weird test results.

RockabillyChick

RockabillyChick

Kilt-lifter
Nov 5, 2005
1,050
0
0
40
Washington state
tank specs first:

20g long (30x12x12)
sand substrait
med planting, live plants
occupants: One red honey gourami, 6 glowlight tetras, and 3 otos (otos added within past 2 weeks)

TAP WATER READINGS (AP freshwater liquid master test kit, tests expire in 2008):
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
5-7 nitrate
7.8 pH

i put the gourami and glowlights in the 20 from my 10g and also moved the established filter from the 10 so the tank never had to cycle. same filter, same bioload.

then i added the otos. i expected a minicycle, so i've been testing and doing water changes as necessary. i treat all the new water with wardley's chlor-out before adding it to the tank.

basically, my ammonia has stayed at a steady 0.25ppm. my nitrites have stayed at 0, and my nitrates haven't gone below 20ppm. i've been doing DAILY 50% water changes the past week and a half since i added the otos. but it seems like the water changes don't effect my levels. i test before, and after i do changes, and the levels are the same.

i believe my ammonia test may be off, because even in my 10g that was running sucessfully for 4 months it always showed about .25ppm ammonia, but i knew there couldn't be any in the tank because it wasn't old enough to have OTS, and i was doing weekly 50% water changes to keep the nitrates down and everything clean.

i think perhaps its the water conditioner. i think i have chloramines, and the conditioner is breaking the bond and my test is picking up the ammonia left over. however, i waited 24 hours after doing a water change and just tested about 3 hours ago and the tests were still all the same. i don't know what's going on. and i don't know how to get my nitrates any lower than 15-20ppm.

i will take a water sample to both petco and petsmart this weekend. petsmart uses the AP liquid test kit, and petco uses strips. and i'll make sure to ask for the actual numbers o.O

anyone have any ideas as to why i would show ammonia a week and a half after adding the fish, and still no nitrite spike?
 
Test your tapwater. If it tests positive, you have chloramines in the water adding ammonia after each waterchange. Then you can buy a bottle of Aquafina water and test that. If it still tests positive, you have a problem with the test kit.
 
you mean test the tap water WITH the dechlor in it? DUH! why didn't i think of that, lol. :thud:
 
Also test some tap water prior to using the decholor.
 
before dechlor, its 0, and after its between .25 and .5

so i have chloramines.

now what?
 
I like wardleys clor out, doesn't have all that extra crap in it, but it does leave the ammonia when it breaks down the chloramins. AmQuel (by kordon) removes ammonia to, so I have switched to that. The only thing though, is that the bio filter should break down that ammonia just the same ammonia produced by fish. Kinda strange.
 
Make sure your Wardley's deals with ammonia. If it does not, you need to switch to something that does.

If it does deal with ammonia. You do nothing because nothing is wrong :)

Just keep in mind what the number is -- .25 -- and anything over that is a problem. Test your tap water at least monthly in case they change it on you.

Roan
 
how do i find out if wardleys neutralizes the ammonia?

and even if it does, my bacteria still use it to make nitrites and nitrates. it seems like my nitrates won't go down below 20, even though i've been doing daily water changes. my tap only has 5-7ppm nitrates.
 
I use wardleys and I have chloramines. Wardleys is straight sodium thiosulfate so it will not nuetralize the ammonia. After a waterchange my ammonia tests at 0.25 but due to my pH most of that is in the NH4+ form and it will test at 0 within an hour or so so I am not worried about the ammonia hurting the fish. If you have a higher pH, you might consider using amquel or prime.
 
my pH is 7.8 and never budges. and i know i have hard water too.
 
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