Fresh-Water Newbie

[This Old Spouse]

+1

 

[King]

the neon apparently is fine today. i have been doing 90% water changes. prob do another tonight. and i will shake the crap out of the mix lol. will post water "levels" after another change. i vac the gravel pretty good with every change.

 

[King]

ok you guys and girls ready for this??
ph - 7.6
ammo - 0
trite - 0
trate - 0


also put in like 6 pieces of live plant life to hopefully help with the nitrogen also. im considering doing like a 20 or 29gal in my bedroom at some point in time.

i saw an aquarium coffee table on craigslist for like 1/4 of the original price, anyone ever had or seen one of these in action? sounds pretty cool but wondering if you were sitting glasses and remotes on it if it would scare the fish all the time? im just curious about it.

 

[KittyKat]

I like the first three readings, but how is the nitrate 0? I think you might want to give those bottles a shake and retest that one

The table ones are not a good environment for most fish, they would probably freak out whenever anyone walked past, maybe when anything was set down on it as well.. that doesn't mean it's not possible to make it work. Also, keep in mind that most fish don't look any good from the top.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Wow, King!! You're SO CLOSE!!!! I agree with Kitty Kat, give that nitrate bottle a good hard number of raps on a table, then shake the crap out of it, then use it. This is the one test out of the bunch that's the least reliable. Go ahead ... test it again now!

 

[King]

i shook it hard for like 20sec and let it sit the full 5min. its as close to 0 as possible lol. yeah i was really just curious about that table, i didnt really think it was a great idea.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, 20 seconds isn't nearly long enough.


Read the directions carefully. You must add the drops from bottle 1, then mix it gently. Bottle two must be VIGOROUSLY SHAKEN FOR 30 SECONDS, then you must add the drops. Once adding the drops, you then must shake the tube for a FULL MINUTE, before leaving it to sit for longer.


I got zero readings for nitrates too when I didn't follow the directions. I would do the test again with the proper procedure to find out again.

The problem with the reagent bottle #2 is that the reactants are powders and have a tendency to settle in the bottom of the bottle and not mix properly. You must follow the directions - or shake the bottle/tube LONGER than it says to get a closer reading to the reality of the situation.

 

[King]

it doesnt say shake for a minute but i can do a re-test. after like 7x 90% water changes i SHOULD be in safe range LOL.

 

[King]

well just was inspecting the tank and found one of the huge angels dead, half crammed under a rock? sucks because it there were 2 and they have been together from the start and always stayed side by side for YEARS. i noticed it last night kinda hanging out next to this rock but didnt think anything of it, now its behind the rock with half its body under the lip of it. the other angel is on top of the water "breathing" from the surface!?!?

also pulled out the BACK HALF of a platy, the whole front half was gone. whats going on in my tank??

 

[King]

i finally get the water good and then everything starts dying. already lost 2 small plecos about a week ago(i think they were bad from the pet store cause i bought them at the same time). this sucks.

i am maintaining a close to constant temp, water levels are good, ph is good, i cut back on feeding them but still been feeding them once a day. i added some live plants but that shouldnt do anything but help. i keep an eye on this thing pretty well, these had to have died early this morning. i dont know whats going on.

 

[King]

apparently there is quite a few fish kinda "hanging out" at the top. i dont know what to do. i put in a few little live plants but thats the ONLY thing that has changed. cleaned them like i was supposed to, put them in with my water change yesterday.

any suggestions?? i have some things to go out and do but i dont want to come home to a dead aquarium..

 

[This Old Spouse]

Test your water again. It honestly sounds like an ammonia spike of some kind.

 

[King]

testing now. shaking the crap out of this stuff lol. post in 5min..

 

[King]

ok this should be a very accurate report..
PH - 7.5
High Range PH - 7.2
Ammo - .10
Trite - 0
Trate 2.5

i need another massive water change (just did one last night at 11pm). these numbers were WAAAAYYYY higher and it didnt start KILLING fish. this isnt the cause. dead gourami now.. is there any sickness that could cause this?

 

[King]

other angel is dying could doing all these water changes be "shocking" them or anything? also someone i know mentioned not using a garden hose to fill the tank, thats my only option and i have done it 10x now and hasnt done anything negative. i have an o2 bar across the back supplying extra air. i dont get it....