Api Fresh Water Test Kit Results

[mattlee]

hiya all

my fish are fed a very small amount. i feed them a little amount untill they loss intrest.

as for the temp, will it be safe to adjust it to 28C as a neon tetra says its recommended from 22-24C

also as for the cycle my dad did it as i was unsure about what to do, he said it was all fine, even my local mate (owns a petshop) said its all ok

can you give us an idea of how your dad cycled the tank please....?

also why do you want to increase the temp?

 

[wheeler-dealer-1988]

tom130 said up the temp a bit as it helps the bacteria grow,

my father done a fishless cycle thats all i know sorry, he is ill at the moment and in hospital so not the best time to ask.

so i just re-cleaned the tank from top to bottom, drained it fully, rinsed the gravel. left the filter the way it was and didnt wash that.

so as it must be clean now - EG no food or dirt in the gravel

i will add my results in 1 hour 11.30pm

 

[tom130691]

alot of the bacteria are in the gravel aswell mate this is why your getting the high results

 

[wheeler-dealer-1988]

hiya all

just done some tests now after the clean up and so far they are

ammonia - 0.25
nitrate - 0
nitrite - 0
PH - 6.8 (nearly 7.0)

what else must i do now. its a big tank to keep changing the water every single day lol

 

[tom130691]

hiya all

just done some tests now after the clean up and so far they are

ammonia - 0.25
nitrate - 0
nitrite - 0
PH - 6.8 (nearly 7.0)

what else must i do now. its a big tank to keep changing the water every single day lol

there is nothing you can do but keep the levels low if you want your fish to live mine was sorted after about 2 weeks of daily changes now i do 30% weekly as my rainbows need clean water

 

[wheeler-dealer-1988]

hiya tom

ok ill just do a water change for the next 2 weeks now at around 7pm every day, shall i also run a test off ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph a hour or 2 after i done my water change

when will every thing be ok when i see these results

ammonia 0, nitrate 0 , nitrite 0, ph 6.8 - 7.5

 

[tom130691]

test water every day and do water changes as required if you read 0.25 you can get away with 20% change ect

once the ammonia and nitrite is 0 for a few days the tank is cycled and you wont need to test or change as much
everytime you add more fish test for the next few days as this can cause a mini cycle witch wont last very long

 

[wheeler-dealer-1988]

thank you very much tom. i thik ill try and cover a 50% water change evry day as it may speed it up (hopfuly) but when i get a 0 reading ill kepp testing daily to make sure it stays that way.

thansk for you helpful info , put a smile back on my face now and looking forward to getting it right now.

will keep this updated day by day,

 

[tom130691]

thank you very much tom. i thik ill try and cover a 50% water change evry day as it may speed it up (hopfuly) but when i get a 0 reading ill kepp testing daily to make sure it stays that way.

thansk for you helpful info , put a smile back on my face now and looking forward to getting it right now.

will keep this updated day by day,

thats fine mate i was in the same situation around a month or 2 ago due to advise i was given i got it sorted

 

[Assaye]

All you can do is keep testing and keep doing water changes.

Whatever anyone says about exact size of water changes, all you need to know is that a water change should mean that when you test an hour after doing the change, you have ZERO on ammonia and nitrites. That might mean 25%, 50% or 90%, or anywhere in between.

Read this - it's got excellent information about cycling and water testing, as well as most other things you need to know about beginner level fishkeeping.