I took a sample of my aquarium's water to my local pet store to have it tested (for free, plus) and the fish guy said that my Ph was a little high but the my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were WAY too high getting to toxic levels. The fish guy recommended an emergency water change of 30%, and it's got done. Wish me luck!
new here
- Thread starter Addlewood
- Start date
Byron Amazonas
AC Members
A couple of general observations. First, it is well worth the money to get a good liquid test kit. API make one called the Master Combo which has pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. These are the tests you should have when starting a tank especially. You can buy them online for less than what they will cost in stores, if that is important for you (as it is for me).
Second, when testing water at the store, always ask for the numbers. Generalities are at the discretion of the employee and rather vague at best. The pH being "high" for example is subjective; is it the same as your source water (tap presumably)? Is it suited to the fish being kept? These answers tell one whether it is "high" in a negative sense or not.
Water changes daily are critical for new tanks if fish are in the tank, and subject to the level of ammonia and then nitrite. Frankly I would find it odd that all three are high...here I would test the tap water on its own to see if any of these are present.
Byron.
the fish store had the scales and numbers on the table to match the colours up to the test tubes. I think that I'm going to hold off on buying a test kit just for a little bit because the test at the store are free. As for my water I've been using the same water for years for fish that I had and I've never had a problem with it.
Maybe the reason that I had such high nitrate was I didn't have enough plants in the tank to eat it and since the bacteria in the tank couldn't put anymore in to the water, I don't know. I only added the other two plants a few days ago so now I have three. I'm also planing on rationing their food a little bit until the water is clear.
Maybe the reason that I had such high nitrate was I didn't have enough plants in the tank to eat it and since the bacteria in the tank couldn't put anymore in to the water, I don't know. I only added the other two plants a few days ago so now I have three. I'm also planing on rationing their food a little bit until the water is clear.
Byron Amazonas
AC Members
I really would get a test kit. You need to keep a close eye on ammonia and nitrite during initial cycling; levels anything above zero do impact fish, and can lead to internal damage that down the road will be the cause of other problems and premature death. When you do the water change today, testing ammonia and nitrite immediately after is valuable. Then you must test it every day in the morning, and do a water change if either are above zero.
Nitrate at this stage is a puzzle. But if you are adding bacterial supplements, this may explain it somewhat. Keeping nitrate low (below 20 ppm always, and no higher than 10 ppm should be the aim) is important long-term. Without the numbers from the store test, we've no idea whether this is a problem now or not; the employee may consider nitrate at 20 ppm high, or might not.
And testing your tap water is an important step for all aquarists, to know what they are dealing with. Also, these can change overnight in some situations (the tap I mean).
An API FW kit, for example, is usually between $20-25...at least that was what I remember from when I purchased my new kit a few months ago online. An actual store may be marked up a bit more.
As Byron mentioned, it's invaluable to have access to actual numbers whenever you need them...because situations may arise when you cannot go to your store, and that is especially true during the cycling processes as Byron also touched on.
Test kits last quite a while...last I checked the API reagents expire after around 3-5 years depending on which one it is (API now prints dates right on the bottles anyways), and I really doubt you'd run out before then unless you're consistently testing a lot of tanks. It's an absolute no-brainer to purchase your own IMHO.
As Byron mentioned, it's invaluable to have access to actual numbers whenever you need them...because situations may arise when you cannot go to your store, and that is especially true during the cycling processes as Byron also touched on.
Test kits last quite a while...last I checked the API reagents expire after around 3-5 years depending on which one it is (API now prints dates right on the bottles anyways), and I really doubt you'd run out before then unless you're consistently testing a lot of tanks. It's an absolute no-brainer to purchase your own IMHO.
WTF!!! I found ich on my panda platy and I had to flush it to try and hopefully stop it before it could spread. I can't set up a sick tank at least until I get my conditioners and I can't get any until Thursday. This tank is starting for really make me mad because it's one thing after another!
You flush a fish just because it had some white spots on it? Oh man, that's pretty cruel.
Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
it was ich I'm 100% sure and it does hurt that I had to flush it. It had like 6 spots on it side fins, swam upside down, was gasping for breath, cloudy eyes and when I put the net in every fish ran but the panda could barely swim and when I caught it it didn't even move. You may say cruel but it was dying fast and I can't risk the other fish and the invertebrates.
