sjolliff
Fish Addict
My Nitrite is goin up quite well up to 1.0ppm and my nitrate is about 20ppm now but my ammonia is still at 1.5ppm?
is this right?
is this right?
Ammonia-nitrite?
- Thread starter sjolliff
- Start date
OP
OP
sjolliff
Fish Addict
Sorry double post 
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
It's quite normal to see both Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate when you test during a Fishless cycle, nothing to worry about 
OP
OP
sjolliff
Fish Addict
cheers i just thought the ammonia would go down as things go up.
iv just got a GH and KH test kit (api)
is there a set ppm to head for to get the best bacteria growth
iv just got a GH and KH test kit (api)
is there a set ppm to head for to get the best bacteria growth
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
There probably will be, but I don't know what it is. Waterdrop would likely know though...
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Unlike pH, where we find a range of 8.0 to 8.4 to be optimal for beneficial bacteria growth, GH and KH measurements are tools used in a different way.
GH (General Hardness) is a "nice to know" number, but not an "action item" per se. Having even a little hardness to the water, rather than none, is a good thing in that the minerals that are part of the makeup of hardness, Calcium and Magnesium mainly, are desirable pretty much for everything we care about in the tank: fish, plants and bacteria. Having extremely hard water of course has its special problems but I'll not get into that here.
KH (german "Karbonathärte" for Carbonate Hardness) is useful as a "leading indicator" of what might happen to pH in the future. Its a measure of the carbonate and bicarbonate ions in the water and as such is a measure of the "buffering" we have that will resist the water getting more acid. In the hobby we nearly always discuss KH in german degrees. One german degree is 17.9 mg/L, so you can go back and forth between the mg/L (or ppm's, same thing) and the degrees by using the 17.9 multiplier.
A great example of a typical use of KH is during fishless cycling. As nitrates are produced, they exist in water in several states and one of those states is nitric acid, which will be present in small percentages but is powerful. With no buffer, this acid will make your tank water go acid, with a lot of buffer, your tank water won't go acid. Typically if your KH measures 4 or less degrees, you can suspect the cycling process may drive your pH down before too long. Watching measurements of KH go down will "lead" the time when pH will go down. My tap water KH is 0 or 1, so I used baking soda as a buffer during fishless cycling and as the baking soda buffer got used up (neutralizing the nitric acid from the end cycling product, nitrate) I could watch my KH go down, 4, 3, 2... which told me I'd need more baking soda if I didn't want my pH to suddenly go down to pH=6.2 where the bacterial growth process would stop.
Note that its always a good thing find some members who've had some experience with the lore of fishless cycling pH, baking soda, crushed coral and water change info to have around for discussion rather than doing it on your own. There are any number of members freqenting here that know the info.
~~waterdrop~~
GH (General Hardness) is a "nice to know" number, but not an "action item" per se. Having even a little hardness to the water, rather than none, is a good thing in that the minerals that are part of the makeup of hardness, Calcium and Magnesium mainly, are desirable pretty much for everything we care about in the tank: fish, plants and bacteria. Having extremely hard water of course has its special problems but I'll not get into that here.
KH (german "Karbonathärte" for Carbonate Hardness) is useful as a "leading indicator" of what might happen to pH in the future. Its a measure of the carbonate and bicarbonate ions in the water and as such is a measure of the "buffering" we have that will resist the water getting more acid. In the hobby we nearly always discuss KH in german degrees. One german degree is 17.9 mg/L, so you can go back and forth between the mg/L (or ppm's, same thing) and the degrees by using the 17.9 multiplier.
A great example of a typical use of KH is during fishless cycling. As nitrates are produced, they exist in water in several states and one of those states is nitric acid, which will be present in small percentages but is powerful. With no buffer, this acid will make your tank water go acid, with a lot of buffer, your tank water won't go acid. Typically if your KH measures 4 or less degrees, you can suspect the cycling process may drive your pH down before too long. Watching measurements of KH go down will "lead" the time when pH will go down. My tap water KH is 0 or 1, so I used baking soda as a buffer during fishless cycling and as the baking soda buffer got used up (neutralizing the nitric acid from the end cycling product, nitrate) I could watch my KH go down, 4, 3, 2... which told me I'd need more baking soda if I didn't want my pH to suddenly go down to pH=6.2 where the bacterial growth process would stop.
Note that its always a good thing find some members who've had some experience with the lore of fishless cycling pH, baking soda, crushed coral and water change info to have around for discussion rather than doing it on your own. There are any number of members freqenting here that know the info.
~~waterdrop~~
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
So there you have it. In English that means you are fine so long as you have a reading of each 
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
307 -
189 -
156 -
124 -
122 -
119 -
101 -
97 -
95 -
90 -
86 -
78 -
64 -
58 -
54