Odd water readings & smell

J

jmattingly

AC Members
Jan 22, 2006
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Aurora, CO
I'm trying to set up a 10 gallon tank that I will be using as a nursery for some cichlids that are on their way. Mom is holding, and I want to try and get this set up quickly to hold all the fry.

I'm getting some odd readings at this point, and I have an odd smell coming from the water. Before I just go and do a water change, I figured I'd see if there's more to it.

PH -- 8.0
GH -- 13
KH -- 6

Those all look normal.

Ammonia -- 1.0
Nitrite -- 0
Nitrate -- 12.5

My ammonia seems to be dropping. It was up around 3 to 3.5mg/l. I have no nitrites showing, which is fine by me. But, I've got nitrates showing in the tank.

The smell is probably the residual ammonia in the tank.

What I can't figure out is how I've got both ammonia and nitrates. It's like I've cycled... but I haven't.

I know I can add something to drop the ammonia, but I'd rather ensure I don't have an issue. Before I go and do a 50% water change to drop the nitrates, is there something I need to watch out for with that ammonia?

Joe
 
I would think measurable nitrates in your water supply would signify a reason to call the water company and complain. It's not distiled water, but it should certainly be free of waste by-products.

To state with certaintly that this isn't the case, I tested my tap water... no measurable nitrates.

Joe
 
Its good you checked for nitrates.. Just so you know it is common to have nitrates in some cities. I have 7ppm in my tap, others have 20ppm.

What kind of dechlorinator are you using? I get a false reading of 1.0 ammonia after using prime.
 
The testing method/strips/liquid can sometimes give slightly false readings.

Some tests will pick up Ammonium and show it as Ammonia. Chloramines can cause this...especially when using a dechlor like prime.
 
My water has a odd smell too, though it has decreased quite a bit. My ammonia level is 0ppm so I don't think it was that.

Here are the results of my last water test.
PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
KH: 22
GH: 1
Phosphate: 0.1 ppm
Iron: 0 ppm
O2: 8 ppm
CO2: 20 ppm

The fish are lively and I'm using a Hagen kit for CO2 injection as well as dosing with Flourish Excel. I noticed the low Iron and started using Nutrafin Plant-Gro more often to boost the Iron content.
 
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