improving water quality!!!!! newbie

C

ciccia

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Mar 13, 2003
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boston
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Have a 46 gallon bow w/6 angles, 2 clown loaches, 3 kuhli loaches, 2 keyholes, 2 german rams, 2 bolivian rams. no live plants (problem?????)
temp- 78, 7.2 ph

Currently have a aquamaster 600 power filter and a 65 gal. wet/dry filter.
I do a 25% water change every week. Treat the new water with Prime before adding.

What other peripherals or steps can I take to ensure a superd enviroment??:confused:
 
Try changing 50% of your water a week, along with a gravel vac....If you are having problems with your water quality, try to find out why...how much and what types of food are you feeding daily, the total fish load, dirty filter(s), etc.....but changing more water weekly will greatly improve things.
 
Get test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Use them right before every water change to get a feel for what's going on in your tank.

Ammonia should read zero.
Nitrite should read zero.
Nitrates below 40ppm are good; lower is even better.

Watch the nitrate levels over time. If the number is creeping up, your tank could use more frequent and/or bigger water changes; or you've been neglecting cleaning the gravel at your water changes. If the number stays low, you're doing fine.

Keep in mind that nitrates aren't the only things in your tank that you take out in those water changes. There are a lot of other dissolved organics that test kits can't measure. A nitrate measurement is an indication of the level of other things that could be affecting your tank.

Other things you can do:

Feed lightly.

Once a year do an extra big (70%) water change in your tank.
 
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