Please Look At My Levels

[Wrams]

These are my levels can anyone tell me if there ok or am i letting my fish suffer?

GH 120

KH 120

PH 7.5

NO/2 is 0.5

NO/3 is 80

Also i have a 90 litre tank and run a Fluval 2 filter.

Would you change the filter to a better one?

These tests where done with a API 5 in 1 Test Strips.

I also have the API Freshwater Master Test Kit but they both give me different readings (Only Slightly)

Thanks for any advice given.

P.S If you need anymore info just ask and i'll reply as soon as i get a chance.

 

[Colin_T]

the nitrite (NO2)should be 0 but some kits read 0 as 0.5.
the nitrate (NO3) should be lower if possible. Try to keep it as close to 0 as possible but anything below 30ppm is fine.
there is no ammonia (NH3 or NH4) reading. You want ammonia to be 0 at all times.
Ph is fine for most fish.

If you have to clean the filter more than once a month then you need more filtration. In which case get another filter and run both of them.

 

[waterdrop]

I would estimate that the Fluval 2 filter, an internal filter, is either just barely enough for your 24 gallon (90L) tank or maybe a little under the amount of filtration needed.

The amount of filtration needed is really more a function of the fish load rather than the tank size, so it will very much depend on whether you over or under stock the tank (average guideline for smaller types of fishes being about 22" of fish body (tails don't count) for your tank.) Don't put too many fish in there and the filter may be just fine.

The Fluval 2 is, I believe, rated by the manufacturer as having a flow rate of 105 g/h and being recommended for a tank up to 24g. Usually on TFF, we expect manufacturers to overstate recommended tank size, so you would want a filter rated for somewhat higher tank volume than you have. Often a turnover rate of 5x is a good recommended starting point and for your 24g/90L, that would be 120 gallons per hour. Again we see that 105 g/h is a bit low by this guideline.

Another consideration is that an internal filter of this sort, regardless of the flow rate, will likely have less media volume and so will need cleaning more often. Smaller media volume may also mean the water traverses the media more quickly and maybe less debris gets caught on a given pass of water.

As Colin has written, a reasonable way to judge the bottom line is to see whether you seem to be having to clean the filter too often for what you are willing to allow for in your maintenance schedule. If the water flow seems to visibly lessen, you know you truly have to clean the filter, although hopefully this doesn't happen within a months time, which is a common cleaning shedule often cited here. And, yes, a common action to take would be to buy and add a second filter, but if its another internal, even more of your aquascape will be filled with filter space.

If you already have an API liquid-based kit, I would run through the instructions again and be sure you are following all the details and then I would begin believing the results of those tests. Unfortunately, some results from the strip tests can be very misleading and really you should just toss them, or leave them for some moment when you can't get to the LFS for replacement liquids or something. As Colin says, your ammonia result, one of the most important, is missing.

Since it looks like perhaps you are in a "fish-in" cycle, your most important goal is to vary your water changes so that you can keep both ammonia and nitrite (NO2) between zero and 0.25ppm (hopefully zero if possible.) This can take up to 4 to 6 weeks, while the two species of bacteria establish themselves in biofilms stuck to your filter media. Of course, I'm just guessing here, but that was just what it sounded like your situation could be. Post up further questions if this doesn't make sense and whatever member is logged on will be sure to help.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Wrams]

Thank you both for your replies.

I have a few more questions:

1: Shall i add salt and if so how much?

2: Whats the best way to reduce ammonia?

3: What Filtration unit would you suggest for my 24g tank?

4: My tank has been crystal clear for a week or two, but now i'm starting to notice the water is clouding slightly more and more eachday. Would this be down to the filter?

Thank you once again for ALL your help!!

I'm also a Novice of Novices

 

[rabbut]

OK, can you run us by the following please?

What fish, and how many, do you have in your tank?
What are your ammonia, nitrite, pH and nitrate readings according to the liquid based kit?
What filter maintanance do you do and how?
What other tank maintanance do you do (like waterchanges e.t.c) and how?

Answer these and we can advise further. With a low load of fish, you may not need another filter. With lots of fish, you may find that the filter isn't coping with the stocking, and you may need to make removing some fish or upgrading the filter a priority A lot here will depend on stocking

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Wrams]

OK, can you run us by the following please?

What fish, and how many, do you have in your tank?
What are your ammonia, nitrite, pH and nitrate readings according to the liquid based kit?
What filter maintanance do you do and how?
What other tank maintanance do you do (like waterchanges e.t.c) and how?

