Questions About Water Quality

[mandy82]

I'm 2 weeks new to having a freshwater aquarium, and I need some help. FYI, I have 6 full grown mollies and a lot of babies. I tested my water in my 40 gal today and the ph has dropped to a 6 (it was about a 7.4), my ammonia level is kind of high and my nitrites are extremely high. I've been struggling to get the ammonia to come down but haven't had issues with the nitrites until today. Soooo, I did a 10 gal water change, cleaned the gravel and made sure there weren't any dead plants/fish in there. I don't know what to do other than change the water to help make the water safe for my fish. Will changing the water everyday help get the levels where they need to be? Why would the ph level dip?

 

[Tolak]

Sounds like a typical cycling tank. Daily water changes are needed to keep the ammo & nitrites in check. Cycling tanks do go through pH swings, a drop like that is common.

Tolak

 

[mandy82]

Thanks for you quick response. I've been reading The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz and it isn't exactly clear on what to do in that situation. Thanks for your advise, and I will start changing the water daily.

Typically, how long does it take for a tank to completely cycle?

 

[Tolak]

Here's a little chart I stole off another site giving the average tank cycling time;

Tolak

 

[mandy82]

Cool, thanks.

BTW, last week as well as today I forgot (and now remembered!) that I didn't add back in the salt that had been removed in the water changed. Would that effect the fish or the water conditions?

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. Depending on what type of fish you keep you probably don't even need the salt. Some fish prefer there not be any salt at all, (such as Corys). You probably shouldn't have got so many fish to start with, but ya, keep up with the daily water changes. How are the ammonia and nitrite readings? I wouldn't let them get too high. If a 10gal water change doesn't get them down to very low levels, then maybe you should consider doing 2, 10gal water changes per day. Say one in the morning, and one in the evening. Since you've got nitrites showing up, you at least know that you're getting towards the end of the cycle. Good luck!

 

[mandy82]

This morning I found one dead adult and one dead baby.

Ammonia 0.5 and nitrite 5.0. Ammonia has come down since my water change yesterday. But being that nitrite hasn't budged, I'll try the 2 separate water changes of 10 gal each.

They are mollies, and from what I understand they need salt. I do now understand that I shouldn't have bought so many fish to begin with after reading about new aquariums. I also know, from what I've read, that mollies aren't the best starter fish. Thanks for your info, cujoho.

 

[rdd1952]

With your nitrite at 5 ppm, I suggest you start doing 2 25% water changes a day. You need to get the nitrite below 1 ppm and keep it there till the tank finishes cycling. The ammonia at .5 isn't terribly bad although you want it at 0. It sounds as if the ammonia processing bacteria are almost built up to a point they can handle the ammonia but it takes longer for the nitrite processing bacteria to develop.

I don't keep mollies but they are brackish fish and do like salt. I'm no expert by any means but I do know that when water evaporates, the salt stays so the salinity will rise as the water evaporates. Doing daily water changes right now though, you won't have to worry about evaporation yet. When you do water changes, you will have to add more salt to replace what you removed with the water.

 

[mandy82]

I've been doing the water changes and the nitrites are still the same. The ammonia levels are now ZERO!!! I have lost 3 babies and 1 adult so far, but it'll be alright. Hopefully, I won't lose anymore fish.

I made a wise investment in the Python No Spill Clean and Fill Kit, and that's the greatest thing in the world! It's made the water change much quicker than the bucket way.

I'm going to continue to do the water changes twice a day and hope that my nitrites will come down soon. Thanks for all the excellent advise, and I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[tttnjfttt]

What is the max nitrite reading in your test kit? if 5 is the highest, then it is very likely that the nitrites were above 5, and you are bringing them down, but they were so high the levels couldn't be seen. Adding salt actually helps reduce the toxicity of the nitrites.

If you get really desperate, you can do water chagnes every 2 hours.

 

[mandy82]

The max nitrite reading is 5. I'm sure it's much higher than that being that the test water immediately turns to the reading of 5 color as I shake the tube.

 

[tttnjfttt]

YEIPS!!! that is like an off the chart reading of 5. I would recomend you do a 25% water change every 2 hours until you get something lower than 2.0 Then do enough water changes to keep it there. Your fish WILL die, as you have already noticed, with that high nitrite levels. Good luck!

 

[mandy82]

Well, I'm off to do another water change. I can't wait to see my water bill for this month!

 

[mandy82]

I did another 25% water change (took me about 8 minutes, wow!) and the nitrites are the same. The water didn't turn dark purple (indicating 5 or higher) quite as quickly as it has been, I'm guessing that's a good sign.

 

[fishing4exotics]

If you have a friendly Local Fish Store (LFS) near by you might ask them for a cup of gravel in one of their established tanks. Or ask a friend with an established fish tank. Put some of the old graves in your filter and the bottom of your tank. The gravel will help colonize your gravel bed and filter with the necessary bacteria.