Just Tested Water Need Help!
- Thread starter BigDylan420
- Start date
Do you have plants? I recently saw filtermatarial that claims to remove ammonia, maybe that works?
Otherwise, I suggest as well to change water, again and again and again untill it gets stable. Good luck!
I never had ammonia, did a fishless cycling for 6 weeks...
Even after carefull stocking over month, could never measure any ammonia, nor nitrite. Nitrate also 0, are adding it nowadays for the plants
Otherwise, I suggest as well to change water, again and again and again untill it gets stable. Good luck!
I never had ammonia, did a fishless cycling for 6 weeks...
Even after carefull stocking over month, could never measure any ammonia, nor nitrite. Nitrate also 0, are adding it nowadays for the plants
Alright so I tested the water this morning. Last night I changed 50% of the water. The test results were....
pH-7
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-0ppm
Ammonia-1ppm
Right after I tested it I did a 75% water change. How long should I wait before I test the water again?
Also a few more specifics about my tank. I am using Kordon AmQuel+ & NovAqua+ to treat my tapwater. Are these good to use because I have to go buy some more before I change the water again? I am feeding the fish Wardley total tropical flakes about a pinch 3 times daily. Also I had a question about my decorations. I have had them all in there since I set up the tank before the fish were introduced. I have several polished marble stone balls, some broken pieces of glasspipe that have all sharp edges buried well in the stones, 2 quartz chrystal pieces, Medium sized gravel, 4 fake plants. Are all of these acceptable decorations that wont alter the water? They were all rinsed vigorously with tapwater only before being added.
How long should I wait to clean the tank?(3 weeks with fish now) and how long should I wait to change the filter? should I wait until I stabalize the tank or should I change the filter every so long regardless?
Thanks again for all the much appreciated help.
pH-7
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-0ppm
Ammonia-1ppm
Right after I tested it I did a 75% water change. How long should I wait before I test the water again?
Also a few more specifics about my tank. I am using Kordon AmQuel+ & NovAqua+ to treat my tapwater. Are these good to use because I have to go buy some more before I change the water again? I am feeding the fish Wardley total tropical flakes about a pinch 3 times daily. Also I had a question about my decorations. I have had them all in there since I set up the tank before the fish were introduced. I have several polished marble stone balls, some broken pieces of glasspipe that have all sharp edges buried well in the stones, 2 quartz chrystal pieces, Medium sized gravel, 4 fake plants. Are all of these acceptable decorations that wont alter the water? They were all rinsed vigorously with tapwater only before being added.
How long should I wait to clean the tank?(3 weeks with fish now) and how long should I wait to change the filter? should I wait until I stabalize the tank or should I change the filter every so long regardless?
Thanks again for all the much appreciated help.
I usually test again after about 2 hours and do another pwc (or not..) accordingly.
If you bought the decorations in a LFS and they are meant to be in a tank, they should be ok. If not, maybe someone else knows the answer to that...
Don't worry about cleaning the tank just now, get it stable first. Also, don't change the filter at all till you have the tank stable. I personally never change the filter, I just rinse it in old tankwater (when I do pwc) but lots of people change the carbon once every 2 to 4 weeks. Carbon will help your water to look crystal clean, I personally like the greenish tint my water has... You need the filter pad (biowheel, foam, whatever your filter has) because it houses a lot of healthy bacteria!
In all my fishy cycles, the amonia didn't take too long to go down (maybe three days) but the nitrites usually take about a week (with me doing twice a day water changes...).
Remember, you only have to learn this once!
L.
If you bought the decorations in a LFS and they are meant to be in a tank, they should be ok. If not, maybe someone else knows the answer to that...
Don't worry about cleaning the tank just now, get it stable first. Also, don't change the filter at all till you have the tank stable. I personally never change the filter, I just rinse it in old tankwater (when I do pwc) but lots of people change the carbon once every 2 to 4 weeks. Carbon will help your water to look crystal clean, I personally like the greenish tint my water has... You need the filter pad (biowheel, foam, whatever your filter has) because it houses a lot of healthy bacteria!
