Water Tests

[SunnyD]

Hi,

My freshwater tank water has been testing perfectly for months. However, lately the ammonia has risen high - up from 0 ppm to .25 to.50 ppm. The PH has gone down from approx 7.0 to 6.4 and the Nitrate has risen just slightly to 5.0 ppm. The Nitrite has remained at 0 ppm.

The only thing I've done different is I've been supplementing my Pleco's diet with algae discs. Oh and I'm trying to grow a fresh water plant from a bulb. Would either of these be the cause in the drastic change in water level tests?

I have tested my tap water and it tests perfect right out of the tap on all tests. The ammonia is 0ppm, the PH is 7.0, the NItrate is 0, and the Nitrite is 0. Is it okay to make a 25% water change with the tap water without adding ammonia detox or tap water conditioner? Or should I use that regarless?

Thanks for the help!
Smiles ~D

 

[Gunnie]

Do you clean the gravel under your decorations at least once a month? Sometimes when you only clean the "open" gravel, you can get a build up of toxins which could alter your water. It sounds like it's too soon, but when your ph drops, that could be an indicator of "old tank syndrome". That usually happens with tanks that have been set up a long time with not routine tank maintenance. I'm not saying that is what your tank is going through, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind. With your rising nitrate level, you probably need to do more frequent water changes. If you do tank maintenance once a week, try twice weekly and see if your ph becomes more stable. It will most certainly reduce your nitrates also. And whenever you do a water change, you definately need to use a dechlorinator, but not necessarily one that treats ammonia.

 

[SunnyD]

I vaccum the gravel about once a week, as well as do about 25% water change at that time. I'll make a point to get under the decorations.

Thanks for your help!
~D

 

[RTR]

Why do you say that a water conditioner is needed for water without chlorine or chloramine? I don't use any, as I normally age my chlorine-only tap water until it has off-gassed, and use no conditioner other than in an emergency situation. I have been doing this for years without any issues, breeding fish and inverts. "Conditioners" are not always needed.

 

[Gunnie]

Since he did not specify that he was on a well, I had to assume that it was city water going into that tank, and I have never heard of anyone getting city water not having at least chlorine in their water supply. It sounded like he was already using dechlor anyway, and wondered if he needed to use one that eliminates ammonia or just chlorine and chloramines. You are absolutely correct in stating that you do not have to use a dechlor if your water does not contain chlorine or chloramines.

 

[SunnyD]

I'm a 'she'

...and on city water.

I don't know if my tap water has chlorine in it. I've never tested for that. There is a test for everything else at the fish store so I assume there's a test for chlorine as well. I'll make a trip there tomorrow and get one to test my tap water.

How long do have you let your tap water sit before adding it to the tank?

Cheers ~D

 

[Gunnie]

If your tap water is city water, then you have chlorine and probably chloramines. You can get cheap dechlor from walmart called Start Right that treats both chlorine and chloramines. I would use something that treats both until you know for sure if your water contains chloramines, but it's not really a big deal to treat for both whether your water contains chloramines or not. Oh, and after reading your original post, 5 ppm on nitrates is not bad at all. Most hobbyists will tell you to test your nitrates pretty often until you determine how many days your nitrate level reaches 20 ppm after doing a water change. Then you schedule your tank maintenance based on this nitrate level, and just make it a routine. I'm not sure how long my tanks take to get to that level. I just have a routine of doing maintenance weekly, and changing out 50% in each tank. If you treat your water for chlorine and chloramines while adding it to the tank, then you don't have to let the water sit out or age unless you have ph issues. The dechlor works instantly.

P.S. Don't waste your money on a chlorine test (if they even sell them). If you have city water, you have chlorine in it. The only folks that don't have chlorine in the water are people with well water.

 

[SunnyD]

Great info...thanks Gunnie,

I'll get the Start Right from Walmart and won't worry about testing the tap water. I'll continue to do the weekly water changes and clean the gravel under the decorations completely. Hopefully all that will get things back to normal.

Thanks again,
~D

 

[RustyRay]

Ammonia

The toxicity of ammonia depends on the pH. The lower the pH the less toxic ammonia becomes. Ammonia is converted to the ammonium ion (NH4) as the pH scale drops. And the ammonium ion is non-toxic.

At a pH of 6.4, which is fine for many tropical fish, there is no need to worry about ammonia. Nitrite is the toxic substance to be worried about. If your pH is about 7.5 then you should worry about ammonia.

The opposite is true for marine aquariums. In saltwater nitrite is not toxic because it binds with sodium. Marine hobbyists worry about ammonia most because marine tanks have a pH around 8.2, and at this pH ammonia is highly toxic.

Remember there are two forms of ammonia, ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4).

Also, some water treatments convert toxic ammonia to non-toxic ammonium, and on some test kits this may give a false reading as ammonia.