Answer these and we can advise further. With a low load of fish, you may not need another filter. With lots of fish, you may find that the filter isn't coping with the stocking, and you may need to make removing some fish or upgrading the filter a priority A lot here will depend on stocking

All the best
Rabbut

I have:

1 Gourami
2 Algae Eaters
2 Catfish
6 Guppies (4M 2F)

ammonia is 0.25
No2 is 0.5
No3 is 60
GH 120
KH 120
PH 7.5

I was the filter out with tank water and the casings insides to unclog it.

I have done 2 50% water changes in past week.

I also have a gravel vacum thingy...
and a glass cleaning scraper with sponge attached.

Also i want to introduce more fish in time but not until my tank is running perfectly.

 

[Corleone]

Keep doing water changes daily and keep ammonia and nitrite under .25 - any level of either is harmful, but you can mitigate the effect by keeping levels as low as possible. Have you added fish recently? It may be a mini cycle. Are these only recent readings, or have they been like this for a while? If so, the filter may be underperforming for the volume of water or number of fish.


I wouldn't add salt. It's generally unneeded and many fish will only be additionally stressed by it, but in your particular case, most catfish won't appreciate it.

 

[Colin_T]

I have a few more questions:

1: Shall i add salt and if so how much? No

2: Whats the best way to reduce ammonia? water changes and reduce feeding

3: What Filtration unit would you suggest for my 24g tank? Fluval 303 or equivalent external canister

4: My tank has been crystal clear for a week or two, but now i'm starting to notice the water is clouding slightly more and more eachday. Would this be down to the filter? milky cloudy is due to fish food breaking down and the filter not doing its job properly.

 

[Wrams]

Keep doing water changes daily and keep ammonia and nitrite under .25 - any level of either is harmful, but you can mitigate the effect by keeping levels as low as possible. Have you added fish recently? It may be a mini cycle. Are these only recent readings, or have they been like this for a while? If so, the filter may be underperforming for the volume of water or number of fish.


I wouldn't add salt. It's generally unneeded and many fish will only be additionally stressed by it, but in your particular case, most catfish won't appreciate it.

What percentage of a water change do you recommend? Also the last fish i added where the guppies about 1 week ago.

 

[rabbut]

You need to do as bigger waterchanges are as nessisary to keep the levels down. I assume you get zero ammonia and nitrite from the tap? If so, you can work o fractions. For example, to bring the 0.5ppm to 0.25, 50% is required, from 1 down to 0.25 75% is required e.t.c This however can only be applied with zeros for these from the tap.

Can you give a more accurate name for the algea eaters? That name could apply to any one of like 3-400 fish, all with different requrements, so it doesn't realy help. Start by googling common pleco and gibeseps pleco to see if they look similar, and if not, try chinese algea eater Similar problems exist with the catfish and gourami, so again, could you please google them to narrow down what they could be?

Salt as a rule, isn't advisable, but there are exceptions to any rule in this hobby. To tell you if now is one, we need to know what the algea eaters and catfish are

Filter recomendations are realy reliant on budget. Fluval make the best internal IMO, but also the worst exturnals. If you opt for another internal, go with another Fluval 2. If you want to go exturnal, assuming your budget allows, you will need to tell us the county you are based in so we know what is available to you

HTH
Rabbut

EDIT to add, I have just seen you are based in the UK. Tetratec or Eheim would be the best. Eheim are the rolls Royce of exturnals, built to good quality (though not on all models) Have a look at their Pro2 range, none-thermo types. If they are out of budget, look at Tetratecs

 

[Wrams]

You need to do as bigger waterchanges are as nessisary to keep the levels down. I assume you get zero ammonia and nitrite from the tap? If so, you can work o fractions. For example, to bring the 0.5ppm to 0.25, 50% is required, from 1 down to 0.25 75% is required e.t.c This however can only be applied with zeros for these from the tap.

Can you give a more accurate name for the algea eaters? That name could apply to any one of like 3-400 fish, all with different requrements, so it doesn't realy help. Start by googling common pleco and gibeseps pleco to see if they look similar, and if not, try chinese algea eater Similar problems exist with the catfish and gourami, so again, could you please google them to narrow down what they could be?

