Amonia
- Thread starter LisaB
- Start date
Are you doing 40% weekly changes? If you are not that could be part of the problem but not all of it.
Nitrates are harmless to most fish
Lisa if your ammonia and nitrites down to 0 your ok don't worry about the nitrate level these nitrate bacteria are just a chain in the link.
ammonia is eaten bye nitrites then nitrites are eaten by nitrates your bio system is working ok you'll be ok
Mike
Lisa if your ammonia and nitrites down to 0 your ok don't worry about the nitrate level these nitrate bacteria are just a chain in the link.
ammonia is eaten bye nitrites then nitrites are eaten by nitrates your bio system is working ok you'll be ok
Mike
I'm a little confused, but if you are saying that NH3 and NO2 are 0, then sounds like you're cycled. Get precise numbers for NO3, not just "high", "low", or "off the charts". These are meaningless.
NO3 has no short term toxicity, but it is an excellent indicator of the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in your water, which you cannot measure directly. DOC is generally something that you want to keep low, it's an umbrella name for pollutants such as fish hormones and breakdown products of uneaten food, fish wastes, plant matter, etc. Establish a weekly maintenance routine that keeps your NO3 level (prior to water change) below 20 ppm. Doing so will ensure the long term health of your fish, and while it may be a little extra work, it will also save you loads in medication. Keep the water clean and the fish will look after themselves, let DOCs build up, and the pollutant-induced stress will weaken their immune systems. At that stage your fish will be more susceptible to parasites and disease.
NO3 has no short term toxicity, but it is an excellent indicator of the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in your water, which you cannot measure directly. DOC is generally something that you want to keep low, it's an umbrella name for pollutants such as fish hormones and breakdown products of uneaten food, fish wastes, plant matter, etc. Establish a weekly maintenance routine that keeps your NO3 level (prior to water change) below 20 ppm. Doing so will ensure the long term health of your fish, and while it may be a little extra work, it will also save you loads in medication. Keep the water clean and the fish will look after themselves, let DOCs build up, and the pollutant-induced stress will weaken their immune systems. At that stage your fish will be more susceptible to parasites and disease.
You might give some thought to getting a reagent based test kit (glass tubes and drops of reagent). They have been described to me by a number of fishey folks that I respect as being far more consistent and accurate. This included severl Lfs folks. That was the one that did it for me as the strips and far more expensive than the reagent based kits which would be the reverse of the best interest of a LFS. the profit motive. The accuracy and consistency will give you a far better measure of the relative change in your numbers.
Cheers;
Cheers;
Oh Lisa
I almost forgot to tell u Aqua-sol is great for preventive deseases 12 drops to 10 gallons I've been using it for about 13 years no problems it also makes a good fin healer.
I almost forgot to tell u Aqua-sol is great for preventive deseases 12 drops to 10 gallons I've been using it for about 13 years no problems it also makes a good fin healer.
