Nitrates

[NickAu]

Theoretically, in a well planted tank with only 1 fish the nitrates should stay low due to the plants using anything that appears in the water

With a well planted tank and a low bio load it will silent cycle,

 

[NanaWells]

What type of bottled water? Not all bottled water made for humans to drink is fish safe, for example the PH can swing wildly from batch to batch.

It's Crystal Geyser from the dollar store I have been using it since his first tank in Sept and haven't had any problems my Ph was a steady 7.8 after I added the piece of wood my Ph when to 7.4 and it has stayed there but I am thinking of trying tap again since my nitrates are under control

 

[NickAu]

Poland spring water seems to be good, I know a large number of betta keepers on another forum that use it

 

[NanaWells]

Poland spring water seems to be good, I know a large number of betta keepers on another forum that use it

I will check and see if we have that here [emoji1360] I do what I have to to please my man [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colin_T]

Poland spring water seems to be good, I know a large number of betta keepers on another forum that use it

Poland is pretty close to Chernobyl, Russia, isn't it?

 

[NanaWells]

Poland is pretty close to Chernobyl, Russia, isn't it?

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NickAu]

Poland Spring in Poland Spring Maine.

 

[NanaWells]

Poland Spring in Poland Spring Maine.

Hmmm that would take a lot of gas to get that water lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FishGuest5123]

I have seeded many a tank in my day but I want to see those nitrates to be sure it cycled. I know, it’s just me but I don’t trust what I can’t see. I add the plants afterwards. Can you pipe that water from Poland in? By the way, how come I never see anyone else out here responding on the forums? They all seem to hang out in the chat room. Maybe I don’t understand how this forum works.

 

[Phil Fish]

According to my 5 in 1 API test strip chart zero nitrates is "ideal" for freshwater fish. Is this incorrect?

 

[FishGuest5123]

The test strips don’t test in depth enough. A cycled tank normally has some nitrates although some people do have zero nitrates. I have never been lucky enough to succeed at that. I’m happy when mine are 10-20ppm. Normally in a cycle, the ammonia rises and feeds the nitrites to start. Then the nitrites rise and feed the nitrates. Once you have nitrates, you do a water change to get them down to 5 or 10ppm and your cycled and good to go. Very few planted tanks really keep a 0 nitrate reading but it can occur. I seed tanks all the time for fry and QT and they always read at 0,0, and some nitrates immediately. If it didn’t, I would ask myself, 1). Did I accidentally rinse the seeded filter media in chlorine or 2) did I let the media dry out? Both would kill the beneficial bacteria rendering the seeded media useless.

 

[NickAu]

I have been rinsing my filter media under untreated tap water for several years now without any drama.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Chlorine kills beneficial bacteria. It can’t tell good bacteria from bad bacteria. Look it up. You should always rinse your filter in tank water.

 

[seangee]

Omg! Chlorine kills beneficial bacteria. It can’t tell good bacteria from bad bacteria. Look it up. You should always rinse your filter in tank water.

No need to change what you are doing. But those bacteria aren't nearly as fragile as most people assume, accidently rinsing your media in tap water isn't going to crash your tank.

 

[FishGuest5123]

You need a filter to ensure the growth of beneficial bacteria. Also as a tip, remember when cleaning the biological medium, use aquarium water and not contaminated tap water. The chlorine in tap water will destroy your live bacteria- not ideal.