Did Water Test... Do These Results Look Funky?

[stray~johnny]

Got my test kit today as I had a fish die on me.

Heres my results:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0.50
nitrate: 40-80

I wonder if the temperature is too warm? its sitting at 82-84 because the stingray and mollies seem to love it.

 

[mancin]

Got my test kit today as I had a fish die on me.

Heres my results:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0.50
nitrate: 40-80

I wonder if the temperature is too warm? its sitting at 82-84 because the stingray and mollies seem to love it.

What kind of fish do you have? The nitrites and nitrates seem a little high. I would do at least a 30% water change, maybe more (I just got my first reading of nitrites today and a 50% water change took care of it).

 

[rdd1952]

You really want the ammonia and nitrite to be at 0. Anything else means you have a problem. How long has the tank been set up and running? What size tank is it and what/how many fish do you have?

As mentioned, do a water change to lower the nitrite. Continue them as needed (2 or 3 a day if necessary) to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm. You also really want the nitrate to be below 40 ppm but it isn't really a problem for the fish. High nitrate can help fuel algae problems if they start.

Temperature should really be about 78-80 for most tropicals.

 

[stray~johnny]

Okay... now what would be causing the high readings?

It is a 140 gallon tank (dont know what that is in litres) and I have a stinray, about 6 molleys and 6 other small fish (sorry just got into the hobby) but all pretty much small fish.. 2 suckers.. maybe 15-20 fish in all.. 4 bigger ones and the rest are small.

I am running two filters right now and the water is fairly clear, and a couple real plants.

I will do a water change first thing in the morning.

 

[Colin_T]

if you have a stingray in the tank (ie: a freshwater ray from South America or Asia) then you need to keep the ammonia and nitrite on 0 and the nitrate below 50ppm, preferably below 20ppm. Rays suffer badly from poor water quality and often develop pink skin in bad conditions. If they are kept in bad conditions for any length of time (a week or more) they often die.

Too much uneaten food is a big cause of ammonia or nitrite readings. Also a low oxygen level will slow the filter bacteria and limit the speed with which they can convert ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.

Make sure your filters are running properly and increase the surface turbulence. Do a 50% water change and a gravel clean each day until the water is good again, (ie: ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is below 20ppm.

 

[rdd1952]

I have never kept rays but as Colin mentioned, they do need very good water parameters. Another potential problem I can see depending on what type "suckers" you have is that if they are chinese algae eaters, as they get older, they will most likely start to suck the slime coat off the ray causing major problems.

 

[waterdrop]

Now that you've got your test kit, another good thing to do would be to test your source water and post that up here so the members can see if you have any nitrates or ammonia coming in when you do water changes.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[stray~johnny]

Tested my tap water this morning:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

Also did a 25% water change this morning and tested my water again:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 40-80

Also lowered the temp to 80-82

Heres a pic of my filter setup as well:

 

[petertr]

Is that ray in contact with the front and the back of that tank??

 

[stray~johnny]

Is that ray in contact with the front and the back of that tank??

lol NO.. it just looks like that in that picture because where I poured all the water in today during my water change it moved the sand on the bottom and made a mirror finish.. he is only maybe half the width not even.

 

[Truck]

how wide is your tank?

 

[stray~johnny]

how wide is your tank?

its about 2 feet wide by 8 feet long.. its 140 gallon

 

[Truck]

IMO thats way to small for a ray, have you seen him feed at the LFS when you bought him? they are very hard to keep alive

 

[stray~johnny]

IMO thats way to small for a ray, have you seen him feed at the LFS when you bought him? they are very hard to keep alive

I understand this.. and this has already been gone over in a previous thread.. The stingray was purchased by my girlfriend from another man that abused the ray and his fish.. I am now trying to get him healthier.. he is eating plenty including my 30 dollar fancy gold fish yesterday and 2 packages of blood worms a week.

here is a better picture.

Now can we get back on topic with my water readings..

 

[rdd1952]

Tested my tap water this morning:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

Also did a 25% water change this morning and tested my water again:

PH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 40-80

Also lowered the temp to 80-82

Everything looks good except for possibly the nitrate. I would have expected to see a reduction in the nitrate reading. I would continue with water changes until you can get the nitrate down. That reading wouldn't be a factor for most fish but it could be for the ray.