Salt as a rule, isn't advisable, but there are exceptions to any rule in this hobby. To tell you if now is one, we need to know what the algea eaters and catfish are

Filter recomendations are realy reliant on budget. Fluval make the best internal IMO, but also the worst exturnals. If you opt for another internal, go with another Fluval 2. If you want to go exturnal, assuming your budget allows, you will need to tell us the county you are based in so we know what is available to you

HTH
Rabbut

EDIT to add, I have just seen you are based in the UK. Tetratec or Eheim would be the best. Eheim are the rolls Royce of exturnals, built to good quality (though not on all models) Have a look at their Pro2 range, none-thermo types. If they are out of budget, look at Tetratecs

Budgets is good so i can go with the pro2 range...As for the fish, its Silver mollys and the catfish are i think the name is Golden Catfish if thats correct. The Gourami is Coral Blue and then 2 male and 4 female guppys.


I also live in Bristol

Everytime i do a water change do i have to add water softners like Aqua Plus and Cycle?

Also what Eheim Pro 2 would you recommend for my 24g tank? I googled the filter and there where quite a few different sizes?

 

[waterdrop]

I'm not sure even the smallest of the ProII line is small enough for the 24g. The fish might get blown around a lot, but this would be a thing we could all further discuss. Its possible to aim the spraybar at the glass and it may be possible to turn down the flow.

The only chemical you need to be putting in your tank is what we call a conditioner, a chemical that removes the chlorine or chloramine that the water authority has put in to kill bacteria. You should follow instructions that come with it and treat any tap water you use in your water changes. The Cycle product is unneeded and a waste of money - it is for people who haven't read the pinned articles on the nitrogen cycle, fish-in cycling and fishless cycling, which are basics of the hobby (and a lot of fun to learn about, I might add.)

re Q2 "What's the best way to reduce ammonia" - this also is a part of the nitrogen cycle topic. When you buy a filter, you are only getting raw hardware and it is not ready for fish until is has been "prepared" (usually fishless cycled for anywhere from several weeks to several months.) It has a mechanical function and an optional chemical function and most importantly a biofilter function, which is the one that needs preparation. You have to grow two specific species of bacteria in the filter media, one that eats ammonia and changes it to NO2(nitrite) and another species that eats NO2 and transforms it into the less harmful NO3(nitrate.) (The nitrate is removed, along with other bad trace things during the regular water changes.) With fish already in, you have this more difficult "fish-in" process where you have to perform as many water changes as it takes to keep the deadly poisons of ammonia and nitrite down to a zero level. After an average of about 4 weeks, the filter will begin to do this "zeroing" for you and you will know that it may be "cycled", which means the two species of bacteria have reached the critical level needed for biofiltration of your size of fish load. Using commercial chemicals to lower ammonia is worse than useless, its counterproductive to your cycling process.

re Q4 "cloudiness" - this is always a tricky question if we can't be there in your house and see it, but I'm going to guess that it may be what we call a "bacterial bloom" (a milky look, literally as if you poured a little milk in the aquarium.) This is completely normal in an uncycled aquarium and will eventually clear up. It is caused not by the 2 good species of autochemolithotrophic bacteria we want in the filter, but by several species of heterotrophic bacteria in the water that reproduce much more rapidly and feed on the fish waste, excess food, plant debris and other organic leftovers and transform them into ammonia. Once your filter is working well and you keep your gravel cleanings and water changes going regularly, you will not experience bacterial blooms anymore.

You're getting good advice from the members, so I'll sign off for now,
~~waterdrop~~

 

[Wrams]

Well i've decided to go with the Tetratec EX600 series which covers the 60-120L tank range. Shall i run both pumps until the EX600 becomes established?

Thanks Everyone for your help

 

[rabbut]

I'd remove the carbon from the media in the EX600, and stick the Fluvals media into it's place. Store the Carbon for later in case you need it (for removing meds, tea staning effect from bog wood e.t.c) as it isn't a day-to-day media that just takes up space after 3 days when it becomes saturated The space it takes up would be better used by your mature(ing?) media

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Wrams]

I'd remove the carbon from the media in the EX600, and stick the Fluvals media into it's place. Store the Carbon for later in case you need it (for removing meds, tea staning effect from bog wood e.t.c) as it isn't a day-to-day media that just takes up space after 3 days when it becomes saturated The space it takes up would be better used by your mature(ing?) media

HTH
Rabbut

Theres only foam in the fluval and No carbon so i have aloud both to run until the new filter establishes itself. I hope this works...

I have however turnt the new filter down to minimum flow and left the old Fluval as it was.