But having read it as 20 ppm when the math says it should be almost 80 ppm is a little too off for rounding in my mind.
55 Gallon Overstocked?
- Thread starter Ab235g
- Start date
My apologies for the delayed response. As for the tests I am using the API master freshwater kit and for the size of the changes. I did three 5 gallon buckets (home depot)
55 gal * .3 = 16.5 gal is how I ddi my math hastily as I wrote the inital post
but when doing the water change my water level was fairly low it was probably closer to a 50% water change and the color guide on that test goes from 20ppm for on color to 40ppm as the next color step up, so my nitrate were some where between 20ppm and 40 ppm. If you take the variance in my water level and my interpretation of the test color in to account. Plus, I was super freaked out that my whole tank was gonna crash, so everything was a bit more dramatic at the time. I think that could explain the math a bit for you. anyway an update on the tank all of my levels are normal again except for the ph is still around 8.4 ( fish don't seem to mind) and I havn't lost anything else.
I still worry something is wrong though as i have several fish that don't appear to be growing any.
one of my black skirt tetras is still only around .6" after about 4 months of being in the tank where all of the others are around 1.5" - 2".
Same with one of the cherry barbs just isn't growing as large as the others.
Thoughts?
55 gal * .3 = 16.5 gal is how I ddi my math hastily as I wrote the inital post
but when doing the water change my water level was fairly low it was probably closer to a 50% water change and the color guide on that test goes from 20ppm for on color to 40ppm as the next color step up, so my nitrate were some where between 20ppm and 40 ppm. If you take the variance in my water level and my interpretation of the test color in to account. Plus, I was super freaked out that my whole tank was gonna crash, so everything was a bit more dramatic at the time. I think that could explain the math a bit for you. anyway an update on the tank all of my levels are normal again except for the ph is still around 8.4 ( fish don't seem to mind) and I havn't lost anything else.
I still worry something is wrong though as i have several fish that don't appear to be growing any.
one of my black skirt tetras is still only around .6" after about 4 months of being in the tank where all of the others are around 1.5" - 2".
Same with one of the cherry barbs just isn't growing as large as the others.
Thoughts?
Just keep a close eye on your fish's color and behavior- don't worry about their size, that's too subjective and too long term, you might just have a runt.
Watch for their behavior- their fins should be upright, they should be active and eating (and swallowing, not spitting the food back out) and swimming level (not nose up or nose down). Any time you see clamped fins, hiding, fast gill movements, washed out color, hanging out at the surface in any of your fish- these are signs of fish stress.. and a key that you should probably do a large water change and bust out your test kits.
Once you get a little more experience you'll start to notice your fish acting wrong when something is wonky an have time to fix it before you have any fish deaths.
Watch for their behavior- their fins should be upright, they should be active and eating (and swallowing, not spitting the food back out) and swimming level (not nose up or nose down). Any time you see clamped fins, hiding, fast gill movements, washed out color, hanging out at the surface in any of your fish- these are signs of fish stress.. and a key that you should probably do a large water change and bust out your test kits.
Once you get a little more experience you'll start to notice your fish acting wrong when something is wonky an have time to fix it before you have any fish deaths.
