, ph 8.0, ammonia 0.6. can somebody please tell me what my readings should ideally be, and at what point should i be doing water changes,as in what out of these readings would indicate when a water change is due, what should the readings be kept below to keep my fishies safe and happy? i do twice weekly changes every week if i can, but sometimes it does creep up to 5-6days between, these readings were taken 4 days after last change of approx 30%.:confused: anyone with more experience please help me. thanks.

[Coler]

If you are cycling with fish in the tank :

Make sure you have a good liquid drop test kit. Do whatever water changes are necessary to keep ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm. Eventually, in a number of weeks perhaps, ammonia and nitrite should be 0 ppm all the time, and Nitrates should increase slowly. Then you will do regular water changes depending on stock together with a gravel vac to keep Nitrates below 40 max (shoot for less than 20).

.6 ppm ammonia is plenty high to kill your fish quickly and in any event cause gill damage which is permanent.

The fact that you already have nitrate would indicate that you have some of each kind of necessary nitrifying bacteria so the cycle should be relatively quick from here.

If you are not cycling you have some problem which has caused breakdown of bioligical filter resulting in ammonia/nitrite not being broken down sufficiently quickly. This could be a dead fish, over-feeding, too many fish in too small a tank, inadequate filtration.

Either way, for now, do whatever water changes necessary to get your ammonia and nitrite down as stated above. If you have some Prime water conditioner this will help ease the effect of the cycle. You can do 50% changes back to back no problem if necessary. It may be necessary to do twice daily changes.

Hope this helps & good luck

[ct-death]

/I AGREE with Coler

You really need to let the water tests dictate your water changes (WCs). Multiple WCs of 50% will not affect your tanks' cycling by any measurable amount.

Keep your nitrItes and Ammonia under 0.25ppm and you will be fine.

As Coler stated above; You already have nitrAtes so the cycle is in the final stages. Soon your ammonias should drop to zero, but test DAILY (or twice daily to be safe).

Once your tanks show zero ammonia and nitrItes, your weekly routine will become much much easier. For example, I do 40-50% WCs weekly in my tanks.

[kelly82]

ok,thanks ever so much,have had tanks up and running for about a month,1 i brought as a complete set up but before i could get in touch to tell him not to wash out the tank and filter he already had done, so im actually cycling 2 tanks i suppose, as the other i started from new myself. will get straight into 50% wc on both tanks this afternoon. thanks so much for the info.

[Mgamer20o0]

water change water change water change. you might want to bump it up to 75% water changes. if your getting more then .25 ammonia or nitrite do a water change. when cycled you should have 0 ammonia and nitrites.

[Rbishop]

What are the ammonia readings on your tap water?

Are you using a conditioner, like Prime, that detoxifies your ammonia, but leaves it available for the bacteria AND it still shows up on the test?

[kelly82]

i use dechlorinator in my tap water,and tap safe which says it degrades fish waste etc, i havent tested water straight from my tap. will do that now and post readings.

[kelly82]

tap water ammonia reading looks like 0, poss slight hint but could just be my eyes lol, nowhere near the first shade on my test chart which is 0.6.

[Coler]

Just another suggestion - I'd get a test kit that tests for lower levels. .25 ppm is the level below which you want to keep it.

[kelly82]

i only just brought this one and we are broke for next few months, will just av 2 keep up with twice weekly water changes and keep testing with what ive got for now. fish do seem much happier now ive done water changes, did 50% in each. thanks for the help everyone.

[Mgamer20o0]

you might need more then 2 water changes a week depending on your reading.

[kelly82]

re-done tests on both tanks in decent lighting this time! ph 7.5 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5, other tank, ph 7.5 ammonia 0 (maybe touch higher but nowhere near 0.6 which is 1st reading) nitrite 0.1 nitrate 5-10. tests were done 1 day after 50% changes in both tanks.

[Star_Rider]

keep testing daily..any hint of ammonia and nitrites at .25 do a water change.

I am cycling a marine tank...I do water changes with the nitrite at below .25

[jm1212]

sounds like your first tank is cloe to or done with its cycle, and the second tank isnt far behind. keep testing your water every day for a while to make sure everything is stable.

[kelly82]

will do,will do pwc if anything possibly shows up,not risking anything now, i used to have a tank a year or more back and could never figure why my fish kept dying,i just brought more and thought maybe our water was bad for fish or something, after 2 months or so i just gave away my full set up, after spending hundreds on it all,this time round, i now know what a cycle is :headshake2: R.I.P to all my fishies i killed through my ignorance with my old tank. this time im trying to do my very best for my little buddies,they come first (after feeding kids etc lol)with their checks/feeding/tests everyday-without fail,just about to do daily test again,will post results again. thank you everyone :)

[kelly82]

ok, results are, tank 1, ph 7.5, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10, tank 2, ph 7.5, ammonia 0, nitrite 0.1, nitrate 10. 2 days after water change of 50%.

[Coler]

excellent - well done. Keep checking the water daily until it holds at 0 ammonia/nitrite for a week or so.

[kelly82]

thank you, will keep this thread up-dated :worthy: thanks to all you experienced people for your help and opinions

[ct-death]

Hey, glad to see things are coming along nicely! ;)

The 1st tank may be done, but like others have said, keep up with the testing and once things are stabalized at 0.0 for 5-7 days you are good to go! :)

[kelly82]

:clap: :clap: :clap: cant wait til the cycles complete, so pleased i found this site!