Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates...acceptable Levels

[Squid]

I added them slowly because that is what I was advised to do here to prevent the filter from being overloaded and not being able to cope with the new additions. I had planned to add more fish than I have, but just never got around to it.

Odd.. i may have misunderstood it all then.. it thought that was the point of the fishless cycle.. not to harm fish and prepare the tank for a full bio-load..

Squid

 

[tttnjfttt]

Does amo lock make it so the ammonia can't be used by the tap water? Regardlwss, whatever you usem make sure it can still be used by the filter...Maybe switch to another brand?

 

[Squid]

there could be:

one your perception of colour is off

I must admit.. looking at it in the right light makes a difference... yellow on my test kit can easily look off to green in odd light.

Squid

 

[dwarfgourami]

Haven't voted yet, as I don't think there is a straight answer. Obviously, you want to get ammonia and nitrites down to undetectable amounts, but as for nitrates it is going to depend on what fish you keep how sensitive they are. What is fine for my platies (comes out of the tap at 40 ppm) might not do chocolate gouramis at all.

 

[Ami]

there could be:

one your perception of colour is off
test kit is off (unless other kits have been used)
urm, a very small local pocket of gas forms over the colour on the chart, amking it slightly diff. for some random bizarre reason this happens every time you do a test.

I'll go with the small local pocket of gas! Seriously though, it could be a light thing as I never do the tests in proper daylight so I could have less than I think. I'm not colour blind though, well, I don't think I am!?

Odd.. i may have misunderstood it all then.. it thought that was the point of the fishless cycle.. not to harm fish and prepare the tank for a full bio-load..

I just did what I was told. Maybe yet another poll - can we add all our fish after a fishless cycle or not? Probably o'd on polls at the moment though.

Does amo lock make it so the ammonia can't be used by the tap water? Regardlwss, whatever you usem make sure it can still be used by the filter...Maybe switch to another brand?

The ammo-lock was reccomended by CFC to make the ammonia in my tap water safe for the fish. It locks it away but still shows on the tests. Maybe need CFC or someone to explain that better!

Haven't voted yet, as I don't think there is a straight answer. Obviously, you want to get ammonia and nitrites down to undetectable amounts, but as for nitrates it is going to depend on what fish you keep how sensitive they are. What is fine for my platies (comes out of the tap at 40 ppm) might not do chocolate gouramis at all.

That's basically what I said at the beginning, that some fish can tolerate higher levels of toxins than others. Chocolate gouramis are particularly sensitive aren't they?

Ami

 

[dgwebster]

mmm chocolate. sorry.

 

[rdd1952]

As already mentioned, I find it hard to believe that some people have voted that some levels of ammonia and nitrite are acceptable. They should be a 0 all the time unless you have them in your tap water in which case you will have to resort to products that make them safe (Ammo Lock has been mentioned).

 

[Ami]

Just in the process of doing my tap water check as promised, when I discovered a slight disaster in my betta tank:

Stupid bloody heater

As soon as I've stopped fuming and panicking and trying to stop my hubby from calling up Surrey Pets and yelling at them for almost killing his first fish, I'll get back to the stats.

 

[Ami]

Ok. Sorry about that slight delay, though I'm sure you'll agree that it was more of an emergency!

My test kits are all Interpet Easy Tests. I bought the ammonia (NH3) test mid-August and the nitrite (N02) and nitrate (N03) mid-July. The packs for each say 6 months guarantee once opened, so I figure that the N02 & N03 are at the end of their lifespan - might as well use them all up!

The procedures were as follows:

1. Rinse the test vial in the water to be tested
2. Fill test vial to 5ml mark
3. Follow instructions on relevant test
4. Rinse test vial in fresh spring water
5. Repeat for next test

I won't repeat the instructions on the test kits though!

I test tapwater and tankwater from each set up as follows (all measurements in mg/l) - some being a little imprecise because the colour was neither here nor there:


Tapwater - Cold
NH3 0.1-0.4
N02 0
N03 12.5-25

Tapwater - Hot
NH3 0.1-0.4
N02 0
NH3 12.5-25

Tapwater - Mixed (before Ammo-Lock)
NH3 0.1-0.4 not exactly a surprise but thought I'd check just in case!
N02 0.1
N03 12.5-25

Tapwater - Mixed (after Ammo-Lock)
NH3 0 it actually works then!
N02 <0.1
N03 0-12.5

Then I measured the water in my tanks because I haven't done it since before xmas )

Freshwater
NH3 0.1-0.4
N02 1.5
N03 25-50

Brackishwater
NH3 0.4
N02 1.5
N03 50-100

Dudley the Betta
Due to unforseen circumstaces he now matches the mixed tapwater after Ammo-Lock stats!

Conclusion
Yes I do have ammonia and nitrates in my tap water to levels that will mean they will show up on tests. However, I'm clearly doing something wrong as from what everyone has said, the ammonia and nirites should be reduced to zero shortly after entering my tank because of the addition of ammo-lock and also the (clearly not efficient) beneficial bacteria in my filters. My bad.

Solution
Immediate water changes on both the FW & BW tanks (it just had a 1/3 change yesterday and I stirred the Substrate so considering the possibility of ammonia pockets under the decor - will remove decor and give substrate a good stir before siphoning);
Addition of Nutrafin Cycle to help the bacteria along a bit;
Stop feeding poor things just had their 2 day fast as well
Checking the stats daily until they reduce to zero;
Sort out lights and plants for the BW tank to try and use up some more of that nitrate;
Praying so I don't lose any fish!

Oh well, looks like it was just as well I decided to investigate.

 

[rdd1952]

Tapwater - Mixed (after Ammo-Lock)
NH3 0 it actually works then!

Actually that is surprising since Ammo-Lock locks ammonia but it is still present so you should get the same reading even though the ammonia is non-toxic (most likely ammonium).