First Time Water Test?

[pugwash666]

Hope this is the section to put this question in.I have just done my first water test,i cycled/cleaned the tank last Tuesday 50%,and tested the water today (just brought a API kit).
The results are

PH---------7.2-7.6
Ammo-----0ppm
Nitrite-----1-2
Nitrate-----5
High R.ph--7.4-7.5


Are these good readings or not,thank you.

 

[JenCliBee]

Hope this is the section to put this question in.I have just done my first water test,i cycled/cleaned the tank last Tuesday 50%,and tested the water today (just brought a API kit).
The results are

PH---------7.2-7.6
Ammo-----0ppm
Nitrate-----1-2
Nitrate-----5
High R.ph--7.4-7.5


Are these good readings or not,thank you.

well if the tank is still cyling then yes results are saying it coming along ammonia is been converterd 2 nitrite and been u have a small presence of nitrate then seems ur nitrite is starting 2 process wots the nitrate level of ur tap water ??

also wot do u mean u cyled the tank last week ??? is it still in cycle process or have u fifnished ? cause resuts say its still cyling also if it is still cycling y did u do a water change ?


jen

 

[minxfishy]

Hi when you say cycled the tank, was this fishless, by adding a source of ammonia to replace the presence of fish waste or with fish in the tank?

If so, how many fish, how long has the tank been set up.

 

[pugwash666]

Had the tank for about 4 weeks,first water change last week,because the pebbles,substrate,were getting dirty with old food and fish poo,suctioned the gravel in the process.

Just tested the tap water for nitrate,the reading is,yellow,0ppm.Are these readings ok then.

 

[minxfishy]

Please explain the situation better for us.

Have you just got a tank with no fish in? Or do you have fish.

If you have fish, then no those readings are not good. NitrIte needs to 0 for fish, in the cycling process with fish in its advised to not let it reach more than 0.25ppm.

How are you testing, with what kit?

 

[pugwash666]

I have 3 platys,in a 5 gallon aquarium,the aquarium shop owner said this was a acceptable amount for the tank,and he advised me to buy a API freshwater master test kit,which i have.
This may be the explanation for the tank,i will get a bigger one as soon as i can afford <a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=259107&hl=" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=259107&hl=</a>

P.S all the fish seem alright again,all swimming about etc,no more changes,might of been a change from big tank to little(stress)?

 

[minxfishy]

Ok so you are basically doing a fish in cycle. So you will need a good liquid based test kit, API or nutrafin, which are you using?

When cycling with fish in the tank its best to keep the ammonia and NitrIte as low as possible, preferably 0 but with cycling you need small traces to enable to filter to establish and the bacteria to mulitple with non at all, the cycle will never complete.

So you will need to do plenty of water changes to keep those levels as low as possible, sometimes 2/3x daily. Once you finally see no traces or ammonia or nitrIte and nitrAtes rising, then you are cycled, this can take 4 weeks with a fish in cycle, give or take.

At the moment with nitrIte at 1-2 then the fish are probably feeling pretty rough, so an immediate 50% change with another in an hour or (depending on the test results) will be required to get the nitrIte down. As you are now seeing nitrIte, you are in the second stage of cycling, you just need for the nitrIte to convert to nitrAtes.

 

[tenohfive]

What minx said ^^

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree with minx and teno, you are in a fish-in cycle.

[Your current nitite(NO2) level is suffocating the fish (the NO2 attaches to the fish blood hemoglobin molecules and blocks out oxygen, causing permanent nerve damage in the brain and other structures.) This is just the reason for the concern, but it can be easily taken care of, so not to worry!]

Do the water changes and testing with your new kit - you are on the right track.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pugwash666]

I did a 30% water change this morning 9am.I just tested the water for nitrites again,and it is still high,infact it looks like it may of gone up.What could the problem be,i put in dechlorinater,and a weekly cleaner,for ammonia,and nitrate etc,in the water before i put in the tank.The tank is 4 weeks old and the filter system looks very dirty,full of gunge.Should i clean this,and if so how and with tank water or tap water.Thanks for any advice.

 

[minxfishy]

If you want to clean the filter media, then do so in dirty tank water (ie some of the tank water from the tank), never use tap water as this will kill any beneficial bacteria and just lightly swish it around in the water, you dont want to lose the bacteria formed in the sponges, just get the gunk off to improve the flow.

You are seeing nitrItes rising because you are in a cycle, the amount of waste the fish are producing is ammonia, this will continue to rise until there are enough Abacs to convert the ammonia to nitrite, you obviously have abacs or you wouldnt be seeing an nitrIte, however for every 1ppm of ammonia, I believe the conversion is to 2.47ppm of nitrIte, so the more ammonia you have, the higher the nitrIte will be, until eventually the Nbacs grow enough to convert the nitrIte to nitrAte (the end of the cycle process). Each 1ppm of nitrIte you have is converted to 4.? of nitrAte (think thats the approx conversion). Either way, you are cycling and the ammonia will rise, then the NitrIte will rise until all the bacteria are established enough to do this sufficicently so you dont actually see any ammonia or nitrIte as they are converted to the end of the process nitrAte.

You will need to do several large water changes daily to get the ammonia and nitrIte down to below 0.25ppm whilst in the cycle for the safety and health of the fish. If this means 5x water changes each day, then Im afraid thats what you have to do, you will be doing this for several weeks until you see no more ammonia or nitrIte, which is when you will have finished the cycle.

 

[pugwash666]

Ok.thanks everyone,i will do another 50% water change later,see if that brings the readings down.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I think you are getting the hang of it now. Water changes are the friend of your fish. You have it a bit easier than large tanks. You can just move 2.5 gallons and you've done a 50% change, which will probably be the amount needed to see a significant difference. As said above, just measure again an hour or so after your water change and see if ammonia and/or nitrite is still showing above 0.25ppm and if it is then do another 50% water change. The goal is to never let them go above 0.25ppm.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pugwash666]

Did a water change yesterday,and one about 2 hours ago.Just took all the readings,here they are...

PH 7.6
Amm 0.25
Nitrite 5
Nitrate 10

They are higher than 2 days ago.....

PH---------7.2-7.6
Ammo-----0ppm
Nitrite-----1-2
Nitrate-----5
High R.ph--7.4-7.5


I have been advised to ask the local aquarium if they would look after/home the fish until the cycling is complete.Is this advisable,or will the fish manage.None are showing any signs,yet.

 

[OldMan47]

You are going to need to do several 50% water changes to get your nitrites under control. The tank is slightly overstocked for a mature tank and is way overstocked for one in a fish-in cycle. Do a 50% water change and wait an hour. Get a set of readings and if nitrite is above 0.25 ppm, do another 50% water change. You need to keep this up until the readings are good which means less than 0.25 ppm. At that point your fish will be able to survive with minimal damage from the nitrite poisons. With your stocking level, I would expect to do at least one or two partial water changes per day for a week or two. There is a link in my signature to fish-in cycling, since you are far from the first person to have this problem. It will give you more detail but the essence of keeping the fish healthy is lots of water changes until your filter can handle your fish biological load. Something that will help a little is to feed your fish no more than you must. Since ultimately it is fish food that the fish process to make ammonia, which becomes nitrites, holding feeding to a minimum will help.