My Results...................

[J4G3D]

Hi,

I have had the same tank running for a year now but recently i just changed the substrate completely. I kept 25% of the original water (plus whatever was in the filter).

Results 2 hours after substrate and 75% water change..

Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 80
pH 7.6 (highest on the card so should i do a high pH test?)

So i think my nitrate is too high and my ammonia abit high, Should i wait 24 hours for everything to settle? and then re take the test?

Cheers

 

[Biulu]

Did you keep the media in your filter? I would wait several hours and do another water change and then test again.

 

[mattlee]

if there are fish in the tank then a huge water change is needed asap...

 

[BigIan]

you have stired up a load of crud in your tank this has resulted in the results you see, i would do another water change and keep an eye on it,

the substrate can hold a good quantity of the bacteria that process your ammonia, and so changing the substrate may result in a mini cycle, kepp an eye on your tank and test daily and do water changes where needed

 

[J4G3D]

Cheers guys i will do a 25% water change and keep an eye on it and do a retest tomorrow, if still high i will do a small water change again then retest again.

 

[mattlee]

Cheers guys i will keep an eye on it and do a retest tomorrow, if still high i will do a small water change then retest again.

when finding ammonia levels above 0 then an immediate water change is needed, do not wait until tomorrow and i wouldnt feed the fish tonight either and feed small amounts for the next few days until the mini spike is over

 

[BigIan]

thats the ticket just keep testing and checking till its done with.

 

[J4G3D]

Cheers guys i will keep an eye on it and do a retest tomorrow, if still high i will do a small water change then retest again.

when finding ammonia levels above 0 then an immediate water change is needed, do not wait until tomorrow and i wouldnt feed the fish tonight either and feed small amounts for the next few days until the mini spike is over

Edited my post, will do the small water change now.

 

[mattlee]

Cheers guys i will keep an eye on it and do a retest tomorrow, if still high i will do a small water change then retest again.

when finding ammonia levels above 0 then an immediate water change is needed, do not wait until tomorrow and i wouldnt feed the fish tonight either and feed small amounts for the next few days until the mini spike is over

Edited my post, will do the small water change now.

at ammonia readings 0f 0.50 you need to do a huge water change not a small one. just leave the fish enough water so they can swim and remove the rest asap

 

[J4G3D]

Cheers guys i will keep an eye on it and do a retest tomorrow, if still high i will do a small water change then retest again.

when finding ammonia levels above 0 then an immediate water change is needed, do not wait until tomorrow and i wouldnt feed the fish tonight either and feed small amounts for the next few days until the mini spike is over

Edited my post, will do the small water change now.

at ammonia readings 0f 0.50 you need to do a huge water change not a small one. just leave the fish enough water so they can swim and remove the rest asap

I just did a 25% change before reading your post...

But the API tester now states its definatly lower. Its fairly hard to read accuratly by the naked eye. But i think its more 0.25 now then 0.50

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

In the interest of your fish, please humour us with another 50% water change ASAP, having done 25% a bit earlier this evening

 

[mattlee]

look at it this way. there needs to be 0 ammonia in your water to have healthy fish. there will always be trace amounts that the tests dont pick up because the fish are always producing ammonia and without these trace amounts the filters bacteria would die off and so on.
if your water test shows 0.50ppm ammonia and you do a 50% water change then you have halfed the ammonia content of the water by removing half of the water and replacing it with fresh with 0 ammonia in it. so re test in half an hour and you will get 0.25ppm ammonia which is still dangerous and harmfull for your fish. so you do another 50% change the same night or day and the 0.25ppm will become half again, so about 0.125. this may look like 0 on a test and may be ok to leave.
so by doing a 25% water change you have just diluted the ammonia by a quarter this is why your test may look less than 0.50 but not 0. if you leave it another day then the ammonia will only strenghthen until its all removed, which is normally done by the bacteria in the filter etc, by doing water changes.
you need to do 1 big water change as i mentioned just leaving the fish enough room to swim, this will get the levels to 0 straight away and the fish will not be poisoned any more. plus when doing small water changes and then doing another small change you are also removing some of the fresh water just put in..... so anything above 0.25ppm ammonia i would do as big a change as poss. when its at 0 then retest in half an hour or so just to be sure then retest in the morning and repeat the whole process if needed

 

[J4G3D]

look at it this way. there needs to be 0 ammonia in your water to have healthy fish. there will always be trace amounts that the tests dont pick up because the fish are always producing ammonia and without these trace amounts the filters bacteria would die off and so on.
if your water test shows 0.50ppm ammonia and you do a 50% water change then you have halfed the ammonia content of the water by removing half of the water and replacing it with fresh with 0 ammonia in it. so re test in half an hour and you will get 0.25ppm ammonia which is still dangerous and harmfull for your fish. so you do another 50% change the same night or day and the 0.25ppm will become half again, so about 0.125. this may look like 0 on a test and may be ok to leave.
so by doing a 25% water change you have just diluted the ammonia by a quarter this is why your test may look less than 0.50 but not 0. if you leave it another day then the ammonia will only strenghthen until its all removed, which is normally done by the bacteria in the filter etc, by doing water changes.
you need to do 1 big water change as i mentioned just leaving the fish enough room to swim, this will get the levels to 0 straight away and the fish will not be poisoned any more. plus when doing small water changes and then doing another small change you are also removing some of the fresh water just put in..... so anything above 0.25ppm ammonia i would do as big a change as poss. when its at 0 then retest in half an hour or so just to be sure then retest in the morning and repeat the whole process if needed

Thanks for the in depth reply,

I understand all this and i shall do the 50% change now. Do i test straight after or leave it a while?

 

[mattlee]

i would do a bigger change than 50% but its your tank and your fish.... re test the water in about 30 minutes, this will give the water time to mix giving a more accurate reading. if its still not at 0 then another water change is needed. the 0 reading will be bright yellow if its anything else then dont convince yourself that its ok

 

[J4G3D]

i would do a bigger change than 50% but its your tank and your fish.... re test the water in about 30 minutes, this will give the water time to mix giving a more accurate reading. if its still not at 0 then another water change is needed. the 0 reading will be bright yellow if its anything else then dont convince yourself that its ok

Ok the change has been made, waited half hour and done a api test.

The result is:

0.25