My First Water Readings

[treelo]

im currently doing a cycle but with hardy fish in it(dont shout, i know it wasnt a wise thing to do now)

and have taken my first set of water readings today

Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 5.0
pH 7.8


anyone advise me where to go from here to get the levels suitable?

i want to try and retain the higher pH so that isnt a problem

 

[loachman]

im currently doing a cycle but with hardy fish in it(dont shout, i know it wasnt a wise thing to do now)

and have taken my first set of water readings today

Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 5.0
pH 7.8


anyone advise me where to go from here to get the levels suitable?

i want to try and retain the higher pH so that isnt a problem

You want ammonia=0, nitrIte=0, and nitrate < 50. Any NitrAte under 100 isn't really a problem for your average community fish, but lower is generally better.

With ammonia up near 1.0 ppm, you need to do a water change. ~30% today, 30% tomorrow. People will differ somewhat on how much to change, but change a good amount but not all of it (sudden, large changes in water quality are just about as bad). check out the FAQ section above with a link to "cycling with fish"

 

[treelo]

water change now completed

how often do you think its best to wait before i do another test?

 

[rdd1952]

You should test morning and night and do water changes as often as possible to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .5 or preferably .25. With your pH of 7.8, ammonia is even more toxic so the lower you can keep it the better.

 

[treelo]

cheers

cant test morning and night so will test now and do a water change again, and repeat tomorow if readings are high

 

[treelo]

here are my water readings for today

pH: 8.0
Nitrite: 1.0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0.50



nitrite still a bit high and ammonia still high

is it worth doing a water change or just letting my tank settle into its own cycle itself at this point?

i changed roughly 1/3 of the water yesterday and have had the tank running for 8 days now

 

[mark.w.jones]

You can certainly get away with one test per day and a water change every other day of around 20%. Bit of a pain I know. And you'll have to do it until you get 0ppm readings for ammonia and nitrite and every time you add a new school of fish i'm afraid, oh the joys of cycling with fish.

 

[treelo]

cheers mate, not a pain at all if i can get my tank right

would me having half eaten plants in the water effect anything?

ive actually already found new homes for my platys and the plec for when i want to introduce the fish im after keeping, so i dont know whether it would be quicker and easier to get rid now and do a full fishless cycle instead

and then again, im bloody moving house in about 8 weeks so does the water keep ok in buckets?

or is it a whole new cycle?

 

[rdd1952]

It would certainly be easier than doing all the water changes requred when cycling with fish. It will take about the same amount of time probably.