Well, the websites I looked at for nitrates said do not boil the water. It makes it worse since you are actually decreasing the water it increases the nitrates. The municipal water system only allows under 10ppm in their water. Anything over 20ppm can be a health hazard. Even reverse osmosis only gets rid of 85 to 90 percent of the nitrates if your system is working at optimum. We are going to pay for a complete water analysis and go from there. Probably an RO system in the house. In the meantime we'll bring in bottled water for us and I guess I will buy water for the aquarium as well. There is a chemical I can put in the water to clear the nitrates, but, it is really to be a temporary measure, not something you should do with every water change. Any other ideas?
I killed my Betta. :(
- Thread starter MelissaT
- Start date
There is no need to do a high range ph and a reg ph test unless the reg ph test maxes out at the highest number. I would not use anything "off the shelf" to chemically buffer your ph to a lower level. Your betta will be fine in the ph you are showing. If you want to lower you PH you can do so naturally by adding something such as peat to your tank. Conversely, if you want to raise your ph you can add crushed coral. Chemically altering it sets you up to potentially have huge ph swings as well as a crash. A stable ph is better than an ever changing ph.
I think your betta succumbed to the stress of being in a tank that was not cycled. It sounds like it had been in an uncycled environment for the majority of the time that you had it.
Going forward, my suggestion is to cycle your tank before you add a fish, or be prepared to cycle with the fish. Cycling with the fish will require many, many water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at the lowest levels possible.
Your tap water nitrATE reading is concerning as it is at the upper limit of not good. My solution to this would be adding live plants, which you said you already had, or getting water from a different source that has lower nitrates- possibly even bottled SPRING water. (Distilled water is no good for fish)
I think your betta succumbed to the stress of being in a tank that was not cycled. It sounds like it had been in an uncycled environment for the majority of the time that you had it.
Going forward, my suggestion is to cycle your tank before you add a fish, or be prepared to cycle with the fish. Cycling with the fish will require many, many water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at the lowest levels possible.
Your tap water nitrATE reading is concerning as it is at the upper limit of not good. My solution to this would be adding live plants, which you said you already had, or getting water from a different source that has lower nitrates- possibly even bottled SPRING water. (Distilled water is no good for fish)
RO water has all things that are needed removed. It's best to stick with just spring water, or water from a different source that has a lower nitrATE reading. Also, you may want to verify your nitrATE reading from your water as those tests can be very temperamental if the instructions aren't followed exactly if you are using a liquid kit.
I tested my water again today. Ph is 7.8
Ammonia is .25 ppm
Nitrite is 0ppm
Nitrate is still .80ppm.
This testing was done on the same water that I wrote my original post on.
Spent the night in the hospital so I couldn't change the water. I finally called a LFS and he told me do not use RO water and my tank was cycling, he said leave it alone and add 1 cycling fish. I showed him a picture of the tank and of the water results. He said the stuff I bought recommended above was good. He also told me that nitrites and ammonia are what I should be most concerned about as a new aquarium keeper. He said my number one goal right now should be getting ammonia and nitrites to zero and worry about the rest later.
Ammonia is .25 ppm
Nitrite is 0ppm
Nitrate is still .80ppm.
This testing was done on the same water that I wrote my original post on.
Spent the night in the hospital so I couldn't change the water. I finally called a LFS and he told me do not use RO water and my tank was cycling, he said leave it alone and add 1 cycling fish. I showed him a picture of the tank and of the water results. He said the stuff I bought recommended above was good. He also told me that nitrites and ammonia are what I should be most concerned about as a new aquarium keeper. He said my number one goal right now should be getting ammonia and nitrites to zero and worry about the rest later.
Wow! What a story. Usually Bettas are really easy to care for with minimum difficulty. Your well water may be at fault, but I would think that if it is safe for you to drink, then it should be fine for your betta. One betta in a ten gallon tank should have no problem. I have mine in a 5 g tank and he is doing well. If you want to start over, read up on cycling, but with only one fish in a ten gallon tank, you should be able to just add some Prime, (which I believe is the best water conditioner), and some of Dr. Tim's One and Only bacteria, or get some seeded filter material from the LFS.
You need to cycle your tank before you add any fish into it. Your nitrite levels are unsafe, toxic to fish, and your ammonia levels are on the verge of being unsafe. Your nitrates are very high too. Do you know about cycling and how to cycle? Many people debate about whether the "instantly start your tank" chemicals actually work or not. It's much safer to just cycle it manually, as using them can lead to heartbreak later.
Sorry for your loss. We all make mistakes,but, we learn from them. Cheer up, you can always try again. We are here to help you.
You need to cycle your tank so that those readings are stable. If your gonna keep a betta, the temp in the tank should be no higher then 80 degrees and no less then 76. I always say this: If the temp is too high, the Betta ages faster, if the temp is too low, the betta becomes sluggish. If you want to keep a constant temp in the tank, get a submersible heater and a thermometer. When it comes to Filters, an AC filter is best or even an Aqueon. You can adjust the flow on both or you can get a sponge filter which is also good. Prime is an excellent water conditioner and there is no danger of an overdose. Since you have a 10 gallon tank, if you want, you can add at least another 5 fish with your betta as companions, fish like Red wag platies, black neon tetras, neons tetras just to name a few. You don't want to overstock your tank. When it comes to cycling your tank, this link/ article will help:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/freshwater-cycling.84598/
Good luck
You need to cycle your tank so that those readings are stable. If your gonna keep a betta, the temp in the tank should be no higher then 80 degrees and no less then 76. I always say this: If the temp is too high, the Betta ages faster, if the temp is too low, the betta becomes sluggish. If you want to keep a constant temp in the tank, get a submersible heater and a thermometer. When it comes to Filters, an AC filter is best or even an Aqueon. You can adjust the flow on both or you can get a sponge filter which is also good. Prime is an excellent water conditioner and there is no danger of an overdose. Since you have a 10 gallon tank, if you want, you can add at least another 5 fish with your betta as companions, fish like Red wag platies, black neon tetras, neons tetras just to name a few. You don't want to overstock your tank. When it comes to cycling your tank, this link/ article will help:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/freshwater-cycling.84598/
Good luck
