My Results From Testing...

[ricky23432]

Hi guys i posted a while ago and i had to sell my parrot fish, pleco and red oscars. Well the parrot and the pleco are now gone the only fish remaining are the 2 red oscars, the main reason for selling them was because the tank was far to small for them and i had no choice but to find a suitable new home for them. someone is taking the oscars off me tommorow which is good. I got my api test kit through the post today and done a test:

PH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 1.0
Nitrate: 40

I understand that Ammonia should be 0 and so should nitrite? Are these conditions ok for livebearers etc? and if not how can i make changes?

Thanks

Ricky

 

[Paradise3]

All looks fine to me for livebearers. You must get the ammonia and nitrite to 0ppm nitrate looks fine to me. Do water changes to get rid of ammonia and nitrite, when my ammonia or nitrite gets to just a teensy weensy bit over 0ppm, i usually do a 30% water change so i think you could get away with doing a 50% and then checking the stats tommorow. If they are still a little bit high do a 30% and this should get them down.

Xxx~misscosmo~xxX

 

[fishyfeet]

I would say no, livebearers these days arnt as hardy as they used to be, particualy guppies and although the may last a year or so there live span is cut short if used for cycling you tank, you could add some fry and by doing daily water changes keep the levels down, but i would rather wait a couple more days to be honest. di

 

[ricky23432]

ok cheers for the replies i will do a 50% water change and test again tommorow i will post results.

Ricky

 

[ellena]

So there are currently 2 red oscars in the tank? Those levels aren't 'ok' for any fish long term. All are affected by any ammonia or nitrite in the water, but to different degrees. So fish traditionally used to cycle tanks, like danios, will survive longer, but will still be damaged.
You're aiming for 0ppm eventually, but keeping it below 0.25ppm at the mo. I'd say 50% change will get ammonia to acceptable levels, and nitrites to 0.5ppm. Then another 50% an hour or so later will get them to 0.25ppm. Then more changes tomorrow.
How big is the tank and how long has it been set up? Sounds like the filter is just too small for the amount and size of fish.
If someone takes the oscars off you tomorrow, the best thing you could do is a fishless cycle. You should have a headstart as a lot of the bacteria are already there. Then once it's finished, stock to a level more suited to the size of the tank and filter. Pinned posts explaining fishless cycling in the beginners section

 

[ricky23432]

yes there are 2 red oscars in the tank at the moment, i have had the tank for about 2 years now its a 3ft x 2ft x 2ft as i had the oscars from when they were small they have outgrown the tank, thats the reason for selling them, i did a 50% water change ealier and re-tested about 1 hour ago heres the results:

PH: 7.6 (stayed the same)
Ammonia: 0.25 (stayed the same)
Nitrite: 2.0 (increased?)
Nitrate: 10 (decreased by 30)

so overall the water change did reduce some of the levels but increased the nitrite level? anyone know why and what i can do to solve this? Hopefully the people coming tommorow will take the oscars so what should i do after that? just leave the tank and wait?

Thanks

Ricky

 

[ricky23432]

just read the card that came with my api test kit it says on the chart you can:

Use, Stress zyme, nitra zorb, api aquarium salt and do a partial water change which i have done. Would it be worth buying all three? would this benefit me in anyway?

 

[kribensis12]

You must be doing daily 50 percent water changes. If not, you will lose your fish. Ammonia will burn the fish, causing them to become ill and die, and nitrIte will absorb into the blood stream and sufficate the fish. You can NOT add any more fish. Honestly, I would give the oscars away and replace them with like 2 danios. You most likely will kill the oscars. How big is the tank? Anything under 55 gallons is too small for oscars.

 

[ricky23432]

You must be doing daily 50 percent water changes. If not, you will lose your fish. Ammonia will burn the fish, causing them to become ill and die, and nitrIte will absorb into the blood stream and sufficate the fish. You can NOT add any more fish. Honestly, I would give the oscars away and replace them with like 2 danios. You most likely will kill the oscars. How big is the tank? Anything under 55 gallons is too small for oscars.

Its a 22 Gallon so like i said in a other post that is the reason for getting rid of them the tank is far too small for them, i know the oscars are very messy fish is this whats causing the increasing levels of nitrite? They are going tommorow so should i leave the tank empty for a while? Do a full Water change? and monitor the levels daily? i am a complete begginer and like i did mention i was given the wrong advice about oscars and didnt know what i was buying. So to keep on topic what would be the best way to decrease the levels after getting rid of them just water changes?

 

[kribensis12]

To keep the cycle that you started going, pick up a few 98 ct. danio's. They don't make much waste, so you wont have to do too many water changes. Do you know how a cycle works?

Ammonia turns into NitrIte which turns into NitrAte which you can remove by doing water changes. Fish produce ammonia. It can take a month to fully cycle a tank.

 

[ricky23432]

To keep the cycle that you started going, pick up a few 98 ct. danio's. They don't make much waste, so you wont have to do too many water changes. Do you know how a cycle works?

Ammonia turns into NitrIte which turns into NitrAte which you can remove by doing water changes. Fish produce ammonia. It can take a month to fully cycle a tank.

yeh i have been reading up about cycling so you reccomend i buy a few danio's and go from there?

 

[ellena]

It really would be better to do a fishless cycle. Provide the filter bacteria with ammonia from a bottle, not from live fishes' waste. Danios might be cheap but that doesn't mean it's fair to expose them to their own waste at dangerous levels unnecessarily.
I think I understand the increase, I'll try to explain.
1ppm of ammonia, when processed by the filter bacteria, makes more than 1ppm of nitrites.
Ammonia hasn't really stayed the same, you took 50% of it out and it's increased back up to the same level by the time you tested. So there's lots of ammonia for the bacteria to feed on, which is making even more nitrites. So nitrites are being made faster than you're taking them out basically.
Oscars obviously deserve their reputation as very messy fish.
While danios would make far less mess, fishless is still the kindest route to take. You clearly have an active colony of bacteria so it shouldn't take long to mature them to the point where they can support a reasonable load of fish.
Your tank works out 340l, 90 US gall, so plenty of scope for stocking. While you're running the cycle, you can research and decide what you'd like ultimately. Can I just check the measurements on your tank are correct? 36"x24"x24"? Just sounds a slightly odd shape?