View Full Version : oscar water paramaters
nboylie
05-31-2003, 7:23 PM
ok, i bought the hagen mini-master test kit today (what a dumb name) It came with:
High pH
Low ph (why didnt they just put thier wide range test in ...)
Nitrite
Ammonia
GH/KH
I tested with both ph tests, 7.6 on both
.3 nitrite
0 ammonia
GH off da chartz! 280
KH 30
so is this all fine n dandy or should I be doing anything about any of this?
.3 nitrite; Guess they can handle that for a short time, but not for long. a 40% water-change will keep you from serious trouble.
Do you have any fish in your tank right now?
How long is your tank running?
For how long and how did you cycle your tank?
0 ammonia sounds pretty good to me.(couldn't be better)
GH 280, Geuss that's ppm? That would be the equivalent to 15
Try to find a way to down that to 170 ppm
KH 30, that's pretty high too.
If you're able to down this a little you'll be ok.
EDIT: I,ve done some reading, Fish can handle high KH levels.
Does your tapwater give you the same KH and GH readings?
Jimmy
First off if your tank is cycled (someone please correct me if I am wrong) you should never read any nitrites. Your pH is fine however your GH is high but your KH seems okay. Personally I can't keep the two straight (as far as chemically)and refrence wetman's site everytime I question them. I believe however KH is a reflection of basicly calcium in the water (which stabilizes the ph) and GH is a reflection of.......www.skepticalaquarist.com.
All of that aside Oscar's are the danios of the cichlid world. If you know what I mean.;)
Must have cross posted jimbo. Make sure you test your tapwater after it sits our for 24 hours. (Thanks for the lesson RTR)
Correct on no nitrites in a fully cycled tank. Also correct on oscars being the danios of cichlids and thats for real :p
nboylie
05-31-2003, 9:50 PM
ok, well the nitrite is .3 or less. I have the hagen kit, can anyone comment on it? (like if there is no nitrites at all, should there be no colour?) there is no 0.0 on the colour chart, just starts at .3 so im assuming it goes that colour if it is .3 or less.
(edit) Can I buy a filter bag and put some peat in it and chuck it in one of my AC's to lower the GH? (i cant remember if it is peat that lowers GH?)
Originally posted by nboylie
there is no 0.0 on the colour chart, just starts at .3 so im assuming it goes that colour if it is .3 or less.
Say what??????:confused: :confused: Get a new test kit lol
Not familiar. I use tetra. I would always question a kit that did not register a zero since after all that is the ideal reading.
I have a aquarium pharmaceuticals test kit and my nitrite one starts at 0 ppm with the color baby blue
nboylie
05-31-2003, 9:55 PM
i thought it was wierd too. no one else has a hagen kit and can verify this?
Peat I believe lowers KH not Gh but increases the TDS. There is actually a great thread in this forum where it is explained very well. Search total dissolved solids or resin.
I really don't think you need to change anything.
My oscar tank:
90gal
Fluval 404
2x Penguin 170
100# gravel
driftwood and plastic plants and such
1 10.5 inch (when he streches) albino tiger
1 5.5 inch red
1 7 inch vieja maculicauda
1 5.5 inch JD
had it running for a while with some minor character changes but everyone is fat and happy.:)
Ph 7.5
Gh 2 degrees
KH 3 degrees
(multiply by 17.9 for ppm to late to do the math)
jimbo
05-31-2003, 10:40 PM
Here's the story:
With this kit you will never know whether it's .1 .2 or .3 nitrite.
It will not show no color when it's anything less than .3
It'll only change color when nitrite gets to .4 or higher.
Just test it with your tapwater.(assuming there's no nitrite in it):D
Peat will lower pH, not sure what it does to KH or GH.
Jimmy
JacksontoKobe
06-01-2003, 8:04 AM
I wouldnt worry about GH and KH the only thing I would worry about is any nitrite reading or high nitrates.
Well you should worry about KH. If it is to low and all of your buffer gets eaten up (which can happen easily in a tank with a big eater and messy fish) you can have bioacidification take place and your ph can crash over a point in a matter of hours. This can be quite deadly to fish, obviously. In this case with a KH of 30 (I am assuming ppm), which is 1.68 degrees, it is dangerously low. Frequent water changes will help keep it stable, but like you I have a low KH, so I add about 3 tablespoons of Aragonite to my filter to buffer the pH.
I would definatly be worried about Kh as well, Kh is what makes our ph stable and ph stability is very very important
Scott:"In this case with a KH of 30 (I am assuming ppm), which is 1.68 degrees, it is dangerously low"
I think nboylie meant 30 degrees kH. (not sure though)
If kH=1.6, pH would be much higher (lacking Co2)
If that happens to be the case, there will be white spots on plants.
You can also check up on conductivity, it should be pretty low when kH is 30 ppm
Hope nboylie will give some response on this.
Jimmy