Can You Comment On My Water Stats?

[simonas]

I bought an API test the other day on the advice of peeps on here

I have a number of tanks but have just checked two of them. The cleaning regie is the same for all really with same water bar my brackish

My discus tank had p.h 6.6
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
40 nitrate

a cichlid tank I have had ph 7.2 ??? (why different to discus tank)
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
80 nitrate

the onl difference in tanks is an undergravel and mini internal in cichlid tank and juwel filter in discus
bogwood and plants in discus plus argos sand
In cichlid tank bogwood, vallis and lot of duckweed plus gravel

are those stats good or bad as I do not know whether they are or not.

cheers , I'll do my big tank later which I know is overstocked with some predators in there???

 

[Colin_T]

the low pH in the discus tank is probably from the bogwood.

a pH of 7.2 may or may not be a problem for the cichlid tank. It depends on what type of cichlids you keep in that tank. African rift lake cichlids from Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawai & Lake Victoria like a high pH above 7.5. If you have South American cichlids in there, they will be fine in water with a pH between 6.0 & 7.6, depending on if they are wild caught or locally bred.

you want to try and keep the nitrates below 20ppm but most fish are fine with them around 40ppm. The nitrate level in the cichlid tank (80ppm) is a bit high. Doing bigger water changes, or more frequent water changes on that tank will lower the level.

 

[Mikaila31]

Seem fine to me, though the nitrates may be a little high for disucs, but I'm not totally sure on that. The nitrate in the cichlid tank is kinda high, but some of my tanks run close to that. And the UGF in there won't be helping.

Also what are the stats of your tap water(or what ever you are using for water changes)? My best guess with your nitrate levels is that you might have some in your tap.

 

[simonas]

the low pH in the discus tank is probably from the bogwood.

a pH of 7.2 may or may not be a problem for the cichlid tank. It depends on what type of cichlids you keep in that tank. African rift lake cichlids from Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawai & Lake Victoria like a high pH above 7.5. If you have South American cichlids in there, they will be fine in water with a pH between 6.0 & 7.6, depending on if they are wild caught or locally bred.

you want to try and keep the nitrates below 20ppm but most fish are fine with them around 40ppm. The nitrate level in the cichlid tank (80ppm) is a bit high. Doing bigger water changes, or more frequent water changes on that tank will lower the level.

cheers Colin
I did a water change on discus tank yesterday but am due one on cichlid tank last did it 7 days ago

the cichlid tank is a bit of a hotch potch of fish that are growing on or people have given me!!

 

[simonas]

Seem fine to me, though the nitrates may be a little high for disucs, but I'm not totally sure on that. The nitrate in the cichlid tank is kinda high, but some of my tanks run close to that. And the UGF in there won't be helping.

Also what are the stats of your tap water(or what ever you are using for water changes)? My best guess with your nitrate levels is that you might have some in your tap.

just thought I need to check the tap water... would be a good idea heh!!

hows your rubber eel Mikaila any new pics to feed my desire for one

 

[Mikaila31]

Been meaning to get some new pics of them. Maybe next week, I've been trying to avoid going near the camera. It's finals week , it also spring up here and things are all starting to turn green. Cramming for final is the last thing I want to do.

 

[simonas]

Been meaning to get some new pics of them. Maybe next week, I've been trying to avoid going near the camera. It's finals week , it also spring up here and things are all starting to turn green. Cramming for final is the last thing I want to do.

good luck with your finals and as a treat for all that hard work get me some pics of your rubber eels up after lol

Seem fine to me, though the nitrates may be a little high for disucs, but I'm not totally sure on that. The nitrate in the cichlid tank is kinda high, but some of my tanks run close to that. And the UGF in there won't be helping.

Also what are the stats of your tap water(or what ever you are using for water changes)? My best guess with your nitrate levels is that you might have some in your tap.

checked my top water and the reading is 10 so not nil

 

[kbekll]

the stats seem fine for the discus tank

and the chichlid tank is a bit on the high side nitrate wise

@ 80ppm you will need to do a water change and a largish one

people say keep the nitrates at arround 40ppm or lower above 40ppm it will need changing

but their are some people with 80ppm nitrates out of the tap

i would be looking to make the chichlid tank a planted one and will help to drop the nitrates

 

[simonas]

the stats seem fine for the discus tank

and the chichlid tank is a bit on the high side nitrate wise

@ 80ppm you will need to do a water change and a largish one

people say keep the nitrates at arround 40ppm or lower above 40ppm it will need changing

but their are some people with 80ppm nitrates out of the tap

i would be looking to make the chichlid tank a planted one and will help to drop the nitrates

cheers

its due a water change today and your right there are no plants in there so something to think about. The tank is actually overstocked I'll have to thin the stock out really cheers

 

[simonas]

Just tested my big tank which has probably too many fish in including preds such as oscars and a clow knife

I suspect from my test results that I need to change more water for the good of my fish, the tank has a lot of bog wood in but no plants

ph - 6.0 despite higher readings from other tanks that use same water
ammoinia 0.50 its the only tank in the house with some - is that cos too many fish/
nitrite = 0 like the others
nitrate - 0.80 maybe slightly higher as it was very red on the kit

what do I need to do to improve these stats and will they be detrimental to my fish?

 

[Colin_T]

to clean up the tank conditions in your predator tank:
1) do daily 50% water changes for the next week.
2) do a gravel clean each time you do a water change.
3) reduce the amount of food you put in the tank.

after that do 50% water changes once or twice a week. If you currently do them once a week then do them twice a week from now on. If the nitrates go back up with twice weekly water changes, then do more frequent water changes, perhaps 3 times a week or more if needed.

 

[simonas]

to clean up the tank conditions in your predator tank:
1) do daily 50% water changes for the next week.
2) do a gravel clean each time you do a water change.
3) reduce the amount of food you put in the tank.

after that do 50% water changes once or twice a week. If you currently do them once a week then do them twice a week from now on. If the nitrates go back up with twice weekly water changes, then do more frequent water changes, perhaps 3 times a week or more if needed.

cheers Colin

not sure if it makes a difference but the external is well overdue a clean and I have sand in there which I don;t clean. Is it essential to turn the sand over?

can bad water conditions like mine stunt growth? the tank has been running for 18 months with the stock tthats in there nmow, luckily no deaths of note but I have wondered why there isn;t faster growth

 

[Colin_T]

External power filters should be cleaned about once a month.

Poor water quality can stunt the fish's growth and also cause physical deformities if it's really bad water.

It is a good idea to rake the sand or gravel clean it once a week. You can use a wooden spoon or something like that and just drag it through the sand. Go up and down the tank a few times to loosen the sand and allow any trapped gunk to get out and be picked up by the filter.

 

[simonas]

External power filters should be cleaned about once a month.

Poor water quality can stunt the fish's growth and also cause physical deformities if it's really bad water.

It is a good idea to rake the sand or gravel clean it once a week. You can use a wooden spoon or something like that and just drag it through the sand. Go up and down the tank a few times to loosen the sand and allow any trapped gunk to get out and be picked up by the filter.

cheers Colin

I think I realise that my big tank gets a bit neglected sometimes as far as the external and the sand is concerned plus I need bigger water changes!

see how I get on and compare in a couple of weeks!!!

 

[indigoj]

With the low Ph in your big tank that level of ammonia should (luckily) only be minimally toxic - still needs looking at but probably not doing too much lasting harm.

What is your nitrate and ph out of the tap?

I know people say nitrate of 40ppm is too high but I've been fairly reliably told that all but very nitrate sensitive fish can cope unaffected by much higher levels.