In all my fishy cycles, the amonia didn't take too long to go down (maybe three days) but the nitrites usually take about a week (with me doing twice a day water changes...).
Remember, you only have to learn this once!
L.
Well I changed the water 75% and tested it about 3 hours later. The ammonia was down to o.25ppm and the nitrites were still 0. I am going to test it again later and probably need another pwc.
Keep up on those water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites at .25 or less.
I prefer using Prime as the water conditioner.
I would be doing a gravel vac at least once a week. It will not stall or hurt the cycle.
On the filters, just rinse the pads clean in used tank water when they appear to be clogged or you notice water going thru the bypass or flow decreasing.
Also, test your tap water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Test your tap water pH after leaving some sit in a shallow dish overnight.
I prefer using Prime as the water conditioner.
I would be doing a gravel vac at least once a week. It will not stall or hurt the cycle.
On the filters, just rinse the pads clean in used tank water when they appear to be clogged or you notice water going thru the bypass or flow decreasing.
Also, test your tap water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Test your tap water pH after leaving some sit in a shallow dish overnight.
Ok feeding three times a day is way too much once a day should be fine has worked for me with all my tanks. Yes you must do water changes daily to continue to get that ammonia level down. You should see nitrites very soon as soon as you do continue water changes daily. Both ammonia and nitrite must be 0 at some point then you will see nitrate and that is the level you want to see but the level must not go above 40. You must treat your tap water with aquaplus or something like it to remove the chlorine and chloramine from your tap water very important! Testing your ph is also as important. Adding some established gravel from an existing tank that is healthy will help to boost your biological filter if you have a LFS that you trust can ask them for some gravel. I did that with my tanks used some gravel from one of my existing tanks and it helped plus some may disagree with me but I also used cycle and still use it to keep my filter biologically stable and it works for me might want to give it a try some also suggest biospira too.
Alright so I have been out of town working for about a week. I had my mom take care of it while I was gone. She did 2 water changes a day and I just tested and ammonia is at 1.0. This really really sucks I am so tired of this. Will vacuuming the gravel help lower the ammonia or not? I dont have a vacuum yet and I am not going to buy one if it doesnt help ammonia go down. The other fish are now having breathing problems it looks like. At this point I am so $%^&*#$%^^ frustrated with the whole thing I think I am gonna switch to a reptile. I mean why dont people tell you all this stuff before you buy a fishtank. You would think that the "aquatic expert" at the pet store would be knowledgeable enough to tell people about this. He never began to mention cycling the tank or anything of that nature. But he was quick to sell me some chemicals. Sorry I am just super frustrated with this whole thing. I do want to thank all of you for all the help you have given me so far again. But seriously if the fish I have now end up dying I am considering a reptile any suggestions? lol. Anyways is it possible for any decorations to emit ammonia? Mainly questioning the ones my mom put in there which are polished marble balls, polished turqouise, and polished quartz which have all been in there from the beginning.
BigDylan,
Try using AmmoChips or AmmoCarb (AmmoCarb has both carbon and AmmoChips). If you can get some of this from the pet store and run it in a filter or power head it should lower your ammonia. It has worked for me in the past.
If you stick it out and keep up with the PWC's you will be rewarded with a crystal clear tank
Try using AmmoChips or AmmoCarb (AmmoCarb has both carbon and AmmoChips). If you can get some of this from the pet store and run it in a filter or power head it should lower your ammonia. It has worked for me in the past.
If you stick it out and keep up with the PWC's you will be rewarded with a crystal clear tank
I disagree with anything that gets rid of ammonia. It's better to just go through the cycle and get a strong colony of the bacteria so you don't have to keep putting things in to keep your ammonia down. I don't think you should give up on your fish tank. There are always bumps in the road, but in the end it usually works out.
