148.6L (39.2 gallon) aquarium journal

[MattW]

Have a look at Bolbitis and Pogostemon octopus. Two plants that grow well for me without doing or adding anything to the tank.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Have a look at Bolbitis and Pogostemon octopus. Two plants that grow well for me without doing or adding anything to the tank.

Pogostemon stellatus might be a nice addition, Bolbitis is a bit rarer in Perth.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Here's the tank after yesterday's water change:

 

[MattW]

I think some Val creeping along the back right would look good

 

[elephantnose3334]

I think some Val creeping along the back right would look good

Narrow valis? Could be a good idea (no jungle valis bc it could rot in water)...

 

[elephantnose3334]

Got narrow valis for the right corner of the tank, plus tested the water at a local pet store as they offer free water testing (results coming soon).

 

[elephantnose3334]

Here are the water test results. The hands holding the charts are not my own, but my carer's. The pH is high because of the composition of our tap water. The nitrites are temporary high because I had done a water change on Monday.

 

[EmmaS]

I could be wrong but nitrites shouldn't increase due to a water change. Any sign of a spike should be of a concern.

 

[elephantnose3334]

I could be wrong but nitrites shouldn't increase due to a water change. Any sign of a spike should be of a concern.

Ah, right. I had never tested water before via a chain petstore, which offers free water testing. The results are okay, but the nitrites and the pH of our tap water is something I need to keep a watchful eye on.

 

[Naughts]

Nitrite is toxic to fish. Have you cleaned or changed your filter/ filter medium recently? That might have crashed your cycle.

Your tank cycle should be established as it is 150+ days old, nitrite should be zero.

If you haven’t done anything to the filter recently I think the test may be contaminated and suggest testing again. If you are able to buy your own test kit you would have more control. Strip tests are really easy and reliable if you buy a known brand.

Don’t worry about pH, it is what it is. GH would be a better parameter to be aware of. Ask your dad to check for your water suppliers online quality report and see if he can find out the GH.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Nitrite is toxic to fish. Have you cleaned or changed your filter/ filter medium recently? That might have crashed your cycle.

Your tank cycle should be established as it is 150+ days old, nitrite should be zero.

If you haven’t done anything to the filter recently I think the test may be contaminated and suggest testing again. If you are able to buy your own test kit you would have more control. Strip tests are really easy and reliable if you buy a known brand.

Don’t worry about pH, it is what it is. GH would be a better parameter to be aware of. Ask your dad to check for your water suppliers online quality report and see if he can find out the GH.

Yes, I had recently cleaned the filter media (6th April water change) as my dad told me. It's an API test kit that the employees in the chain pet store have.

 

[Naughts]

Did you clean it by rinsing in tap water? Or using old tank water?

 

[elephantnose3334]

Did you clean it by rinsing in tap water? Or using old tank water?

Dad told me to rinse it in tap water. Did I make a mistake? He had done it before with my younger sister's tank too.

 

[Naughts]

I clean mine in tap water but it is not recommended, especially not for newer tanks. This is because the chlorine in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria which maintain the cycle.

If you have a bucket of tank water that you have taken out, use this to clean the filter as it doesn’t contain chlorine.

Apart from dechlorinator, are you adding any chemicals or medication to the tank?

 

[elephantnose3334]

I clean mine in tap water but it is not recommended, especially not for newer tanks. This is because the chlorine in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria which maintain the cycle.

If you have a bucket of tank water that you have taken out, use this to clean the filter as it doesn’t contain chlorine.

Apart from dechlorinator, are you adding any chemicals or medication to the tank?

Seachem Flourish and Flourish Trace for the plants. Twice a week for Flourish and once a week for Flourish Trace. No medications since I have no disease outbreaks or anything bad for the tank.