Confused

[sami the cichlid]

well,

i have a nursery tank with 30fry which ISN'T cycled, BUT i do daily water changes using 50% cycled (main tank) water and 50% new treated water. all has been good for 5days but now the results say:

ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0-0.25ppm
nitrate: 10-20ppm

just saying that b4 the water was ammonia-0 nitrite-0 and nitrate-5-10 (im not so worried about nitrate). is the nitrite safe? is it just a random rise or a anomylous test result? im doing a water change now as i do it daily anyway. all babies happy healthy and eager to eat! they are 1cm and bigger and only 5days old! their molly fry btw.

any advice welcome i dont want a repeat of last week

 

[Harlequins]

I had nitrite showing in my fry tanks before the filter cycled,just keep up the waterchanges,feeding fry loads don't help,but keep the bottom clean and w/c help.

Seems strange your readings went up?,try testing again,are your tubes nice and clean?

 

[sami the cichlid]

I had nitrite showing in my fry tanks before the filter cycled,just keep up the waterchanges,feeding fry loads don't help,but keep the bottom clean and w/c help.

Seems strange your readings went up?,try testing again,are your tubes nice and clean?

firstly, thanks, just worried after last week :'( R.I.P
secondly tubes?

 

[Harlequins]

I worry about my fishes all the time

Do you use test tubes when testing the water? - if they're not given a good clean after use,traces of old reagents may be left in the tubes,causing strange readings.

I have a little bottle brush and use this and hot water when cleaning them,then leave to dry.

 

[sami the cichlid]

ah....

well same result for nitrite....but only clean/rinse under tap water a few times after a use. is this insufficient? and i don dry them, so could there be traces of tap water to?

 

[Harlequins]

Should be enough,if you shake out the tap water from the tubes,before i take a sample i rinse the tube in tank water then take the sample.

You may need to up your w/c to keep the nitrite under control,another one is what dechlorinator do you use?
Seachem's prime is very good and you only use a small amount 1mg per 10gals,it also detoxifys ammonia/nitrite to make it safe for fishes

 

[sami the cichlid]

k, ill go from 20% to 40% water change, and i use TetraAqua EasyBalance

 

[Harlequins]

40% sounds good

Tetra easybalance thats helps to keep nitrates down doesn't it? What dechlorinator do you use on w/c ?

 

[sami the cichlid]

it says it keeps water biologicaly healthy for 6 months and reduces nitrates. thats the only thing i use to treat the water btw

 

[sami the cichlid]

just did another nitrite test and its slightly better, more 0ppm now but not completely. well the water changed hasn't settled yet so im confused y the nitrite incresed ever so slightly over the past 2 days, could it be because im using cycled water in water changes? at least the babies are lookin healthy and happy and eagerly hungry

 

[OldMan47]

I just read the label on some "easy balance" that I got free with a tank. It says in fine print on the back "NOTE: EasyBalance is not a tap water conditioner and will not neutralize harmful chlorine. When adding tap water to the aquarium it is recommended you always use ..." they go on to advertise their own brand of dechlorinator. If it is the only thing you are adding to your tap water, I can suggest what may have happened to your fry last week. You are doing water changes without a water conditioner / dechlorinator. That means that, depending on how much new water you add, you are chlorinating the fish and causing them health problems. Stop doing water changes until you get some real dechlorinator. Fish will tolerate the nitrites almost as well as the chlorine in a standard water system.

A more general statement is in order here. Always read the whole label, not just the stuff in big print on the front where it tells you about the miracles a product will perform. The negatives are always in the fine print on the back.

 

[sami the cichlid]

I just read the label on some "easy balance" that I got free with a tank. It says in fine print on the back "NOTE: EasyBalance is not a tap water conditioner and will not neutralize harmful chlorine. When adding tap water to the aquarium it is recommended you always use ..." they go on to advertise their own brand of dechlorinator. If it is the only thing you are adding to your tap water, I can suggest what may have happened to your fry last week. You are doing water changes without a water conditioner / dechlorinator. That means that, depending on how much new water you add, you are chlorinating the fish and causing them health problems. Stop doing water changes until you get some real dechlorinator. Fish will tolerate the nitrites almost as well as the chlorine in a standard water system.

A more general statement is in order here. Always read the whole label, not just the stuff in big print on the front where it tells you about the miracles a product will perform. The negatives are always in the fine print on the back.

well, my dad got it off the internet saying it was right and the bottle is in greman......

 

[OldMan47]

It says it is all kinds of good stuff but also says it will not condition water for chlorine. Get a dechlorinator ASAP. Meanwhile you can remove chlorine, not chloramine, by leaving a bucket of water standing out with an air stone going to stir it well for a day or so.

 

[sami the cichlid]

It says it is all kinds of good stuff but also says it will not condition water for chlorine. Get a dechlorinator ASAP. Meanwhile you can remove chlorine, not chloramine, by leaving a bucket of water standing out with an air stone going to stir it well for a day or so.

ill get a dechlorinator (aquasafe) tommorow morning (thank god for half term!) and will treat all ma tanks immedeately

 

[sami the cichlid]

im so angry!

ive found a decholrinator at the back of 3, yes 3 bottles of nitrate treatment!

will my fish be alright till the morning? (its 1am ere!) or shall i put some in now?