Api Master Kit

Yes, BTT (thank you BTT!) has explained what I said better than I would have, lol!

Going on what he's explained, since your nitrate(NO3) result for your tap water was 5, you will now be able to suspect that water changes are adding a little nitrate to your tank and that not all the nitrate readings you will see in your tank in the future will be due only to the nitrogen cycle process. As BTT says, nitrate(NO3) is not typically an "action item" nearly as much as ammonia and nitrite(NO2) are.

One other minor thing I'd mention is to go ahead and perform both the low and high pH tests the next few times just so that you can establish, out of curiosity and for your logbook, whether your baseline pH in the tank is down in the low test range, or sitting right in the breakpoint area between the two test ranges. You see, if you were always performing the high test and it was always giving its lowest result, you might really have an even lower pH but just wouldn't be seeing it because the high test can't go that low. Make sense?

And why would you want to know the pH of your tank? As BTT says, its mostly because you want to get a feel for how much it fluctuates over time and how quickly it fluctuates. A good environment for your fish is one where the pH doesn't fluctuate too much or too quickly, and you'll want to have the feel of your "normal" pH range established in your mind so that if someday you get a very different reading, you'll actually -know- that its different and something has happened.

~~waterdrop~~
 
Right Ok Just done another test and the results are in ... 27/11/08

PH high - 7.8

PH low - 7.6

Ammonia - 0 ppm

NO2 - 0ppm

NO3 - 5.0


all is OK???? :#
 
Should i do a water change today ???


if not just top up as some water has evaporated and treat the added water....
 
:) Morning ...........Ok ive done the water change last night guessing i have to test again today ... How long will i have to do daily tests for any clues ????
 
Morning :rolleyes:

If you don't see any ammonia or nitrite in 1 week, i'd say you're ok to stop testing. If ammonia or nitrite does appear, you'll need to start a routine of testing and water changes every day, until the ammonia / nitrite disappears again.

Hope that makes sense? How did you get on at the dentist?

BTT :good:
 
Oh she done so well my daughter is only 6 she had to have injections to numb her tooth then they took out her nerve but 1 was still alive so they have put something inside for now to kill it off above all she has an infection inside the tooth too and has to go back again to have the stuff taken out and a filling put in bless her so was soooooooooooooo brave never complained at all (i bought her a pressie for being so good) I have to admit she's braver than her mum bless !! and thanks for asking BTT :good:


and does that mean i start test once a week or still everyday ???? lol i know im useless

:lol:


lol read it again so i test everyday for 1 week and if no ammonia or nitrate then i start testing weekly what about water changes am i still doing them daily for now????
 
No you shouldn't be doing the water changes daily, that would 'hide' any problems with the tank at the moment.

You should aim to be doing your water changes once per week, (and I do water tests at the same time).
However at the moment, keep testing every day for the next week, (with NO water changes), and if you see any ammonia / nitrIte readings THEN you must do a water change. If you get to the end of the week with no readings, then just do the normal weekly water change. :good:
 
Ok excellent lol sorry having a blonde moment or should i say day :lol: will post stats when ive tested :cool:
 
Ok results for today are as follows.......

PH high - 7.8

PH low - 7.6

Ammonia - 0-0.25ppm how much water should i change will 20% do

NO3 - 5.0

NO2 - 0ppm

:unsure:
 
Ok now i've done my 20% water change which ended up closer to 25% got carried away treated with fresh start now when do i test again ???? and do i do a full test again or just for ph and ammonia sorry guys for being so useless :(
 
No you shouldn't be doing the water changes daily, that would 'hide' any problems with the tank at the moment.

You should aim to be doing your water changes once per week, (and I do water tests at the same time).
However at the moment, keep testing every day for the next week, (with NO water changes), and if you see any ammonia / nitrIte readings THEN you must do a water change. If you get to the end of the week with no readings, then just do the normal weekly water change. :good:

You only need to do water changes every day if you consistently have detectable ammonia or nitrite. If there is no ammonia or nitrite detectable, everything is fine and you only need to change water as you would for regular maintenance purposes.

The best way to gague how much water to change is to aim for keeping both ammonia and nitrite below 0.25. Change as much water as need be to achieve this, whether that be 1 x 20% change every 3 days or 3 x 80% changes every day.

However much water needs to be changed to keep both ammonia and nitrite below 0.25, that is the amount you need to change.

Test as many times as need be. You can effectively ignore pH and nitrate (NO3) for now. Ammonia (NH3) and nitrite (NO2) are the real concern.

Glad everything went ok wi the wee yin! :good:

BTT

P.S. Good to see you back, Schmill. Where you been?
 

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