Arghhhhhh Going To Cry. Help Pls

[dthoffsett]

Not to offend anyone, but I think the insults have gone far enough. IMO Tokis a rdd were right in explaining why grimmy's advise was incorrect, but attacking him personally isn't the way to debate a subject. We're really straying from the subject here, the purpose of this thread is to help scotlasszoe.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I have ADHD...and while it does cause me some organization and impulse control issues, it is not a learning disorder.

Now, onto the topic at hand...

Considering you've had two different pH readings in a relatively short period of time I would keep an eye on that, especially if you are not sure of your GH/KH. Keep in mind that pH readings can and will fluctuate during the day, but it's a good idea to keep a close eye on it to make sure there isn't a steady decline going on.

If it's the slight increase in ammonia that you are worried about...fish secrete ammonia throughout the day, and in a newly cycled tank the ammonia level can sometimes fluctuate a little bit. Also, if your water company uses chloramines for their water treatment you will test positive for ammonia after doing a water change. Ammonia is used in the creation of chloramines, and becomes a by product of the breakdown by the water conditioner. This is why I prefer to use Prime since I have hard water (ammonia more likely to be toxic), and it helps keep the ammonia locked in the less toxic form until the bio filter can "eat" it.

 

[scotslasszoe]

Hiya all. Sorry had internet probs so was'nt able to reply.

I have just taking readings this morning

And these are follows again

PH 6.4
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0.50-1.0
Nitrate 5.0

Seems strange Nitrite has gone as was sitting at 0.25 over the last week and ammonia has been 0 for a week also??

i ADDED PLANTS AND BOGWOOD YEST, So not sure if that could affect the water?

Thanks again all

Zoe

 

[Luketendo]

Hiya all. Sorry had internet probs so was'nt able to reply.

I have just taking readings this morning

And these are follows again

PH 6.4
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0.50-1.0
Nitrate 5.0

Seems strange Nitrite has gone as was sitting at 0.25 over the last week and ammonia has been 0 for a week also??

i ADDED PLANTS AND BOGWOOD YEST, So not sure if that could affect the water?

Thanks again all

Zoe

Bogwood lowers pH.

I think plants lower Nitrate.

 

[scotslasszoe]

Bogwood lowers pH.

I think plants lower Nitrate.


OK Cool. i thought nitrites would have stayed for longer than a week. Plus ammonia is went higher from last night and fish not been fed.

ammonia been at 0 for last 5 days or so, so getting worried as it rasing

Zoe

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Zoe,

Back on topic again. I don't think the bogwood would lower your PH that quickly. It took about 3 weeks for me to notice any difference when i added mine.

Best advice i can give is keep doing water changes. You must keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25, especially if you are experiencing PH swings, or your fish could suffer.

Water change, Water change, Water change.

Plants will also feed on the nitrate and tthe ammonia in the tank.

 

[scotslasszoe]

Hi Zoe,

Back on topic again. I don't think the bogwood would lower your PH that quickly. It took about 3 weeks for me to notice any difference when i added mine.

Best advice i can give is keep doing water changes. You must keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25, especially if you are experiencing PH swings, or your fish could suffer.

Water change, Water change, Water change.

Plants will also feed on the nitrate and tthe ammonia in the tank.

Thanks Thanks Thanks.

was told in other post not to do water changes everday. maybe thats why it rising again?

ust done a 15% change will test in a hour and see what its saying. if no change will do another waterchange lol

Zoe

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

There is nothing wrong with doing daily water changes, but there are some things to pay attention to:
- Quality / parameters of your tap water. Obviously if your tap water has ammonia in it, high nitrates, or a very different pH than your tank water you should be cautious about the size of the water change.
- Temperature. Most fish can stand a shift in water temp, but obviously it's not a great idea to cause a large sudden rise / drop.

Also remember that although plants will absorb ammonia and nitrates...depending on the number/type of fish, how much you feed, number/type of plants, etc you're prob. still going to have some level of nitrates.

 

[rowdyburns21]

It looks to me that your cycling with fish, (cant find how long the tank has been set-up) but your levels are fine and your producing nitrate so it shouldnt be long before ammonia and nitrite go to zero, keep up the waterchanges

 

[scotslasszoe]

Ok cool thanks guys

Tank been cycling for nearly 3 weeks

Zoe

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Zoe,

Too many water changes can effect the cycle of the filter. So the fewer water changes you can do when cycling, the faster the cycle will complete. This is because water changes remove the food for the bacteria (ammonia and nitrite).

As you know, ammonia and nitrite are toxic for fish and so, because you have fish in there, you need to keep both these levels below 0.25. If that means lots of water changes, thats what you'll need to do.

If this makes your filter take a bit longer to cycle then so be it, but its better than having a tank full of dead fish.

To summarise, do as many water changes as you need to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25, your filter will eventually complete the cycle and hopefully you'll still have a full tank of healthy fish.

Hope this helps.

 

[Underwurlde]

you need to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25

Re: Ammonia, nope. You cannot generalize like that as there is a relation to the pH: The test kits measure both toxic ammonia and ammonium. See my post above.
Generally accepted I think that keeping Nitrites < 1ppm is safe in the long term.

 

[backtotropical]

you need to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25

Re: Ammonia, nope. You cannot generalize like that as there is a relation to the pH: The test kits measure both toxic ammonia and ammonium. See my post above.
Generally accepted I think that keeping Nitrites < 1ppm is safe in the long term.

I am aware that the toxicity of the ammonia varies with the PH. I advised this on the basis that Zoe appears to be experiencing slight PH fluctuations at the moment. If PH is not constant, you cant advise what level of ammonia will be safe. I was using 0.25 as a general safety net for the benefit of the fish. Better safe than sorry IMO.

I certainly wouldn't advise anyone that having nitrites of 1ppm is ok for the long-term. In a cycled tank (which it will be long term) nitrites should always be 0.

If nitrites are 1.0 long trem, there is something wrong.

 

[Underwurlde]

Fair enough!

 

[rdd1952]

Too many water changes can effect the cycle of the filter. So the fewer water changes you can do when cycling, the faster the cycle will complete.

I disagree. As long as there is ammonia and nitite in the water, the cycle will progress normally. Obviously, if you are doing enough water changes to keep the toxins near 0, then it will be slow but will still cycle. As long as there is .25ppm or more of the toxins in the water, it will cycle just as fast as if there was 1ppm or more. Actually, it would cycle faster as the bacteria wouldn't have to multiply as many times to handle lower levels as opposed to high levels. Whether you are cycling or fully cycled, I don't think you can ever do too many water changes as long as you don't cause a huge temperature swing and you remember to use dechlorinator.